I bought my DP a brand new bed and mattress which was expensive when we lived separately an hour away from each other.
He was made redundant from his job shortly after I’d bought it but found a better one in the town where I lived so stayed at my house most nights before we decided he’d move in with me.
As I already had furniture and a bed we sold lots of his on fb and had the usual nightmare of people wanting us to deliver or arguing about prices.
One man turned up for the microwave and was walking round the house asking for things for free we weren’t selling then asking for things we didn’t even have.
He was getting angry when we said we didn’t have a lamp he wanted or a George Foreman grill (like we were a branch of Argos) and told us his kids would suffer because he’d just separated from his wife and was having them EOW and needed to furnish his new flat.
He then decided he was having the fridge we’d already sold and someone was on their way to collect.
We were really struggling with him refusing to leave until we agreed on letting him have it for free but luckily two big men turned up for the fridge and passed the microwave to him and kind of swept him out of the door so his feet hardly touched the floor 😂.
We had an offer for the bed and said it needed collecting before we handed the keys back in two days (big mistake) and the man buying kept arguing over the price.
When he finally backed down he said he’d come to get it but then cancelled saying he’d come the next day - the day we were moving out properly.
He turned up with half the money knowing we needed the house empty and the bed gone, I was really angry knowing he’d planned this and I refused to give him it without the full amount. We asked a neighbour (who was a close friend) if he could hang onto it until we offered it to other people who were interested.
The man was absolutely incandescent with anger at me and told my DP not to move in with me because I was controlling and selfish and taking over the sale.
In the end my DP told him to fuck off and he disappeared for half an hour then came back with the amount we’d asked for, an extra £10 and an apology. He didn’t want to miss out on a brand new bed barely slept in!
I used to be a push over and total people pleaser but toughened up after reading so many Cf’er stories on mumsnet and getting frustrated when no one stands up to them.
It made me realise how many are out there and have thick skins, it was difficult at first but I’d imagine I was reading my own predicament on AIBU and how exasperating it is when the OP lets them get away with it and found it helps stop me from giving in.
This also works with other tricky situations in life!