What’s Fair?

[Dutch 4]

I currently have a few items advertised in the “For Sale” section. What is fair when dealing with multiple interested parties when only a single item is available? Who comes first? I don’t want to seem “hungry” and say the first one who pays the money. That’s not fair or realistic when dealing over the Internet. Maybe this is another reason eBay is so successful. All suggestions appreciated.

[MPH 12]

Who gave you the idea life is fair...really, I'd say first come first get...MPH

[Brent_Baumer 5]

Good question. I still think the first one with $ should get the item though. I've had too many who are "interested" never come through. If you have a PayPal account really interested buyers can pay you instantly with a credit card but it costs you a small fee. I've been stuck holding an item before for someone who never came through while another potential buyer found another like item elsewhere in the meantime. I gave the first guy the benefit of time because he was out of state. Ending up taking less than I could have to a third buyer. Brent

[Woodydel 0]

First come first served. It's fair. I managed to get my Big Ten because I contacted the seller before anyone else. He balked at the sale at first but promised that if he sold the tractor I would be contacted first. He did as he promised 2 months later and I got the tractor for a few extra dollars. I believe if you want something you must jump at the opportunity when it presents itself...I have also missed opportunities by dragging my feet. I blamed the others in my mind but basically I made the mistake of not closing the deal right away... MadManX

[UCD 15]

Old sayings early bird gets the worm. If you snooze you lose money talks Bull s--t walks. I learned these very fast when i was in business. First person with the money gets the goods. Maynard aka/UCD

[powermax_paul 1]

Brent, Is Paypal charging now? I've never been charged when receiving Paypal payments. Paul

[beamer 0]

I personally take the first to verbally make the deal. However, I set a definite time frame for Payment. The buyer knows that if he cant get it to me on time there will be someone salivating behind them. That way anyone else coming in second or third knows when their opportunity will be and they usually have money in hand. Beamer

[SmilinSam 4,245]

My procedure is the same as Beamers. SmilinSam

[Kent 436]

Dutch, There's several reasons I use eBay, and pay the fees they charge: 1) It gets me out of this position 2) The buyers determine the price, not me, and quite often I don't know what these things are worth 3) You avoid a lot of "tire-kickers" 4) I don't enjoy the bargaining and negotiating process... some people really enjoy that, but not me. I enjoy it most when both the buyer and seller feel good about the deal... Kent

[murph 0]

I agree with beamer, that seems fair.

[Guest]

Dutch, I agree with Kent, heres another ebay point of view, my sister in law runs a very lucrative business exclusively on E-bay, she's sold thousands of items, she told me something interesting, she gets alot of what she terms "have to have" customers, someone who wants a specific item badley enough will bid beyond its true value. She often re-lists items that dont meet the "reserve" and often it will sell beyond what she expected or what the item was worth. Where or how else could this have been done before ebay with its potential buyers/shoppers in the millions or trillions or whatever it is....ebays the way to fly

[Brent_Baumer 5]

Paul, I recently sold several engineering books on ebay. Many buyers paid w/ PayPal. Every payment I received had a little deducted from it for PayPal. They also charge you a $1.50 for them to cut you a check if you want to take money out of your account via check. It is free if they deposit it electronically in your checking account. No fees to pay someone via paypal. Brent

[Woodydel 0]

I'm w/ Sam and Beamer, unless, of course, the parties wish to "bid" against each other, PRIOR to any payment being made, (assuming it's in the "For Sale" section on the Club's site only, and not already on ebay.) I mean, that's how the real estate market works, right, w/ "bidding wars"? And I must say I have always thought Sam's practice of announcing when his stuff is on ebay was a classy way to handle it. It's like--it's there, if you want it, go get it. He lets us know as a courtesy, but he's not gonna shoot himself in the foot, re: what he might ultimately get from crazed ebayers outbidding each other. And now, I THINK, and I could be wrong, but I THINK Dutch just hooked 11 "fish," me included. Somehow, I don't think our successful, retired-from-his-own-business, (I'm guessing) self-made, HORSETRADING Dutch is actually conflicted here, about such time-honored business practices as are under discussion. I think he's just floating another "fly" from his "mental creel" downstream, to see how many "bites" he can get. Well, to mix my metaphors, I guess I "call," as my cards are on the table (and we've exhausted my knowledge of poker just now--LoL!). So Dutch, whataya got? Is this a discussion "thread" or a "stringer" you've got us on here? Peter