To think if you’re selling something and someone asks you for the measurements, you should actually… measure it?

[AngeloMysterioso]

Twice now I’ve been on the hunt to buy an item secondhand, and have needed something of a specific size. Twice I have found what I needed and messaged the person selling to check the dimensions, to make sure they were the right size. Twice the person has just googled the dimensions instead of taking two minutes out of their day to actually measure the thing sitting in their house. Twice I have made the journey to pick the item up, paid for it, got it home and discovered it’s a completely different size.

On the first occasion I had actually done a 100 mile round trip to collect, and while the seller did offer to take it back and refund me, it would have cost me more in petrol making two journeys than the money I had spent, so I just have to live with it being the wrong size. The second time I did have to take it back, and it probably did cost me more in petrol but I simply didn’t have the space to keep it in my home while I faffed around trying to sell it on.

Now I sound like an arsehole whenever I ask for dimensions of something because I have to ask the person to actually measure it instead of just looking it up online.

What is it?

Perhaps the people were at work so Googled the size instead of making you wait? They could have said that ‘According to Google it is x dimensions’ though.

Why didn't you measure it before paying for it?

The first time it was a bookcase, and I wanted one the same size as one I already I had so I could put them side by side. The dimensions the seller told me were the size I needed because she looked it up on their website, but she had the older version of it which is actually several centimetres smaller. But I didn’t want to waste money and petrol doing another 100-mile round trip taking it back so I just have to live with it being the wrong size, and it bugs me every single day.

The second one was meant to be a space saving cot, and the seller just googled the dimensions of a space saving cot and told me it was 104x56 cms. It was only when I got it home and started putting it together that I realised it was a regular 128x67 cms cot - way bigger!

I think you'd be surprised how many people don't even own a tape measure.

Yanbu btw.

Because I foolishly assumed the information I had gone to the trouble of specifically requesting ahead of time would be accurate. Lesson learned the hard way - although it would be just as much of a pain in the ass to drive to wherever, whip out my tape measure and then go home again.

Missing the point of this post but I’m surprised you’ll travel 100miles for a bookcase.
DD1 was trying to make some money so I was selling a dress for her on Vinted for £1.50 and I got a message asking me to measure the length, arm, etc, well, I just ignored it even though I own a tape measure. If it’s something I’ll make a lot of money from then I would have put the measurements in the advertisement in the first place because it’s worth my time.

That’s fair enough for a £1.50 dress but when it’s an item of furniture it’s not unreasonable to want to be sure it’s going to be the right size.

YANBU. I asked someone for actual garment measurements on a 30R pair of jeans and they told me waist was 30 inches 🙄i just gave up and didn't buy. Not the first time I've had a seller on Vinted who apparently didn't own a measuring tape

Really annoying, however I can see that some people wouldn't know eg that the waist of a garment might differ slightly from the 30" it was labelled as, might not realise there are different iterations of a bookcase, etc.

That's annoying. But if the measurement was so crucial I'd probably be bringing a tape measure and double checking, before agreeing to take it.
Even when some people measure stuff they can be a few cms off. When my mum measures something it's different to when I do! Mine is correct obviously, lol

I have had this problem as well, and not with really cheap items either.

It's incredibly annoying, but part of the risk of buying second hand from individuals is that they are inaccurate or lying in their descriptions.

Yanbu @AngeloMysterioso

Reminds me of the wardrobe I bought from Facebook marketplace. I asked the seller to tell me the measurement at the widest point and they said X width so I thought perfect! We have a narrow space and it'll fit fine.
Brought it home, started to give it a good clean and then a little voice niggled at the back of my head that it was wider than our table and I knew our table was wider than the space. I then measured it and yes, it was the width she said but NOT including the extra finial trim bits! She was, to be fair, apologetic and offered a full refund but I loved it so much I found a space for it after a huge rejig.