To think people really are CFers when it comes to second hand items?

[TheIckabog]

I am selling an item on a local selling page. It cost me £280 which included the main item plus some extras. The item is in ‘as new’ condition, all original box etc, in fact I think I only used it a handful of times. These items don’t come up very often as they are expensive but they are desirable.

Anyway, I’ve had lots of interest in this item and have had at least four people agree to purchase it, right down to arranging to meet up. Each one of them have then said they won’t take it unless I lower the price! Someone wanted to pay £80 and said they could get it for £200 new. When I refused to lower the price I got a load of abuse!

AIBU to think this is CF-ery to the highest degree? I’m not about to practically give it away and it’s unlikely that they would be able to get this item in such a excellent condition for any less.

I sell a lot second hand on local pages so I know about pricing items at a reasonable price to sell however I think that given it was £280 new and I’m asking £150 it’s a bit cheeky to then try and undercut by another £70!

I once was a CF accidentally. Saw a set of taps we needed and quickly said I'd like them. He too the ad down sorted the details and he gave me his address at the end. Whoops. I'd misread the ad's location. Far too far for me to travel. Luckily he offered to post them for a small fee. Took a gamble that he was legit and paid via PayPal. They arrived and were perfect. Still, I felt bad making the man go to the trouble of posting them.

how little must you value yourself to nick a bit of used tat rather than pay 5p for it?

That's what I think.

I'm not saying I could never be tempted into dishonesty (we all have our price ), but unless my children were starving, I hope it wouldn't be for anything less that the Crown Jewels.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Also the people in charity shops trying to haggle the staff down on price.

There was a story in the news a couple of weeks ago about a woman who bought something for £9 from a charity shop, returned it for a refund and the assistant's finger accidentally got stuck on the zero button, resulting in £90,000 being 'refunded' to her card.

She didn't do the decent thing and tell them, but she kept it and instantly transferred it out to different accounts belonging to her family and went on a spending spree.

Of course, she had every right to request it - and £9 isn't 20p - but a lot of people were horrified that she would even ask for a refund from a charity shop in the first place, rather than just donating the item back on realising that it wasn't suitable.

The upshot was that two CS workers were sacked (I don't know if they were paid or volunteers) and the woman has been forced to pay back the third of the money that the bank was unable to reclaim as she'd already spent it/sent it abroad. She's a cleaner and a mother of 6, living modestly on a low income, and she now, in addition, faces a totally avoidable debt millstone around her neck for many years to come.

What an utter piece of filth.

If you have any faith in humanity left, don't be a seller at a car boot. A friend of mine was moving abroad so I was helping her sell off a load of stuff. All pretty good quality and well priced. The amount of people who lost their shit because I wouldn't give them a discount on an item that was 20p. Some lady screamed in my friend's face and then knocked a load of stuff off the stall with her handbag because we wouldn't take 50% of the asking price for an item. CF central.

I think the 'wants' on Freecycle that disturb me the most are the ones about animals. There's been a few around here. Mostly people with different types of birds wanting a female or male to breed or 'expand their collection'. Do people see pet birds as a collection?

Several ads for people giving away animals 'Can't afford dog anymore.' 'Horse DD never rides anymore.' 'Can't take cat when we move.' How can these people know they are giving their animal to a 'good home'? Why not rehome the animal through an animal rescue charity who will hopefully ensure the animals go to good homes? No matter what my circumstances I can not imagine offering my dog for free on Freecycle.

One recently I found upsetting the more I thought about it.

'Desperately need female kitten for my autistic DS to play with. Must be no more than 6 weeks old. Phone .'

Why are they desperate? Why must the kitten be female? Why must the kitten be so young? Do people really respond to those types of ads and give away animals?

Block people who are annoying of course, but yabu unless you are actually getting people offering your price.

Ps. "As new" is a stupid description. Its either brand new (which usually comes with unopened packaging, warranties etc) or it is not. If it is not it is good condition second hand. Don't try and say "as new" to try and get what you paid for it back.

@nevermorelenore

If you have any faith in humanity left, don't be a seller at a car boot. A friend of mine was moving abroad so I was helping her sell off a load of stuff. All pretty good quality and well priced. The amount of people who lost their shit because I wouldn't give them a discount on an item that was 20p. Some lady screamed in my friend's face and then knocked a load of stuff off the stall with her handbag because we wouldn't take 50% of the asking price for an item. CF central.

I did a car boot sale years ago & will never forget a woman haggling with me over a monsoon dress, I wanted a tenner , it was new, still had the price tag that was for £140 (I worked for Monsoon so hadn’t paid that for it) she said She’d give me 50p. I said no & she went nuts - having worked in retail I’m well used to arseholes so I stood my ground & she stomped off . She came back 5 minutes later and really rudely said fine give it to me, I’ll pay the £10. I took great delight in telling her she couldn’t have it & I’d rather put it in the bin - I put it in the car (In front of her) so she couldn’t have it.

One recently I found upsetting the more I thought about it.

'Desperately need female kitten for my autistic DS to play with. Must be no more than 6 weeks old. Phone .'

Particularly bearing in mind that kittens shouldn't be taken from their mothers until 12 weeks old - and no animal, whatever it's age, is a toy!

These adverts break my heart, too.

It's not something for sale, but I normally flat-sit for a family friend for a couple of weeks every year or so.

I pay the utilities and give the flat a very deep clean to the point where it's a running joke that everyone thinks it's been redecorated because it's so much cleaner. (I wash the walls as well as the windows. Let's just say that the floors always look a different colour.) I clear out all the drains and sink-traps and do the general DIY such as repairing light fittings, door furniture, defrosting the fridge and freezer, clean the washing machine/dishwasher etc.

This year, the friend is going away for longer and asked did I want to flat sit. But said, because it was for longer, he wanted some payment for the flat as I'd only have to deep-clean at the beginning and end.

Let's just say, he wanted to charge me more than the rent on comparable properties within a 1/4mile radius of him. Bigger properties, with fully-working appliances, and a wider range of facilities. (Looked on RightMove and Zoopla.)

I wished him well on trying to let it for that short period of time, with non-working appliances and all the other things that I haven't repaired or cleaned in a year. He's startled that I don't want to go and prepare the flat for letting for him (no recompense - and not that good a friend).

'Horse DD never rides anymore.'

I suppose it might be a very misguided way to shock the child into riding it again rather than having long-term intentions to do so but never getting around to it; not actually intending to sell/give away the horse at all.

It's a horrible way to go about things and gives the child very confusing messages - like when you hear parents screaming at tiny children and threatening to get the police to come and lock them up in prison for not sharing their toy or eating their brother's biscuit. Or indeed the father in the current thread who thought it would be nice to deeply upset a 4yo as punishment for saying something commonly said by small kids.

@EmbarrassingAdmissions

It's not something for sale, but I normally flat-sit for a family friend for a couple of weeks every year or so.

I pay the utilities and give the flat a very deep clean to the point where it's a running joke that everyone thinks it's been redecorated because it's so much cleaner. (I wash the walls as well as the windows. Let's just say that the floors always look a different colour.) I clear out all the drains and sink-traps and do the general DIY such as repairing light fittings, door furniture, defrosting the fridge and freezer, clean the washing machine/dishwasher etc.

This year, the friend is going away for longer and asked did I want to flat sit. But said, because it was for longer, he wanted some payment for the flat as I'd only have to deep-clean at the beginning and end.

Let's just say, he wanted to charge me more than the rent on comparable properties within a 1/4mile radius of him. Bigger properties, with fully-working appliances, and a wider range of facilities. (Looked on RightMove and Zoopla.)

I wished him well on trying to let it for that short period of time, with non-working appliances and all the other things that I haven't repaired or cleaned in a year. He's startled that I don't want to go and prepare the flat for letting for him (no recompense - and not that good a friend).

So glad you said no! I hope you’ve stopped even the shorter house sits?

Ps. "As new" is a stupid description. Its either brand new (which usually comes with unopened packaging, warranties etc) or it is not. If it is not it is good condition second hand. Don't try and say "as new" to try and get what you paid for it back.

I disagree. the 'as' in 'as new' clearly communicates that it is second hand, but has suffered no damage or wear at all.

It is indeed unreasonable if it's used as an excuse to ask for 95% of the new retail price, but when you're asking for a reasonable second-hand price, it's a legitimate way of attracting a buyer by pointing out the positive aspects of the item and showing what a bargain they're going to get, compared with a similar item from another seller that might be the same price but worn or dirty.

Supposing you found a pair of slippers in the back of the wardrobe - a 'that'll do' gift from two Christmases ago - opened and and worn them whilst sitting on the sofa for half an hour, but in that time decided that you really didn't like the style and the sizing wasn't great for your extra-wide feet - how would you describe them when offering them for sale?

Regardless of the price you ask, you would be doing yourself a big disservice and probably putting off buyers who wouldn't want what they assume are manky, filthy, stinky, dog-eared old things being got rid of by a CF after years of daily use. However, you've taken them out of the sealed plastic wrapping and removed the tags, so you can't claim that they're brand new, as if they were sitting on the shelf of a shop.

In a fly-on-the-wall way, I would dearly LOVE to understand the workings of the minds of these people you find at every single boot sale in the country (alongside a lot of decent, pleasant people, of course, who might make you a sensible offer, but without threats, spitting or screaming).

There's definitely a link between them and the FreeCycle CFs mentioned copiously above. I can only think they have the mindset that you have some old valueless junk that you're desperate to get rid of and they are your knight in shaming armour stepping up and selflessly willing to do you an enormous favour by taking it off your hands and saving you from the huge hassle of having to take it to the tip. They're only willing to do this, because they are so uniquely extremely smart that, would you believe it, they've actually managed to think up a way to repurpose your worthless old junk and make it useful again - in fact, the environment should also be grateful to them, as well as you.

Of course, this totally falls down when you consider the fact that it's an unworn high-end dress, great-condition toys or clothes that your own kids have outgrown or antique furniture from a deceased loved one's house that you have no need or space for etc. etc.; and their amazing 'cunning' plan is to, erm, wear it, use it for their younger kids or store clothes in it in their bedroom. But maybe they just find it more helpful to completely ignore this element.

Yes, there is some outright rubbish at boot sales, but oddly enough, this is the stuff that doesn't ever tend to catch their eyes....

they are your knight in shaming armour

That was actually a typo, but I'm not convinced it was wrong in the first place - I wonder what Mr Freud would have to say?!

I sell brand new stuff with tags on selling sites sometimes, it's not because it's stolen, it's because getting to the shop to return something is a huge pain in the arse, and I'd rather take a loss on a couple of £ to get some of my money back than trek all the way (on the bus) into whichever town it was that I might not visit very often to get a return. It might actually cost me more in bus fare to return it than I would lose by selling it to someone who will collect.

Or sometimes I've lost the receipt or held onto the item for so long it's no longer a current range so I assume they won't take it back anyway, and I don't want to face the embarrassment of asking in case they say no!

Havaiana: "So glad you said no! I hope you’ve stopped even the shorter house sits?"

Yes. It gave me a very different perspective on the fact that he obviously believed that he was doing me an enormous favour. Whereas I thought I was doing it because he was an (inherited) family friend and (ironically) I knew that the state of his flat wasn't good for his respiratory problems. It's not my idea of a good time to do that much deep cleaning and repair work. (In addition to the above, I not only washed out all of the cupboards but dismantled and reassembled all of the traps, undersink, washing machine/dishwasher plumbing to clean them all out of slime mould because it affects the drainage and smells so much.)

I'm going to do my best to look sympathetic if he complains:
he still can't let it for the amount of time that he wants;
he gets a short-term tenant who wants the non-working appliances replaced, the repairs done, and a deep-clean before the start of tenancy.

DH hopes the family friend lets to someone who accidentally gives the flat bedbugs but that wouldn't be fair on the adjoining neighbours.

This has been very therapeutic to my FB selling damaged soul but I have to say to the lady who wanted her buyer to pay for the disnconnection of her Aga AFTER the sale was agreed - YOU are totally the cheeky fucker here!

I sell brand new stuff with tags on selling sites sometimes, it's not because it's stolen, it's because getting to the shop to return something is a huge pain in the arse, and I'd rather take a loss on a couple of £ to get some of my money back than trek all the way (on the bus) into whichever town it was that I might not visit very often to get a return. It might actually cost me more in bus fare to return it than I would lose by selling it to someone who will collect.

Or sometimes I've lost the receipt or held onto the item for so long it's no longer a current range so I assume they won't take it back anyway, and I don't want to face the embarrassment of asking in case they say no!

Oh, there's no suspicion of dishonourable behaviour when people have BNWT things to sell from time to time. We've all been in that position, whether you can't get back to the shop, lose your receipt, miss the deadline, it was an unwanted present etc.

It's just highly dubious when the same person always has loads and loads of different BNWT items to sell - plenty of new items every single week for years. If they were legitimately sourcing this volume of goods as wholesale remainder stock, they would be registered as a business seller.

My issue with ‘as new’ is that it is often an inaccurate description. I checked on eBay to buy a pair of boots second hand. I clocked that link only because the seller had written ‘as new’ and ‘worn twice’. It was quite obvious from the picture though that their definition of ‘as new’ was quite different than mine and that they had actually worn off about 4 mm from the heel by wearing it only twice. So I think quite a lot of people either take the piss or are so used to wearing their stuff down that their as new is quite skewed.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Also the people in charity shops trying to haggle the staff down on price.

There was a story in the news a couple of weeks ago about a woman who bought something for £9 from a charity shop, returned it for a refund and the assistant's finger accidentally got stuck on the zero button, resulting in £90,000 being 'refunded' to her card.

She didn't do the decent thing and tell them, but she kept it and instantly transferred it out to different accounts belonging to her family and went on a spending spree.

Of course, she had every right to request it - and £9 isn't 20p - but a lot of people were horrified that she would even ask for a refund from a charity shop in the first place, rather than just donating the item back on realising that it wasn't suitable.

The upshot was that two CS workers were sacked (I don't know if they were paid or volunteers) and the woman has been forced to pay back the third of the money that the bank was unable to reclaim as she'd already spent it/sent it abroad. She's a cleaner and a mother of 6, living modestly on a low income, and she now, in addition, faces a totally avoidable debt millstone around her neck for many years to come.

littledrummergirl
I didn’t know saying first come first served was CF! I recently advertised a large item on FB marketplace for free. I needed it gone that day. So I put it outside my house and advertised it as first come first served. Some people were put off as they said they didn’t want to drive all the way over and find it gone. And I said that was fine, completely understood. I also had another free item which someone asked me if they could reserve. I didn’t really want to, but I did anyway and I turned loads of other people away. Then she never turned up!!! So I was stuck with it. And I needed it gone that day also.
I always thought that if you were desperate for an item to be taken away ASAP then it was fine to say first come first served. And people can decide if they want to risk it or not. Otherwise if you commit to a buyer then you risk them letting you down. Which is not so bad if time is on your side but fairly frustrating if you needed it gone.

Aaaah got you SausageRoll :) Yes I agree a bit suspect!

Oh, there's no suspicion of dishonourable behaviour when people have BNWT things to sell from time to time. We've all been in that position, whether you can't get back to the shop, lose your receipt, miss the deadline, it was an unwanted present etc.

It's just highly dubious when the same person always has loads and loads of different BNWT items to sell - plenty of new items every single week for years. If they were legitimately sourcing this volume of goods as wholesale remainder stock, they would be registered as a business seller.

Yes exactly. The average personal Ebay seller might have twenty items up for sale, of which four or five might have tags on. Everything else will be worn. That's totally different to people who are constantly selling hundreds of brand new items.

I've noticed on Ebay there's a number of "personal" sellers who are clearly just business sellers in disguise. They do it to get around the rules, to avoid certain fees, and so that they can say they don't accept returns. If you're an online business then you have to accept returns - it's the law. There needs to be more of a crackdown on this stuff.

@vigoro I see your point, but it happened with 3 or 4 people that responded to the ad.

I'd googled to check if any were selling in the rough area to benchmark the price and didn't find any. I'd looked for wanted ads as well, to save myself the job of posting an ad. Maybe people were willing to travel 100+ miles to get one for the sake of saving a few quid?

So yes, I find it a bit odd that 3-4 people have 100+ litre fish tanks that they're selling all at the same time, when I couldn't find any being offered or any wanted ads, which I would have responded to within 50 miles of where I live. You could call it fishy .

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

they are your knight in shaming armour

That was actually a typo, but I'm not convinced it was wrong in the first place - I wonder what Mr Freud would have to say?!

I liked this typo, too!

Sometimes . . . The Shadow knows . . .