Questionable Trader Alert

I don't think what the guy did was unethical but its also not uncommon
for these sorts of hardball tactics to backfire. Lots of email
inquiries does not necessarily mean lots of motivated buyers WITH
MONEY. By trying to play buyers off of each other, you run a big risk
of alienating the serious ones and stand a good chance of winding up
with a high offer from some goofball who can't come up with the dough
when its time to pay.

My advice? Tell the guy your offer stands, and that when he gets tired
of dealing with flakes, he should contact you.

It may not be uncommon, it may be within the seller's rights, but that really
does not make it the right thing to do or present the seller as a
straight-shooter (which is what I was reporting). My point here is that, after
this kind of behavior, I would not buy from this person as I do not believe
that I can trust his future actions.

For those who believe this that I have defamed the seller, this is something
the seller has done to himself by virtue of his own behavior. I merely report
facts and offer my opinion. Readers are, of course, able to draw their own...

wrote:

I don't think what the guy did was unethical but its also not uncommon
for these sorts of hardball tactics to backfire. Lots of email
inquiries does not necessarily mean lots of motivated buyers WITH
MONEY. By trying to play buyers off of each other, you run a big risk
of alienating the serious ones and stand a good chance of winding up
with a high offer from some goofball who can't come up with the dough
when its time to pay.

My advice? Tell the guy your offer stands, and that when he gets tired
of dealing with flakes, he should contact you.

David White wrote:
It may not be uncommon, it may be within the seller's rights, but
that really
does not make it the right thing to do or present the seller as a
straight-shooter (which is what I was reporting). My point here is
that, after
this kind of behavior, I would not buy from this person as I do not
believe
that I can trust his future actions.

For those who believe this that I have defamed the seller, this is
something
the seller has done to himself by virtue of his own behavior. I
merely report
facts and offer my opinion. Readers are, of course, able to draw
their own...

This was an awfully shrill hissy fit for you to throw if your only
point is that this guy is "not a straight-shooter." I think your
whining says more negative things about you than about him. You can't
trust him? He was pretty up-front with you, if I look at how you told
the story. I'd say that YOU are the one that can't be trusted. I
certainly wouldnt want to deal with you. If I ****ed and cried on RBM
every time a deal fell through... well, I just wouldnt, because it
would be beneath me.

Why dont you go write "Gustafson sucks" on a bathroom wall? It would
be just as cathartic and less defamatory.

"Velo Psycho" writes:

David White wrote:
It may not be uncommon, it may be within the seller's rights, but
that really does not make it the right thing to do or present the
seller as a straight-shooter (which is what I was reporting). My
point here is that, after this kind of behavior, I would not buy
from this person as I do not believe that I can trust his future
actions.

For those who believe this that I have defamed the seller, this is
something the seller has done to himself by virtue of his own
behavior. I merely report facts and offer my opinion. Readers are,
of course, able to draw their own...

This was an awfully shrill hissy fit for you to throw if your only
point is that this guy is "not a straight-shooter." I think your
whining says more negative things about you than about him. You
can't trust him? He was pretty up-front with you, if I look at how
you told the story. I'd say that YOU are the one that can't be
trusted. I certainly wouldnt want to deal with you. If I ****ed
and cried on RBM every time a deal fell through... well, I just
wouldnt, because it would be beneath me.

Why dont you go write "Gustafson sucks" on a bathroom wall? It
would be just as cathartic and less defamatory.

Jeez, having a bad day, there, VP? Or are you the seller in question?
Your overreaction is what seems shrill and hissy- far more so than
David White's statements. You might disagree with David and you might
have rational and well-thought out grounds for it. But your posts
seem, frankly, to be living up to your screen name.

Gotta agree with David on this one........guys a shady seller. If he wants
to run and auction; post the item on E-bay and pay the appropriate fees.
Otherwise, sell the item for your advertised price like most others on this
board. Better yet, if you're gonna try and get every last penny out of the
item and must use the bulletin board, then list it as "best offer" by a
certain date.

Thanks for the heads up David!!


"Velo Psycho" wrote in message
ups.com...

David White wrote:
It may not be uncommon, it may be within the seller's rights, but
that really
does not make it the right thing to do or present the seller as a
straight-shooter (which is what I was reporting). My point here is
that, after
this kind of behavior, I would not buy from this person as I do not
believe
that I can trust his future actions.

For those who believe this that I have defamed the seller, this is
something
the seller has done to himself by virtue of his own behavior. I
merely report
facts and offer my opinion. Readers are, of course, able to draw
their own...

This was an awfully shrill hissy fit for you to throw if your only
point is that this guy is "not a straight-shooter." I think your
whining says more negative things about you than about him. You can't
trust him? He was pretty up-front with you, if I look at how you told
the story. I'd say that YOU are the one that can't be trusted. I
certainly wouldnt want to deal with you. If I ****ed and cried on RBM
every time a deal fell through... well, I just wouldnt, because it
would be beneath me.

Why dont you go write "Gustafson sucks" on a bathroom wall? It would
be just as cathartic and less defamatory.

I would have taken a selling price of the stated price/OBO to mean a
maximum of the stated price. Around here the OBO means the best offer
if lower than the stated price. I would not have offered any more than
the stated price under any circumstances.

David White wrote:
It may not be uncommon, it may be within the seller's rights, but that
really does not make it the right thing to do or present the seller as a
straight-shooter (which is what I was reporting). My point here is that,
after this kind of behavior, I would not buy from this person as I do
not believe that I can trust his future actions.

For those who believe this that I have defamed the seller, this is
something the seller has done to himself by virtue of his own behavior.
I merely report facts and offer my opinion. Readers are, of course, able
to draw their own...

Dave, if the ad said "$1250" then it would be slimy to accept someone's
offer and then back out. But if it said "or best offer" the seller was
within his purview to accept higher offers unless you had already paid him.

It looks to me like you really wanted that bike and the price was too good
to be true. No worries mate, it will come again.

tom

"David White" wrote in message
...
Nice talk. Like that was invited by anything said by anyone on this
thread. Perhaps the "Psycho" is significant here.

Sure, it said OBO. However, we read and lexically interpret English left
to right (perhaps you do not). The word "or" signifies either the first
thing OR the other thing. I offered the first thing and the lexical
analysis stops there. Anyhow, how many people really believe that the
seller meant "$1275 or more money if you want to pay that"? In
classifieds, OBO is always construed to mean "I will consider less than
the published asking price if things come to that".

Regards your previous posting rant:

(a) I never said anything about a "contract" or suing anyone. I am not
getting legal here. I am simply letting people know that if someone is
slimey in handling offers given at their requested (and fair) value, they
may be slimey in other ways too - why take the risk?

(b) This was NOT someone offering to essentially "give" something away of
huge value for a pittance. I was NOT trying to take advantage of a country
bumpkin as you suggest. The ad clearly states, "too many bikes make for
angry spouses" as the reason for selling. This is NOT someone who
inherited a bike and is getting rid of it without first having done their
homework. This is someone who ownes several bikes at least and clearly
knows what he is doing - backing away from a clearly stated offer in hopes
of squeezing a few more dollars. Perhaps this is the seller's right but
that does not make it RIGHT!

(c) The asking price was NOT unreasonable. I just almost purchased nearly
the same item for $275 less a week ago (also on RBR - see bleow). So check
EBay and other sources and you will see that this was no give-away or even
a swinging-great deal. It was a good price, not out of line with the
recent marketplace.

(d) Here is an excerpt from my email exchange with another seller of the
same bike/size (slightly different components) a week earlier on RBR, "I
would suggest calling soon. I am up until 10 PM and up early by 6:30. I
have several very interested parties. I fear I have priced this too low.
Oh well, the bike that I just bought was a bargain, so it all balances
out." Here is a person of integrity and dignity. This is the kind of
person we'd all hope to transact business with. He could have easily
turned his RBR ad into an auction. But he did not!


Velo Psycho wrote:

David White wrote:

You may want to beware of Curt Gustafson ) of

Truckee, CA as

he is not the most square dealer you might wish to encounter. I am

not saying

he is dishonest but he sure is slimy.

The other evening, he posted a complete bike for sale on Road Bike

Review. I

was lucky enough to see it just after posting. It was a bike I have

been

seeking at a price I was willing to pay. I immediately offered to buy

the bike.

I accepted his description as honest and complete (there were no

photos). My

only question was "Please let me know how to contact you via phone

and we can

work out payment and shipping to Seattle". I also gave Curt my phone

number as

a symbol of my sincerity.

After waiting all day for a return email or a call, I finally get an

email.

Here is what Curt says, "Wow, that's a quick decision...I have gotten

several

offers to buy the bike already... I don't want to sound overly

mercenary, or

turn this into an eBay auction, but with this much activity the first

day, I

think I might want to give the ad a week before I make a decision."

So here is a guy who sets a price, gets his price quickly and without


reservation. He then decides to try and squeeze the buyer for more

money.

Someone capable of this kind of behavior would seem capable of

anything. So beware.


David,

You lose... the ad says $1275/OBO. "OBO" means "or best offer." Was
your offer the "best offer?" No? Then shut the **** up.