Ok, I spent the time typing the sermon below before a recent for sale thread got locked.
I'm just gonna leave this here...parties involved will understand.
I was in exactly Joe's position once on the ODT. Brand new member (very nice older gentleman who had never sold anything on the net) posts a VERY desirable collectible gun at a price that was hundreds less than value.
I happened to be online at the time and IMMEDIATELY posted an "I'll take it" in the thread and sent a pm accepting his offer at his price and meet place of his choice.
And then the **** hit the fan. Other members began posting away...some with "great buy man!" (That's ok) and others with higher offers (in the thread) and "pm sent" or even "dude you are selling that too cheap!". My pm to the seller got no response...and I knew that other members had sent higher offers by pm and the guy's inbox was lit up like a Christmas tree. At that point I was pretty disgusted with those members (who in my opinion were acting like Craigslisters or like it was a Gunbroker auction. I was not really upset with OP for not responding or even if he took a higher offer as I was suspecting he had.
The next day I decided to just see if OP would respond so I sent a long pm telling him what I suspected had happened and that I understood if he wanted to sell at higher price but then I explained how our forum was SUPPOSED to work, not like Gunbroker or Craigslist and why negative feedback could hurt his ability to sell on the forum in the future (not that I was really even going to leave NF). I then offered to meet with him and look at condition of gun more closely and if warranted pay a little more for the gun.
He immediately responded and said "how do you know!" and said that since I was the first to respond and had offered to buy at his price that I would get first shot at the gun...and that he was NOT going to respond to the others.
I met him a week later, paid a little more, still got a great deal and made a friend...and left positive feedback.
There are two sides to this story...and I understand both of them.
One is "a deal is a deal and that's that". However, a new member who doesn't understand all the forum rules should get a little slack here imho. Especially when some extenuating circumstances are involved like my seller who was older and selling a collectible gun inherited from his father. Yes, I was first responder and yes I agreed to pay his asking price and I could have insisted he sell at that price but damn who wants to take advantage here?
I think this situation is similar - new member, desirable gun at low price. A quick "I'll take it" in the thread. For me, it's over. I know forum rules say the "I'll take it" means nothing but to me it does. It means the only thing I will do in that situation is to send a pm saying "if your deal with blank doesn't go thru can I be next in line?". To me that is proper etiquette here - not blowing up the thread or his inbox with higher offers and other CL behavior.
Another reason I think the "I'll take it" should be honored is that it avoids exactly what happened here...other members trying to outbid the person who was first in line at the asking price. Now, of course others should be able to get in line either in the thread or by pm...but offering more and trying to undercut the guy who was there first? To me that should get a negative feedback quicker than a new seller getting overwhelmed.
Bottom line is that if the seller truly is selling to fund a kids Christmas...then I will send him the difference between the highest bid and his offering price. Then he can get true value out of his gun, the first responder can get a great deal on a collectible gun and best of all - a kid gets more under the tree.
I get it - it's possible here that someone else sent a pm offering to buy at asking price BEFORE the "I'll take it" and pm sent by joewilly. If so, of course that person is really first in line and seller should have told joewilly so. But a new member may not understand that (if that's what happened here which I doubt). I think someone may have sent a lower than sales price offer that got accepted before the seller even knew about the full price offer closer by...
I just can't get real mad at OP/seller here...and certainly don't think joewilly did anything wrong.
Let's don't let greed over a collectible gun be more important than a kids Christmas...we are better than that.
And if the seller/OP made up the "kids Christmas" story...may he burn in hell!
Sermon complete.
I'm just gonna leave this here...parties involved will understand.
I was in exactly Joe's position once on the ODT. Brand new member (very nice older gentleman who had never sold anything on the net) posts a VERY desirable collectible gun at a price that was hundreds less than value.
I happened to be online at the time and IMMEDIATELY posted an "I'll take it" in the thread and sent a pm accepting his offer at his price and meet place of his choice.
And then the **** hit the fan. Other members began posting away...some with "great buy man!" (That's ok) and others with higher offers (in the thread) and "pm sent" or even "dude you are selling that too cheap!". My pm to the seller got no response...and I knew that other members had sent higher offers by pm and the guy's inbox was lit up like a Christmas tree. At that point I was pretty disgusted with those members (who in my opinion were acting like Craigslisters or like it was a Gunbroker auction. I was not really upset with OP for not responding or even if he took a higher offer as I was suspecting he had.
The next day I decided to just see if OP would respond so I sent a long pm telling him what I suspected had happened and that I understood if he wanted to sell at higher price but then I explained how our forum was SUPPOSED to work, not like Gunbroker or Craigslist and why negative feedback could hurt his ability to sell on the forum in the future (not that I was really even going to leave NF). I then offered to meet with him and look at condition of gun more closely and if warranted pay a little more for the gun.
He immediately responded and said "how do you know!" and said that since I was the first to respond and had offered to buy at his price that I would get first shot at the gun...and that he was NOT going to respond to the others.
I met him a week later, paid a little more, still got a great deal and made a friend...and left positive feedback.
There are two sides to this story...and I understand both of them.
One is "a deal is a deal and that's that". However, a new member who doesn't understand all the forum rules should get a little slack here imho. Especially when some extenuating circumstances are involved like my seller who was older and selling a collectible gun inherited from his father. Yes, I was first responder and yes I agreed to pay his asking price and I could have insisted he sell at that price but damn who wants to take advantage here?
I think this situation is similar - new member, desirable gun at low price. A quick "I'll take it" in the thread. For me, it's over. I know forum rules say the "I'll take it" means nothing but to me it does. It means the only thing I will do in that situation is to send a pm saying "if your deal with blank doesn't go thru can I be next in line?". To me that is proper etiquette here - not blowing up the thread or his inbox with higher offers and other CL behavior.
Another reason I think the "I'll take it" should be honored is that it avoids exactly what happened here...other members trying to outbid the person who was first in line at the asking price. Now, of course others should be able to get in line either in the thread or by pm...but offering more and trying to undercut the guy who was there first? To me that should get a negative feedback quicker than a new seller getting overwhelmed.
Bottom line is that if the seller truly is selling to fund a kids Christmas...then I will send him the difference between the highest bid and his offering price. Then he can get true value out of his gun, the first responder can get a great deal on a collectible gun and best of all - a kid gets more under the tree.
I get it - it's possible here that someone else sent a pm offering to buy at asking price BEFORE the "I'll take it" and pm sent by joewilly. If so, of course that person is really first in line and seller should have told joewilly so. But a new member may not understand that (if that's what happened here which I doubt). I think someone may have sent a lower than sales price offer that got accepted before the seller even knew about the full price offer closer by...
I just can't get real mad at OP/seller here...and certainly don't think joewilly did anything wrong.
Let's don't let greed over a collectible gun be more important than a kids Christmas...we are better than that.
And if the seller/OP made up the "kids Christmas" story...may he burn in hell!
Sermon complete.
