The Cold Decline - Reverb and eBay Sellers...

[SavageRiffer]

So even though I've quit buying anything of value beyond $100-200 on eBay or Reverb, I was shopping around yesterday for a pickup at Rainbow Guitars listed for $69.95 + free shipping. It had a best offer, so I submitted an offer of $60.00. I waited the full 24 hours to hear anything back from them, then right at the end I got a cold decline - no counter-offer, no explanation, just a cold decline.

Well that kind of pisses me off because it was not a lowball offer and because I was genuinely interested in buying it. I would have even bought it at their listed price if the best offer wasn't available. I think it's rude and inconsiderate that you take the time to consider buying something, make a reasonable offer, and get shot down after waiting an entire day, but with no explanation whatsoever.

Certainly, I have no problem with them not selling something or whatever. That's their right, but THEY are the ones who put the best offer there, and as far as I'm concerned, they should at least respond with some degree of consideration to reasonable offers. I kind of makes you feel like you're not even worth their time. I mean, what the fuck did they expect, an offer of $69.94?

If they would have said, sorry that was a mistake and $65.99 is the lowest we can go, I would have accepted that and there's a possibility that I would have gone ahead and bought it. However, NOTHING -- not a peep -- just a cold, dead decline. What makes matters worse is that they waited the whole 24 hours to respond. Hell, they might have just as well let the offer expire. I could have bought something else, but I was fairly confident that we'd be able to work out a price. It was a total waste of time.

This is what I call the cold decline. Unfortunately, it's a symptom of a much greater societal problem these days. Customer service has died off. The few companies still practicing good customer service are like the last of the Mohicans. Don't you find this kind of thing at least a bit irritating?

 

[cardinal]

I mean, did you take the time to explain why you were making the offer you did? I find that if I can justify the offer using comparables, etc., sellers are much nicer. But if you just said "I'll pay $60," doesn't seem odd for them to just decline if they didn't want to take it.

 

[garey77]

I'd try to not take it personally. You don't know them, they don't know you.

 

[Zachalou]

I never buy from ebay, but on reverb I have had nothing but good experiences, I have bought and sold a lot on there. But that's just my experience of course

 

[7 Stringer]

Totally get your point, i get this all the time from buyers, and sellers. SUCKS.

Typical question: Would you accept $50 for your $75 pedal?

Typical response: Yes i would, lets do this.

Typical scenario: NOTHING, NOT A PEEP......Even after multiple reply's.

Fuck them.

I am not one of them, i honor my word...always.

Times are getting bad.

I am all about the sincere handshake, very rare these days i might add.

 

[SavageRiffer]

Totally get your point, i get this all the time from buyers, and sellers. SUCKS.

Typical question: Would you accept $50 for your $75 pedal?

Typical response: Yes i would, lets do this.

Typical scenario: NOTHING, NOT A PEEP......Even after multiple reply's.

Fuck them.

I am not one of them, i honor my word...always.

Times are getting bad.

I am all about the sincere handshake, very rare these days i might add.

It's true because time are getting worse and worse. I don't take it personally, but I'll admit it is kind of irritating. $60 for a $69 pickup isn't a lowball offer by any stretch of the imagination. Plus, they specified that they wanted to accept offers in their auctions. It's not something that is set by default. If they didn't want to accept offers, then they should not put that. It's just a waste of people's time.

 

[daveyisgreatmkii]

People are horrible these days. I'll happily pay a bit more for those who value me as a customer.

Regarding Rainbow Guitars, I bought some Klein pickups from them once over the phone, and got pretty lukewarm treatment from them -- almost disinterest, really. I don't intend to shop with them again.

 

[Ventura]

People are horrible these days. I'll happily pay a bit more for those who value me as a customer.

Regarding Rainbow Guitars, I bought some Klein pickups from them once over the phone, and got pretty lukewarm treatment from them -- almost disinterest, really. I don't intend to shop with them again.

THIS right here is what this thread should and will do - put a black mark on this outfit "Rainbow Guitars" so that maybe they get the hint they'll have to offer a little more in the foreplay department before simply bending their customers over.

Protest is easy - don't buy from them - and maybe someone will see these types of posts about their business modicum and they'll come to realize the "human touch" makes a world of difference in the realm of commerce.

 

[SavageRiffer]

People are horrible these days. I'll happily pay a bit more for those who value me as a customer.

Regarding Rainbow Guitars, I bought some Klein pickups from them once over the phone, and got pretty lukewarm treatment from them -- almost disinterest, really. I don't intend to shop with them again.

THIS right here is what this thread should and will do - put a black mark on this outfit "Rainbow Guitars" so that maybe they get the hint they'll have to offer a little more in the foreplay department before simply bending their customers over.

Protest is easy - don't buy from them - and maybe someone will see these types of posts about their business modicum and they'll come to realize the "human touch" makes a world of difference in the realm of commerce.

It's funny that you say this because one thing I've noticed is that when someone mentions a deadbeat seller or a company with bad customer service, there are always people who've had similar experiences with that same place. Literally, the two times that I was ripped off in a trade and a couple of bad customer service experiences -- without mentioning anyone by name at first-- people contacted me with the exact name of who I was talking about. Amazing! It's like people develop a pretty good profile of someone through their experience dealing with them.

 

[sleewell2]

I just meet them on golf courses and beat them up.

 

[technomancer]

Since I see the pile on starting already... I've dealt with them three times on guitars and pickups and they were great every time. I've also done pricing inquiries on a couple things I didn't end up buying and had no issues there either. Interactions have been by email and phone and zero issues.

 

[scottosan]

I don't see a problem. The do accept offers. I've bought from them before. $9 dollars doesn't sound like a lot but 15 percent does. It's not smart to deviate from a business model. If you listed an amp for $2000 and got offered $1700 you'd likely consider that lowballed. You have to look at it from a percentage standpoint since they deal in quantity.

 

[SavageRiffer]

I don't see a problem. The do accept offers. I've bought from them before. $9 dollars doesn't sound like a lot but 15 percent does. It's not smart to deviate from a business model. If you listed an amp for $2000 and got offered $1700 you'd likely consider that lowballed. You have to look at it from a percentage standpoint since they deal in quantity.

Like I stated in the beginning, I have no problem with that at all. I even said in my opening post that I might have possibly even bought it at their listed price. The problem is that they waited the whole 24 hours to turn me down without any explanation whatsoever. That's a big waste of my time. I made a reasonable offer and waited for them for an entire day. I didn't make any other purchase because if they were to accept, then I'd be stuck with two purchases.

You're missing the whole point here man. If someone takes the time to make you an offer -- because THEY'RE the one who invited offers -- then THE LEAST they can do is say a few words to explain or counter the offer. To decline an interested customer cold is fucking rude and a total waste of time. I'll even go as far as to say that if they would have did a cold decline within several hours of my offer, I wouldn't have cared. To wait until the next afternoon though -- and we're not talking about a simple matter of time zones either -- well, that's just shitty customer service.

It's not just them. A lot of sellers these days just don't give a shit as if people go into business with the idea that it doesn't matter if they're assholes or not. Maybe in today's world of detached, blasé millenials that's OK. Hell maybe I'm just old-fashioned and outdated. Maybe we are literally in a state of the world now where no one gives a shit about anyone else. I don't know, but if a legitimate customer takes the fucking time to make you a reasonable offer, then don't a be dickhead and turn them down cold without any explanation whatsoever. Furthermore, when you do that, you shut the customer down from any chance of increasing their offer. It's just shitty, bad business man.

 

[daveyisgreatmkii]

I think it’s about common courtesy which isn’t so common anymore.

 

[scottosan]

I think it’s about common courtesy which isn’t so common anymore.

What is common courtesy in regards to eBay? It's not a face to face market place and most people are anonymous. Offers are made in a basic manner and the option to accept or decline in the same. While you can send a message does it really change the end result.

If you hit on a hot chick and get declined, whether she simply told you no or let you down lightly, the end result was the same an neither should be taken to offense. I don't get the level butt hurt and victim card playing in the world today. These are first world problems.

 

[GOHOINC]

Another thread complaining cuz you don't get your way? You feel slighted because someone didn't respond.

Maybe your next offer should be for a pair of big boy pants? Or some Kleenex for your tears?

You made an offer and got no response. If that is the worst problem in your day just shut the hell up and move on with life.

Here come the "don't like my thread don't comment" comments...

 

[technomancer]

I think it’s about common courtesy which isn’t so common anymore.

What is common courtesy in regards to eBay? It's not a face to face market place and most people are anonymous. Offers are made in a basic manner and the option to accept or decline in the same. While you can send a message does it really change the end result.

If you hit on a hot chick and get declined, whether she simply told you no or let you down lightly, the end result was the same an neither should be taken to offense. I don't get the level butt hurt and victim card playing in the world today. These are first world problems.

There are a LOT of people that seem to go out of their way to find something to complain about on the internet

 

[GOHOINC]

Option 1: move on with life and find someone more courteous to buy a pickup from.

Option 2: complain to an interweb message board about the downfall of modern civilization because a business owner was too busy with more important things to respond to a crappy offer on a cheap pickup.

Thank you for choosing option 2 and providing the comic relief my morning needed. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

 

[guitup too]

That is a whole lot of butt hurt over $10.

 

[SavageRiffer]

There is a lot of ignorance in this thread, and it's not coming from me. It's coming from small thinkers who would like to believe it's about one transaction (attempted) or about being a victim, or some other stupid shit. These people CLEARLY missed the point. There is a bigger picture, and as I CLEARLY wrote that it's a "symptom of a greater societal problem." How is it that you seem to ignore everything else said and so handily sum it up in such an insulting way? I have to wonder whether it's because it's just in your nature to be assholes or if you just have low reading comprehension.

I appreciate those of you who understood the point here. Some of us are disappointed in the decline of our society to the point where even when you're paying people for something THEY offer to sell to you, somehow or another, they have it in mind that they don't have to give a shit. People who criticize this perspective are the very kind of people who make society this way because they just delight in being little, narrow-minded pricks that want to get under someone's skin. Anyone who hasn't noticed that customer service has generally gone south these days probably thinks that way because they're just assholes themselves - they can't identify with non-assholes.

Sometimes you want to discuss something a philosophical, but then the small brains come along and fuck it up because they aren't capable of understanding it. When you're educated and spend a lot of your time theorizing and developing solutions for the real world, you tend to form the habit of talking about things beyond face value. Sometimes you attempt that on forums like this because you know there are a few people who can think on that level, but almost inevitably, someone with a little brain comes along and makes it out to be something it's not, then all the other little brains and little dicks pile in and next thing you know, the mob is in full swing. It's fucking stupid and it sucks that no one can discuss anything beyond "Yeah that's cool. My brother has one of those." or some other kind of trite bullshit.