Rude people replying to ads.

[percheron67]

This morning I placed a number of posts on my local freecycle site. The replies so far have been really abrupt not to say rude. e.g. Is this still there?. No Hello or preamble at all and NO please or thankyou. Is it the norm nowadays. When I answer any ad I always say Hello, and ask politely certainly not forgetting Please and Thankyou.

I have decided that anyone who replies rudely will not be offered my items!

I give have lots away on local pages but I have learned to identify the car boot scroungers and avoid the people who only use text speak. Fortunately round here most people are very pleasant and I have met some nice and interesting people through free-cycle

I’ve noticed the rudeness too and if I have multiple replies I offer to those who show basic manners first.

I really dislike those one or two-word texts that some people use i.e “Address”, “want it,” or “?Available.”

Also, what’s with the question mark before the word?

I'm the same OP
No nice and polite message, no offer.

I had one once who said "I want it"
No please, no "because..." Or when they could collect.
When I didnt respond I got a mouthful of abuse for not giving it to them!

I find olio better for manners, we've been having a huge clear out and I've had some lovely messages and thank yous too

I had an extremely rude guy wanting to buy my dad's bike. It was a fairly decent bike, cost £850 new but dad died a couple of months after buying it. Listed it for £150 so a total bargain, it was pristine, as the pictures showed. Guy messaged asking for service history, told him it hadn't been serviced as it was only a few month's old, told him the story, showed him the pics...didn't hear back from him. Didn't have much interest but didn't want to drop the price much more, mum could do with the money blah blah. Anyhoo, about a month later the same guy messaged just with "address?", I told him I presumed he wasn't interested as I'd heard nothing and he just repeated "address?". I asked when he was thinking of coming and he said that he hadn't decided but to give him the address and he'd turn up when it was convenient. I was getting a bit fed up of his abruptness so I told him that when he told me he was coming, I would give him the address. I blocked him after he told me he'd come when it suited him and he'd offer whatever he thought the bike was worth but it wouldn't be more than £100. Dick

I use Olio instead, the people on it seem to have a clearer idea of why we should recycle and are much more polite

I am so sick of this! I'm a food waste hero on Olio so go to Tesco to collect surplus stock twice a week and then distribute it out. The amount of people who send rude messages, refuse to confirm a time, are really late with no warning is shocking!

It's not been too bad whilst I'm at home but I can't wait around all day for people once I'm back at work. There's a man who always requests absolutely everything I list and is always rude if he can't have it all. He requested some food this morning and still hasn't confirmed a time... if he doesn't by the time the delivery I'm expecting turns up I'm eating his doughnut and not answering the door when he comes calling!

I’ve had this with gumtree. Posted some kids toys for £15, and got a message from a guy I could see was in a town about 1 hours drive away. Not the standard “is this still available” or whatever, but a “bank details?” I replied with “it’s cash on collection”, to which he comes back with “but I’m in (town 1hr away)” and a winky face emoji 🙄 when I’d asked him how exactly he proposed to get the item he came back the assumption that I’d be posting it to him. Item clearly listed with collection only, and I’m not arsing on posting stuff to people. I didn’t bother replying.

I recognise the automatic responses on FB marketplace so don't mind them but the ones that really irk me are "I'll take this" or "I'll have this" - it just sounds so rude, why on earth can't they say "please can I have this?"

When I post on FreeCycle I give the item to the first person who says please.

I've given away quite a few things on freecycle and can honestly say I've never had a rude request for the item but I've been really surprised at the number of people who get offered the item but then don't turn up to collect it. I always tell people that I will wait 24 hrs for expressions of interest so that it's fair.I then pick someone at random. My favourite freecycle post was someone who posted 'a fridge freezer please if anyone's gifting'.

OP there's now a song for this -

I ask them the time then tell them I will leave whatever it is on the driveway. That normally ensures they turn up for it!

I've also started just leaving stuff outside the front door if it's Freecycle. About ten minutes before the agreed time, I pop it outside. It's by our house rather than streetside (normal terraced house drive in between) so not an obvious free-for-all, but then I just go about my day and check in the evening if it's gone. No waiting around necessary, blood pressure greatly lowered!

I read this with interest as I don't usually use sites selling sites. However I'm looking for a kitten at the moment, which I know can be a minefield at the best of times and currently the prices are crazy. However I can't seem to get anywhere with sellers.

Over the weekend I messaged over 10 people, some within a minute or two of them posting (I have an alert). Most I get no reply.. others say the kitten is available and then when I say great etc etc I never hear back. I dont get what's happening.. I've written hello, please and thank you, so not being abrupt. It's really frustrating!

I hate this. I posted some furniture on Facebook marketplace. Say it was listed for £100 (can’t exactly remember), someone sent me a message literally saying “£70”. Not a single other word in the message, and not even a question mark on the end! Ugh, idiots. I just ignored them.

I had this! Offered something free and someone replied "I will have it, you deliver". Er, no.

@ipswichwitch

I’ve had this with gumtree. Posted some kids toys for £15, and got a message from a guy I could see was in a town about 1 hours drive away. Not the standard “is this still available” or whatever, but a “bank details?” I replied with “it’s cash on collection”, to which he comes back with “but I’m in (town 1hr away)” and a winky face emoji 🙄 when I’d asked him how exactly he proposed to get the item he came back the assumption that I’d be posting it to him. Item clearly listed with collection only, and I’m not arsing on posting stuff to people. I didn’t bother replying.

Oh that winds me up

I had someone message me about something I'm selling on gumtree. Arranged to collect, item clearly said too heavy to post so don't ask.
He messaged me in good time to apologise that he was unable to collect due to work.

He gets back to me a day later, asks to send payment. So I said no, collection only please, that's what the ad said and we agreed. He then gets angry with me, saying I'm being awkward, and then says if he is going "all the way to my home", he wants a video clip to show it's working. He wants it sent via Facebook, which I will add him on, and preferably live.

I blocked him.

In addition to the CFs and useless lumps I've experienced, I saw a woman the other day on my local market town page, who put a post up saying 'anyone with a large van able to pick up a 3 piece suite, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, and 2 single beds, from 'home furniture bargains' in Wolverhampton? Sorry can't afford to pay you...' The post was on the chat page of a market town 35 miles away.

Just thought it was laughable that she just bought a 3 piece suite, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, 2 single beds, (albeit from a catalogue surplus type place so half the 'retail price, so around £800 in total) but could apparently not afford to chuck twenty quid out for someone to do a SEVENTY MILE round-trip to get it all. She expected it all for free, and for said 'man with van' to lug the furniture about for her too!

(Not real name of store, and nor was it Wolverhampton. Don't want to identify her.)

Sorry, I meant to say the post was on the page of a market town that was 35 miles away from WOLVERHAMPTON. So it would have been a 70 mile round trip.

(Except it's not really wolverhampton!)

Just wait until they don’t turn up OP. I sold a table, gave her discount - she picked a day and time and then was a no show. It would have taken her seconds to send a message that she wasn’t coming.

Ohhh I had forgotten about the ones who blithely ignore the "collection only from Xxx town" on your £10 item, and message you to ask if you'll deliver it to them 60 miles away.

I had a real life example of this, woman after a Nintendo 3DS cartridge I was selling COLLECTION ONLY and wanted to know if I would take it to her in Wigan. It would take me over an hour to drive there. I just sent back a screenshot of the ad with the "collection only from xxx" circled in red. The temptation to be uber sarcastic was immense, but I resisted..... just.

I have sold a couple of cars in local newspapers and after the last time I vowed I would never do it again because the manners of other people were shocking. One couple came to have a look and said they wanted to buy so said they would pay the £100 deposit and collect the following day. Went off to the cash point to get the money and in the meantime I declined three other interested buyers saying the car had just been sold. The couple must have changed their minds en route because they never came back. They had my number so could have called to say so, but decided to let me figure it out for myself instead.
The worst are the ones that turn up to collect the item but then say they only want to buy if you accept a lower price.

I was selling a pair of football boots for a tenner. Got a message demanding I meet the male buyer in a pub 5 miles away from my home and he would give me the money... Blocked.

I got this a lot when I used to advertise for a lodger in my house. The advert was really cilrar, made it obvious they would be sharing with a woman and said at the end "please tell me a little about yourself when you respond".

The number 9f messages I would get saying "can I view tonight at 6?" was unbelievable. I used to respond and say, yes, that night be possible but please introduce yourself by telling me a little about yourself, how long you're intending to stay in the area and what sort of job you do, and if still get rude, demanding responses back.

One man made me so uncomfortable that I told him it was gone and he replied nastily and said he was going to "report me to the council". Goodness knows what he expected them to do!

I completely agree, but then I am very, very polite, perhaps overly so! The number of people who offer things for free and then the comment is 'I'll have this' or similar.

Manners cost nothing!