Poor purchasing etiquette
 

I appologize if this is not a topic I can post however I feel people should not be taking advantage of others when purchasing from a fellow member.

Recently I sold my tank off as a package. The purchaser and I agreed upon a price well below what I was asking for due to the fact that I was in a hurry to take it down. Taking their word in good faith I began tearing down my tank. They then told me they needed to run to the bank to get the rest of the money and assured me I could keep taking things apart.

Once my tank was taken apart, deep sand disturbed they came back telling me they had $30 less than what we had agreed to and wanted to take less than what they had agreed to.

In the best interest of my livestock and to prevent them from living in a half torn down tank with a disturbed sand bed possibly releasing toxic gases I was forced to give away my tank for 30% less than the price we had agreed to which was much lower than what I was asking in the first place.

I guess the lesson learned for everyone is ask to see the money up front. Seems like even in a hobby we cannot trust others.

This is the first and will definately be the last time I will be running into a situation like this.

I understand we sometimes don't have what we think in the bank account but wouldn't common courtesy suggest bringing the money you agree to even if it is the next day or week?

Anyway I appologize for venting on the board but I just hope others might learn from my loss.

I share your frustration. I sold a light fixture to a person in Calgary, we agreed on a price online. I even agreed to bring it to him at my cost (apparently going from Calgary to Medicine Hat is like going to the moon but everyone thinks the other way around is like walking across the street). When I get to the guy's house he tries beating me down even more on the price and wouldn't take the fixture until I gave in. I felt like wringing the guy's neck!

That happened to me once and I told the guy to walk. He came back 2 weeks later and met my price and I told him 2x of what I orignally asked...he turned me down :)

I guess my situation wasn't as bad as yours. At least he came to my house.

This is a common occurrence and we all have our stories. I have even made deals with others, for FREE stuff, then after weeks, still no show. You all know who you are! HEHE :biggrin:

So, if I sell something, first to my door gets it. That is the way I work.

Oh well, just the way it is.

People are animals.

I usually have to write in comments like "DO NOT REPLY UNLESS YOU ARE GOING TO PICK UP". In Ontario no shows are a big problem. Lowballers too, but people agreeing on a time even calling and confirming and never showing up.

I'm all for trying to get the best deal if the person is wiling, but once you agree to a price that's it. Even if I found a better price I'd feel like I have to pay it because once I tell someone I'll take it at agreed upon price I feel like I've given my word.

That is the worst someone could do. I thought about selling my 60 and ordering a new tank only to remember all troubles i went through trying to sell my cube. Ive met alot of decent guys in this hobby and there have been times where I have even given the seller more than the price they were asking.

One thing that grinds my gears... low balling. it happens everywhere and its not like your going to do it at a store. Also how is a healthy coral worth less than one at a store... that has grown. Or established fish that are proven to be great eaters.


thats what I do. I give everyone my contact info, first person that calls and shows up gets what ever i am selling. btw i think silentcivilian still owes you $10 lol

You have to realize that not everyone here, even someone that partakes in threads, is your friend. They aren't really even fellow hobbyists. We have countless "members" here that are only here to to get a good deal on your misfortune. In Victoria, we had a Canreef member systematically go through every for sale post in town and do the old " show up, need to go to bank, come back with less money" trick. I had 15 reports of it in 3 weeks. If you tried to lend the guy a hand, he tried to take your arm.

Essentially, unless you personally know someone here, or know for certain that they have a solid long term history on the board, don't trust anyone to do what they say or give you what they said they would. If I'm selling something to anyone, I don't count it sold until someone actually knocks on my door and hands me the correct amount of money. Especially with livestock. If anyone even tries to renegotiate at my door, I'm closing it.

It's too bad that the world is like this, but it is, and we can't put our tank inhabitants at risk over it. It's not sold until the buyer actually shows up (so rare these days) and hands over the correct amount of cash or gold. Nothing else works. If the sale falls through, I'd rather give the stuff to the LFS than get taken in by one of these losers.

Same here, I call it SCRAM, LOSER!

I could not agree more with you.

it happens unfortunatly. I am sorry you had a bad experience. If you can't afford it going into the sale, be honest upfront instead of gaining a bad rep within the community. Sad to say that some people never learn and do constant business this way.

CANREEF has a "Sponsoring Vendors Rating Forum", so why not a "Members Rating Forum"? How can other members be warned about these losers? Is there a list posted somewhere? On the other hand, perhaps there are preferred members to buy from or sell to, but how do we know? Will we only find out too late? Perhaps the mods can provide some insight here.

I see your point... but people get nasty and I really don't see any good coming out of it.. it will just turn into a "he said/she said" issue...

I usually ask other reefers if it's someone I don't know... I check thier profile and post history, see if any other deals have been done with that person...

Just like with a site like Kijiji, you never know what you're going to get.

If the seller is not happy, say no... buyers, stop being so cheap and inconsiderate. the end!

I have been ripped off 2x now, NEVER EVER AGAIN. I have had dealings from Manitoba to B.C. & all but 2 have been all good. I can't stand people that try to low ball or re-negotiate after agreement was made. Anyone who does this should be ashamed to show there face in public. I would also like to add that if there is an issue with a transaction they both parties to do every thing possible to solve it like responsible human beings. I like to think that I have a good track record with fellow members buying or selling. All I can say is don't rip me off unless you want me to track you down & show up at your door when you least expect it.

Unfortunately that leads to more trouble than good. We have no way of knowing what really happened, and as always, there are three sides to every story. In the end, be a member here, participate in discussions, and you get to know the good members. If you just come here to shop, it's the same as any other online garage sale, you have to use common sense and feel out who you're dealing with. Most of the time you can tell by a person's post to your ad. If it's abrupt, the typical "hey, yo, call me, I want it, for real d00d" then I'd be skeptical :) Alternatively, if someone asks legitimate questions and deals with you politely and maturely, it's less likely to be a troublesome transaction. not always, but a good indicator of the type of person you're dealing with.

My favourite is when you're trying to sell and someone says "What's the lowest you'll take?".... I always have to stifle the urge to snap back with "What's the most you'll pay :twised: "

etiquette
 

I have always found it best just to pay what the person is asking if the price is fair. I have always found sellers here on Canreef very generous if you are willing to pay the asking price. More than once I have been given freebees. I like buying from fellow reefers, you are guaranteed to get healthy stock as it has multiplied or survived for some time in their tank.

Don't fight that urge Chris, I wouldn't even think twice about spitting that out myself.

Or I only have this much to give you , Well I only have a middle finger back to give you.

I've had people show up short and just find it amazing. Also had the no shows (even when free) and though it bothers me to do so, now it's first come first served type thing (I'll make it know up front). Other thing, if you say you'll show up at 2:00, you're taking your chances showing up at 4:00 expecting me to be home.

Gotten to the point flushing xenia and macro is just easier.

Mark that is one of the reasons why I will only sell at the reefers meetings

Some people are just plain rude and selfish. I was going to type more but really thats all it boils down too.

I have to say I respect everyone who thinks this type of behavior is appalling.

I would also like to say that I'm thankful that I have meet way more good people in this hobby than bad.

Or to me :biggrin:

Like me. I even offered to throw in some salt(free) with the price he agreed to and he still took advantage.

Oh well.

That really sucks, but you get that with anything you sell on line. Seems like with everything you try and help people out, there are those that take advantage. But I find there are more positive transactions than negative ones. I really appreciate all the experiences that I have experienced in this hobby, and all the great people that are here on Canreef.

Jeff

I agree. This is my first negative transaction in 10 years.

It's not only the buyers that are the problem but lots of sellers too. Advertising items in mint condition when they are piles of crap. Not home at arranged times. Agreeing to a pick up time and then selling it to someone else before the agreed to time, which sadly some people think is ok. When I make an agreement with someone I always hold up my end, unfortunately some feel that they only need to keep their word if it's convenient. I also don't see the big deal if someone gives an initial lowball offer, people do realize that they don't have to respond, right? Trying to reduce the price after one has already been agreed upon is a different story however and I wouldn't tolerate it from anyone. This all being said, I have found most people on canreef to be great people to deal with and learned to never bring my wife because she ends up getting mad at me because it takes 3 hours of chat time to pick a fish or coral! So in the end I still won't hesitate to deal with fellow canreefers and think the bad apples are the vast minority.

Sorry to hear you ran into bad people on canreef. I also deal with lots of canreef member over the years that i am in this hobby. There are lots of good ppl at beginning and lately it is getting worse as canreef forum grows.

Very frustrating sometimes.

I'm not sure I should say anything but I'm finding I can't help myself. While I don't agree with low ballets etc I have to say karma sucks eh?

When I first got into this hobby and I didn't know much of anything marcingo (the OP) sold me a 30g cube tank and stand and a MH light. I was told it was all in good condition only to show up and see the tank had lots of scratches in it and the stand was also in rough shape not horrible but not "good" either. The MH light was awful I was under the impression that it was a store bought light and in good working condition. It was a DIY light that looked like a total fire hazard it had wires hanging out all over the place and was the worst MH light I have ever seen to this day in this hobby. I had agreed to the deal over pm's and felt like I couldn't back out since we had already made a deal and I did want the tank and stand however I was told it was a package deal and I had to buy it all or nothing. I honestly have never felt so ripped off and so bitter about a sale in this hobby as I felt with that sale. I ended up having to re-wire the whole MH light just for it to be safe to use :sad:

ya no kidding..

A couple of years ago I went to purchase a Regal Angel from a local canreefer that was shutting down her tank. There were a bunch of canreefers there at the time that I knew and that knew her. Plus she ran Big Als fish room at the time so I figured she was somewhat reputable. Anyway, long story longer, I gave her the money and she told me she'd net the Angel that night and drive it over to my place the next day. The Angel ended up spending the night in one of Big Al's tanks I was told, which was fine with me. Well, days passed but no Angel was delivered :( Repeated PMs, eMails and phone calls went into the ether. Eventually she disconnected her phone and moved..LOL. I laugh because I guess she really needed that money really bad to high tail it out of town. Just as well I guess. I do enjoy donating to charity from time to time.

Another sad story.. so 10 years ago I lent this guy my fish trap. For the sake of keeping his identity private I shall call him, "Levi". He told me countless times that he'd return my fish trap. To this day I am still without a fish trap..

Serves you right considering the insane prices you charge for frags Kien. We were all thinking it folks... don't hate!

:lol:

It's imposible to know this many people well enough to trust them. Our first "organized" Calgary reefers meeting in 2002 had six people. We became buds, easy enough. I was given as much stuff as I bought from that group, which grew to about 20 or so. We thought that was pretty cool.

Now I know there are many excellent hobbyists in Calgary that I haven't even met. I see their constructive/witty/helpful posts and it makes me glad the community is doing well. There's a ton of positive interaction. There are also douchebags, but what are ya gonna do? Just be careful out there...

I find helpful the posts where a member requests information on doing business with a certain party, and by PM they receive all KINDS of advice, from those with experience.

Hey Kien, I have lots of fishes for sale if you are interested. Which one are you looking for?

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Word...

THIS IS AN IDEA FOR THE MODS, just throwing it out there.

What about a feedback rating system like on EBay. Just a simple pos / neg with the ability to see who rated the member. If there is a neg a short explanation by the member doing the rating & a spot for the member being rated to comment, min character field, one entry per neg rating that's it that's all. Add this to the member profile page.

Just a thought that came to mind so I decided to chuck it out there.

I feel it a better move on my behalf to have the ability to "Black Mail" you for said fish trap, it should make for a hefty ransom one day.

Said fish trap is also becoming vintage in the back of my automobile, I think you should thank me for keeping it safe and collectible. Not many reefers would perform such a arduous task for such a shady character :razz:.

I just entered an "Event" into my fancy HTC Mobile telephone titled "Return Kiens Fish trap", it should be to your house in the next couple years.

Have you gone through your life time supply of baking soda yet?

Ironically the fish trap doesn't fit into my tank(s) anymore so I really have no use for it LOL.

He's been selling it to the neighborhood kids in baggies.