How to Differentiate Genuine Buyers & Sellers? Lets work it out

[trickstop]

There's no buyer/seller ethic or code of conduct to follow. There will always be cases where the buyer doesn't wanna travel so far to buy the item, or the seller wants his item sold but insists that his buyer meets him at some ulu place. You rarely find people who say things like, 'where do you live, i'll drop by your place.'

Things like that happen all the time and both sides win some or lose some; ultimately its what you're willing to do to make the transaction happen. So i would say go with what works for you. If you've had countless bad experiences then by all means be harsh about your style, your buyers should be more than prepared to meet your expecations, given the climate of the buy/sell business that goes on.

Just my 2cents.

 

[theliverevolution]

My thoughts, don't mind me adding in:

I have to agree with what Phil said. The only way to really know whether that person is serious or not is to really trust the person. Most deals I've done so far, be it on SOFT or other forums online, the people we buy and sell with trust each other that everything will go well, that no one is scamming anyone. So far, I've only been stood up once, but I shall save that story only for those who even bother listening. No point smearing a person's name online unless he/she is completely wild.

Also, I feel that implementing a system is too troublesome. James would need to rewrite a lot of code, and no guarantees it would actually work. And even if there is a seperate rating system solely for this, not neccesarily the rating systems would work. I've seen rating systems on some other forum that didn't work. Friends would help friends by boosting ratings and lower points on purpose for people they didn't like, without rhyme or reason. Thankfully SOFT isn't like that, but there's always the question of whether it could be abused

 

[SmFizz]

i think the key is to stay vigilant. all my deals on soft have been rather good so far, havent been stood up once yet..

 

[Phil]

I have decided that I will add those whom I've had good/smooth deals with in my SOFT's friend list.

I don't know effective it will be, probably not too much. But at least it'd be another point of reference for the guys here.

 

[superpotato_30]

phil - u didnt add me after selling me the barber direct drive

 

[theunknown]

so far my deals have been smooth. both parties must be good and understanding la. seller, be honest with the condition of product. dont say condition 9.8 but go ding. i saw before. lazy to pm and start conflict. buyers, do your homework. dont buy squire strat for 1k then after that say seller scam.

oh and my smooth deals people are listed in my signature. hehe.

 

[Phil]

phil - u didnt add me after selling me the barber direct drive

Added! Haha!

 

[dudelove]

hey bob,

this is how i do my deals.

when i deal, no reservations are allowed. the first person who can meet me personally gets it. however, it is also done to my discretion. lets say if someone arranges to meet me later at 8pm. he's the first guy to enquire. another guy asks to meet me at my doorstep at 10pm. i'd still deal with the guy at 10pm.

i also nvr ever allow negotiations. my price is always firm so i have to set to my best price i can give. i do not waste time and msges negotiating a price.

and i get agitated by ppl who love asking lots of questions abt the thing i'm selling. i got a msg asking can i have a picture of that paint chip u mentioned on the pedal?

i guess u cant be a mister nice guy when selling. lotsa kids around here who dont take these stuff seriously.

and i've also noticed that high priced boutique gear dont sell well on soft. sad huh..

all the best with ur sales though.

 

[superpotato_30]

Lol i think most sellers should follow what ep.tjan does.

Reservation? Ok. Downpayment pls

I think thats a good idea to follow. Even if the clown backsout you would still earn

 

[cold_static544]

i'm quite a cautious buyer, so if interested i'll meetup the seller to view his stuff, at his convenience. then take around half to one week to make a decision if im interested. would tell him that can let it go if someone wants to get it during this time.

and when as a seller, i expect the buyer to have the same understanding.

but so far deals on soft have been pretty good, with one or two minor exceptions that is. mostly sincere buyers and sellers.

but of course it just takes one crook for you to lose quite abit of dough !

 

[theunknown]

i hope the sellers can post picture of the items, and better still honestly put all the defects and their pics such as paint chip or dings. this will avoid conflicts like "hey you didnt tell me the ding is this big?!".

and oh a ding is not a 0.2 minus of the rating of 10. haha. i forgot where i saw that. some people really overrate the condition ratings. though there are some who underrate, like a rusty screw means 6/10 condition. haha.

 

[1mband]

The solution to end all problems with reservations? Simple, don't reserve. Like what FGL like to tag in his ads: "first come, first serve".

Look at it in this way: when someone ask you to reserve, this person either has problem with funds/timing, or, he is unwilling to buy.

As a seller, it depends on what you want in your sale: speed? or, highest offer? Our tendency is to reserve the item for someone who offers the highest buying price. But you are allowing the buyer to control your time, i.e. you have to wait for him to get ready his cash/whatever.

For me, I control the price, usually i fixed it, making it non-negotiable.
I control my choice of buyer. And I control the timing, i.e. first come first serve.

The filtering process is actually quite straight-forward:
1) When you name your price, you must know what you're selling.
2) The willing buyers will usually respond fast, willingly leaving their contacts, and responding quickly to your sms. That kind of tell you who's your potential buyers.
3) When someone ask you to reserve, just move on to the next buyer. Provided you price your stuff attractive enough to get some buyers' response.

Be in control, my friends, be in control.

Go for those who are ready and willing to buy from you.