Parallels to hookup sites

[AirmaxUK]

Many words have been written on our frustrations with how people act on the hookup apps:  More flakes than a bowl of Raisin Bran. 

Recently I've advertised a motorcycle for sale on eBay, Autotrader, MCN and Facebook Marketplace. 

I was struck by the parallels:

• First enquiry was someone trying to scam me into giving personal details out including c/card. 
• Second enquiry was from someone dead keen, but then ghosted after the initial message. 
• Third one was a guy who wanted lots and lots of detailed photos - and when I obliged he said it was "too far to travel". 
• Fourth guy was again really interested and wanted to visit to do the deal but couldn't commit to a date/time. 
• Fifth one was again a  first initial message but then ghosted. 
• Number six arranged to come and view the bike but never showed up. I called to see if he was having difficulty finding me, and he claimed he'd visited and I hadn't answered the door.  (I was actually in the front yard so I would have seen him if he showed up) 
• The latest showed up today but with only *half* the money - and his negotiation tactic was that the cash machine ran out of money and would only give him this much so I should accept that as his offer because he came 'all this way'. 

All strangely familiar... I guess it's just human nature or me getting grumpy and intolerant in my middle age. 

The other option is of course to trade-in at a dealer or use a service like webuyanybike.com - where you get roughly 60p on the £1 for what it's worth. That feels like paying to get fucked!

Rant over. Normal service is resumed.  

[SpectreAgent]

“Trade” and “dealer” sound like things you might encounter on some hook up sites, too.

Definite parallels…

[BootmanLA]

50 minutes ago, AirmaxUK said:

Many words have been written on our frustrations with how people act on the hookup apps:  More flakes than a bowl of Raisin Bran. 

Recently I've advertised a motorcycle for sale on eBay, Autotrader, MCN and Facebook Marketplace. 

I was struck by the parallels:

• First enquiry was someone trying to scam me into giving personal details out including c/card. 
• Second enquiry was from someone dead keen, but then ghosted after the initial message. 
• Third one was a guy who wanted lots and lots of detailed photos - and when I obliged he said it was "too far to travel". 
• Fourth guy was again really interested and wanted to visit to do the deal but couldn't commit to a date/time. 
• Fifth one was again a  first initial message but then ghosted. 
• Number six arranged to come and view the bike but never showed up. I called to see if he was having difficulty finding me, and he claimed he'd visited and I hadn't answered the door.  (I was actually in the front yard so I would have seen him if he showed up) 
• The latest showed up today but with only *half* the money - and his negotiation tactic was that the cash machine ran out of money and would only give him this much so I should accept that as his offer because he came 'all this way'. 

All strangely familiar... I guess it's just human nature or me getting grumpy and intolerant in my middle age. 

The other option is of course to trade-in at a dealer or use a service like webuyanybike.com - where you get roughly 60p on the £1 for what it's worth. That feels like paying to get fucked!

Rant over. Normal service is resumed.  

My (limited) experience selling things on various sites (both local and global) has been similar - especially for those looking to haggle. I think that's partly because people view these listings as virtual garage sales where people are more trying to get rid of junk they don't need instead of actually selling something with intrinsic value. They go in with the notion of bargaining you down no matter how cheap the item is.

I've decided that if I sell things that way again, either it's going to be "price firm; bargainers will be blocked", or else I'm going to advertise hours where the merchandise and I will be outside from X to Y on Z date, first come, first sold, and bring a book out with me or whatever.

[PozBearWI]

1 hour ago, AirmaxUK said:

Many words have been written on our frustrations with how people act on the hookup apps:  More flakes than a bowl of Raisin Bran. 

Recently I've advertised a motorcycle for sale on eBay, Autotrader, MCN and Facebook Marketplace. 

I was struck by the parallels:

• First enquiry was someone trying to scam me into giving personal details out including c/card. 
• Second enquiry was from someone dead keen, but then ghosted after the initial message. 
• Third one was a guy who wanted lots and lots of detailed photos - and when I obliged he said it was "too far to travel". 
• Fourth guy was again really interested and wanted to visit to do the deal but couldn't commit to a date/time. 
• Fifth one was again a  first initial message but then ghosted. 
• Number six arranged to come and view the bike but never showed up. I called to see if he was having difficulty finding me, and he claimed he'd visited and I hadn't answered the door.  (I was actually in the front yard so I would have seen him if he showed up) 
• The latest showed up today but with only *half* the money - and his negotiation tactic was that the cash machine ran out of money and would only give him this much so I should accept that as his offer because he came 'all this way'. 

All strangely familiar... I guess it's just human nature or me getting grumpy and intolerant in my middle age. 

The other option is of course to trade-in at a dealer or use a service like webuyanybike.com - where you get roughly 60p on the £1 for what it's worth. That feels like paying to get fucked!

Rant over. Normal service is resumed.  

I can relate.  I have a flat on Zillow for rent.  I get people wanting to rent when their net income is LESS than what I am renting the place for.  Or they are looking because their landlord booted their ass out  for non payment; and think I will even bother to discuss a lease.  Or they say one thing and I get a true credit report only to find their actual income is a fraction of their stated income and debt up the wazzoo..  Seriously I don't even understand why they bother except to give me practice in declining their request for a walk through.  

OR

I take some time to create a profile on Scruff.  I actually answer the questions many ask.  I date my posts so they know I didn't write my diatribe six years ago....  But every damned day I get some dunderhead who clearly is incapable of reading with understanding ask me inane questions I've answered including context. 

OR 

I have a car on the market right now and assholes want to work around my agreement with the posting site and mail me a check (which is damned near certain to be fraudulent).  Always with come cock and ball story about some stupid family matter that requires us to work around the stated sales structure on the site....  

As @viking8x6 now firmly believes, I take regular curmudgeon pills (it would seem).  

Rant accepted and understood @AirmaxUK

[AlB]

1 hour ago, AirmaxUK said:

Many words have been written on our frustrations with how people act on the hookup apps:  More flakes than a bowl of Raisin Bran. 

Recently I've advertised a motorcycle for sale on eBay, Autotrader, MCN and Facebook Marketplace. 

I was struck by the parallels:

• First enquiry was someone trying to scam me into giving personal details out including c/card. 
• Second enquiry was from someone dead keen, but then ghosted after the initial message. 
• Third one was a guy who wanted lots and lots of detailed photos - and when I obliged he said it was "too far to travel". 
• Fourth guy was again really interested and wanted to visit to do the deal but couldn't commit to a date/time. 
• Fifth one was again a  first initial message but then ghosted. 
• Number six arranged to come and view the bike but never showed up. I called to see if he was having difficulty finding me, and he claimed he'd visited and I hadn't answered the door.  (I was actually in the front yard so I would have seen him if he showed up) 
• The latest showed up today but with only *half* the money - and his negotiation tactic was that the cash machine ran out of money and would only give him this much so I should accept that as his offer because he came 'all this way'. 

All strangely familiar... I guess it's just human nature or me getting grumpy and intolerant in my middle age. 

The other option is of course to trade-in at a dealer or use a service like webuyanybike.com - where you get roughly 60p on the £1 for what it's worth. That feels like paying to get fucked!

Rant over. Normal service is resumed.  

I firmly believe that the median IQ is declining … rapidly.  Any of us who have raised children recognize the behavior you describe as that of an undeveloped brain, a teenaged or college age boy for example who “reasons” something absurd and is surprised when someone of actual intelligence doesn’t fall for it.  Curmudgeon?  Maybe.  Realist?  Cynic?  Certainly!  Gullible?  Not on your life!

Edited July 18 by AlB

[BootmanLA]

6 hours ago, AlB said:

I firmly believe that the median IQ is declining … rapidly.  Any of us who have raised children recognize the behavior you describe as that of an undeveloped brain, a teenaged or college age boy for example who “reasons” something absurd and is surprised when someone of actual intelligence doesn’t fall for it. 

Actually, I think quite a few of the people trying these stunts are pretty sharp, and it's the people who fall for them whose IQ is, shall we say, closer to room temperature than a heat wave.

Not defending the scammers in the slightest, but dismissing them as underdeveloped brains - when there are people who DO fall for it - seems a little odd.

[ellentonboy]

I used both Bradenton, Fl and Sarasota, FL newspapers  to assist my dying father in 2018 to sell what may be called “collectibles” . We posted both photos and detailed descriptions, everything from a stain glassed parrot a roommate from Key West gave my Dad when he drove down to see me in the 90s to a giant, I mean huge Japanese sword my father managed to steal from the site of a train wreck where military members had died in 1945 (to this day I don’t know how he got away with it). My father, using “walkers” would allow total strangers into his house as he placed his home phone number in the adds. I actually walked in on several of these transactions and he had a bunch of “crap” to sell. At the age of 91, he wasn’t budging and many would say “thank you for your service” but it did them no good, he wasn’t  going to budge on the prices he had posted. PRICE IS NON-NEGOTIABLE and he meant it. I took great pride in him when his 1960s bedroom set (the kind that was solid wood) did not get the price he wanted, so he up and donated it to Habitat for Humanity and they were thrilled to pick it up and take it away. He had a GM SUV that had maybe 50K miles on it, and when no one would pay what he was asking, he donated it to a Methodist Church that was close-by. My father was a lot of things (sticky fingers if you know what I mean) but he never would allow anyone to take advantage of him, even in his advanced age and illness. He would rather give it to a worthy cause than let someone try to barter and try to wear him down just to get some cash.   I now have things I am considering selling off, and from what I have read in this thread I think I will adopt my Dad’s attitude, if I don’t get the price I want, I will donate it. To this day, I can’t believe people would try to take advantage of an elderly, dying man, but they did. In the end, he had the last laugh.

[onlyraw]

I look at the “try and sell it myself” v “trading it in at the dealer” as what is my time worth?

as I am still working full time I treasure my time off and don’t want to waste it getting aggravated by bargain hunters 

when I retire and have more time … maybe I will find it worth my while to spend the time selling it myself… but for now - the lower price and faster process is worth my time 

given time I could probably come up with an a comparison to looking for sex but Fiordland now I will leave it at that …,.😉