Vehicle sale - Seller takes higher offer after deal made

Franklin

Franklin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Hickory NC
Had this happen on a vehicle i was buying posted inthe For Sale section. Agreed on price, method of payment and was meeting this evening to complete the deal. Got PMs and the texts to prove it. Get a text this afternoon that he had a higher offer and was taking it. It was for $1k more than our agreed price.

Now i know that we all have dealt with scheechy craiglist buyers/sellers and it was $1k. But this site is home and has been that way for 10 years or more. I have never had any issues buying and selling on NC4x4. I do not believe in eating and dumping in the same place. It is a "first with cash world" and that is how i handle most transactions. But i guess i viewed this place differently.

Too bad we dont live in the handshake deal, my word is my bond world of years past. Cold day in hell before my honor,integrity and reputation are only worth $1k or $100k or $100m.

Should i out the guy or am i simply behind the times? What sayeth thou fello NC4x4 members?
 
That's pretty messed up.
 
Do I think it was wrong? Yes. It has happened to me on this board too. But the world we live in is no longer about words and handshakes. Would outing him make the situation better? Live and learn.

Duane
 
"Technically", you had a contract with him. It had all the parts of a contract - Offer, Acceptance and Consideration. You made an offer, (s)he accepted it and you had agreed on terms to complete. The reason I put technically in quotes is that by him breaking the "contract" you really aren't out anything since cash hadn't traded hands yet and he texted you before you left your house to compete the deal. Don't get me wrong, it was still a d!ck move on their part, but they at least sent you the text and gave you some heads-up. I've seen deals go a LOT worse than that.

Personally, I'd chalk it up to experience and not out the person, but I've become a lot more laid back in recent years.
 
ManglerYJ said:
"Technically", you had a contract with him. It had all the parts of a contract - Offer, Acceptance and Consideration. You made an offer, (s)he accepted it and you had agreed on terms to complete. The reason I put technically in quotes is that by him breaking the "contract" you really aren't out anything since cash hadn't traded hands yet and he texted you before you left your house to compete the deal. Don't get me wrong, it was still a d!ck move on their part, but they at least sent you the text and gave you some heads-up. I've seen deals go a LOT worse than that.

Personally, I'd chalk it up to experience and not out the person, but I've become a lot more laid back in recent years.
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X2
 
Hurley said:
Sux, but 'outing' someone on an online forum typically does not benefit either party involved.
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Yep.
Well said Hurley,
 
Agree. Will remain silent. But will still trust as i expect to be trusted. Always another ride out there and still keep the good karma!
 
Well, I feel your pain.

However, for 1k? I would have called you and said, "Sorry dude, I gotta go where the money is at"
 
ManglerYJ said:
"Technically", you had a contract with him. It had all the parts of a contract - Offer, Acceptance and Consideration. You made an offer, (s)he accepted it and you had agreed on terms to complete. The reason I put technically in quotes is that by him breaking the "contract" you really aren't out anything since cash hadn't traded hands yet and he texted you before you left your house to compete the deal. Don't get me wrong, it was still a d!ck move on their part, but they at least sent you the text and gave you some heads-up. I've seen deals go a LOT worse than that.

Personally, I'd chalk it up to experience and not out the person, but I've become a lot more laid back in recent years.
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In NC an oral contract is as good as the paper it is written on.

Hurley said:
Sux, but 'outing' someone on an online forum typically does not benefit either party involved.
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It's not meant to benefit the screwer and I'd say it would make the screwee feel better.
Who it would benefit the most is the people the screwer will be dealing w/ in the future.

That being said I could out a few different 4x4 companies I've dealt with over the last two years that have screwed me but I haven't. And they should be glad too.
 
Jeff B said:
Well, I feel your pain.

However, for 1k? I would have called you and said, "Sorry dude, I gotta go where the money is at"
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pretty much this.

to be honest...If I were in your sheos and a guy got a grand more than I was willing to pay Id congratulate him and move on.
 
I'm w/ Ron, Jeff and others.
A thousand bucks is no small chunk of change... but I would call and tell you up front what was happening, apologize, and ofer the opportunity to match (or even come close).

At least guy did tell you, I've been in situations, as have many others here where they didn't even bother to tell me/them until I showed up.
 
Like Jeff Ron and Dave said... I have been in that situation and done the same thing, and had it done to me.
The guy let you know, and was straight up, you really cannot be mad for him taking a grand more. If it was a hundred bucks, I would understand your frustration.

That being said, if tomorrow he calls you back and said the deal fell through, I would drop my offer another $500 out of principal.
 
I disagree with most. I'd like to think that my word is good and expect the same. I personally would have considered it pending for a serious buyer, at least on here.

I won't consider anything on craigslist the same way. I used to but now it is whoever comes first with cash. I don't work deals over the phone there.

Is it a double standard? Possibly, but for some reason, I expect better out of this community. I say- let us know who it was.
 
R Q said:
Maybe NC4x4 should have a rating/feedback system for sellers and buyers like eBay does! Don't want to put more work on mods/admin but i think most would like it.
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There is a good seller thread in Mad Mikes Barter Town.
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For 1k I wouldn't be mad if a seller did this to me. Now if he sold it to his buddy for the same price I'd feel pretty raw about it. I would hope he'd call to explain the situation and give me the chance to match it, not just tell me I'm out of luck, but sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. People are hard up for cash these days. I wouldn't be too hard on him.
 
In your particular situation, I think the seller should have told the second buyer who came along later that he already had a deal made with you, and that the vehicle will now go to the highest bidder. He should have then contacted you and asked if you were interested in making a counter offer higher than the second buyer.
 
Yeah $1000 I would understand and say thanks for letting me know.

I have a higher standard and expectations for this community as well. I have made a few deals with people on here that I have never met. Just a phone call and an agreement. I know that if I do someone wrong, they will post about it. I like to think of myself as well known here so I don't want to ruin that.

I made a deal with @jeepinmatt on here once and he just dropped an expensive part (bolt in 9") off for me where I told him, and agreed to meet with me later to settle up on the deal due to our work schedules. I already had the axle in my jeep when we met. That's trust right there, and no way you can do something like that with Craigslist people.

Since he let you know, I'd let it slide. But still hope you try and keep that faith in the rest of this community.
 
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drkelly said:
In your particular situation, I think the seller should have told the second buyer who came along later that he already had a deal made with you, and that the vehicle will now go to the highest bidder. He should have then contacted you and asked if you were interested in making a counter offer higher than the second buyer.
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This is probably how I would have handled it.

I had a similar situation last year when I sold a truck, Guy 1 called me the day I posted it for sale, lowballed about 5k under my asking price, I said no. Had several calls throughout the week, but no takers yet, then on Saturday Guy 2 calls, comes to check the truck out, makes offer before he even test drives, I didn't accept offer yet, told him to take it for a spin then make a decision, Guy 1 calls again while Guy 2 is off on test drive, says he's "gotta have it", Guy 2 comes back from test drive says he's "gotta have it" Guy 2-in person and Guy 1-on phone have bidding war up to my original asking price, (which happened to be 5k over KBB), neither would offer more than that though. It came down to Guy 2 not being able to get money until Monday morning when banks open, or Guy 1 driving 3 hours to bring me 1k cash with a written agreement to buy then driving another 3 hours to get truck with rest of money on Monday morning...I took the instant cash guarantee, rather than Guy2 that could have gone home over the weekend and changed his mind which also would have potentially lost me $$ leverage on Guy1.

Guy1 wound up with the truck, has been in contact since the sale, with updates/questions etc on the truck and I feel it is in good hands so I was happy with my decision.
 
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Kinda shocked with some comments especially "well it is $1k". Would your answer change if it was just $100 or $250 or $500? That means there is a sliding scale for your honor and reputation.

Now i know why the guy i refused to sell my wifes Honda for $500 more looked at me like i was an idiot. Told him i simply could not do that and explained to my son why. Glad he "gets it"!
 
No, my responce would be the same at 100$ or $5

It's not about honor, money talks. First come first serve. Speaking for myself, & I always tell the buyer I do not hold your item.

What about the folks that say, "I will be there" do you wait forever?
 
With the vehicles I've bought and sold lately, I've used a deposit to hold a vehicle on my/their part to ensure it's mine/theirs. I send/recieve these via paypal with the messages or texts as a written form of agreement. As much as I like to deal over the phone, having it in writing makes life MUCH easier if there is a dispute.

Put a deposit on a trailer recently and even took a $500 deposiot on my car from a Marine deployed in Syria without him even being in the country. Granted I had to hold the car for over a month until his return, but the transaction was smooth and he was a happy camper when he came home to a 400hp car to play around in.

It sucks for the OP, but that's the game with online/Craigslist sales. First with cash gets the deal.
 
Franklin said:
Kinda shocked with some comments especially "well it is $1k". Would your answer change if it was just $100 or $250 or $500? That means there is a sliding scale for your honor and reputation.

Now i know why the guy i refused to sell my wifes Honda for $500 more looked at me like i was an idiot. Told him i simply could not do that and explained to my son why. Glad he "gets it"!
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No the amount really doesnt matter. If I had never met you in person face to face, uness you were physically on your way in the car to me cash in hand wins.

To me no sale is complete until cash changes hands. What if you go down there then decided you didnt like it?

I am just a firm believer everything happens for a reason and I refuse to get emotionally attached to things, especially things I dont own (ok that's a lie...technically boobs are things...hmmmmmm boobs....) I might have been disappointed but not nough to think twice about it and certainly not enough to make this post.
 
3 hours from pickup, money in hand. But hey, we all have our own individual system of values. If i didnt like it then it would be because the seller was dishonest in their ad. If Shawn could bring back the ad that was deleted yesterday then we would know that me not buying for agreed amount would have been their dishonesty in vehicle description.

My post was to get opinions Ron and we have yours.
 
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