Marketplace Stories and Idiots

My best interaction:

Decided to part with a few saws and one of them was a fairly rare and sought after MS241C. Had the usual “I have *50% of asking* right now today, cash money” and the tire kicking question asking broke bastards….

Guy messaged and said he had been looking for one for a year, understood what it was and really wanted it. He said he was in Texas for a school but would be coming back to NH where he lived in 2 weeks.

He offered to send the money but I told him I would hold it. He showed up, just like he said and we talked for a couple of hours. He was mid twenties, a professional arborist and very squared away.

We still stay in contact.
 
My two best stories...I've told them here before...

I sold a clifford intake for a 258 about 10 years ago on craigslist. Met the guy up at Winston Salem. He drove down from West Virginia. Looked and talked exactly like Popcorn Sutton. They drove up, and four guys rolled out of an old caprice, all had on bib overhauls, all looked liked they came out of a lil abner cartoon. If I remember right, he raced an AMC Hornet.

The other was my scissor lift, in 2017. After we loaded it, the seller asked if I had a cooler. Nope. So we went to the barn and he pulled down a couple of old coolers. Then filled them up with steaks, ground beef, and a leg of lamb. All had been walking around the farm the previous week.
 
StretchASU said:
This is why people like me begin to accumulate needless shit. My time is more valuable than dealing with these mouth breathers. I'll just stash it away til someone I know needs/wants whatever it is and I give it away for damn near nothing.
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I understand where youre coming from but all the no shows and time wasters ruin it for people like me that are gonna show or let the seller know if something came up and they cant make it.
 
Ive said it numerous times but I really think anybody goin to school for a degree in psychology needs to spend a semester selling on MP.
 
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Recently had a deuce and a half bed for sale on MP. It had been listed for a few months, had a guy come from VA (4 hour drive) to look at it for his local VA chapter's truck. He agreed to buy it ($1k), put a $200 deposit on it and said he would be back in a couple of weeks. That was the last I ever heard from him (tried to contact him multiple times--and he saw the messages on FB). Waited a month and I relisted it, got lucky and ended up selling it for $800. Drove 4+ hours to give me $200 for no reason 🙃
 
I bought a F350 with a dump bed, removed the bed and advertised. A guy came and paid for it and said he'd be back next week to get it. A month went by and I called him, number disconnected. I waited another 5 months and advertised again. Another fellow came and paid for it again (it was cheaper the 2nd time). He was a landscaper and said his crew would come get it out of my field, 6 months later and no one ever came and got it. I sold it twice, got paid twice and still had the dump bed. I advertised it again a young guy came to look at it and said he was just getting into the hauling business, said money was tight and asked if I would I take a few hundred less. I told him if he came and got it by the weekend , it was free. This dude felt like he'd just hit the lottery. By far the craziest MP story I've got, and I've got lots of them.
 
My dad had a truck for sale on CL, dude came and looked at it, paid for it, and said he'd be back that weekend to pick it up. Weekend came and went, no dude. Daddy tried calling but the number was no good. A few months went by, and he still hadn't heard from the guy, so he put up an ad on CL basically saying "hey, if you bought this from me, come get it out of my yard." Kept the ad up for like two months and still didn't hear from the guy. So he relisted it for sale. Over a year from the original deal, the guy randomly shows up with a tow truck to get it. I don't remember his reasoning for not coming to get it, but he ended up paying for storage since it had been so long.

Duane
 
I have bought and sold so much over the years all the stories seem to run together - except one.

I agreed to buy a very rusty CJ7 about an hour from me. It had more value in parts than the entire asking price plus a clean title in his name. I drove to his house (picture late 20s fella) and to my surprise I didn't have to pull cable on the trailer. The Jeep was able to drive onto my trailer. While I'm tying it down and he's counting the money his dad comes walking up. Says "bout time you did some sellin' cause you owe me for rent and all the other sh!t you take from me". The son says a few choice words and they start beating the crap outta each other! I'm standing there with the Jeep loaded up, I've paid the seller and have the title in my hands but it's not signed yet. We were going to go to a nearby bank to have it notarized. After what felt like forever they quit wailing on each other and the son told me he'd get cleaned up and meet me at the bank. I left. Sure enough he pulled up to the bank some-what cleaned up. Was still bleeding out of his nose some but had changed clothes.

Funniest part of the story was that the notary said "Hey Michael - so you've sold one of your cars huh?" Never mentioned the bloody nose. That was that.
 
Yes, people are THAT stupid 😂
 

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Had a 5.9 grand Cherokee listed for stupid money and was dd'ing it. Guy from pa said he was on his way to Georgia to visit his son at a military base and he wanted it but it would be 3 days before he came back through. Said I didn't care it was here. Showed up and paid full asking price. Then asked if I thought he could drive it all the way home. I told him I wasn't making any promises as I hadn't drove it over a couple hrs at a time. Two days later he text me said he made it the whole way except he got it stuck in his driveway because it snowed
 
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I low bid on eBay a lot years ago just dreaming of stuff I really couldn’t afford. Put a bid at last minute on a no reserve auction for an Audi tt turbo silver with red leather and won at 12500. It was worth 22k blue book at the time and was at a dealership in Florida. Talked to the guy after I got it shipped to me, said he always puts reserve but forgot to this time. He was on vacation when it happened, and someone else at the dealer processed the sale without question. Drove it for 3 years and sold it at a profit for 15k
 
Several years back I sold a CJ7 - cant remember if it was marketplace or CL - it was a fairly clean survivor. But needed TLC and had one spot of frame repair that needed redone. We were moving needed it gone - priced it accordingly.

This one guy called 2 or 3 times wanted tons of pictures the normal nonsense. He was from up near the NC/VA border so I get wanting to make sure it is what it is before making the drive. Sets an appt for the coming weekend to come buy it. Tells me if it checks out like it is and as you say it is sold. Told him I wouldnt sell it until he got here, but if he changed his mind let me know as I had other interest.

Next day I get a local hit. Guy wants it sight unseen for asking price. Told him guy was coming Saturday, if he didnt show I'd call him. He offered $500 more to get it today, in my less jaded days I said I had already made a deal and it was gone unless guy no showed.

Weekend comes. Guy 1 shows up on time. With his friend. Brand hammer new F350 dually with a featherlight trailer. He crawls the thing for over an hour. They test drive it. More crawling and inspecting. Then offers me maybe $200-300 below asking price. Said nope we had a deal and Ive got another offer for more than asking. Duder 1 makes a big deal about me making him drag his trailer all the way back VA. yadda yadda. Makes a big show about leaving disappointed.

I immediately call dude 2 - he says he is leaving now and will be thee in 20 minutes. I drive up to the store a mile from the house to get some drinks,beers, whatever. And there is featherlite guy at the local restaurant across from the store.

Get back to the house guy #2 is there with an envelope full of hundreds. Hands them to me jumps in and drives off while his friend drives away in the vehicle he arrived in. Easy, literal 5 minute transaction. He couldnt have made it off my street more than a minute when guy #1 pulls back up. The Jeep is obviously gone at this point. And guy gets out 'Well since I drove this far I guess I will let you rip me off I will pay your asking price'....I tell him the Jeep is sold and gone as he can see. He is fuming mad and starts bitching about me wasting his time etc.

His buddy belly laughs him and says "your plan backfired...should have bought it while you had the chance'....
 
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