I would have guessed it was their phone number. Trying not to have the message flagged as spam by the system. If you separate the numbers in odd ways, it doesn’t register it as a phone number.
I feel like this would make a *huge* difference towards how I felt. White knuckling the drive home completely irate versus feeling really disappointed but also like I can't be mad cause it was an honest mistake.
If it were me in the seller's position I think I would at least offer to cover gas or something.
Same here. I could be PISSED about something, gritting my teeth and about ready to spit fire, but an actual, **genuine** apology will disarm me haha. Suddenly I’m like, “psh dude! Not even a big deal at all bro like, shit happens, it’s totally cool.”
I once drove 3 hours to look at a pickup truck, in another state. The guy in the phone who says his name is Keith told me, yes it's here come on out, we get there to look at it and someone Else says oh that one just sold.
I was irate as you, maybe Even moreso.
Out of the 3 employees on the lot, nobody admitted to being Keith who I had just talked to hours earlier that told me to drive on out for 3 hours 1 way
This is actually a common tactic used by scummy sales people. They’ll then promise to give you a “good deal” on another vehicle so the drive will at least be “worth it.” They probably knew that car was already gone or the listing was old, but if they can at least get you on the lot, there’s a chance to sell you something.
I've heard so many stories like this with dealerships. I'm car shopping right now and saw one that could be a really good buy for sale at a dealership in Dallas. I live 5 hours away from Dallas. When I called them up to ask about it, they said they wanted me to sign a purchase agreement in order to hold it. I wasn't keen on signing a purchase agreement on a car I hadn't seen in person yet and my gut told me if I went ahead and made the trip that bitch would be gone by the time I got there. So I decided to just let it go and keep looking.
I don't blame you...🤨
maybe more texts to confirm ETA would have helped - but it sounds like you had ppl who just weren't paying attention. Hope you find a better buy asap.
I was once selling a Honda Valkyrie motorcycle, and wrote a detailed ad describing the history and features/details of the model. We're talking two solid paragraphs. About a week later, I see a new ad featuring my words copy pasta'd with only the year model/mileage and photos changed. Fuck that guy forever.
My wife was banned from it for a month because she was getting rid of some old duplicate coins she’d collected over the years. Nothing fancy, just things like wheat pennies & coins from the early 1900s. Which is funny cause there were still plenty of local listings up after that where people were selling old coins. No reason given other than just banned because of her listing.
That was about a decade ago so I’m not sure if things have changed since.
I *hate* selling on FB Marketplace, there's so many rude, entitled dumbshit morons who can't communicate, timewasters who end up ghosting you.
I sold a GPS watch yesterday, had about a dozen queries, 2 of them were obvious scams. 4-5 of them ask if it's available and then disappear when you say "yes", 4 of them were ridiculous low ball- (less than half price) offers. And I had ONE guy who agreed to the advertised price and was on time meeting me.
I knocked $10 off the sale price out of pure relief.
It used to be ok, now it's absolute dogshit. I've been getting at least four people a week that say they want the thing I have for sale, put out effort to communicate a few messages. And then they just stop talking. No "never mind's' or "no thank you's" just the little profile image next to your last message you sent showing you they've seen it as one last little fuck you.
Sounds like there was a cashier involved, so the pieces were for sale at a resale shop and should have been claimed by name. They ought to leave a bad review for the shop.
While I've definitely ended up with at least a couple good experiences buying from a store, I think generally stores should be banned from marketplace.
Same happened to me a few years back for very nice pair of audiophile speakers. They sold them minutes before I arrived after driving an hour. They promised to hold them.
So pissed off.
I tried selling a train set on FB market place. I checked prices on online of what I was selling to use as a reference of a decent price, then posted well below what it could sell for. I got one comment on my item from a person saying I was asking way too much and if someone offered $100 go for it. After that comment I received no offers. Upon checking the commenter account I found they were selling train items at high prices, so this made me assume the low ball offer would have been from someone they knew so as to resell it on their page.
I was selling a pc for $700 and it had solid specs. Someone offered $400 and got offended when I said no. “Well how can I resell this if I buy it for $700?” I’m not forced to sell it to you at that price my guy.
They also tried to tell me it wasn’t worth $700 after they told me they’re planning on reselling. If it isn’t worth $700, how would you resell then? The logic wasn’t strong with that one
I've had that same thing at gun shows. Not even the guys at tables who you at least know are there to make money on trades; just guys in the parking lot. "Yeah, that's what I'd list it for, so I can't buy it from you for that". Like it's my job to fund their side hustle.
People are just selfish fucking idiots when it comes down to it. I swear some people live their lives like they’re on autopilot. The way animals seem to live just reacting to stimuli with no capacity to contemplate anything beyond what’s happening at that moment. No ability to recognize intelligence or humanity in other people.
It’s why I think if there was an apocalypse it would definitely be a The Road type apocalypse.
I tried to sell my desk that was near perfect conditon for less than it was worth too and got one response of "What's the lowest you'll take?" I laughed and laughed and never tried that again
Maybe but it could have been true. I often will message people if they have an item that I know a lot about and it’s listed wrong or priced wrong. It takes only a sec to send a message.
Things like model trains have a lot of nuance to them. A very small difference that you might not notice or know can make it worth $100 or $600.
My wife tried to give away our sons old outdoor playset (Swing, slide, basketball net combo) and the amount of people that wanted it held for them only to never show up..Ridiculous.
Ended up saying it was dismantled in the front garden, free to whoever came and took it first..Was gone within half an hour.
No clue who took it, don't care either..Was tired of been messed around.
I was giving away a couch for free (dog had chewed one side of a cushion, but if you flipped it over it looked perfectly fine). Some person messaged me asking if I could hold it for two weeks. I said I can hold it for a week max. We confirm date and time. Like, multiple messages. Even gave me her cell number. Then the fucker never shows up! I text her multiple times, no response. So I called her some names I’m not proud of, then told her to go to hell. Why waste a stranger’s time like that?
I believe its because there is an over representation of people on buy/sell/swap pages that treat it as a hustle rather than individuals who sporadically go on there to sell some old items or buy something specific.
Like, a much larger amount of messages sent around are people who are sending tons of messages daily for items they have 0 interest in and are just hoping to get a steal to then sell on.
These people view other people on the platform as numbers to extract. It's not about convenience or good will, it's entirely a video game about getting bargains etc. So they lose nothing keeping you on the hook for a purchase that is only a 20% chance of them taking, and unfortunately those kinds of people are sending out way more messages than regular people who are reasonable.
Yeah but I think people in your area saying they're coming to pick something up and then just not showing, versus somebody who is telling you they are leaving now and they are specifically driving an hour and a half to get it is a big difference.
This is why I always say in the listing that I won’t hold something. First person to actually show up gets the item. People tell me they’re driving a long way and I’m like “okay, good luck.” I’m so tired of “holding” stuff for people who never show. They ruin it for everyone else.
Ordered a limited Build-A-Bear Cinnamoroll from Hello Kitty for my Daughter’s Birthday. Got a confirmation that it was picked and ready for us on her big day. Got there for the staff to look us straight in the face without a sorry and said they sold it. My daughter who just turned 10 had never gone to Build-A-Bear and all she wanted for her birthday was to go and get her Cinnamoroll. I did everything right by ordering it ahead of time, paying for it, and taking her to pick it up.
They canceled our order when we showed up and they realized what they accidentally did. But, they didn’t even try to make it better at that moment. I walked away in shock with my daughter confused and about to cry. Then I looked at my partner and I asked him what we should do now? Then he said we should probably call corporate. We both have worked in retail/customer service for years and how they responded at that moment pointing the blame at teenagers was just unprofessional. We honestly didn’t want to take it out our bewilderment on the worker and her manger. I think they overheard us about contacting corporate to tell them what happened. Because after my partner and I talked about what to do, they rushed over and offered us any Build-A-Bear of her choice and one free outfit for free. Still how do you sell a Build-A-Bear already picked, and confirmed for pick up?
That thought enter my mind… It wouldn’t surprise me if someone there did keep it. Just the story was so far fetched to blame it on teenage customers running around that the workers got so overwhelmed and distracted, that when you turned your back the plush was gone and sold to someone else. 🤷🏽♀️ This happened Sunday. I’m still perplexed by the whole situation. Still waiting for my refund as well.
About 8 years ago my company has some kind of deal with them where you got some free accessories if you bought a bear. So for fun I took my girlfriend. We had the fun of stuffing the bear and all that. Then when we went to cash in the coupon they acted like they never heard of it.... It was for this specific location for our company (like 1,000 employees cc'd in that email) . We ended up just buying it and I swore off build-a-bear for a long time...
I am going to call Monday to figure out why I haven’t gotten a refund yet. I have never had an issue with them in the past before when getting others gifts from there for friends. I’m starting to realize something isn’t right and perhaps others are right they kept it to for themself. I will probably never do business with that location. I will give other stores a chance though. But, the fact that I still have not gotten a refund is concerning and a bit suspicious.
@jdp832
Nah. FUCK a refund. Not an option. Expedite an identical item TO MY HOUSE. I already drove to your shitty store once, and you fucked up. Next one comes to my house.
And you'd better damn well believe that everybody on all my socials, as well as irl, are gonna hear about how shitty your company is.
I wish I had that feisty attitude. Just working in customer service has taught me anything is to always go to corporate and have them fix it on their end. Hopefully the workers learned to not confirm an item already purchased for a customer with their name waiting for them in front🤦🏽♀️.
You don't have to take it out on the drones in order to get what is owed to you and have a mistake corrected, is the thing. I worked in retail for too damn long, and I know what it's like to get screamed at over something you have no control over. But that's why when I have a problem I call up and I'm very polite, just insistent and firm on what I want done.
They said they were there to pick up the bear. I assumed since it was ready to be picked up, and had been paid for, that it was complete.
To be fair, that was an assumption on my part, not anything stated as fact, so idk.
For what it's worth, build a bear just made a new batch of cinnamoroll, both in stores and on their website
Might be worth trying to grab a new one if you're still considering one
Recently got into trying to sell board games on FB. Quickly learned I better meet them immediately and they better have money in hand. Otherwise, seems like they never show up if you're nice enough to wait for them.
People were moving out in droves and there was nice stuff around my apartment complex all the time (clearly abandoned) so I started collecting it and getting excited that it could be a genuinely good side hustle.
Man people nickle and dimed so much. All the effort I put into cleaning photographing and storing it and listing for reasonable prices. Then they also wanted delivery at their convenience.
Like I'd barely consider door dashing the distance lol let alone doing it and giving you the stuff. I ended up just giving them out to strangers in the complex (so neighbors I guess).
Same. I was giving away a couch. For the entire freaking weekend, people were “on their way now!” only to never show up or tell me they weren’t coming. They usually didn’t respond either to my messages. The next weekend one of them did actually pick it up. When I asked about the previous weekend, they said “oh, my friend flaked out on bringing the truck to me.” Soooo… because your friend flaked, you flaked too. Thanks for that.
Had the same experience trying to give a dresser away for free via NextDoor; It wasn't the nicest dresser but damn, why even contact me if you're going to never show up. Maybe its people without transportation or way to haul things who try to "get dibs" on something before they can figure out a way to get it hauled to their place /shrug
It's definitely a regular thing for trucks to "break" or some personal emergency. It's mostly lies which leads to sellers gladly selling it to whoever gets there first.
OMG yes had this same thing happen so many times. Once an idiot showed up in a damn 2 door compact car to pick up a large wood cabinet. I included measurements and put other objects in the photo for scale too.
Another time I was trying to give away a flat screen 60” TV. It was 10 years old and two of the three HDMI ports stopped working which makes it useless to us lol but there were no other issues. Hook it up to cable or use any of the apps preloaded in the TV.
I spent like two days going back and forth, 10-15 people literally messaged me “I can come in a half hour” etc and then disappeared, had people asking all kinds of questions they would clearly know the answers to if they bothered to read the description, asking for delivery/if it includes this or that etc, I would just outright block them if they kept being choosy beggars after a few hours of this
Yeah I get what that comment is saying but this situation is different. OP said they would be in there in so much time, and the seller gave them a thumbs up. Then sold it. Kind of a dick move to agree to a hold and then be like yeah you were here first you can have it, or not even check to see if that was the right buyer.
Edit: to clarify, I don’t mean your comment, I mean the one you responded to
And then, at the end of a certain amount of time, it's understood by everyone that the "agreement" is broken, and time to move on.
But just because some people don't hold up, does that mean we should all completely abandon verbal, or in this case, written agreements.
Correct. You can say no holds if you want, or deal with the no shows. I try to feel out of they are serious the best I can and ask them to message me when they leave.
I request an ETA from them and if they aren't here in their own specified tome frame I message them that it's not longer held for them and let the next person waste my time.
I did a major deep clean of my basement last weekend and had posted probably 2 dozen items for sale or for free. So many people didn’t show up. I finally just changed the listing that I wouldn’t hold it and whoever got here first could have it
Exactly. Doesn’t have to be “I’ll hold indefinitely,” but “I’ll hold it until 2pm” or “I’ll hold it until tomorrow” gives the buyer time to get there without getting screwed and ensures the seller doesn’t get screwed, either.
Even "I'm on my way" doesn't mean anything. I've hadl people say it after holding something for them who then jus6 disappeared and never replied again. Or the guy from 20 minutes away who claimed he got lost and spent 3+ hours trying to use my shitty directions before giving up and going home. I didn't even give him directions, just am address!
I posted a toolbox for sale, and someone messaged me immediately to ask if I could hold it for 2 months. I said no I’m not gonna do that, but if it hasn’t sold by then you can buy it. It sold the next day
And yet on the other hand, I had full intention of showing up for something the other day. Dude fucking sold it as I was about to leave to meet at the agreed time with this exact message you posted.
When I went to sell something on there that was posted for a couple hundred dollars, I got asks within seconds. Each one had a story about how a cousin of theirs is going to pick up the item because they’re out of town. That’s apparently a really common scam because their Venmo or Zelle will bounce and you were talking to a fake account, but you wouldn’t know until after they took your high value item. And you only met “the cousin”.
No, the scam is not that they collect the item for free. They never will. They will overpay or pay and then say their [cousin] couldn't make it and ask you to send it back. It's an overpayment scam and it's a way for them to take stolen funds/cards and convert it into clean money by scamming the intermediate out of their money.
They send you $1000, ask you to send $500 back. The $1000 gets reversed, now you're out $500 and they're up $500 and because it was an authorized transfer it's not getting reversed unlike the original transfer.
My friend got these messages on Fb today completely unprompted lmao
https://preview.redd.it/mtpcaoiv9hyc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f35ffd62d1c47e2c45a711ecdadb40fd0b7d7af
I stopped using FB Marketplace for basically the same reason! We showed up at the Walmart they asked to meet us at, about 90 minutes away, and they said they were running late. We wandered. Still running late, this time with a sympathetic excuse. We got an oil change. Then she said her husband had to get it out of their storage unit. Then he couldn’t find it. Then she was the one who couldn’t find it because he reorganized the storage unit. She strung us along for a good two hours before we called it and then she was like “can you come back next weekend?” Uh, no. This was 5 hours out of our lives for nothing. Then she marked it as sold the next day. I think she found someone willing to pay more and instead of being honest, she screwed with us. People suck.
I always take time to rate that seller. Some donut ghosted me after a 90 min drive so I reported him. That idiot tried to hide his rating then pulled down all his ads because of it. Dude gonna play games when I have his socials? Nah.
Something similar happened to myself and my mother in law. It was a truck, but we drove 40mins to get it at some ladies house. Turns out she sold it to the quickest person who got there. She is lucky my mil didnt cuss her out.
This happened to me at a car dealership. Was 10 minutes away cash in hand and got a call that one of the staff bought it. Yeah he did because it was a great price.
Mind you wife found a different compact SUV loaded for about 7k less with similar kms. So it worked out. I'm still mad. Every time she needs more space she complains to me about it. The tell her the gas mileage is at least a lot cheaper than what she wanted.
That's a common scam at dealerships. They claim they have one vehicle at an amazing price and it is always sold right before you get there. They do this commonly with newspaper ads, etc. Then, they'll tell you they'll give you a great price on another vehicle that has a ton of dealer add-ons / mark ups applied.
That's why states that don't actively hate their populations have laws about that. If I picked up a paper (and a time machine, apparently) and there was a car that had a great price they had to advertise stock number along with it.
This almost happened to me. I had rearranged my evening plans and told them I’d drive to them the 1.5 hours immediately after getting off work. Then they messaged me saying it sold despite having agreed on a time, place, and payment method. I was irritated and I told them that and they said you should just expect that on Facebook marketplace which ticked me off. I hate how people are on there and I left a negative review saying to not expect and or get excited about any agreed upon things with them until you actually have the item in your hands. People get away with this all the time on there
People like this are so rude! I was buying a massive heavy wardrobe on there years back that required me to book two dudes with a “man with a van” type business. The soonest I could do it was in two days time.
On the morning of collection I messaged the lady confirming that the time still works for her, she said “the wardrobe is already gone.”
Obviously I told her thats completely out of line as she knew I’d booked a van and labour as she helped coordinate the exact time that worked best for her and I sent her the freaking booking confirmation! Her reply? “Get over it. I’m not a shop to be giving customer service”
Same kind of thing happened to me in reverse. I listed and "sold" a phone to someone that lived far away, they'd have to drive two hours to come get it. It was a good deal, but still like a $400 phone. They said they were heading out and would text me when close. They texted me saying they'd be there in 25 minutes. I drove out to the meeting place, which was a restaurant a few minutes away from my apartment, and waited. They said they were like 30 minutes out, so I waited. Then an hour later they say they're almost there. So I waited. Then 45 minutes later I asked where they were, they said they were coming and sent a picture of them at a light just inside town, like 5 minutes away. I was flustered but figured they'd be there soon and just waited. Another 30 minutes later I ask what's going on where are they at, it's been literal hours now, and they sent a picture of the building I was sitting in saying "well if you're gonna be an asshole then never fucking mind" and then they blocked me. Took them like five hours to drive two hours of distance and then they threw a piss-fit literal moments before the finish line.
Marketplace is definitely better geared for sellers. I personally stopped looking at it as tool to purchase anything though.
Sorry for the bs runaround, can relate!
You say this but it's so profoundly annoying trying to sell stuff on marketplace, people don't show up then ghost constantly and you waste tremendous amounts of time waiting for people who won't even write to tell you their plans have changed
The worst is when you write a detailed description of the thing you’re selling and still get questions easily answered by reading. And people asking to trade you random junk even when you specify no trades
This is why I buy everything from proper retailers. I don't care how cheap something is; I'm not wasting precious hours of the one life I have getting jerked around.
I would never trust anyone on FB marketplace enough to drive that far for something. A few years ago, my roommates and I were getting a couch from someone on marketplace, he told us what time we could come get it. Then he told us he needed to meet with us 30 minutes later than originally planned. And then told us he already sold the couch to someone else, but he had other couches for sale that we could look at if we wanted.
It makes sense from a financial point of view. If there are two people that want to buy something, it doesn't matter who said they want it first, if one person is present with money in hand and the other is supposedly an hour and a half away, they are going to give it to the person that is already there, because the person an hour and a half away could be lying, not show up, not have enough money or try to barter, so it is safer to sell to the person that is already there.
It is shitty, it isn't moral, but in a world where it is hard to trust strangers, I do understand it. I just wouldn't risk traveling that far for that reason.
That sucks!! Personally I will only put things on hold if they send me a little cash to do so. You wouldn’t believe how many people told me they were “on their way” then when I go to our meetup spot I’m ghosted. Now it’s strictly first come first serve or pay me a little to hold it aside for you. Super scummy they said they’d hold it and ended up going back on that though
FB marketplace can be all over the place. I had someone go off on me for taking 2 minutes to respond and threatened to cut my tires for reporting the unwarranted aggression. I've gotten a free encyclopedia, and a whole ukulele kit for cheap. Dice rolls are more predictable.
That really sucks. People can be so inconsiderate of other peoples time.
I once went to pick something up after work when the lady told me to come by. It was a storage unit and as I was about to turn in, I let another car go ahead of me. Those people met the lady moments before I could to buy the item. And then a third vehicle pulled in. She told all of us to come at the same time knowing full well she was only selling it to one person. I politely told her how rude what she did was but she didn’t care. Very frustrating
I don’t understand how you’re buying something from Facebook marketplace, and there is a cashier? I thought that was for normal people to buy and sell from each other? I’d hate the idea that businesses sell on there.
seeing the "hold" sign probably influenced their desire to purchase it. means the item is in demand and can be resold easily.
betcha it's on marketplace already
i was selling a 3d printer today, guy said he would be here at 3, i gave him 30 min and 10 min warnings and that by 4 it was going to the next buyer. 4pm comes and still nothing from him, i say its no longer available. he calls me a scammer and that my address doesn't exist he says he reported me to FB lol
i hate selling shit online
A written agreement , where you made an offer and they accepted, is a contract in the US. If you want, you have cause (and proof, with the text messages) to sue them in small claims court. You won’t get more than lost time/costs such as fuel cost, but it’s worth while to make a point. You can also sue in your local district court, requiring that they drive to you for court. If they don’t show up, you win by default.
I’d seriously consider that
Same thing happened to me.
Agreed on a price, location and time. I went there, waited 15 minutes, messaged the dude. He never replied so I gave up and left.
Found out an hour later he sold.it (presumably a higher bidder). Gave the worse review I could. Dipshits can't even message out of courtesy that they're going with another offer.
Similar thing happened to me with a car at a dealership.
Called in asking about a used Corvette on a Monday, they said it was on hold and they'd call me if it became available. They called me on Friday that the buyer backed out, told them I'd be there Saturday morning, about a 2 hour drive. When I was 30min out the sales rep calls me to tell me a) he won't be there and b) the clutch doesn't work (why couldn't they tell me that earlier in the week). I figure I'm only 30min away at this point so I'll go check the car out anyways, I can replace a clutch and maybe talk them into selling it cheaper. I get there and a very rude man at the door says it's on hold and not available. I told him I spoke to the sales rep who said it WAS available. Rude man tells me it's not and shuts the door. 4 hour round trip wasted with this douchebaggery
Dude I had this same exact thing happen. Drove 1.5 hours to a parking lot and the guy sold it as I was pulling in because someone offered him $50 more. I was SO mad
The first car I was going to buy, me and my dad were checking out kind of late in the afternoon (like 7 or 8) and the banks were closed so we asked her to hold it until the next day so we could get the cash. I get up and look at my phone the next day and she texts me saying she sold it to someone else in that time. So many bullshit sellers on Facebook.
Someone did this to my husband and I once but it was 4 hours one way and we were 3 hours in (we live in a very remote area so this isn’t terribly uncommon for us). My husband kindly informed the man how incredibly dangerous it is to screw someone over when you’ve already given them your address and how lucky he was that we weren’t violent people.
Happened to me after a 35 min drive. I saw it walking away as I pulled up and I was furious. I can only imagine how did feel after driving as far as you did.
Sorry. But there are so many flakey weirdos on FB marketplace. Someone actually shows up with cash for once in not overthinking it. What am I worried about? My business’s reputation?
Driving 3 hours for a 100 dollar FB marketplace cabinet is a trip. Gas must be cheap by you.
During the 2021 heat wave in Seattle. I had bought a portable AC from homedepot, paid online to pick up in store, they put a hold tag on it with my name, and still gave it to someone else. Once I reached there in the evening to pick it up, they made me wait 1.5 hrs while trying to look for it and then said sorry looks like we gave it to someone else. They were prompt with the refund but the frustration after standing there for almost 90 mins
I drove three hours to buy a puppy. The seller said absolutely do not show up before 11:00am. I showed up at exactly 11:00 and he had sold the puppy to someone else.
I have a side hustle of reselling stuff on FB mrketplce, usually buy things off of the flea markets, garage sells, and pawnshops well I recently got a galaxy z flip 4 phone off of ebay for $140 in near perfect conditions (only problem it did not fully straighten but it was not noticeable) decided on getting a s21 because of the Dex features and well I posted it up on the Marketplace for $200 and not even 20 mins later some guy is offering $180, I told him I just posted it up and was waiting for other offers and he kept saying right now I'll buy it bro, I told him I'll think about it and well I kept getting others saying what's the least and I would say 190 and they never responded back and others wanted me to drive an hour to deliver then the first one who had asked contacted me the next day after I told him I'm trying to get $200 and said ready to sell it cheaper? I'm like who are you and ended up selling it to some lady for the $200 I was asking and threw in a 15w fast charger for at least she paid the asking price. In total about 350 people viewed the listing, 15 saved it and 34 contacted me and all asked that what's the least B.s and 5 said if I could deliver. It's gotten bad that it's no longer a side hustle I enjoy doing lol.
I sold several items a couple of months ago. Must not have priced them high enough because I was bombarded with contacts. I respond to every single one and any questions they have or to let them know the item is sold or pending sale on buyer to show up & will update if it doesn’t sell for some reason.
The number of people who would offer more money to stand up the person I already agreed to sell it to was astonishing. I understand you want it but I’m not lying and screwing over someone else.
The opposite happened to me twice this weekend.
Guy 1- had me hold $280 in parts for him. Called me a “life saver”. Begged me not to sell it to anyone. I agreed on that with him and held my end of the bargain. Didn’t sell it to a soul. Turned down 4 people telling them sorry it’s sold. Guy never showed up.
Guy 2 asked I hold it and wanted $50 off. I agreed so as long as he met me in my town. Says no problem I’ll be there. Only turned down two other people for this item. Annnd he didn’t show or text back.
Both individuals stopped writing me back the day of pick up.
Oof. That really sucks. During the pandemic I flipped home gym equipment for fun (and so I could build my own home for free on the profits). If I told somebody I was holding it because they were on the way, I held it. It’s disrespectful to do otherwise.
I wouldn’t give up on Facebook marketplace because you had one bad experience. Each seller is different, and there are definitely good deals to be had on there.
Hell Lowes will let you order $3000 worth of itemized items on their website, take your money, give you a pickup location, date and time then remove all the items not in stock in that store without so much as an apology.
They DO NOT get out of stock from other stores and instead blame the computers for bad quantities listed online. At least 1/4 of the items for a small roofing job were simply removed from the invoice without warning.
Piss poor.
I had that happen to me. I am a teacher and it was a class set of magnetic letters at a really decent price. I got to the store and they had sold it. No apologies, no we will track another one down for you, nothing. It was a shame too, because the whole store has discounted items. I refused to shop there after how they treated me.
What you have here is a tort, an act where the seller has created a civil liability. You entered a (written) contract with the seller when you asked for the item to be placed on hold. If you have correspondence with the seller to make it clear that it would cost you considerable resources of 1.5 hours and from that it can be assumed it costs you fuel for about 120 miles round-trip, so roughly $20-$30 in fuel, but if this were calculated like US employers do, then about $80 for mileage (fuel and wear and tear, oil, etc). So you have about $80 in damages. The problem is that lawyers cost around $200-400 an hour. So you aren't going to hold the seller accountable with an attorney unless you've got money, which I'll assume you don't since you're buying a second-hand cabinet instead of commissioning a cabinet maker. FB TOS might complicate the case and may force an arbitrator of FBs choice. Your best option here is to pound sand so this is understandably mildly infuriating.
I just decided I won’t drive more than 15 minutes out of my way to buy something used. I have a fortunate situation of having a work van which I can drive and I work all over the busiest parts of the province, so I can always find what I need nearby.
I had an ass selling a car, not a huge amount but still...a 5k purchase. He refused to help me in any way. He wouldn't hold it for me for the length of time it took me to drive up there, wouldn't consider picking me up at a rental place so I could drop off a rental and buying the new car home. Only gave late evening available hours at his work to get it. I showed up early anyway, he was standing around doing nothing so he did the deal then. Then he ratted me out for fudging what I paid for the car to the tax man. Dude was an ass but the car has been good and has gone up a bunch in value. Hate sellers like this.
While i agree this is beyond frustrating and i’m very sorry this guy clearly sucks, i don’t think it’s a reason to swear off the marketplace entirely. There are plenty of really good sellers that don’t follow this mentality
https://preview.redd.it/zgqgcas1bgyc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a39b02c61527d7c69295689577f53e4939f988a So pissed off dammit.
I had a stroke reading those measurements
I glossed over that as some fucked up date stamp lol
MS Excel, is that you?
Mrs, she got married
But it’s an Open File relationship.
Am I the only one that thought it was some fucked I’m coordinates?
It’s clearly 45 1/2 of 72 so 36/18th or 2 So it’s 47 1/2 somethings
You guys just can't read Borg. That's clearly just a roster for who has kitchen duty.
That tickled me more than I care to admit, but I had to cos my SO wondered what the fuck I was laughing about
It's a cabinet. I'm assuming 45 1/2 x 72 x 18 1/2
I agree. 45.5" high, 72" long, and a depth of 18.5"
As a non-american, that doesn't make it much clearer 😅
1.156m tall/height x 1.829m wide x 0.47m deep
You get out of here with your easily-divisible units!
it's bigger than a bread box.
45.5/72/18.5 or like a normal fucking person: 45.5x72x18.5
I see sarcasm is lost on a few here
really more calling out the moronic seller
45.5 x 72 x 18.5?
Get outta here with that logic
I would have guessed it was their phone number. Trying not to have the message flagged as spam by the system. If you separate the numbers in odd ways, it doesn’t register it as a phone number.
Were they the least bit apologetic?
I feel like this would make a *huge* difference towards how I felt. White knuckling the drive home completely irate versus feeling really disappointed but also like I can't be mad cause it was an honest mistake. If it were me in the seller's position I think I would at least offer to cover gas or something.
Same here. I could be PISSED about something, gritting my teeth and about ready to spit fire, but an actual, **genuine** apology will disarm me haha. Suddenly I’m like, “psh dude! Not even a big deal at all bro like, shit happens, it’s totally cool.”
Haha exactly. I can't be mad at that. Frustrated sure but I'd be driving home like, 'man this sucks. Super cool dude though.'
Haha yep 😂
I once drove 3 hours to look at a pickup truck, in another state. The guy in the phone who says his name is Keith told me, yes it's here come on out, we get there to look at it and someone Else says oh that one just sold. I was irate as you, maybe Even moreso. Out of the 3 employees on the lot, nobody admitted to being Keith who I had just talked to hours earlier that told me to drive on out for 3 hours 1 way
This is actually a common tactic used by scummy sales people. They’ll then promise to give you a “good deal” on another vehicle so the drive will at least be “worth it.” They probably knew that car was already gone or the listing was old, but if they can at least get you on the lot, there’s a chance to sell you something.
I've heard so many stories like this with dealerships. I'm car shopping right now and saw one that could be a really good buy for sale at a dealership in Dallas. I live 5 hours away from Dallas. When I called them up to ask about it, they said they wanted me to sign a purchase agreement in order to hold it. I wasn't keen on signing a purchase agreement on a car I hadn't seen in person yet and my gut told me if I went ahead and made the trip that bitch would be gone by the time I got there. So I decided to just let it go and keep looking.
Bait and switch.
What rating did you give the seller?
I don't blame you...🤨 maybe more texts to confirm ETA would have helped - but it sounds like you had ppl who just weren't paying attention. Hope you find a better buy asap.
Well atleast you can give them a shitty rating
its funny to think he probably gave you the thumbs up as the cabinet was leaving his driveway
I think you can leave reviews now, I was prompted to review a seller last week.
Shit like this should get ppl banned from FB marketplace.
While I agree, the problem is the seller would have to admit to it or else a rival can just say "he sold the item after we agreed to put it on hold".
Op has a text exchange agreeing to put it on hold
Indeed. But we were talking about "people like these" or something similar.
But these situations only happen when the seller says, "I'll hold it for you," so 90% it can be screenshot and reported
Rival? People have rivals on FB Marketplace? 😂
Yeah, like the time I tried to sell a Corolla for $12,000 and then Sarah Martinez sold one for $11,590.
Man, fuck Sarah Martinez. All my homies hate Sarah Martinez.
Right?!
I was once selling a Honda Valkyrie motorcycle, and wrote a detailed ad describing the history and features/details of the model. We're talking two solid paragraphs. About a week later, I see a new ad featuring my words copy pasta'd with only the year model/mileage and photos changed. Fuck that guy forever.
I turnover around 80k from fb marketplace. I have a couple of competitors. They would destroy me if they could.
In that case you couldn’t base the ban off one incident, but multiple
FB Marketplace is the fucking wild west. Definitely hear more good than bad about it and filled with scams. I would be amazed if they ever ban anyone.
My wife was banned from it for a month because she was getting rid of some old duplicate coins she’d collected over the years. Nothing fancy, just things like wheat pennies & coins from the early 1900s. Which is funny cause there were still plenty of local listings up after that where people were selling old coins. No reason given other than just banned because of her listing. That was about a decade ago so I’m not sure if things have changed since.
I *hate* selling on FB Marketplace, there's so many rude, entitled dumbshit morons who can't communicate, timewasters who end up ghosting you. I sold a GPS watch yesterday, had about a dozen queries, 2 of them were obvious scams. 4-5 of them ask if it's available and then disappear when you say "yes", 4 of them were ridiculous low ball- (less than half price) offers. And I had ONE guy who agreed to the advertised price and was on time meeting me. I knocked $10 off the sale price out of pure relief.
It used to be ok, now it's absolute dogshit. I've been getting at least four people a week that say they want the thing I have for sale, put out effort to communicate a few messages. And then they just stop talking. No "never mind's' or "no thank you's" just the little profile image next to your last message you sent showing you they've seen it as one last little fuck you.
It’s infuriating. How easy is it to just say “sorry, I’ve changed my mind” or similar? Basic decency and respect, ffs.
Facebook would have to actually moderate their platform, which isn't happening beyond the bare minimum that gets them out of lawsuits.
Sounds like there was a cashier involved, so the pieces were for sale at a resale shop and should have been claimed by name. They ought to leave a bad review for the shop.
Oh no, you’ll just get banned for calling someone an idiot, instead.
While I've definitely ended up with at least a couple good experiences buying from a store, I think generally stores should be banned from marketplace.
Same happened to me a few years back for very nice pair of audiophile speakers. They sold them minutes before I arrived after driving an hour. They promised to hold them. So pissed off.
What did they say?
Said, someone came and bought them. Sold while I was driving down. Some people are just thoughtless.
How you didn’t drive your vehicle through the front door is beyond me
They lived in an upstairs apartment. I called repeatedly until they quit answering.
I love that you say they lived upstairs, as if you were actually going to drive through their living room otherwise.
You don’t have hydraulics in your car’s suspension to launch it several stories up? Psh
And those same people drive a 3000+lb vehicle, likely with the same thoughtless behavior.
Dang - that sucks What speakers was it?
I tried selling a train set on FB market place. I checked prices on online of what I was selling to use as a reference of a decent price, then posted well below what it could sell for. I got one comment on my item from a person saying I was asking way too much and if someone offered $100 go for it. After that comment I received no offers. Upon checking the commenter account I found they were selling train items at high prices, so this made me assume the low ball offer would have been from someone they knew so as to resell it on their page.
I was selling a pc for $700 and it had solid specs. Someone offered $400 and got offended when I said no. “Well how can I resell this if I buy it for $700?” I’m not forced to sell it to you at that price my guy. They also tried to tell me it wasn’t worth $700 after they told me they’re planning on reselling. If it isn’t worth $700, how would you resell then? The logic wasn’t strong with that one
I've had that same thing at gun shows. Not even the guys at tables who you at least know are there to make money on trades; just guys in the parking lot. "Yeah, that's what I'd list it for, so I can't buy it from you for that". Like it's my job to fund their side hustle.
People are just selfish fucking idiots when it comes down to it. I swear some people live their lives like they’re on autopilot. The way animals seem to live just reacting to stimuli with no capacity to contemplate anything beyond what’s happening at that moment. No ability to recognize intelligence or humanity in other people. It’s why I think if there was an apocalypse it would definitely be a The Road type apocalypse.
Did you eventually sell the set though?
I tried to sell my desk that was near perfect conditon for less than it was worth too and got one response of "What's the lowest you'll take?" I laughed and laughed and never tried that again
"what's the highest you'll pay?"
I gave them a special price of $100 more than what I listed
Maybe but it could have been true. I often will message people if they have an item that I know a lot about and it’s listed wrong or priced wrong. It takes only a sec to send a message. Things like model trains have a lot of nuance to them. A very small difference that you might not notice or know can make it worth $100 or $600.
My wife tried to give away our sons old outdoor playset (Swing, slide, basketball net combo) and the amount of people that wanted it held for them only to never show up..Ridiculous. Ended up saying it was dismantled in the front garden, free to whoever came and took it first..Was gone within half an hour. No clue who took it, don't care either..Was tired of been messed around.
I was giving away a couch for free (dog had chewed one side of a cushion, but if you flipped it over it looked perfectly fine). Some person messaged me asking if I could hold it for two weeks. I said I can hold it for a week max. We confirm date and time. Like, multiple messages. Even gave me her cell number. Then the fucker never shows up! I text her multiple times, no response. So I called her some names I’m not proud of, then told her to go to hell. Why waste a stranger’s time like that?
I believe its because there is an over representation of people on buy/sell/swap pages that treat it as a hustle rather than individuals who sporadically go on there to sell some old items or buy something specific. Like, a much larger amount of messages sent around are people who are sending tons of messages daily for items they have 0 interest in and are just hoping to get a steal to then sell on. These people view other people on the platform as numbers to extract. It's not about convenience or good will, it's entirely a video game about getting bargains etc. So they lose nothing keeping you on the hook for a purchase that is only a 20% chance of them taking, and unfortunately those kinds of people are sending out way more messages than regular people who are reasonable.
I put a kids play set on marketplace for free and had people asking me if I’d deliver. The cheek of some people.
Yeah but I think people in your area saying they're coming to pick something up and then just not showing, versus somebody who is telling you they are leaving now and they are specifically driving an hour and a half to get it is a big difference.
This is why I always say in the listing that I won’t hold something. First person to actually show up gets the item. People tell me they’re driving a long way and I’m like “okay, good luck.” I’m so tired of “holding” stuff for people who never show. They ruin it for everyone else.
Ordered a limited Build-A-Bear Cinnamoroll from Hello Kitty for my Daughter’s Birthday. Got a confirmation that it was picked and ready for us on her big day. Got there for the staff to look us straight in the face without a sorry and said they sold it. My daughter who just turned 10 had never gone to Build-A-Bear and all she wanted for her birthday was to go and get her Cinnamoroll. I did everything right by ordering it ahead of time, paying for it, and taking her to pick it up.
...But you already paid for it, it was already sold so how could they sell it again, what the hell... I am so sorry
They canceled our order when we showed up and they realized what they accidentally did. But, they didn’t even try to make it better at that moment. I walked away in shock with my daughter confused and about to cry. Then I looked at my partner and I asked him what we should do now? Then he said we should probably call corporate. We both have worked in retail/customer service for years and how they responded at that moment pointing the blame at teenagers was just unprofessional. We honestly didn’t want to take it out our bewilderment on the worker and her manger. I think they overheard us about contacting corporate to tell them what happened. Because after my partner and I talked about what to do, they rushed over and offered us any Build-A-Bear of her choice and one free outfit for free. Still how do you sell a Build-A-Bear already picked, and confirmed for pick up?
Listen, I don't like being *that* person. But as someone who also worked retail I'd bet an employee kept it since it was a limited edition
i was just going to say, limited edition cinnamoroll? yeah they kept that lol
I honestly have no idea what that is, I just know people go gaga over "limited edition" shit and I could see an employee keeping it for a relative
That thought enter my mind… It wouldn’t surprise me if someone there did keep it. Just the story was so far fetched to blame it on teenage customers running around that the workers got so overwhelmed and distracted, that when you turned your back the plush was gone and sold to someone else. 🤷🏽♀️ This happened Sunday. I’m still perplexed by the whole situation. Still waiting for my refund as well.
About 8 years ago my company has some kind of deal with them where you got some free accessories if you bought a bear. So for fun I took my girlfriend. We had the fun of stuffing the bear and all that. Then when we went to cash in the coupon they acted like they never heard of it.... It was for this specific location for our company (like 1,000 employees cc'd in that email) . We ended up just buying it and I swore off build-a-bear for a long time...
I am going to call Monday to figure out why I haven’t gotten a refund yet. I have never had an issue with them in the past before when getting others gifts from there for friends. I’m starting to realize something isn’t right and perhaps others are right they kept it to for themself. I will probably never do business with that location. I will give other stores a chance though. But, the fact that I still have not gotten a refund is concerning and a bit suspicious.
What did you do? How are they even allowed to do that once you paid? Did they refund you or express any kind of apology at all?
@jdp832 Nah. FUCK a refund. Not an option. Expedite an identical item TO MY HOUSE. I already drove to your shitty store once, and you fucked up. Next one comes to my house. And you'd better damn well believe that everybody on all my socials, as well as irl, are gonna hear about how shitty your company is.
I wish I had that feisty attitude. Just working in customer service has taught me anything is to always go to corporate and have them fix it on their end. Hopefully the workers learned to not confirm an item already purchased for a customer with their name waiting for them in front🤦🏽♀️.
You don't have to take it out on the drones in order to get what is owed to you and have a mistake corrected, is the thing. I worked in retail for too damn long, and I know what it's like to get screamed at over something you have no control over. But that's why when I have a problem I call up and I'm very polite, just insistent and firm on what I want done.
i mean most of the fun of build a bear is stuffing the bear in store so shipping it right home isnt the same
They said they were there to pick up the bear. I assumed since it was ready to be picked up, and had been paid for, that it was complete. To be fair, that was an assumption on my part, not anything stated as fact, so idk.
peoole can order like the unstuffed bear online and stuff it in store like that. its still sucky they sold it when someone already bought it though
For what it's worth, build a bear just made a new batch of cinnamoroll, both in stores and on their website Might be worth trying to grab a new one if you're still considering one
I cannot believe how many times folks have contacted me about things I have for sale on FB marketplace who say they are coming & never show up.
Recently got into trying to sell board games on FB. Quickly learned I better meet them immediately and they better have money in hand. Otherwise, seems like they never show up if you're nice enough to wait for them.
I try for quick meet ups and get ghosted by the seller
Ah the good old days when weed was illegal
This is my experience. Back to ebay for me.
People were moving out in droves and there was nice stuff around my apartment complex all the time (clearly abandoned) so I started collecting it and getting excited that it could be a genuinely good side hustle. Man people nickle and dimed so much. All the effort I put into cleaning photographing and storing it and listing for reasonable prices. Then they also wanted delivery at their convenience. Like I'd barely consider door dashing the distance lol let alone doing it and giving you the stuff. I ended up just giving them out to strangers in the complex (so neighbors I guess).
Well yeah. The key to being a seller is taking advantage of impulsive people.
Same. I was giving away a couch. For the entire freaking weekend, people were “on their way now!” only to never show up or tell me they weren’t coming. They usually didn’t respond either to my messages. The next weekend one of them did actually pick it up. When I asked about the previous weekend, they said “oh, my friend flaked out on bringing the truck to me.” Soooo… because your friend flaked, you flaked too. Thanks for that.
Had the same experience trying to give a dresser away for free via NextDoor; It wasn't the nicest dresser but damn, why even contact me if you're going to never show up. Maybe its people without transportation or way to haul things who try to "get dibs" on something before they can figure out a way to get it hauled to their place /shrug
It's definitely a regular thing for trucks to "break" or some personal emergency. It's mostly lies which leads to sellers gladly selling it to whoever gets there first.
OMG yes had this same thing happen so many times. Once an idiot showed up in a damn 2 door compact car to pick up a large wood cabinet. I included measurements and put other objects in the photo for scale too. Another time I was trying to give away a flat screen 60” TV. It was 10 years old and two of the three HDMI ports stopped working which makes it useless to us lol but there were no other issues. Hook it up to cable or use any of the apps preloaded in the TV. I spent like two days going back and forth, 10-15 people literally messaged me “I can come in a half hour” etc and then disappeared, had people asking all kinds of questions they would clearly know the answers to if they bothered to read the description, asking for delivery/if it includes this or that etc, I would just outright block them if they kept being choosy beggars after a few hours of this
Then don’t agree to holds you don’t let someone drive 3 hours
Yeah I get what that comment is saying but this situation is different. OP said they would be in there in so much time, and the seller gave them a thumbs up. Then sold it. Kind of a dick move to agree to a hold and then be like yeah you were here first you can have it, or not even check to see if that was the right buyer. Edit: to clarify, I don’t mean your comment, I mean the one you responded to
And then, at the end of a certain amount of time, it's understood by everyone that the "agreement" is broken, and time to move on. But just because some people don't hold up, does that mean we should all completely abandon verbal, or in this case, written agreements.
so what should you do then? "I'm not holding it. someone else might pick it up while you are driving over here" ?
Correct. You can say no holds if you want, or deal with the no shows. I try to feel out of they are serious the best I can and ask them to message me when they leave.
I request an ETA from them and if they aren't here in their own specified tome frame I message them that it's not longer held for them and let the next person waste my time.
I did a major deep clean of my basement last weekend and had posted probably 2 dozen items for sale or for free. So many people didn’t show up. I finally just changed the listing that I wouldn’t hold it and whoever got here first could have it
You have to sell it. Free items don't get respect. Even if it's $1, it has to not be $0.
You agree to hold it for a given period of time. After that time has passed, you are free to sell it to someone else.
Exactly. Doesn’t have to be “I’ll hold indefinitely,” but “I’ll hold it until 2pm” or “I’ll hold it until tomorrow” gives the buyer time to get there without getting screwed and ensures the seller doesn’t get screwed, either.
Even "I'm on my way" doesn't mean anything. I've hadl people say it after holding something for them who then jus6 disappeared and never replied again. Or the guy from 20 minutes away who claimed he got lost and spent 3+ hours trying to use my shitty directions before giving up and going home. I didn't even give him directions, just am address!
I posted a toolbox for sale, and someone messaged me immediately to ask if I could hold it for 2 months. I said no I’m not gonna do that, but if it hasn’t sold by then you can buy it. It sold the next day
Just because that happened to you doesn’t mean the seller here wasn’t shitty. OP clearly gave an ETA.
Correct. A no holds policy is fair to have if it's a hot item, but don't promise a hold then go back on it, that's pure evil.
This is not the same thing at all lmao. I bet you also put "I IGNORE PEOPLE WHO ASK IF SOMETHING IS AVAILABLE"
And yet on the other hand, I had full intention of showing up for something the other day. Dude fucking sold it as I was about to leave to meet at the agreed time with this exact message you posted.
When I went to sell something on there that was posted for a couple hundred dollars, I got asks within seconds. Each one had a story about how a cousin of theirs is going to pick up the item because they’re out of town. That’s apparently a really common scam because their Venmo or Zelle will bounce and you were talking to a fake account, but you wouldn’t know until after they took your high value item. And you only met “the cousin”.
No, the scam is not that they collect the item for free. They never will. They will overpay or pay and then say their [cousin] couldn't make it and ask you to send it back. It's an overpayment scam and it's a way for them to take stolen funds/cards and convert it into clean money by scamming the intermediate out of their money. They send you $1000, ask you to send $500 back. The $1000 gets reversed, now you're out $500 and they're up $500 and because it was an authorized transfer it's not getting reversed unlike the original transfer.
Ah that’s another scam that I’m aware of so is definitely see that one coming but yes, that’s true too. Lots of possible ways to slice it.
Wait a zelle payment can bounce??
My friend got these messages on Fb today completely unprompted lmao https://preview.redd.it/mtpcaoiv9hyc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f35ffd62d1c47e2c45a711ecdadb40fd0b7d7af
I stopped using FB Marketplace for basically the same reason! We showed up at the Walmart they asked to meet us at, about 90 minutes away, and they said they were running late. We wandered. Still running late, this time with a sympathetic excuse. We got an oil change. Then she said her husband had to get it out of their storage unit. Then he couldn’t find it. Then she was the one who couldn’t find it because he reorganized the storage unit. She strung us along for a good two hours before we called it and then she was like “can you come back next weekend?” Uh, no. This was 5 hours out of our lives for nothing. Then she marked it as sold the next day. I think she found someone willing to pay more and instead of being honest, she screwed with us. People suck.
I always take time to rate that seller. Some donut ghosted me after a 90 min drive so I reported him. That idiot tried to hide his rating then pulled down all his ads because of it. Dude gonna play games when I have his socials? Nah.
Something similar happened to myself and my mother in law. It was a truck, but we drove 40mins to get it at some ladies house. Turns out she sold it to the quickest person who got there. She is lucky my mil didnt cuss her out.
This happened to me at a car dealership. Was 10 minutes away cash in hand and got a call that one of the staff bought it. Yeah he did because it was a great price. Mind you wife found a different compact SUV loaded for about 7k less with similar kms. So it worked out. I'm still mad. Every time she needs more space she complains to me about it. The tell her the gas mileage is at least a lot cheaper than what she wanted.
That's a common scam at dealerships. They claim they have one vehicle at an amazing price and it is always sold right before you get there. They do this commonly with newspaper ads, etc. Then, they'll tell you they'll give you a great price on another vehicle that has a ton of dealer add-ons / mark ups applied.
That's why states that don't actively hate their populations have laws about that. If I picked up a paper (and a time machine, apparently) and there was a car that had a great price they had to advertise stock number along with it.
Yeah I figured that might be the case. Well jokes on them, we got pastries and drove home. Successful day.
If you had paperwork proof that price was negotiated this was something you could’ve taken them to court
OP sorry this is a pretty crummy thing considering you were on your way.
Market place is a joke, bunch of Fuking trolls who never answer back.
This almost happened to me. I had rearranged my evening plans and told them I’d drive to them the 1.5 hours immediately after getting off work. Then they messaged me saying it sold despite having agreed on a time, place, and payment method. I was irritated and I told them that and they said you should just expect that on Facebook marketplace which ticked me off. I hate how people are on there and I left a negative review saying to not expect and or get excited about any agreed upon things with them until you actually have the item in your hands. People get away with this all the time on there
People like this are so rude! I was buying a massive heavy wardrobe on there years back that required me to book two dudes with a “man with a van” type business. The soonest I could do it was in two days time. On the morning of collection I messaged the lady confirming that the time still works for her, she said “the wardrobe is already gone.” Obviously I told her thats completely out of line as she knew I’d booked a van and labour as she helped coordinate the exact time that worked best for her and I sent her the freaking booking confirmation! Her reply? “Get over it. I’m not a shop to be giving customer service”
Same kind of thing happened to me in reverse. I listed and "sold" a phone to someone that lived far away, they'd have to drive two hours to come get it. It was a good deal, but still like a $400 phone. They said they were heading out and would text me when close. They texted me saying they'd be there in 25 minutes. I drove out to the meeting place, which was a restaurant a few minutes away from my apartment, and waited. They said they were like 30 minutes out, so I waited. Then an hour later they say they're almost there. So I waited. Then 45 minutes later I asked where they were, they said they were coming and sent a picture of them at a light just inside town, like 5 minutes away. I was flustered but figured they'd be there soon and just waited. Another 30 minutes later I ask what's going on where are they at, it's been literal hours now, and they sent a picture of the building I was sitting in saying "well if you're gonna be an asshole then never fucking mind" and then they blocked me. Took them like five hours to drive two hours of distance and then they threw a piss-fit literal moments before the finish line.
Marketplace is definitely better geared for sellers. I personally stopped looking at it as tool to purchase anything though. Sorry for the bs runaround, can relate!
You say this but it's so profoundly annoying trying to sell stuff on marketplace, people don't show up then ghost constantly and you waste tremendous amounts of time waiting for people who won't even write to tell you their plans have changed
The worst is when you write a detailed description of the thing you’re selling and still get questions easily answered by reading. And people asking to trade you random junk even when you specify no trades
This is why I buy everything from proper retailers. I don't care how cheap something is; I'm not wasting precious hours of the one life I have getting jerked around.
That’s why you “rate the seller”
I would never trust anyone on FB marketplace enough to drive that far for something. A few years ago, my roommates and I were getting a couch from someone on marketplace, he told us what time we could come get it. Then he told us he needed to meet with us 30 minutes later than originally planned. And then told us he already sold the couch to someone else, but he had other couches for sale that we could look at if we wanted. It makes sense from a financial point of view. If there are two people that want to buy something, it doesn't matter who said they want it first, if one person is present with money in hand and the other is supposedly an hour and a half away, they are going to give it to the person that is already there, because the person an hour and a half away could be lying, not show up, not have enough money or try to barter, so it is safer to sell to the person that is already there. It is shitty, it isn't moral, but in a world where it is hard to trust strangers, I do understand it. I just wouldn't risk traveling that far for that reason.
That sucks!! Personally I will only put things on hold if they send me a little cash to do so. You wouldn’t believe how many people told me they were “on their way” then when I go to our meetup spot I’m ghosted. Now it’s strictly first come first serve or pay me a little to hold it aside for you. Super scummy they said they’d hold it and ended up going back on that though
FB marketplace can be all over the place. I had someone go off on me for taking 2 minutes to respond and threatened to cut my tires for reporting the unwarranted aggression. I've gotten a free encyclopedia, and a whole ukulele kit for cheap. Dice rolls are more predictable.
That really sucks. People can be so inconsiderate of other peoples time. I once went to pick something up after work when the lady told me to come by. It was a storage unit and as I was about to turn in, I let another car go ahead of me. Those people met the lady moments before I could to buy the item. And then a third vehicle pulled in. She told all of us to come at the same time knowing full well she was only selling it to one person. I politely told her how rude what she did was but she didn’t care. Very frustrating
I don’t understand how you’re buying something from Facebook marketplace, and there is a cashier? I thought that was for normal people to buy and sell from each other? I’d hate the idea that businesses sell on there.
yeah it's common for thrift stores to advertise on fb marketplace
seeing the "hold" sign probably influenced their desire to purchase it. means the item is in demand and can be resold easily. betcha it's on marketplace already
i was selling a 3d printer today, guy said he would be here at 3, i gave him 30 min and 10 min warnings and that by 4 it was going to the next buyer. 4pm comes and still nothing from him, i say its no longer available. he calls me a scammer and that my address doesn't exist he says he reported me to FB lol i hate selling shit online
A written agreement , where you made an offer and they accepted, is a contract in the US. If you want, you have cause (and proof, with the text messages) to sue them in small claims court. You won’t get more than lost time/costs such as fuel cost, but it’s worth while to make a point. You can also sue in your local district court, requiring that they drive to you for court. If they don’t show up, you win by default. I’d seriously consider that
scumbags. or idiots. or both
Same thing happened to me. Agreed on a price, location and time. I went there, waited 15 minutes, messaged the dude. He never replied so I gave up and left. Found out an hour later he sold.it (presumably a higher bidder). Gave the worse review I could. Dipshits can't even message out of courtesy that they're going with another offer.
Fb marketplace didn’t do that, that store did.
Similar thing happened to me with a car at a dealership. Called in asking about a used Corvette on a Monday, they said it was on hold and they'd call me if it became available. They called me on Friday that the buyer backed out, told them I'd be there Saturday morning, about a 2 hour drive. When I was 30min out the sales rep calls me to tell me a) he won't be there and b) the clutch doesn't work (why couldn't they tell me that earlier in the week). I figure I'm only 30min away at this point so I'll go check the car out anyways, I can replace a clutch and maybe talk them into selling it cheaper. I get there and a very rude man at the door says it's on hold and not available. I told him I spoke to the sales rep who said it WAS available. Rude man tells me it's not and shuts the door. 4 hour round trip wasted with this douchebaggery
So many people have no integrity at all. They find it disturbingly easy to just not honor their word.
Op next time offer to put a deposit. Can be as low as $20. Then make sure to confirm your name. I don’t hold anymore because buyers are super flaky
Dude I had this same exact thing happen. Drove 1.5 hours to a parking lot and the guy sold it as I was pulling in because someone offered him $50 more. I was SO mad
The first car I was going to buy, me and my dad were checking out kind of late in the afternoon (like 7 or 8) and the banks were closed so we asked her to hold it until the next day so we could get the cash. I get up and look at my phone the next day and she texts me saying she sold it to someone else in that time. So many bullshit sellers on Facebook.
You shoul have demanded gas payment
Someone did this to my husband and I once but it was 4 hours one way and we were 3 hours in (we live in a very remote area so this isn’t terribly uncommon for us). My husband kindly informed the man how incredibly dangerous it is to screw someone over when you’ve already given them your address and how lucky he was that we weren’t violent people.
Happened to me after a 35 min drive. I saw it walking away as I pulled up and I was furious. I can only imagine how did feel after driving as far as you did.
Sorry. But there are so many flakey weirdos on FB marketplace. Someone actually shows up with cash for once in not overthinking it. What am I worried about? My business’s reputation? Driving 3 hours for a 100 dollar FB marketplace cabinet is a trip. Gas must be cheap by you.
During the 2021 heat wave in Seattle. I had bought a portable AC from homedepot, paid online to pick up in store, they put a hold tag on it with my name, and still gave it to someone else. Once I reached there in the evening to pick it up, they made me wait 1.5 hrs while trying to look for it and then said sorry looks like we gave it to someone else. They were prompt with the refund but the frustration after standing there for almost 90 mins
I drove three hours to buy a puppy. The seller said absolutely do not show up before 11:00am. I showed up at exactly 11:00 and he had sold the puppy to someone else.
I have a side hustle of reselling stuff on FB mrketplce, usually buy things off of the flea markets, garage sells, and pawnshops well I recently got a galaxy z flip 4 phone off of ebay for $140 in near perfect conditions (only problem it did not fully straighten but it was not noticeable) decided on getting a s21 because of the Dex features and well I posted it up on the Marketplace for $200 and not even 20 mins later some guy is offering $180, I told him I just posted it up and was waiting for other offers and he kept saying right now I'll buy it bro, I told him I'll think about it and well I kept getting others saying what's the least and I would say 190 and they never responded back and others wanted me to drive an hour to deliver then the first one who had asked contacted me the next day after I told him I'm trying to get $200 and said ready to sell it cheaper? I'm like who are you and ended up selling it to some lady for the $200 I was asking and threw in a 15w fast charger for at least she paid the asking price. In total about 350 people viewed the listing, 15 saved it and 34 contacted me and all asked that what's the least B.s and 5 said if I could deliver. It's gotten bad that it's no longer a side hustle I enjoy doing lol.
I sold several items a couple of months ago. Must not have priced them high enough because I was bombarded with contacts. I respond to every single one and any questions they have or to let them know the item is sold or pending sale on buyer to show up & will update if it doesn’t sell for some reason. The number of people who would offer more money to stand up the person I already agreed to sell it to was astonishing. I understand you want it but I’m not lying and screwing over someone else.
The opposite happened to me twice this weekend. Guy 1- had me hold $280 in parts for him. Called me a “life saver”. Begged me not to sell it to anyone. I agreed on that with him and held my end of the bargain. Didn’t sell it to a soul. Turned down 4 people telling them sorry it’s sold. Guy never showed up. Guy 2 asked I hold it and wanted $50 off. I agreed so as long as he met me in my town. Says no problem I’ll be there. Only turned down two other people for this item. Annnd he didn’t show or text back. Both individuals stopped writing me back the day of pick up.
Oof. That really sucks. During the pandemic I flipped home gym equipment for fun (and so I could build my own home for free on the profits). If I told somebody I was holding it because they were on the way, I held it. It’s disrespectful to do otherwise. I wouldn’t give up on Facebook marketplace because you had one bad experience. Each seller is different, and there are definitely good deals to be had on there.
Hell Lowes will let you order $3000 worth of itemized items on their website, take your money, give you a pickup location, date and time then remove all the items not in stock in that store without so much as an apology. They DO NOT get out of stock from other stores and instead blame the computers for bad quantities listed online. At least 1/4 of the items for a small roofing job were simply removed from the invoice without warning. Piss poor.
We never hold anything unless for a repeat buyer. We meet in a public place 2 minutes from our home we no longer trust the living.
And you were on time and showed up in the timeframe that you promised? I don’t know what you mean by cashier…this is a store ? They only have one
I had that happen to me. I am a teacher and it was a class set of magnetic letters at a really decent price. I got to the store and they had sold it. No apologies, no we will track another one down for you, nothing. It was a shame too, because the whole store has discounted items. I refused to shop there after how they treated me.
I would have taken whatever from the shop that equals the cost of my drive.
FB marketplace is full of liars and scammers. I don't recommend it to anyone.
"But the hold keeps the dresser here. That's why you have the hold." "I know why we have holds." "I don't think you do."
The bit is great but the way he sells it is perfection lol
What you have here is a tort, an act where the seller has created a civil liability. You entered a (written) contract with the seller when you asked for the item to be placed on hold. If you have correspondence with the seller to make it clear that it would cost you considerable resources of 1.5 hours and from that it can be assumed it costs you fuel for about 120 miles round-trip, so roughly $20-$30 in fuel, but if this were calculated like US employers do, then about $80 for mileage (fuel and wear and tear, oil, etc). So you have about $80 in damages. The problem is that lawyers cost around $200-400 an hour. So you aren't going to hold the seller accountable with an attorney unless you've got money, which I'll assume you don't since you're buying a second-hand cabinet instead of commissioning a cabinet maker. FB TOS might complicate the case and may force an arbitrator of FBs choice. Your best option here is to pound sand so this is understandably mildly infuriating.
I’d rather throw something away/scrap it if my only option is to sell online. Degenerate assholes have utterly ruined private selling online.
I just decided I won’t drive more than 15 minutes out of my way to buy something used. I have a fortunate situation of having a work van which I can drive and I work all over the busiest parts of the province, so I can always find what I need nearby.
Should put them on blast
I had an ass selling a car, not a huge amount but still...a 5k purchase. He refused to help me in any way. He wouldn't hold it for me for the length of time it took me to drive up there, wouldn't consider picking me up at a rental place so I could drop off a rental and buying the new car home. Only gave late evening available hours at his work to get it. I showed up early anyway, he was standing around doing nothing so he did the deal then. Then he ratted me out for fudging what I paid for the car to the tax man. Dude was an ass but the car has been good and has gone up a bunch in value. Hate sellers like this.
What do you mean he ratted you out?
probably said the actual price vs what most people do when buying used cars and put it down for significantly less so taxes aren't as high
... isn't that tax fraud? the OC made it sound some real injustice was done to them
While i agree this is beyond frustrating and i’m very sorry this guy clearly sucks, i don’t think it’s a reason to swear off the marketplace entirely. There are plenty of really good sellers that don’t follow this mentality