People who go shopping but have no money.
Over the last 2 decades I've probably sold 30 cars and countless other items through classified ads. I price my stuff fair but firm -- and I'm up front about it. I go out of my way to honestly describe the item over the phone or (
) via texts and email so that there are no surprises. The reason I do that is because it irritates me when I'm told by a seller how great something is only to find out it was grossly misrepresented when I drive to see it.
I've had my Westfalia listed for less than a week and had TONS of calls and texts on it. (Seriously, who goes car shopping via text message?) There have been 3 parties that came to look at it and all of them have followed the same exact script.
1. "I've been looking at/for these for a while".
2. "You have a really nice one." or "This is the nicest one I've seen in person."
3. They have all brought their kids to crawl all over it.
4. They all had to see everything work, pop the top, lay the beds out, light the stove, swap the tables, etc.
5. 2 out of 3 actually broke something and pretended not to notice. I said nothing hoping to make the sale.
6. Insisted on a test drive -- long one. Usually they drive it much harder than necessary.
7. Upon returning from said test drive rave about how well it runs and nicely it drives.
8. Tell me that I'm priced right but...
A. "I need to sell my car first."
B. "I need to talk to the bank about a personal loan."
C. "I'm trying to refinance my house. Hopefully I'll have enough to make you an offer."
I also had 3 phone conversations with a guy from Canada. From the very beginning I explained that my price was firm. Then we exchanged probably 50 texts. I sent him 3 videos and 20+ pics of things he specifically requested. He tells me that it looks and sounds great and is exactly what he's been looking for. Then he schedules a time to drive down and do the deal. In all, I probably spent 2 hours on this transaction. Last night I get a text asking what my bottom dollar was. I reminded him that the price was firm. Then he lays on the "I have to travel, sales tax, import fees, inspection fees, blah blah blah" and offers me 2K less. Said that's all he could afford. Really? Thanks for wasting my time.
Maybe it's just the VW crowd, I don't know. Obviously I don't expect that if someone calls or comes to see a car they will automatically buy it. But if a buyer makes me go through all the motions, they should at least have some actual cash in their pocket.
Over the last 2 decades I've probably sold 30 cars and countless other items through classified ads. I price my stuff fair but firm -- and I'm up front about it. I go out of my way to honestly describe the item over the phone or (
) via texts and email so that there are no surprises. The reason I do that is because it irritates me when I'm told by a seller how great something is only to find out it was grossly misrepresented when I drive to see it.I've had my Westfalia listed for less than a week and had TONS of calls and texts on it. (Seriously, who goes car shopping via text message?) There have been 3 parties that came to look at it and all of them have followed the same exact script.
1. "I've been looking at/for these for a while".
2. "You have a really nice one." or "This is the nicest one I've seen in person."
3. They have all brought their kids to crawl all over it.
4. They all had to see everything work, pop the top, lay the beds out, light the stove, swap the tables, etc.
5. 2 out of 3 actually broke something and pretended not to notice. I said nothing hoping to make the sale.
6. Insisted on a test drive -- long one. Usually they drive it much harder than necessary.
7. Upon returning from said test drive rave about how well it runs and nicely it drives.
8. Tell me that I'm priced right but...
A. "I need to sell my car first."
B. "I need to talk to the bank about a personal loan."
C. "I'm trying to refinance my house. Hopefully I'll have enough to make you an offer."
I also had 3 phone conversations with a guy from Canada. From the very beginning I explained that my price was firm. Then we exchanged probably 50 texts. I sent him 3 videos and 20+ pics of things he specifically requested. He tells me that it looks and sounds great and is exactly what he's been looking for. Then he schedules a time to drive down and do the deal. In all, I probably spent 2 hours on this transaction. Last night I get a text asking what my bottom dollar was. I reminded him that the price was firm. Then he lays on the "I have to travel, sales tax, import fees, inspection fees, blah blah blah" and offers me 2K less. Said that's all he could afford. Really? Thanks for wasting my time.
Maybe it's just the VW crowd, I don't know. Obviously I don't expect that if someone calls or comes to see a car they will automatically buy it. But if a buyer makes me go through all the motions, they should at least have some actual cash in their pocket.
