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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Was this person who wanted to buy our shelf a CF or AIBU?

60 replies

Kittypillar · 11/01/2018 10:58

Tad weird but reckon my DH thinks I was a bit of stickler for this...

At the moment we've been having a massive clear out of stuff and my DH put a few things on FB marketplace. It wasn't much but the bits we thought would be a shame to chuck out completely. One of them was a bookshelf which we bought new a couple of years ago (think it was about £90ish) but now we've moved it's just the wrong shape for DH's office unfortunately.

So DH put it on sale for £24, not sure why he came to that amount (did point out it was a bit of a random figure but hey ho). Someone messaged him and said that yes they wanted it and asked when they could pick it up. DH said fine, gave them the address. Anyway, they turned up late so I was at home and DH wasn't, but I knew how much he'd agreed on. Turns out buyer had turned up at the house over an hour later than he said he would and without the right amount of cash. He sort of shrugged at me and went "oh sorry, I've only got £10 notes, so..." and trailed off expectantly

It was quite clear what he was hoping would happen, that I would say no worries and let him have it for £20. But I just felt so annoyed by it because it seemed so blatant. Maybe I'm just being a grumpy pregnant lady. So instead of saying fine, I smiled and said "oh no worries, there's a corner shop at the bottom of the street, will only take you 1 minute to get the right change!". He blinked at me and stammered a bit, then said okay and walked off. Funnily enough, he didn't come back...

DH has been finding flaky people on FB marketplace etc really irritating, so when I told him what happened, he seemed a bit exasperated that we still had this stupid bookshelf he just wants rid of! He wasn't angry, just you can tell he'd prefer it if I'd just said fine to the £20...

I personally think that buyer was a complete CF and knew exactly what he was trying to do. If he'd wanted to negotiate price, he could have said explicitly, or said so when he was chatting to my husband and agreeing to come and fetch it. AIBU for thinking that?

On another note, does anyone want a bookshelf?!

OP posts:

Algernonplonkerthethird · 11/01/2018 11:48

I put a hardly used tabletop fridge on a sale site for £30 stating hardly used. A bloke turned up. It was a bank holiday and DH was there. DH put it in the man's car boot and left me to take the money. Bloke says "Bank holiday special, will you take £20? I said no, it was £30. The man pulled out, slowly, another £5 and offered it to me quizzically, and said as it was already in his boot and all that... I said I know what it costs new and he begrudgingly gave the whole amount. Best to stand your ground. You were not BU.

Scrumptiousbears · 11/01/2018 11:49

FB is full of CF when you sell stuff.

I was selling a iPhone and was messaging with one Cf who tried to bargain and I told him I had a lot of interest so I wouldn't be dropping the price. He either buys it or I'll move to the next person. He agreed the full price, I gave him my address and arranged a time to collect. 10 mins before he arrives he messages me and says "he may try to bargain a bit when he gets to mine". I told him not to bother coming! CF

Original poster

Kittypillar · 11/01/2018 11:50

@Looneytune253 hilarious! Hadn't thought of that, not sure if I'd be brave enough!

OP posts:

IWannaSeeHowItEnds · 11/01/2018 11:51

I'd rather get no money at all and take it to a charity shop than enable a piss taker to get away with it!

Megs4x3 · 11/01/2018 11:52

Oh dear. that reminds me of the time I was buying something from Gumtree for £20. I turned up to collect it and handed over a £10 note by mistake. Two notes were in my pocket separately. The woman looked puzzled and said 'that's a tenner' and I was SO embarrassed and couldn't stop apologising. I immediately thought that she must be thinking that I had done it deliberately and she wouldn't notice. I still cringe when I think of the look on her poor face. How can people do this kind of thing? It's attempted fraud so far as I'm concerned. :-( What was agreed was agreed and he had no business trying to get it cheaper by those means. People try these tricks because they get away with them too often and sellers are too soft. Haggling is fine under certain circumstances, but would he try that trick at the supermarket? No, people only try it on with other people not with businesses. I'd probably have let him get away with it too, but I'd have been kicking myself afterwards. Well done you!!!

expatinscotland · 11/01/2018 11:52

Bank holiday special, what a CF! I don't help them put stuff in the boot until the money's in hand.

constantchange · 11/01/2018 11:53

I was once selling something for £80. CF of the century said "Hmm... I'll give you £30 for it".

Still annoys me to think about it, one year later...

HotelEuphoria · 11/01/2018 11:53

It's the principle though isn't it? I would rather sit on it in the garage then let a CF win. I am however open to negotiation at advertised price, always. An item is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, so had they said they were only prepared to pay £20 at the outset I would probably have accepted it.

But on the doorstep after £24 was greed, then no. CF's wasted journey, not mine.

MillennialFalcon · 11/01/2018 11:56

YANBU. That would really annoy me. I hate when people aren't straightforward. The buyer could have asked in advance if the price was negotiable, your husband might have been willing to settle to get rid of the shelf and then everyone would have been happy because everyone would've understood what was expected. But acting as if they were happy to pay the price in the listing then turning up with that BS about not having the correct change, putting you on the spot and trying to manipulate you was rude and sneaky and the wrong way to go about it, especially when he was already taking the Mickey by showing up late. I might have agreed to a small discount on an item I wanted to get rid of if it was discussed upfront but not if I was put on the spot like that. I can't stand liars and wouldn't want him to feel like he got away with something and got one over on me, it's the principle of the thing.

Original poster

Kittypillar · 11/01/2018 11:57

Oh my gosh, bank holiday special! And to wait until it was in the boot of his car as well, definitely CF!

It was definitely a principle thing because it was just as subtle as a brick what he was trying to do! But I did wonder if I was just being a grumpy...

OP posts:

RowenasDiadem · 11/01/2018 12:01

Try giving stuff away for free!

I admin a free items only page and the sheer number of people that declare "I'll take those!" (Usually everything on the listing because of pure greed) and then say, "I'll need them delivering"

Instant booting for that. Cheeky fuckers can use another page to demand free stuff.

RowenasDiadem · 11/01/2018 12:03

I've had people haggle over something that's already a bargain and then tell me I'll need to deliver the item as they don't drive. A 60 mile round trip. No thanks. Usually by the time they get to demanding delivery I'll have lost other sales.

maddnessintheroost · 11/01/2018 12:08

He was being a CF and clearly wanted you to say 'oh ok lets say £20'. I had this last night with FB selling. Selling for £20 and they said oh DD only has £15 from her uncle as a present. I had literally started the bath running for DS as they didn't say when they were coming. I just said yes to get rid of them. Not kicking myself though as I was considering dropping it to 10/15 in any event!

maddnessintheroost · 11/01/2018 12:10

oh and DH deal with enquiries about the bookshelf if hes going to be silly over it

maddnessintheroost · 11/01/2018 12:12

Rowena - the ones wanting delivery really piss me off. I was selling a wardrobe and a woman phoned me to buy it. She then demanded delivery to London! Only a 4/5 hour round trip! We actually still use that wardrobe as we decided to keep it CF

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 11/01/2018 12:12

I don't think he was that much of a pisstaker. You have to expect buyers to barter with you when selling 2nd hand goods I think.

Putting a random odd price on it is asking for a buyer to round it down really or means faffing about with small change. Avoid that in future

I've always haggled over the asking price of second hand cars for example and got them for a lower price.

You have to weigh up whether you are still getting a reasonable price (I think you were) and whether you would have much interest for a book shelf and the inconvenience of waiting for buyers coming to view it and so on.
You might be stuck with it now, with no other offers.

I would have taken his £20 offer definitely.

SexLubeAndAFishSlice · 11/01/2018 12:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 11/01/2018 12:19

YWNBU, I would have done the same.
Haggle at the time of agreeing to buy it, not when you turn up with some half-arsed excuse of having no change!
Bollocks to that.

Bloke should have made sure he had the right money.

Catra · 11/01/2018 12:22

I had someone turn up to collect a fridge with £60 less than the price we agreed, because it had cost them £60 in petrol to come and collect it. At first I thought they were joking and couldn't stop laughing. I said to them, "you don't book a holiday on the other side of the world and then demand a discount because it's cost you to travel there, do you?"

I should have added, "How about you look for items closer to home, you CF??!"

expatinscotland · 11/01/2018 12:22

Oh, yeah, the delivery demanders are hilarious. This isn't Argos, CF, and they charge, too, to certain areas or items.

Hortonlovesahoo · 11/01/2018 12:26

I've had similar whilst selling online. Facebook marketplace is rife with CFs.

I had someone offer £200 for a £600 pram and just say: I’ll pick it up now.

MsHopey · 11/01/2018 12:26

I've had items for sale for £30 and people offering £10 because their time and petrol costs money so it should come off the asking price

TammySwansonTwo · 11/01/2018 12:35

It's one thing to ask in advance, but the people who do it in person really annoy me (e.g. "Oh it's smaller than I thought" - well maybe you should have looked at the dimensions I posted them, you CF)

Original poster

Kittypillar · 11/01/2018 12:50

It absolutely is one thing to ask in advance - if he had originally tried to barter I would have told DH that £20 was fine - but it's the fact he agreed to £24 and was so obviously chancing his arm at the door in the hope that I'd just feel awkward/desperate enough to agree. I'm stubborn enough that I wasn't willing to bite.

OP posts:

KurriKurri · 11/01/2018 13:43

I doubt having change would have made any difference -did he even turn up with £30? He probably only brought twenty.
I'd have told him to bugger off too OP - definitely a CF. I love the fact that people immediately chip in with 'A used £90 bookcase isn't worth £24 you;d be lucky to get £20' spectacularly missing the point.
If you agree on a price, go with enough money and stick to it. If you don't think the item is worth that when you see it, then you can bargain.

I would tell your DH that £24 is a bit of a random price though - make it a multiple of 5 next time

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