I PM’d PennsCreek with interest in his item, he responds that it is still available, I reply with a payment inquiry, someone posts “I’ll Take It” an hour and a half later, and this morning he tells me it’s sold and that MY inquiry wasn’t serious!!!
I have bought quite a few things from folks on FAOL and NEVER post a reply on their thread, but instead used private messaging since I really don’t feel the need to advertise what I am purchasing. For the most part this has worked perfectly when the seller is scrupulous.
This is the second time I have been burnt by someone playing games with the timeline or arbitrarily deciding who will get their items based on who knows what.
I realize that the FAOL For Sale Board is an open selling format and real rules like employed by eBay don’t apply, it is all based on common courtesy, something that in a few cases seems to be nonexistent.
I’m glad I didn’t lose any money which is why I am cautious with the way I deal with on-line sellers. In this case, I re-learned a valuable lesson:
I agree that stinks, Bamboozle, I’ve had that happen to me once. Were you able to discuss it with the seller? Maybe it was just an innocent mistake on his part? I know where you’re coming from. It should be first come, first serve.
Bruce
In all fairness, an “I’ll take it” is much more of a commitment than a “payment inquiry”, especially if he responded to your PM to say “yes, its still available”, then logged off for the evening.
Then he logs on in the morning and sees your payment inquiry and an “I’ll take it”, and he makes a decision. Its his product, he can sell as he likes. While it may not be your idea of professional courtesy or fair business, its not like he took your funds then didnt deliver the product. Calling him out publicly like this…eh…well, imvho, its more of a social faux pas than perhaps deciding incorrectly who one should sell an item to.
I understand the frustration, I’ve had similar things happen to me before, but its important to understand that you’re not dealing with amazon, its a real person that may or may not make online transactions on a regular basis.
i’m with you on this one cold. sold several items online here, as well as other forums and thought it was pretty much understood that the first “i’ll take it” gets it. questions about the condition of the item, acceptable payment methods etc. don’t count as a commitment to buy. unless your “payment inquiry” also articulated that you wanted the item and were going to send him said payment then you’re out of luck at least in my view point. don’t see how you get screwed in any way by this seller.