[65madgoat]

Well it appears I lost out on buying this shift knob 'W1CK' had listed for sale. It seems the seller got hurt by me offering him his full price but with the $5 or so assumed shipping costs to be included.

What gets me is I offered full price, to include shipping, only because he insisted on being paid with a money order in 2024 - which is not free and entails a trip to the post office. So I felt a fair trade off. It costs $5 for a money order plus my time getting one, versus $5 for him to just ship it.

Maybe if he knew shipping costs he wanted upfront then I would have just sent the m/o in full - but I just tried to make it simple and clean. And then I did wait for either his response to my offer or perhaps a reply with what shipping costs would be since it apparently was a deal breaker selling the part.

But where it really pi$$ed me off was instead of him simply countering me or responding to my offer via PM, he just went to the post and proceeded to flame me for asking him to pick up (the measly ~$5) shipping costs with my offer. Really? I thought since the first guy interested had lowballed him on the part, my full price offer with shipping included would be offset by him requiring a buyer to get a money order(in 2024) and be quicker than waiting for his reply as to what shipping fees would be. Fair enough, right? Well if it wasn't, tell me so in a PM. Not rudely in the ad.

And sellers - it is not 1990 anymore. Paypal, zelle, venmo exist. You can remain more anonymous too.

Another selling tip: Set your price with shipping costs. Much easier for all involved. And best to discreetly reply to counter offers in a PM and not tactlessly in the post.

[burd]

Your REAL location should be mandatory in your profile too.
No, here, in a van, bar stool, crap like that should be allowed.

[242177P]

Originally Posted by 65madgoat

It costs $5 for a money order plus my time getting one ...

Since when are sellers supposed to compensate buyers for their
time? No, his terms were laid out quite clearly. How exactly is it "a
wash" when you expect him to absorb the $5 from your end? You
wanted free shipping at his expense, this ain't Amazon or Alibaba.

Incidental expenses on the buyer's end aren't the seller's problem.
It sounds like the other guy didn't have any qualms paying asking
price. I let a shifter knob I really wanted get away because I was
too cheap to pay a reasonable shipping charge. How exactly is
THAT a "selling tip"? It looks an awful lot like an angry rant.

[Wick]

Bottom line is you tried to be cheap on an item you wanted. Do I wait for your decision to pay shipping or sell to someone who offers full price plus shipping with no questions asked? There were 3 others that made offers before you.

I never flamed you, I simply stated you didn't want to pay shipping. While you wanted to haggle over shipping another member stepped up.

This is not 1990, nothing you ship is $5 bucks.

Tip for buyers: If you want something, pay the seller what he's asking. It's that simple.

[78w72]

Tips for buyers- If a seller wants money orders theres a reason for that, usually they dont want to give their SSN & other personal bank account info to those 3rd party payment processors or have to report to uncle sam for selling some parts they've had sitting in a box for awhile.

Also there are usually post offices very close to most people in big or small cities, or just coordinate a trip to the post office with other errands you run, not try to make the seller pay you to go get a MO... then make a post attempting to call out the seller when its clear they did nothing wrong.

As mentioned, this is not 1990, to ship even a light weight item but with insurance via priority mail costs double or more than $5... & by the way, USPS MO's are not $5, they just went up this year to a whole $2.10.

[JSuchma]

Originally Posted by 78w72

Tips for buyers- If a seller wants money orders theres a reason for that, usually they dont want to give their SSN & other personal bank account info to those 3rd party payment processors or have to report to uncle sam for selling some parts they've had sitting in a box for awhile.

Also there are usually post offices very close to most people in big or small cities, or just coordinate a trip to the post office with other errands you run, not try to make the seller pay you to go get a MO... then make a post attempting to call out the seller when its clear they did nothing wrong.

As mentioned, this is not 1990, to ship even a light weight item but with insurance via priority mail costs double or more than $5... & by the way, USPS MO's are not $5, they just went up this year to a whole $2.10.

And to add to that.......the safest way to pay is with a postal money order for the seller and the buyer. Anything related to the postal service is a felony if messed with or defaced. JMTC

[PAUL K]

I can tell you with absolute certainty some folks insist on a MO because of the IRS hiring 87,000 new agents (so now you know who to blame) ... However a person accepting money in exchange for a part has a right to to set the terms for payment however they want.

My best advice if it's a part you "really" want, be polite and follow the sellers terms.


Over the years it's obvious some of the guys buying and selling parts on this site have never read "The Art of the Deal' and are certainly not businessmen. They are car enthusiasts.

I recall one guy selling an intake manifold that I inquired about and the next guy behind me said he'll buy it if I pass. The seller listed it on E-bay as an auction and got less money than he was originally asking. Another person got all wadded up and thought I was scamming him because I sent the parts out before getting paid and I offered to take a personal check when he had a chance to send it. I had one guy agree to sell me a "lot" of parts and we decided to complete the details after work, that evening. When I get home I called him and some weasel offered him more money. After protesting the guys integrity he ended up sticking with our original deal. Like I said most folks on here aren't businessmen but they are honest.

I've never been ripped off on this site and if people communicate most obstacles can be overcome.

I've had several deals with Wick and all transactions have been flawless.

[burd]

Paul, you need to update your location to Texas

[65madgoat]

I was not too cheap to pay shipping. I made an offer. Don't be rude and just ignore it. Terrible. And I was willing to pay the price on the part he was asking. The fact shipping is unknown and forces more dialogue with a seller when time was of the essence obviously is an issue. If you knew shipping costs, you could have instantly replied you want $ for shipping and then moved on. You never gave me that chance. Again, over a few bucks? Really. Is that helping out an other member or being cheap and petty as a seller?

What that does is then put it on the buyer to figure out shipping costs - what does one then do -- offer, $5, $10, or $20 more to try and get it?? And then what if that offends this super tight and paranoid of the IRS seller?

I was polite and made an offer (obviously higher than the first party interested at asking price through a PM) --- to not simply reply to my offer via PRIVATE message and instead flame me over $5 in the post is my main issue!)

When a buyer makes an offer - respond politely and promptly via PM if anything then turn to the next. That is what I do. You want to run an auction, list it on ebay. Putting the price with shipping costs in the ad is always best practice. If it is more than actual - oh well. With electronic payment though it is easy to refund if a seller chooses.



And this tax bs. Please people. You can get accept money via friends & family etc to not trigger any tax consequences.

And your info is everywhere on the web. Quit being so paranoid everyone. You'll give me an address to send to but not simply an email for paypal? And no - the safest way to pay is not by sending something like a check or money order in the mail.

It all worked out in the end. I had a another genuine enthusiast step up and sell me a mint shifter knob for $100 that arrived yesterday. So all good in the end. I bet that money order is still in the mail from the buyer of this one. Ha.

[PAUL K]

Originally Posted by burd

Paul, you need to update your location to Texas

Why? I still have a location in Illinois that conducts business regularly. I spend a lot of time there.

[unruhjonny]

How in the world is this "members helping members"?
This is a silly airing of laundry at best.

@ 65madgoat;
You are not owed anything - I thought this mindset of being owed anything was a millennial thing?
If you didn't agree to terms, it's the sellers prerogative to sell to someone else, or consider lesser offers.

If you sell something, the same stands - the seller holds the ball.

I watched that listing because I KNEW it would sell;
The part looked great and the price was reasonable;
It wasn't a matter of "if", but "how long".

I too sell parts on the side, and I do my part to watch items that either I have, or that I am interested in to see what the market bears.

[unruhjonny]

I will add this:

Originally Posted by 65madgoat

... I was willing to pay the price on the part he was asking. The fact shipping is unknown and forces more dialogue ...

When I am in this situation, I trust that the seller will not "pull an eBay" and inflate the shipping;
I simply tell them something along the lines of "If you still have it, I'll buy it - please box it up, and let me know what the total is";
If you really wanted that part, might I suggest that in the future, you take this stance.

Here, let me help you a little further - these are the two early fake leather knobs on "ePay" right now:

eBay LINK #1

eBay LINK #2

['ol Pinion head]

Common courtesy goes a LONG way. Calling out a long time Pontiac guy for not selling you a small part he listed, as you wanted to negotiate on shipping... Jeez.

As far as buying & selling very desirable parts goes on this antiquated bulletin board, a LOT of aspects of the process could be improved!

[78w72]

Tax BS?? Paypal F&F payments are still reported if you go over the allowed amount which is now $600 total for the year. YOU then have to account for those payments to prove they were actual gifts or a repayment of a loan etc, otherwise paypal or any other 3rd party payment like venmo sends a 1099k to the IRS when required.

Your personal info is not "everywhere on the web"... Paranoid? LOL! Unless you provide your SSN or bank account info, that info is NOT everywhere on the web & especially not with these payment companies that have had fraud issues in the past.

No matter how many excuses, the fact is a seller doesnt owe a buyer anything & if someone wanted me to pay for them to go get a money order I would ignore them too. Also, its impossible to know what shipping costs will be for everyone in the country, only with a zip code & knowing the final weight/dimensions can a seller know the cost.

As for locations, I didnt realize motor city or "in the D" were cities in America.

[65madgoat]

I made an offer. Common seller courtesy does go a long way.

A simple quick reply "no thanks" or "add $10 to ship" etc would have been nice and courteous via PM. Not that hard. Not a flame in the post TWO DAYS LATER while I was waiting those 2 days for a response -- and only then after another buyer showed up.

My PM to the seller, who said he didn't want to deal with a first offeror/lowballer, was:

"Yeah we'd all love a deal. Ha. $150 I can send you via money order. Ok with you to ship it out for that amount total? Appreciate it."

Then days later in the post, once he responded that I erroneously "WANT" him to pay for shipping, I said fair enough just let me know the total amount - but it took days later to mark it sold instead of replying or agreeing to my offer of $150 plus shipping. See, he was butt hurt over it.


And NO -- friends and family payments are not reported/taxed. So every time someone pays you back for dinner via paypal or zelle or venmo you need to have a sit down with your CPA? Please. And banks, hospitals and commerce sites have been hacked so much everything is out there.

[John Milner]

I think had I have wanted the part, I would have paid the asking price, shipping and wouldn't have sweated the minimal price of a money order. The courteous thing to do would have been for the potential buyer to tell the seller that he would buy it and ask the seller to let him know how much it will cost to ship the part. Shipping isn't free. It also isn't the seller's problem that it costs money to get a cashier's check/money order. That is the price of doing business with someone halfway across the country for a car part.

[PAUL K]

Originally Posted by 65madgoat

And NO -- friends and family payments are not reported/taxed. So every time someone pays you back for dinner via paypal or zelle or venmo you need to have a sit down with your CPA? Please. And banks, hospitals and commerce sites have been hacked so much everything is out there.

I'm not sure you are correct on this. I have two PP accounts and both get reported to the IRS because the annual transactions exceed a certain amount ($600 I believe). One account was designated by PP (not me) as a business account and has fees taken out on every transaction.

Also, one has no idea what another person has going on. Maybe Wick is busy and didn't want to screw around with bartering.

A while back a gentleman posted a want add for a single SD455 connecting rod nut. I knew I had one but didn't respond to the add because I had no idea when I could find time to ship it. An unexpected trip to the post office popped up and I PM'd the guy with specific instructions, which he followed perfectly. He received his nut three days later completely free of charge. Had he screwed around with a bunch of questions there wouldn't have been a second opportunity to date to ship his part.

[65madgoat]

Well he was not to busy to log on this site every day so you would think you would be sure to politely reply to a post or PM for a part you have posted for sale. And he set himself up for "bartering" not listing a shipping amount. Sellers should do shipping homework then if posting parts that way for sale. Pretty easy these days.

And paypal or zelle is not reporting any friends & family payments at all. EVER. Not repayment for dinner, "parts" being paid for that way etc

Only good & services payments. Was a higher limit, going lower next year:


https://www.cnbc.com/select/irs-600-...-rule-delayed/

[PAUL K]

Originally Posted by 65madgoat

And he set himself up for "bartering" not listing a shipping amount. Sellers should do shipping homework then if posting parts that way for sale.



]

Shipping quotes are always a problem. I always try to charge "actual" shipping costs. Some guys get butt sore over the price of a Money Order, I'm sure they'll get wadded up over inflated shipping prices.

As far as having seamless transactions that's covered by my previous "businessman" comments

[65madgoat]

An original forum member offers on something you have for sale, you reply. Not that hard, is it?

He never replied to my offer. And then when he did in the posting, I said YES to it all.

But then you still have to wait to find out what shipping costs are. Needless waste of time and further back and forth with someone not even replying to or updating their post yet logging in every day anyway.