I worked out why Gumtree Sellers are so difficult ......

[Sir Stinkalot]

So after struggling to purchase items off Gumtree sellers for some time now I think I have finally cracked the case ..... the sellers are so bad as the buyers are worse.

I finally got around to getting out some old items the other day and thought it would be worth while throwing them up on Gumtree to see if there was any interest. There is an assortment of stuff, some old original Nintendo games and some household stuff .....

Within minutes of listing I received an enquiry about some of the Nintendo games .... polite email enquiry, no fuss, purchased and paid for three games ...... all good so far.

Then I started to get the difficult buyers .... nothing particularly bad but what I would consider rude emails, typically no greeting, no name, basic information ...... such as, and I quote the entire email "Do you still have rug". To this particular buyer I responded politely and advised that she was welcome to come around and have a look .... anyway she responded that she would come and have a look, then didn't bother. At the same time I told another potential buyer that wanted a look that it was on hold for the first person, only to be stood up.

Another guy wanted to purchase the Nintendo consoles. I have also had heaps of enquiries about a particular game and despite other people asking first this guy basically begged to hold it for him for when he came around. Anyway he did at least rock up only to offer a low ball offer expecting that I would just say yes. Anyway he was sent packing empty handed on principal.

Other than that its just been a bombardment of stupid offers and stupid questions. I am so sick of replying and trying to be fair that I have just opened it up to whoever pays first. The problem here is that because Gumtree doesn't have a checkout system there is the risk of two people paying via Paypal for the same item which will result in me having to credit back a payment, which I am sure Paypal will charge me for.

So a couple of days into being a Gumtree seller I have become the difficult Gumtree seller that I despise as a buyer. Its a vicious circle and I think will only be improved when Gumtree turn it into another Ebay which is unlikely as they are both owned by Ebay. My guess is that they will just start charging for listing and not improve how transactions are handled.

Grumpy seller rant over.

[NCArcher]

I hear you Stinky.
I've recently sold a couple of items on eBay.
Not only do eBay take 10% of the final selling price but I still don't have access to some of the money paid. I'm not entirely sure why but I think it is held in reserve in case there is a dispute lodged. The buyer has paid and I've posted the item but I won't have access to the money (through Paypal) for another 2 weeks.
I'll be listing stuff on Gumtree in future. I'll just put up with the idiots and sell to whoever hands over the cash first.
Buying off eBay is fine but I wont be selling there again.

[Sir Stinkalot]

I haven't come across Paypal holding onto the money before but I haven't sold on Ebay for a while. There are fees associated with transferring money out of Paypal but I find I just leave it there and make other purchases.

I did read that Ebay now calculate their fees on the final selling price + postage and considering their fees were already fairly high it is a turn off now. Ebay also now seems to be just an online arm for commercial sellers with most private sellers and second hand buyers being pushed to Gumtree.

[BobL]

Yep I agree. The most irritating people are those scrabbling for free stuff.

I advertized a free workbench made from a rusty old angle iron bed frame with a "rustic" (bad choice of words I realised later) 2" thick Jarrah top.

I got about a dozen of calls in the first hour - none of these people came to see it.
One guy wanted to know if it could be used as kitchen island bench as he was looking around for a cheap birthday present for his daughter - the photos showed it was obvious a fairly beaten up old workbench
Another caller was from the country and wanted me to hold it for when he next came to town - when's that I asked? - maybe next month, was the reply.
One guy talked for about 10 minutes about his back and his knees and his yadda-yadda and then it dawned on me he wanted me to deliver it to him and help him put it in his garage.
In the end I just told callers - it's on the verge - first one here that wants it can take it

Two hours after I posted it I see a young bloke wearing a very expensive suit and driving a near new high end make 4WD pull into the drive way.
I watched him through the lounge room window- he walked around the bench a few times and then looks like he's about to drive away but then he comes up to the house and asks if I can help him put it in the car.
I wanted to ask if he needed an apron but really wanted to see him smear that suit
We had to put the back seats down to fit it into the back and then had to find something to put underneath it to stop it marking the carpet and to pad the leg ends from tearing the immaculate leather upholstery.
I couldn't imagine this guy using this bench, so I asked him what he was going to do with it? He turned bright red and said it was" . . for err . . . . his wife, . . . . she runs an antique shop"

I pulled the ad immediately but there seemed to be a few more cars than usual driving up our street for the rest of the day.

That aside, I have to say my GumTree buying experience has been fairly good. Maybe its the sort of stuff I buy like electric motors and workshop gear that puts me into a different group of buyers and sellers. I've met some interesting people and heard some amusing life stories. I'm not the haggling type so unless there is something wrong or different with the item that was not in the ad I won't usually offer less than the advertised pro and we usually depart on very friendly terms.

[Big Shed]

Paypal no longer charge a fee to move money in to your bank account.
The only time I have seen money held up is when people pay with a Paypal "cheque", that is they actually deposit money in to Paypal from their bank account account and therefore Paypal won't pay the recipient until that money is cleared, usually takes 5-7 days.

Stupid buyers (and sellers) are not confined to Gumtree. My wife sells regularly on Ebay and you wouldn't believe some of the things she has to put with from buyers. Only yesterday someone bought one of her items, then within 20 mins sent a message that she wanted to cancel the purchase! She then left negative feedback for my wife, spoiling her 100% positive feedback rating that she is very proud of.

The number of people that have to be sent reminders to please pay for their item is unbelievable (this for items <$10 including postage) half of them only paying when reporting an unpaid item to Ebay.

I could go on.

[China]

I've had the same problems so now it is first come first serve and cash only

[mark david]

I can sympathise with you on this as my partner and I have been buying and selling on gumtree for about three years and you have to deal with idiots on a daily basis.
Just before Christmas we held over $1200 worth of furniture for several weeks for a guy until he returned from his fifo job and we could arrange delivery, he later fobbed us off for a further week and then we heard nothing so had to relist all the items.

You try your best for people but they just pi$& you around.You do meet some really nice peole though so its not all bad but you just encounter so may rude and ignorant people you wonder what the world is coming too.

So after struggling to purchase items off Gumtree sellers for some time now I think I have finally cracked the case ..... the sellers are so bad as the buyers are worse.

I finally got around to getting out some old items the other day and thought it would be worth while throwing them up on Gumtree to see if there was any interest. There is an assortment of stuff, some old original Nintendo games and some household stuff .....

Within minutes of listing I received an enquiry about some of the Nintendo games .... polite email enquiry, no fuss, purchased and paid for three games ...... all good so far.

Then I started to get the difficult buyers .... nothing particularly bad but what I would consider rude emails, typically no greeting, no name, basic information ...... such as, and I quote the entire email "Do you still have rug". To this particular buyer I responded politely and advised that she was welcome to come around and have a look .... anyway she responded that she would come and have a look, then didn't bother. At the same time I told another potential buyer that wanted a look that it was on hold for the first person, only to be stood up.

Another guy wanted to purchase the Nintendo consoles. I have also had heaps of enquiries about a particular game and despite other people asking first this guy basically begged to hold it for him for when he came around. Anyway he did at least rock up only to offer a low ball offer expecting that I would just say yes. Anyway he was sent packing empty handed on principal.

Other than that its just been a bombardment of stupid offers and stupid questions. I am so sick of replying and trying to be fair that I have just opened it up to whoever pays first. The problem here is that because Gumtree doesn't have a checkout system there is the risk of two people paying via Paypal for the same item which will result in me having to credit back a payment, which I am sure Paypal will charge me for.

So a couple of days into being a Gumtree seller I have become the difficult Gumtree seller that I despise as a buyer. Its a vicious circle and I think will only be improved when Gumtree turn it into another Ebay which is unlikely as they are both owned by Ebay. My guess is that they will just start charging for listing and not improve how transactions are handled.

Grumpy seller rant over.

[FenceFurniture]

Simple golden rule for Gumtree, Trading Post etc selling - NEVER hold anything for anyone unless they are going to be there within an hour or so, or they want to pay a holding deposit. Get a copy of the transaction emailed to you of course, given that the banks can't put the money in straight away - funny how they can take it though (before I can even get back home from buying a slab of beer).....

[Gaza]

Trying to sell ute on gumtree keep getting offers to swap, thanks but I already brought a new car last thing I want is another

[Evanism]

I buy and sell a lot on Gumtree.

Its an excellent resource, but you need to treat it in a very specific way.

As a buyer,

-- realise there is ONE for sale
-- it isnt a shop
-- the seller doesn't want to hear your life story
-- hear about your woes
-- solve your problems
-- help you do something with it
-- discuss another thing, product or "ebay"/China.
-- or help you

They want you to come, pay and leave.

As a seller,

-- NEVER ever ever hold a thing. Repeat. After. Me. Never, ever, ever, under no circumstances hold a thing
-- Arrange a time for viewing/collection and stick to it. Give them a 15 minute window
-- I dont care about your broken leg, sick mother, busted car, troubles with the ATM.... its 7.15pm sharp, or its going elsewhere
-- Never negotiate on price while they are there. Do it on the phone beforehand
-- Never give the address until they agree to the price
-- They are there to pick it up - never more, never less
-- NEVER offer them to put it in their car/truck/trailer. Tell them to bring a friend. Your can't help, "so sorry". Dont tell them why, just "No"
-- If they don't turn up, tell them the next appointment will be made and it will be sold
-- Cash it fine. Change is not. You are not a shop
-- No, I don't have it in white, 5 more, order it in or wrap it for you. See you at 7.15pm

You want them to come, pay and leave.

Only yesterday, I picked up a PRISTINE 5 drawer Fantastic furniture draw set for $20 (rrp $99) and two Ikea 4 draw cabinets for $60 (total, rrp $259 each).

I jump in fast - text them and say I didnt ring so to disturb them if they are at work, immediate followup email and offer to collect at the very first opportunity convenient for them. Works 100% of the time.

I have an ad up now! -- http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mawso...ach/1072755144

[Sir Stinkalot]

I have an ad up now! -- http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mawso...ach/1072755144

Is that $15 for the lot, per m or per length? Do you have any other colours other than blonde and red? Can you deliver for free to Adelaide? How much for the small bits on the side? Can I borrow your hand trolley?

Have you had any of these yet?

[Kuffy]

I've always been fond of people when they start to haggle you down on price and they say something stupid like "but dont you have a machine to do it?" because we all have one of those german made machines where you just press a button and it designs the piece for you, orders the timber for you, selects each piece for grain and colour etc, machines it up for ya, sands it, assembles it, sands it some more, stains and polishes it, and best of all....lists it on gumtree/ebay, answers the phonecalls and hangs around waiting for customers to show up......!!!!!!

[Big Shed]

Is that $15 for the lot, per m or per length? Do you have any other colours other than blonde and red? Can you deliver for free to Adelaide? How much for the small bits on the side? Can I borrow your hand trolley?

Have you had any of these yet?

Yep.

Or the "buyer" who sends a message in response to a $22,000 caravan you are selling "will you take $12,000 for it?"

Or the guy who works on an off-shore oil rig (every second Gumtree buyer works on one of those and wants you to send him your bank details so he can pay you more than you are asking "for your trouble".

[BobL]

As a buyer,

-- Never negotiate on price while they are there. Do it on the phone beforehand

It depends what is being sold, but as a buyer or seller of small items I will very rarely strike a price on the phone. If I do it's on my instigation as the buyer and of course it's still subject to inspection. I say something like, " . . .if its as good as looks on the ad I will pay you the advertised price". This is a weak way of holding the item for you against someone that's going to turn up before you and offer them 50% of the advertised price, It's no guarantee they will hold it but it's about as good as you can get.

If a seller wants me to guarantee a price before they give me their address, that usually smells like a week old fish to me.
I've seen too much funny stuff happening, like product substitution, or there is something wrong with the item which hasn't been revealed previously and is not reflected in the advertised price.
I've probably missed out on some bargains that way but I have also wasted a lot of time so I now don't bother with these.

I decide based on the advertised price and on more info or clarification from the by by phone f it's worth going to take a look at.
If the item is accurately described in the ad or by phone I rarely negotiate - I either buy it or I don't.
If there is a non-trivial problem with the item that was not mentioned in the ad or by phone that I can fix, then I may negotiate, or its no thanks.

As a seller I apply the same rules and don't negotiate by phone or F2F unless the buyer identifies a non-trivial problem that was not in the item description.
As a seller I will sometimes get a call asking me if I will sell for less, often a lot less like the $25k caravan for $12k
I rarely "need to sell" and just tell them I'll call them back once the other prospective buyers have looked at the item.
Of course they never get called back.
One guy called me back the next day and upped his offer from <50% to ~90% of my advertised price. The item still hadn't sold but I still said no thanks.
After two weeks the item (a small copper cored stick welder) hadn't sold so I upped the price by a third and it sold the next day!

[Evanism]

After two weeks the item (a small copper cored stick welder) hadn't sold so I upped the price by a third and it sold the next day!

This is true, sometimes the price is too low and people steer clear thinking its a dud. Pricing it right is an art, but sometimes a higher price does attract the right buyers.