What Are The Dumbest Questions You Were Asked When Selling Items?

Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 16:36
Last edited 22/01/2020 - 18:31 by 1 other user

What are the dumbest questions buyers have asked when your trying to sell something. Thought like this needed a post after trying to sell things on Gumtree and Facebook I just want to rip my eyeballs out.

Mine would be ''What year was it made?'' (Nintendo switch console)
I don't know that only Nintendo would know or whatever whoever made it. Of course this is probably not the worse I have gotten asked but it just happened and I am sorta done with all these dumb questions I keep getting.
Not to mention none of them even read the ad or rush read through it.
Oh and ''wanna meet in city?''
DDDude I live no where near the city.

Just got anther question ''Have you bought it for a long time?''
Not sure what it means?

General Discussion

Comments

  • GG57 on 22/01/2020 - 16:37
    +58

    "Is this still for sale?"
    "Would you take $20?"
    "Would you deliver it?"

    • dogboy on 22/01/2020 - 17:41
      +71

      "Is this still for sale" is reasonable imo. I have contacted a lot of people who are too lazy to take the ad down straight after selling the item. The really frustrating situation is when you arrange a time to come look at something and in the interim they sell to someone else.

      • brendanm on 22/01/2020 - 17:45
        +126

        99% of people who ask "is this still for sale", never reply when you say "yes it is".

        • dogboy on 22/01/2020 - 17:48
          +5

          That is bloody annoying.

          • windrc on 23/01/2020 - 15:51
            +4

            @dogboy: It's equally annoying when the seller say no or never reply

        • Hunter14 on 23/01/2020 - 15:08
          +1

          Yep. I still don't get why ask in the first place. I get that you normal enquire a few of the same items listed to get the lowest price but what's the point of asking if it's available and then never act on it?

          Then you got to love the time wasters that agree to come at a certain time then don't show up and make excuses. Worse is they keep doing this several times. Some people have no common courtesy.

        • geoffs87 on 23/01/2020 - 19:21

          Ohhh I hate this!!! Have the courtesy to follow up,

          But yeah; probably 1 in every 5 times I ask is this still available the answer is no.

      • gimme on 23/01/2020 - 07:30
        +28

        It's a redundant question either way. Just ask whatever your next question will be and they'll tell you if it's already sold anyway.

      • sheamas88 on 23/01/2020 - 09:07
        +5

        No it's not, just ask the first real question you want to ask.

        "When is the best time to come take a look"
        "Will you accept $X for it?"

        If it's already sold then you'll find out either way. Last time I sold a item that was in demand I got 18 different people enquiring over it and I just ignored every person who lead with "Is this still for sale?"

      • Hunter14 on 23/01/2020 - 15:05
        +1

        Yes while I do understand the seller wants to get rid of it ASAP, there should still be some form of etiquette. I was after a used gas bottle and this guy advised he only had 1 left so I arranged to meet him. When I was about to leave, he messaged me saying he already sold it. At least he had the decency to let me know before I left I guess.

      • MrKnowItAll on 24/01/2020 - 10:08

        I've accidentally clicked the "send" button on FB marketplace a few times when browsing and it send them the "is this still available?" message - though I followup with an apology for wasting their time.

        • Other on 25/01/2020 - 08:08
          -2

          you do realise you wasted more of their time by sending the apology and them having to read it?

          I like what you did there :D

          • gimme on 25/01/2020 - 09:28
            +5

            @Other: It's called commom decency.

    • Nebargains on 23/01/2020 - 20:31
      +5

      Ugh I hate that, you're selling something at a ridiculously low price already and someone comes and low balls your, then asks if you can deliver because you're too far away?

      Like what? Are these people just playing or are they serious?

      • craagz on 24/01/2020 - 10:20
        +8

        i bought a freezer off Gumtree and we didn't negotiate on the price after seeing that we were getting a good deal. The seller offered to deliver it back to my home free of charge. Such a great couple, we invited them in to our house, had a glass of water and some biscuits and a nice long chat! That day was awesome.

        Just sharing a nice positive story from Gumtree.

  • Wickz on 22/01/2020 - 16:42
    +42

    “Can I come now to look.” No sorry I’m at work. I’ll be home after 5pm.
    “Okay I’ll come now then.” No I’m at work. Any time after 5 is fine.
    “So I can come now?” BLOCK

  • spackbace on 22/01/2020 - 16:46
    +36

    What's your best price?
    What's your last price?

    • Seraphin7 on 22/01/2020 - 17:33
      +17

      Yeah, and then you tell them your final price and then they want a discount on that.

      • Wystri Warrick on 22/01/2020 - 19:05
        +17

        Then they agree to your price and a time and date is set to meet up, when they arrive they try to haggle the price down…

        • spackbace on 23/01/2020 - 12:52
          +6

          Or they show up with a smaller amount of cash

          • Jules_d1 on 24/01/2020 - 10:03

            @spackbace: Never fall for that. You have all the power there.

            They have made the effort to come all that way. You just stepped out of your home/apartment.

            You can just shrug and walk inside. Their who trip was wasted. They wont walk away.

            • Cristobel on 24/01/2020 - 19:41
              +4

              @Jules_d1: I try and tell my husband this all the time…. if they haven't tried to negotiate the price BEFORE they arrive on your doorstep, then they are 100% willing to pay what you've asked, so don't negotiate once they get there!

            • anastasiastarz on 26/01/2020 - 23:33

              @Jules_d1: Lol as if we meet at my place :P
              Always at a gas station.

      • sheamas88 on 23/01/2020 - 09:10
        +5

        Literally for one of my ad's on Gumtree now

        Buyer: "What's your best price?"
        Me: "What's listed in the ad, $300"
        Seller: "Will you take $100?"
        Me: "No, I won't consider anything that low"
        Seller: "Are you sure you won't take $100?"

        • BreezyPalms on 23/01/2020 - 09:21
          +16

          I usually respond to low ball offers with a counter offer that is +25% of the advertised price.

          E.g. used car I listed for $12,000
          - time waster: will you take $7,000 cash today
          - me: No
          - time-waster: what is your best price
          - me $15,000
          - time waster: but that is higher than your asking price
          - me: but you were never going to buy it anyway

        • tryagain on 23/01/2020 - 09:31
          +1

          I usually up the price when they offer under your lowest price eg

          Buyer: "What's your best price?"
          Me: "What's listed in the ad, $300"
          Seller: "Will you take $100?"
          Me: "No, my lowest price has now also gone up to $350"

          • BreezyPalms on 23/01/2020 - 13:00
            +2

            @tryagain: Also love that used car buyers think paying cash is an advantage…. if you pay by bank deposit or cheque you aren’t getting the keys until it clears in my account so it’s no difference to me!

            • Hunter14 on 23/01/2020 - 16:09
              +1

              @BreezyPalms: Think the idea is you get the cash sooner rather than having to wait a few days for the deposit/cheque to clear. I for one prefer cash every time.

              • BreezyPalms on 24/01/2020 - 08:15
                +1

                @Hunter14: I prefer direct deposit selling a car if its a large sum…. No need to count say 240*$50 notes, that could possibly have a few counterfeit ones thrown in (which happened to a mate). No need to go to the bank to deposit it. No security concern having $12K cash on you/ at home.

                Regardless, the point is… I am not a business so offering me cash has no material benefit to me (i.e. to avoid tax) and certainly does not warrant any discount!

                For an item sub $1,000 cash is king

                • clubberlang on 24/01/2020 - 12:36

                  @BreezyPalms: A friend of a friend used to buy cars from ads in the paper all the time buy them cheap and do them up and re-sell them for profit.

                  He used to turn up on their doorstep at 6am and offer cash a fair bit below what they were selling it for. Hi spiel was always "you have to sit around all day waiting for a buyer at the price you want and it might never happen".

                  It was a pretty successful method as the vast majority of sellers accepted.

                  • BreezyPalms on 25/01/2020 - 07:58

                    @clubberlang: Sure but they sound like desperate or lazy sellers. My first rule of selling is not to be desperate (I.e under time pressure) as that never yields the best result. Give yourself time to do it properly, research prices for equivalent model and price it properly in the first place.

                    Second - I only let someone inspect if they have made a genuine enquiry and have not attempted to negotiate before seeing the car as they are mostly low-ballers or dreamers. If someone asks about the car and then asks if I am negotiable on price I say sure but only after you inspect, we can then discuss price.

                    This sorts out the wheat from the chaff.

                    So in summary, a low ball “cash today” offer is always a waste of my time. Cash does not warrant a 40% discount!

                    • knoxy1001 on 29/01/2020 - 10:52

                      @BreezyPalms: I always try and negotiate before I go and inspect. No point wasting my time on looking at a 25k car if I've only got 22k (or 8k bike if I've only got 6.5). Bought 2-3 cars/bikes like this.

                    • Ughhh on 31/01/2020 - 17:28

                      @BreezyPalms:

                      If someone asks about the car and then asks if I am negotiable on price I say sure but only after you inspect, we can then discuss price.

                      But they can still say "oh… I can only afford 60% of your asking price", even if they're genuine buyers.

                      • BreezyPalms on 01/02/2020 - 10:35

                        @Ughhh: I think we have a different understanding of what a genuine buyer is. A Genuine buyer should do their homework and know what the approximate value of a car.

                        In my opinion, if the car is priced fairly (based on comparable asking prices for the same model and year / red book validation), then an offer at 40% off the asking price, with no justification for discount, is not genuine…. it is a low ball offer made by a time waster (aka a dreamer)!

                        If they said something like, I’ve seen a lot of this particular model sell at around $x and that’s about how much I have, that would be be a reasonable point to consider.

                  • Other on 25/01/2020 - 08:13
                    +4

                    @clubberlang: If someone called me at 6am I would tell them to go jump. Off something high.

                    Damn morning people…..

                    • clubberlang on 26/01/2020 - 20:26

                      @Other: I hear ya I'd threaten the guy lol But this was back in the day of newspaper ads where I think you had to include your address in the ad so he would turn up on their front door 6am Saturday morning.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/01/2020 - 19:46
      +5

      Best price is full price.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/01/2020 - 08:06

      This is the most annoying question. I always just tell them what do you think?

    • spackbace on 23/01/2020 - 12:51
      +1

      That moment people think I'm referring to Gumtree sales ;)

    • geoffs87 on 23/01/2020 - 19:22
      +2

      What the duck is last price anyway?

    • DonWilson on 24/01/2020 - 00:00

      I had some 19 year old kid try that best price bollocks for renting a room in my house. I stuck to the list price but that was only because I was holding myself back from slowly raising it every time he asked.

      I respect a dumb low ball offer over a best price question any day.

  • djones145 on 22/01/2020 - 16:53
    +8

    gonna create
    what's the dumbest sellers that wont answer questions

    what year was the switch made

    :)

    I think they mean what's the serial code on the switch so they can figure out if it can be hacked, usually older ones can be hacked

    • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 16:53

      its in the listing and on pictures..

      • [Deactivated] on 26/01/2020 - 16:39
        -1

        lol owned

    • 87percent on 22/01/2020 - 16:54
      +24

      There’s also the new switch with the extended battery life. Not such a stupid question, IMO

      • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 16:55

        maybe read my ad and look at the pictures the serial number is on there and everything.

          • DarwinBoy on 23/01/2020 - 11:01
            +3

            @djones145: I think this post is proving there are always stupid questions.
            And that's because there are plenty of stupid people.

          • timmeh15 on 23/01/2020 - 17:54
            +1

            @djones145: Sorry to break your bubble but there is such thing as a stupid question, which in itself is completely avoidable if people bothered to look rather than just ask.

  • plmko on 22/01/2020 - 16:54
    +47

    Asking when the Nintendo Switch was made is not dumb, OP you're just a bit slow as to why.

      • richadam on 22/01/2020 - 16:58
        +10

        Serial number?

        • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 16:59
          -7

          serial number does not say what year and what day it was made lol.
          Again i include serial number in the ad, at least half of it so they cant steal the serial number ( Mods can do that)

          • Blitzfx on 22/01/2020 - 21:55
            +1

            @Rukiata: What can they do with your full serial number?

            • Other on 25/01/2020 - 08:15

              @Blitzfx: build their own switch of course - and then use the persons code!

              Saying that it would simply be cheaper to buy a switch.

      • meeowth on 22/01/2020 - 17:57
        +6

        I would have personally answered with when I bought it, since that puts a lower limit on it's age and the buyer can decide if they want to risk it if it's not quite as old as they want.

        • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 18:01
          -7

          This is a few months old and its still not the upgraded version since everyone thinks 2019 is the upgraded version. I can just say 2019 and they will think its the upgraded version. Plus I wouldn't even be lying

          If they asked what year I bought it then yes that makes better sense then when was it made lmao

          • meeowth on 22/01/2020 - 18:07
            +6

            @Rukiata: I would have assumed they where trying to avoid the newer ones, since they can't be hacked. All the savvy sellers charge more for older Switches that haven't had recent updates installed.

            • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 18:07
              -1

              @meeowth: You can simply check the serial number.. if its patched or not, if its the upgraded version or not.
              They can ask better questions like has it been updated to latest firmware?

              • Forenti on 23/01/2020 - 01:20
                +4

                @Rukiata: How can they check the serial number if you only put half of it up?

            • DreadPirateRoberts on 22/01/2020 - 21:32
              +1

              @meeowth: Updates don't matter much if you have a hackable Switch. You'll still be able to smash the stack regardless of the firmware :)

              • meeowth on 22/01/2020 - 21:37
                +1

                @DreadPirateRoberts: Shhhh, we don't want the sellers to know.

                "Sorry mate, looks like you've updated it, I'll only pay the unhackable rate."

  • Yummy on 22/01/2020 - 16:56
    +17

    Is it available?

    Buyer asked for pick up address. Gave the meet up address to buyer. Asked buyer for confirmations if s/he coming? No further respond.

    • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 16:57
      +1

      This scares me every time when it happens, also when they just say oh nevermind to far
      (because they cant read ad as well cause I added in postcode gives a rough idea where abouts pick up is.)
      Hope they ant robbers or something

      • Yummy on 22/01/2020 - 17:30
        +11

        That is why you never gave out your home address to strangers. Use your work address or nearest Maccas, or best Police Station.

        • fatpizza on 22/01/2020 - 18:09
          +3

          I live in a bunch of units. I tell people the address of the unit block, and when they're actually on their way I'll tell them the unit number.

          • stickyfingers on 23/01/2020 - 05:20
            +1

            @fatpizza: I just give them the street name and then when they’re close the unit block number and meet them outside. Never have to give them my actual unit number.

    • brendanm on 22/01/2020 - 18:05
      +2

      Tell them to call you when they are on the way, then you'll give them the address.

      • gimme on 23/01/2020 - 07:36

        This

  • wallet72 on 22/01/2020 - 17:04
    +4

    on the other hand, my friend got screwed when he bought a DS and it didn't work, the seller argued (successfully, screw you PayPal) that he was never asked if it worked and never said it worked.

    So now, no matter how stupid it seems, I always asks 'does it work properly?'

    • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 17:07
      +2

      No thats a good question and ''does it have any problems?'
      I bought a Nintendo switch off ebay
      (Still having trouble with seller)

      it has a crack and hole in it and seller says well its used sooo…
      But ad never said it was this damaged at all or mentioned it. im still fighting him his just ignoring me I already opened case with ebay

      • The Az on 22/01/2020 - 23:01
        +2

        Cannot trust anyone selling S#!t anymore.. purchased a phone for my mum on eBay two weeks ago with PayPal and seller cancelled after 2 days and started a refund.. 3 days later cancelled refund too. spoke to PayPal and they said you need to open a dispute.. um no the the F@#€ I don't.. I am your customer and seller just screwed me out of 200 dollars.. time to show what customer service is about and help a brother out..

        Finally pulled their finger out today to email seller then they will force money back into my account in 10 days.. I swear.. over buying stuff from people even on eBay.

  • HardlyCharly on 22/01/2020 - 17:15
    +2

    Will you take (insert 50% of carefully researched amount which I always generously undercut to make things quick here) for it?

    I just laugh at them. If you want to play games go back to the 70's.

    Asking anything which I've already included in the ad or pictures. Groan.

    Somebody also asked me to drive this small box to their house 40 mins away. Nope, what the hell.

    I do understand asking about transporting furniture, the hassle of hiring a guy with a ute off gumtree or renting one or a trailer for a day, plus the expense really freaking sucks. Particularly because you can't really trust it'll be there once you sort it all out and get to the address. But I'd have to imagine it would be in the ad if they had the vehicle and were willing to do it (like the desk I just got, cool guy, I was happy to pay extra for delivery).

    • chriskq on 23/01/2020 - 08:55
      +1

      What's the 70's and playing games got to do with each other?

      • Gnostikos on 23/01/2020 - 17:01
        +3

        Don't be such a spaz, maaaan. He's just a groovy cat, that's all. Can you dig it?

  • Sterio on 22/01/2020 - 17:19

    Yesterday I advertised am item for $500. Message received "I offer $500". After replying when can u pick it up, no further communication.

    The other day. Item advertised. Potential buyer (scam artist) asks for my email. Tell them to call me as number is on ad. Reply received "I ask bcos my Gumtree message is full". U don't want to know what my reply was.

    • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 17:28

      I just report the spammers/scammers messages and dont reply
      I have noticed they always have very bad English.
      And mine is not even that great. lol

    • nickxau on 22/01/2020 - 17:37

      So what was your reply?

  • pegaxs on 22/01/2020 - 17:31
    +14

    Questions that are already answered in the listing…

    How old? It's in the listing…
    How many km? It's in the listing…
    What colour is it? It's in the listing…
    How much do you want for it? It's in the listing…

    • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 17:32

      YES this. This is the problem I have.

    • scrambledeggs on 22/01/2020 - 17:34
      -1

      It is pretty standard to ask these sorts of questions about a car to determine if the seller has multiple listings and sells cars for a living versus someone selling their only car for whatever reason.

      • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 17:44
        +1

        You can always find their other listings in their profiles. even on fb

        • scrambledeggs on 22/01/2020 - 17:49
          -1

          How about on car sales? Or on a car on the side of the road?

          • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 17:51

            @scrambledeggs: Pretty sure you can on carsales as well?
            well if you found a car on side of the road thats a bit scary. Plus they cant give you a book with info lol

            • scrambledeggs on 22/01/2020 - 17:54
              -1

              @Rukiata: You cannot on carsales and people frequently put "for sale" signs on cars parked on the road, i'm sure you've seen them.

              • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 18:04

                @scrambledeggs: Thats different then online with the listing you could read

                • scrambledeggs on 22/01/2020 - 18:07
                  -1

                  @Rukiata: The fact still remains I have asked "dumb" questions like these before (i.e. non specific, what colour is the car in the ad?, how many km does the car in the ad have?) to determine if they are a car re-seller or not.

                  • Rukiata on 22/01/2020 - 18:13
                    -1

                    @scrambledeggs: There are lots of car scammers so i see that as fine, plus you just want to cover everything is right and stuffz. Never said you were wrong.

                  • brendanm on 22/01/2020 - 18:20
                    +3

                    @scrambledeggs: How does that determine anything? Gumtree tells you what item they are enquiring about? You just look like a nut who can't read an ad.

                    • scrambledeggs on 22/01/2020 - 18:48
                      +1

                      @brendanm: Call or text buyer using number on gumtree, "how many km does the car have"? Either they know immediately, or they ask "which car"?

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