To despise Facebook marketplace

[KiaraN83]

I’ve started using Facebook Marketplace for my DD baby stuff, selling it really cheap too eg £5 for a £50 walker so people are getting a good offer and my stuff is from smoke free home, all clean etc

People just seem to lose their brains when they’re on it! For example I had 15 + messages about the jumperoo, half were asking if it was available, I replied yes but no response. Fair enough not too annoying.
I had one conversation like this

Buyer: is this still available
Me: Yes it is
Buyer: Great. What’s your address?
Me: Gives address
Buyer: Thanks
4 hours pass
Me: Are you coming for it today
Buyer: No sorry
Me: okay, are you coming for it at all?
Buyer: I’m still thinking about whether I want it

Another conversation
Buyer: hey I can collect tomorrow!
Me: Great here’s my address
Buyer: thanks, I’ll message you in the morning with a time
one week passes with no message
i decide to drop the price
Buyer: Can I have this? Sorry I can’t get a lift up to you
five mins later
Buyer: I can’t get up to you but could you meet me at my work and drop it off to me?
Please note this is a huge jumperoo also selling for £5

Buyer: (8:07) is this still available?
Me: Yes it is (8:15)
Buyer: sorry you were too slow I’ve bought another now (8:17)

I’ve had loads more too like saying they’ll pick up today and then never showing.

I guess I’m just having a rant here but AIBU to feel irritated by people?

I’m also taking the stuff to the charity shop today as I just can’t be bothered with market place anymore! Haha

I hate FB marketplace ive given up with it now. So many no shows and people asking if i could deliver... !!

Stop giving out address until a time is arranged, give a rough area instead.

They may have asked for your address to see if you're close enough - I would get a confirmation that someone is coming to collect before giving my address to be honest.

The 'is this available' messages I think, are down to the quick message links that are on marketplace. They're annoying!

Dh sells on there. We were going away so he told the person “come today or it will be next week”

Message was read, two days later the person sent ?
That was it:
?

They’d read the message that we were away! They messaged when we came back but still didn’t come. I genuinely don’t know what goes through people’s heads

I agree, it’s hopeless. I now just give things straight to the hospice shop.

The second conversation you outlined is just infuriating. That person claimed they intended to buy, then didn't, then asked you to drop it off at their WORK?!

CF incarnate

You get these idiots wherever you're selling sadly. I no longer deal with any of it after I had 5 time wasters/scammers trying to buy a phone from me. Sold it to a friend of a friend in the end as it was not worth the hassle of online selling.

Yes I am fed up of it. Also selling a few baby things and the amount of people that arrange a time and never show up and never even let you know is ridiculous.

Don't give out your address until they commit to a time to come .. selling isn't that difficult if you play them at their own game ..
You do need patience to sell stuff though , maybe just give it to a charity as it isn't really worth it for £5 an item is it ?

I feel your pain. I’m selling some bunk beds. Someone confirmed they wanted them.said they were going to pick them up the next day, so I spent a whole day taking them apart. Then nothing. So I contacted the next person on the list (had 20+ enquiries) who had said they can collect any time. They can’t collect until next week. I said I needed it gone before that really as I had new beds arriving, they got shitty with me. Now three days later I’m still getting availability enquiries but that’s it and my kids are sleeping ok mattresses on the floor because there’s not enough space to build their new beds. And don’t get me started on the people me message asking if I’ll take half the price I’ve listed it for (which is already under half the price it was new)

Total buffoons.

I LOVE facebook marketplace.
It gives people who never worked retail or hospitality perfect experience of how dumb and ridiculous general public is😁

Yeah. This is how people are. Always with everything. Just plain ridiculous

I like it for buying. Never bother with selling on there. One time I sold my mother's bookcase on there. I had to go to her house (it was being sold and she had moved out) to arrange for pickup and I ended up going 4 times before selling. Wasn't worth the time and petrol as I also had to arrange childcare to be able to help them move it!!

I use it a lot for buying and selling and can almost always tell by the time of the message if someone is serious. Never give whole address until just before the time, they can get close to you with the road name.

Is they just use the automatic responses I respond once but don't take them seriously. I've only had one person let me down.

I did see on a local helping page someone was 'desperately' looking for a pink bed guard to collect that day and posted a pic of what they were after. I said I had the exact one she was after and she could have it for free. Told me she was collecting it that day. Never did! Said she'd come the next day after apologising. Still didn't. Weird.

So far it's been mostly ok for selling. But I hate when I ask for availability, can see they have read the message, and get no response at all until I check marketplace again and see it's been sold. I always try to reply to people even if things are sold or sstc, it's just courtesy imo.

You are not the only one.
My DH has it all the time it drives him mad.
The same on Spock/E-bay.
Theres some numptys out there for sure.

I had 4 large storage boxes.. Of baby clothes newborn to 12m
M&S, next, John Lewis, some asda etc. Shoes, bibs etc. Lots still labelled.

I had it on for 30. Just needed rid. CBA to ebay as packing to move.

Someone messaged will you take a tenner
, I replied pardon.. I said will You take a tenner, you know TEN POUNDS.. My reply 😂 don't Insult me.

It wasn't about the money it was the rudeness.
I donated it all to Sure Start in the end.

My dh was also selling his old car. Needed rid so put for 500.
Each time someone messaged, what's the lowest you'll go he wrote 500!
The amount of People that got shitty.
Everyone wants something for nothing

On the other hand I've had some good bargains.

what's the lowest you'll go

Have been known to reply to this with 'this low' and a picture of someone limbo dancing.
I'm a sarcastic cow though. When people make stupid offers I reply with an increased price.

I hate all these sites with a passion, and I was giving stuff away for free, not selling! My experience is that the majority of people just don’t turn up, even when a date and time has been arranged.

That said, I think you were a touch unreasonable regarding example 1. As a PP Said, don’t give out your address until the enquirer has confirmed they want to buy, and you’ve arranged a date and time.

My mum had a bad experience. She listed a collectable which was worth quite a lot (£400) if she'd had the accessories which she didn't so only listed it for £50. Some lady said could she post it to her and I advised her not to but she did it anyway, got the money through bank transfer.

4 days later the lady messaged her saying it didn't work. It was working before it was sent. So my mum told her to send it back. It arrived and it was blatently obvious it wasn't the same, this one was the lady's old, tatty non working one! She kept pestering for her refund, even to go so far as to send something through the post with threats saying I know where you live, I will turn up if you don't give me a refund. 3 weeks later and getting legal advice my mum sent the tatty one back to her along with a strongly worded letter saying she'd press charges for fraud, theft and harassment and that was that. Put her off ever selling again!

It's terrible for the seller. I always use gumtree , less time wasters on there.

In general my local fb selling pages are decent. Someone in the town has set up one for free things - lots of good stuff like plants, books etc. In general people don’t take the piss and it seems to work well.

I did notice a funny post a few weeks back though. A woman was asking for free baby things - gave a list of what she wanted. She wrote something like it MUST be top brands, not cheap crap. MUST come from a smoke and pet free home. MUST be clean and in perfect condition. MUST be able to deliver to x (which is a town a fair distance away). No time wasters please (also in capitals along with each MUST). Needless to say there weren’t any takers She bumped the post every few days with ??? So entitled.

We listed a woodburner last winter, cost us around £2k new and it was in really good condition/had all the instructions for fitting etc. We listed it for £500 and said whoever collected it would need a truck as it was very heavy and probably 2/3 people to lift it. In bold letters.

"Can you deliver?" if local, possibly. "we're 170 miles away"
"will you take £100 if I bring the cash today?"
"Will you courier it to me?"

I had to take the listing down within 2 hours, my patience ran out.

I totally get this. I reply to every message of 'is this available?' But probably only get 50% replying. I don't think auto messages are helpful. Also it's not clear from the way the photos dominate the advert where it is and how much it is. It used to be much clearer. However that doesn't excuse rudeness. Ever.

I now put stuff in my spare recycling box outside and people can pick up and drop off money that way. Saves staying in for £1!