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How nuts am I? and selling stuff.

Anonymous
Not applicable

I just drove 8 hours in a rental car up and down a couple mountain passes on the possibility that the seller of an obsolete 12 year old tv would come down from being way over-priced. I look at it. All seems fine. Then we talk money as we touched on through a phone call. Thus the source of that possibility.  I'm not going to offer sight-unseen when the price is starting out too high. If a seller asks well below then it would sell in a minute. Sight-unseen even. But if they ask too high then it languishes. This one languished. I offered what I believed to be a generous well above fair market value price. He wouldn't budge. I couldn't reasonably justify his price. He wouldn't move. Dead-locked. So I drove the 8 hours back empty-handed.

How nuts am I? 🙂

 

There are two kinds of private sellers:

1. Want to sell it. Price it whatever with an eye to a reasonable fair market value. Some one offers something that you can live with just so its sold.

2. Want to see what they can get while being fine enough to just keep it so not taking much of any offers even if fair market value or more. And so just doesn't sell it.

 

#1 works for both parties. #2 sucks for the buyer.

73 REPLIES 73

@Anonymous @stevenanto 

See beautiful beachfront.......

IMG_20171001_151642508.jpg

stevenanto
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@darlicious Please show lol

@Anonymous 

I've got some real nice swamp.... I mean waterfront property for sale in Florida you just gotta see the pics I gots of it! Price totally negotiable......due to covid I'm letting it go cheap...real cheap. It's a real steal of a deal!

Anonymous
Not applicable

So, clearly now, things in the buying stuff used world, things have changed. I had some lousy response with a programmable remote seller. Finally, after a week, got something set up to at least meet to look at it. Ok. Mentioned about offering anything less and he gets all snippy. It was just across town so it wasn't a huge time waste but jeez. I bought it anyway as it wasn't like it was a lot of money but I paid too much anyway. I guess I have sucker written on my forehead or something.

Why has this changed? I mean come on everything's negotiable by default. Why should I have to ask? Say firm in the ad if you're not entertaining offers. Why should I settle on a price without seeing it? Arrive to see it and I waste my time looking at a beat up piece of crap with things falling off it...or something. In this case the price and distance was not so extreme as to need to figure it all out beforehand like I did with the screen...the second time. But still.

Maybe I'm just not cut out for the used goods market. Just buy new. Warranty, return etc. Yet buying the second screen went all fine. If it had been my first attempt at a screen I would have done much the same thing due to price and distance. I certainly would not do that distance for a little remote to save a few dollars from buying more locally.

 

Bah.

 

I edited my post a couple above. Buddy from Calgary re-posted. Same price. Just fishing for a real sucker. Not the half-sucker like apparently I am.

stevenanto
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@Anonymous Very glad you got to score your TV at 1/4 the cost of the original one you saw. 

 

I get what you're saying about everything is negotiable but thats not always the case. People do mention it sometimes in their ads if firm or nego but that's not everyone. 

 

Its the same concept when going in stores, they don't write in the fine print that their prices are firm, they just are. You can choose to pay it or go to another store if you think you can get cheaper. 

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @stevenanto : I had spoken to him before going and had a sense that there was some movement. I went there with a lower number in mind but as I was with him and we got into talking money I went even higher in my mind and then offered that. But yes I did admit to having some level of barking mad to go all that way and come back empty-handed. Don't get me wrong...I own my actions.

 

Everything's always negotiable unless the ad says firm so why ask. Yes I have difficulty offering sight unseen but I did do that with the screen I ended up buying really only due to it starting out at a much more proper reasonable asking price. They came back with something close so off I went. After my examination and finding this possible port problem I kinda stuck on my number and they accepted. This was 1/4 the amount I offered the first guy. That trip was the same cost as this tv. Plus the cost of getting there and back for this one, overall this tv cost a lot more than I wanted to spend and yet STILL much less than what I offered the first guy even before the cost of the trip. But travel/transport is my problem...not the sellers.

stevenanto
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@Anonymous I get why  you were frustrated but I would have asked him before the drive if the price was negotiable at all. Its hard to discuss a price without the actual product in front of you in case there are scratches or other damage. The guy probably knew you had a long drive so thats why he stood tall on his price, I might have done the same. Whenever I sell something unless the person has asked me beforehand if he price is negotiable I keep the same price when they come in person, I know the person is making the drive because they are interested in the item and wouldn't want to waste their time from their drive to save 5% off of the asking price. 

Anonymous
Not applicable

A little update for anyone following along with my adventure...turns out one of the hdmi ports does have a bit of an issue. So I won't use the port. There might be a repair in the not too distant future.

 

That seller guy I talked about in my OP was just completely barking mad asking that price if he actually wanted to sell it. I was partly barking mad to go there and try to get it for less than his asking but still way more than it was worth.

 

Update: Feb 11 - posted again. No price change. Says no low-balls this time instead of best offer. Bonkers. Just likes to see his name in lights I guess.

@Anonymous 

Lol.....I just knew you were not a sports fan!

Anonymous
Not applicable

@darlicious wrote:

@Anonymous 

Pretty sure you use the fridge too......lol. Well on sunday you'll get good use out of both the fridge and the tv.


 @darlicious : Why? What's happening Sunday? Oh wait...some kind of game of obscenely highly paid players paid by insultingly obscenely rich owners? Yeah I don't do sports. I quit 10 years ago the last time the Canucks lost. Can't stand the reffing. Anywhere anytime any sport.

Pretty sure the spouse watches tv too. 🙂

@Anonymous 

Pretty sure you use the fridge too......lol. Well on sunday you'll get good use out of both the fridge and the tv.

Anonymous
Not applicable

@CFPartDeux wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

 

So basically nothing wrong with the thing. Rock n roll. It sure is quite the change going from 42" to 60". What's that saying...no substitute for cubic inches.


So, is it everything you hoped and expected, i.e. your eyes aren't messin' with you now?


 @CFPartDeux 

Yes. It's a year newer than what I still have. It's bigger. It's pretty much the same tech but a little better. And panning shots show maybe perhaps the slightest pause. Not the jumping across the screen. This I would be happy to attribute to being obviously a larger image so any effects like that would be more noticeable simply due to size. But the OLED I tried was 55" and had it much worse and the whatever it was 75" was awful.

But I haven't yet spent all that much time with it. And it certainly wasn't $2K.

Anonymous
Not applicable

@darlicious wrote:

@Anonymous 

Yes green means go. I can't wait to hear about your spouse's big plans!


 @darlicious 

The spouse already bought the fancy fridge to save three inches of floor space. So here's me with the old obsolete tv. Woohoo. 🙂

@Anonymous 

Yes green means go. I can't wait to hear about your spouse's big plans!

CFPartDeux
Town Hero / Héro de la Ville

@Anonymous wrote:

 

So basically nothing wrong with the thing. Rock n roll. It sure is quite the change going from 42" to 60". What's that saying...no substitute for cubic inches.


So, is it everything you hoped and expected, i.e. your eyes aren't messin' with you now?

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @darlicious : THERE'S the question of the moment!! lol I've had no red lights from the spouse throughout all of this. No red means green!

@Anonymous 

Are you sure its not your baby? You've put a lot of care and attention into it. And I'm sure you love it! Maybe ask your spouse?

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @darlicious : Cigar? It's not a baby. 🙂

The two things are resolved now. One was an HDMI port that seems to take a while to display the source. It shows up eventually. The other was the broadcast tv antenna input. Or I suppose AKA cablevision input. It works now. I just had to figure out how to get it to scan for channels.

So basically nothing wrong with the thing. Rock n roll. It sure is quite the change going from 42" to 60". What's that saying...no substitute for cubic inches.

@Anonymous 

Congratulations! Enjoy your new/old television. When do I get my cigar?

Anonymous
Not applicable

So I did it again. But this time the asking price was much more reasonable and this time I offered before leaving and they countered with something very close. I might even have paid asking but y'know who pays asking. Lesson learned. So off I went. This time 5 hours the other way up and down two mountain passes again. Sorry darlicious. No Tims. I was kinda of in a hurry to get back home.

Two things seemed not quite right but one of them may be a setting. I said this after all my in-depth looking and testing and they just took my offer anyway. A quarter of my other offer.

A very nice sensible proper private-selling/buying experience.

Not like the other guy who has advertised the thing again who seems to be just fishing thinking meh if someone wants to pay that I'll let it go thereby wasting everybody's time. He had the gall to say OBO too. And now the ad's gone again. Could be sold. I suspect he kept getting proper offers and still won't sell.

 

So...The End. 🙂

Runs_on_Coffee
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

Well I appreciate that you had your mind set on a certain tv, I definitely would have worked out a fair price beforehand on the condition it works, etc.   I also don't think I could handle 16 hrs of driving in one day!!  

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @popping : Yes thank you I've been roundly admonished already.

I will not offer big dollars sight-unseen if the price is too high. I will look at it and then decide. Yes in this case it cost me. There seemed to be an opening for negotiation on the phone before leaving. I also tend to prefer in-person. It just so happened this one was a costly in-person viewing to then leave empty-handed.

popping
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

As a buyer on Kijiji, I always fixed the price according to the posted photo before driving over there.

 

As a seller, I like to fix the price before letting the buyer to come to my house.  I will not negotiate my selling price again as my Kijiji ad is very clear about the item I am selling. 

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @gpixel 

I was primarily watching 1080i from Telus Optik via fibre. I just watch boring old "broadcast" tv. Very little streaming.

I don't know about fast eyes. I'm not 23 anymore. Just that I could see shapes jumping across the screen during panning. Sometimes the object itself going across the screen (not panning on it). I found it very distracting. Not everybody is affected. But many are.

 

I'd have to bring the tv home to see in my environment and then do all of that hassle. But ok I'll have a look.

 

The A8H has many settings for motion and is well regarded all around but not to my eyes for motion. The image was fine but coming from my old plasma, it wasn't wow. The 4K was too over-enhanced for my liking. Telus has some 4K content and some scenes were outside and the white people looked like Drumpf or cartoonishly orange. I switch over to my Pioneer (downscaling) and what do you know, they look like washed out white people in the sun. Normal.

@Anonymous I think the a8h had 120hz. to enable that feature you would've had to downgrade the tv to a 1080p signal. if you can see a lot of judder, that means you have really fast eyes. you would probably benefit with a 240hz tv. go to a best buy and take a look at the 120/240hz(ask the employees to enable the feature) tvs and see if it makes a difference for you. 

Anonymous
Not applicable
@gpixel wrote:

@Anonymous were those tvs you purchased 60hz? have you tried 120hz or 240hz? 


 @gpixel : Dunno. Sony A8H recently and iirc Samsung NU7100 or some such thing before that. I have had a Pioneer Elite 42" 950HD since new in March 2008. I even got it calibrated. It has been solid ever since. It took a sabbatical when I got the Samsung and then I used it a little before I got the Sony. I A/B'd the Sony with the Pioneer. The Sony went back. The Pioneer is back to being my primary. Now I'm looking for an "antique" Pioneer 60". Maybe I'll make do with a 50" but it's kind of a why bother coming from a 42".

I still want the bigger screen it's just that current modern technology hasn't solved motion according to my eyes. That was the entire huge disappointment with the Samsung and wariness with the Sony which turned out to be still present though much less than the Samsung.

Jovi
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@darlicious 

Beautiful pics, love the first one!!

@stevenanto 

My brain contains a lot of useful/useless information for once it wasn't the latter. Your'e welcome.

stevenanto
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@darlicious Wow, thanks for all the info. this is definitely somewhere to start. My wife will be happy about this. thanks again

@stevenanto 

It doesnt hurt to start practising now....once you get good enough to get to the payment page a few times you'll have the knowledge of how to hopefully make a successful booking (combined with a significant amount of luck.) I was online at 7am pt for 37 days in row trying to book a reservation at 3 different parks (albeit very popular local ones) without success. While remote less popular parks can be much easier to book on a family vacation your preferred choices near to other attractions or places you want to visit will undoubtably be busy parks. 

 

Its important to note that there are currently only 4 provincial parks in bc that have campsite electrical outlets (Porteau cove, Alice lake, Golden Ears/Alouette lake and Cultus lake.) The first three being the ones I've tried to reserve....without success. But half of the fun of a vacation is planning it! The discover camping website allows you to view maps, amenities, individual campsite photos and more. It is prudent to plan for the high possibility of campfire bans that include brickette/ charcoal bbqs and other incendiary devices like candle torches, following bear aware practices and provincial fishing and boating regulations.

 

Another great resource and option for camping are forestry and recreation sites whose fees depending on location, accessibility, site size and whether they are serviced or not can range from free $0 to $15, $30, $45 with half price for qualifying seniors/disabled (BC Parks has a smilar program which waives site fees but still charges the reservation fee($6 p/nt max $18)and the electricity daily rate $8.) Not all forestry/ recreation sites have vehicle accessible campsites, allow overnight camping, generators or motorized recreation equipment. If you googe many of these sites you will also find a wealth of photos and insights by other campers including notorious "party" sites (on long weekends mostly) that families may prefer to avoid or want to show up on the Monday for all the "freebies" left by overtired, hungover young adults. Happy planning!

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