Am I Being Unreasonable?

[bhuard75]

Seller will be saving a ton selling off of Reverb too. Basic seller fees are 8.5% including payment processing. Probably the same amount the buyer is saving in sales tax.

8.5%... fuck that. Tell your buyer you're raising the price $450.

 

[skoora]

Eventually you just need to make a stand when and if you have a great piece of gear at a better than average price. I’ve learnt saying no to excessive haggling to be fun. If they disappear they were never a serious buyer. There might be another they say is a little less but you look at the listing and it’s missing the footswitch and is cosmetically worse. Sorry, nope.
You can always direct to them to one of those Netherlands listings with the $330 shipping

 

[legend71]

Tell that guy to move along. That is what I do when people try and haggle me. I can take a little, but I will do nothing that is not in my interests or doesn't protect me from thieves.

 

[alund]

above comments pretty much sums it up. my response is; fuuuuuck that. face to face selling in a safe space. or become a hoarder like me .

 

[napalmdeath]

What's his feedback look like? I use a common sense approach. I've done deals off Reverb, never had a problem. If they're a straight shooter with extensive feedback, (5 stars only), I don't worry. Now, if they have little feedback, or any of it is negative, I run. Forget it.

 

[67mike]

 

[SomedudeinTX]

I did a deal off reverb for a pricey amp once but told the guy I would only accept USPS money orders and would ship as soon as the post office cashed them out for me. Smooth transaction saved us a ton on fees and what not and no chance of him getting buyers remorse demanding a refund. I doubt most people would agree to money orders these days. Hell I had to walk the guy through the process of buying the money orders lol.

 

[VonBonfire]

I did a deal off reverb for a pricey amp once but told the guy I would only accept USPS money orders and would ship as soon as the post office cashed them out for me. Smooth transaction saved us a ton on fees and what not and no chance of him getting buyers remorse demanding a refund. I doubt most people would agree to money orders these days. Hell I had to walk the guy through the process of buying the money orders lol.

This used to be common when doing online guns/ammo purchases through forums. High degree of trust required but I've done it successfully with trusted members. It seems like after around 2010-2011 the level of trustworthiness with online ebay type and forum sales crashed out bad. There was always the idiot who'd F&F pay with "for 9mm" or "for AR15" in the notes part who'd get the payment flagged and screw everything up. Morons, lol.

 

[cobrahead1030]

I don’t like to deal with buyers that want to nit pick like that. I present a reasonable price & terms of sale, they can take it or leave it.

I don’t bug the piss out of sellers if I’m buying something either.

 

[harddriver]

Just remember if he pays with G&S he will be able to claim anything if he test drives your amp for 90 days and then says it was damaged in shipping! It is possible after 90 days he could force a refund and maybe not return your amp at all. It's been done to sellers in the past and I don't know how the buyers get away with it but they do.

Anything big these day for me has to be an in person sale which are final after the buyer drives off. I'm not going to guarantee a refund 90 day after the fact of the sale.

That being said, since he is saving buying out of Reverb he shouldn't bitch about shipping being what it is. If you really want the sale I guess it doesn't hurt for him to try to negotiate what he can. In the end you call the shots.

 

[FourT6and2]

Listed an amp on Reverb. Potential buyer messages me with questions and eventually we move to personal email. We agree to direct sale along with price. I told him I prefer PP F&F but if he wants G&S he'll need to add the extra 3.5% to the price to cover fees. I told him everything comes fully insured so he's protected if there's damage.

He then laughs at the notion of F&F and uses the example of shipping the amp to him before he pays me. He also told me we should split the fees. I really want to sell this amp but now I'm not sure if I want to make the sale.

A couple of years ago I was burnt on a G&S sale where the buyer claimed the item was damaged. PP sided with him and he got a full refund. He shipped the amp back and there was nothing wrong with it.

This is just a question of math.

Reverb takes 8.5% from your sale. PP G&S is 3.5%. If you split G&S, it's 1.75% each.
Do you want to lose 8.5% or 1.5%?
Buyer saves on taxes too. So if it were me, I'd take the deal and split the fees. You net 6.75% more...

Or you could counter and tell him he's saving way more on taxes by doing the deal off Reverb. So he can either buy it on Reverb or pay the full 3.5%.

 

[guitarmike]

I understand it from his POV which is why I linked him all my feedback across multiple platforms to try and put him at ease that I'm a reputable seller.

He was really happy to not have to pay any sales tax or additional shipping costs. If he buys via reverb he's paying over $300 in sales tax along with the $125 for shipping but he wants me to split a $130 PP fee.

I have sold a lot on line, over 5000 sales on just eBay and that buyer is going to screw you over regardless of how you transact with him. Do not sell it to him.

 

[FourT6and2]

I'd definitely back out of a deal if a seller suggested using F&F unless it was someone I had established a previous track record of good dealings and trustworthiness with.

Even if they gave the option of using goods and services with 3.5% added? How is preferring not to lose 3.5% sketchy? Makes no sense to me. As a seller, I don't care what method is used as long as I get my asking price or negotiated price. As a buyer, I would prefer PP goods and services and I'm happy to pay the fees for the service I'm getting. If a seller says, "You can pay with F&F or G&S + fees," I don't see a problem with that. Buyer is still in control.

 

[Techdeth]

Fuck that guy

 

[DanTravis62]

You can always direct to them to one of those Netherlands listings with the $330 shipping

TFW trying to find a Steavens Poundcake

 

[VonBonfire]

Even if they gave the option of using goods and services with 3.5% added? How is preferring not to lose 3.5% sketchy? Makes no sense to me. As a seller, I don't care what method is used as long as I get my asking price or negotiated price. As a buyer, I would prefer PP goods and services and I'm happy to pay the fees for the service I'm getting. If a seller says, "You can pay with F&F or G&S + fees," I don't see a problem with that. Buyer is still in control.

While I mostly agree with you, imagine using the F&F method on a vintage or rare amp or guitar that shows up with a bunch of damage accrued during shipping. Then what? From what I've gathered Fedex and UPS only insure to a certain amount, 2k I think, and won't insure vintage gear. What if the box is "delivered" but it's empty inside? Who is to be believed? How do you settle a shit show like that? I see dudes using F&F all the time on 2-3-4-5k gear. To me you gotta be outta your damn mind especially considering how lousy the shippers are today.

 

[Ryan990]

I appreciate all of the responses. I told the guy if he wants to buy it he can purchase it through Reverb. Yeah I'll make less money but he'll end up spending way more through them than had he done the deal direct, so i can live with that outcome. If I don't hear back or he says no thanks, he was probably never really interested or just looking to try and get one over on me.

 

[romanianreaper]

I didn't hear the buyer say one positive thing. Split fees, laughing, sending the amp, etc. Sounds like a piece of garbage. Find someone else to buy your amp.

 

[DanTravis62]

I appreciate all of the responses. I told the guy if he wants to buy it he can purchase it through Reverb. Yeah I'll make less money but he'll end up spending way more than had he done the deal direct, so i can live with that outcome. If I don't hear back or he says no thanks, he was probably never really interested or just looking to try and get one over on me.

Yeah man, worst case scenario this dude is a scammer, best case scenario he's a dipshit who displayed a whole bunch of red flags that kept him from getting a good price on the amp

I'm sorry, I cannot fucking fathom taking an amp sale convo to private email and then immediately asking to split a hundred dollar or whatever shipping price when you'd be saving at least three hundred just by doing goods and services, or even more F&F.

Save the offline/F&F deals for known quantities and guys that you trust and know

Just everything about this story screams "danger" to me because of dude's behavior, and I'm glad you asked RT before you went through with it or felt pressured to do so

 

[FourT6and2]

While I mostly agree with you, imagine using the F&F method on a vintage or rare amp or guitar that shows up with a bunch of damage accrued during shipping. Then what?

That isn't what you said. You implied that IF a seller asked to use F&F, THEN you would back out of the deal. That has nothing to do with FedEx or UPS or insurance or a box showing up empty. Two different issues. A seller merely mentioning F&F as an option is an automatic deal breaker for you? Even if they are willing to accept other forms of payment, including G&S? That's what I'm asking.

Some say, "Oh if they even mention F&F, they're a scammer." I don't agree with that. I think one needs to look at the totality of the circumstances and judge each transaction on its own merits. If a seller exhibits other red flags, then sure... asking for F&F or a bank wire or money orders certainly doesn't help their case.