no-shows

[retire-early]

Is there are a way to eliminate no-shows?

This morning I agreed to meet someone at a Wawa.
The guy never bothered to show up.

Yesterday evening there was an exchange on Facebook Messenger.
He wanted me to drop everything and do the purchase that night.
He finally agreed to this morning.
I am guessing this was a sign and that he would not follow through on the purchase this morning.

[SmallCityDave]

People can be thoughtless, I will not go out of my way to meet anyone and I have them call/text me when they are on their way that's when I tell them my home address or a location within a minute or two of my home.


The more you go out of your way to accomidate the more you will get burned.

[retire-early]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmallCityDave People can be thoughtless, I will not go out of my way to meet anyone and I have them call/text me when they are on their way that's when I tell them my home address or a location within a minute or two of my home. The more you go out of your way to accomidate the more you will get burned.

How do you know they are not lying about being on their way?


I had a vindictive buyer not show up.

He wanted a lower price and I would not budge.

Then he PM'd on Facebook the next day and agreed to the price and we arranged to meet that evening. He never responded to further PMs.


.

[njhowie]

Are the item(s) you're selling bigger than a breadbox?

If the answer is no, then just use Ebay, let them handle payment through Paypal and ship the item(s). Never have to meet the buyer or anything. Otherwise, if you do agree to meet, require payment, or at least a refundable deposit (predicated on buyer showing up and item is not to his/her liking) through Paypal, Venmo, Zelle, or whatever. No-show means forfeited deposit.

[Aerides]

selling stuff in person is not something that could be worth my time or bother.

[SmallCityDave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by retire-early How do you know they are not lying about being on their way? I had a vindictive buyer not show up. He wanted a lower price and I would not budge. Then he PM'd on Facebook the next day and agreed to the price and we arranged to meet that evening. He never responded to further PMs. .

You will not be able to guarantee that you will never get a no show however you can drastically improve your odds, if they come to me at my convenience and I'm only a couple minutes away from home and they don't show up it's not a big deal. Speaking to people instead of a pm on fakebook or text will also give you an idea with the type of person you are dealing with and YOU can choose if you want to work with them or not.

I buy and sell more then most and I deal with rentals, since I started having them confirm our appointment it's about 100% but every now and then I get rushed or sloppy and I pay the price.

A few years ago I had a "renter" no show on me, he called a few days later looking to setup a showing acting like nothing ever happened I let him know that I wouldn't rent to him and he acted shocked and didn't understand what the big deal was. I have no patience for people like that.

Did you set the time or did the "buyer"?
Did you actually speak to him?
Did you set the location?

[SmallCityDave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by njhowie Are the item(s) you're selling bigger than a breadbox? If the answer is no, then just use Ebay, let them handle payment through Paypal and ship the item(s). Never have to meet the buyer or anything. Otherwise, if you do agree to meet, require payment, or at least a refundable deposit (predicated on buyer showing up and item is not to his/her liking) through Paypal, Venmo, Zelle, or whatever. No-show means forfeited deposit.

This sounds great but most people won't agree to that.

[6miths]

I've paid before pick up a few times on items that I knew would be gone very quickly. Never had an issue. Most recent was in the fall and the seller told me I could just relist and sell at 30% more if I wanted as they had gotten multiple offers at higher prices. My expectation as seller or buyer is that it's not sold until cash is in hand. There are no 'holds' or they are only with the knowledge that if someone turns up with the cash the item is gone.

[SmallCityDave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerides selling stuff in person is not something that could be worth my time or bother.

Certain people are better suited for it than others. I recently sold my car the dealer offered me +/-$5000 less than I was able to sell it for myself, I had the car listed for about 2 weeks I spoke or emailed about 10 people (about an hour) and I showed the car to 2 people (less than an hour) it was worth my time.


I put a fair amount of value on my time ($100 per hour) I'm not handy so I'm happy to pay the professionals (painters/plumbers/electricians etc) but buying & selling stuff is in my wheelhouse.

[Fermion]

Sometimes I get great benefit from people being willing to hold something for me.

Case in point the sailboat we bought back in 2010. It was a 2008 Montgomery 17 in pristine condition with motor and trailer listed for less than half of new by a poor old fella who had injured his back after the purchase and had only taken it out three times. I told him on the phone I would buy it at asking price, take him to the bank with me and have him watch the cashier write out a check.

I had to book a flight down to California from Washington to get it and rent a U-haul. When I got there he had already gotten 12 more phone calls about it but thank goodness he was good to his word and we did the deal.

[retire-early]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmallCityDave You will not be able to guarantee that you will never get a no show however you can drastically improve your odds, if they come to me at my convenience and I'm only a couple minutes away from home and they don't show up it's not a big deal. Speaking to people instead of a pm on fakebook or text will also give you an idea with the type of person you are dealing with and YOU can choose if you want to work with them or not. I buy and sell more then most and I deal with rentals, since I started having them confirm our appointment it's about 100% but every now and then I get rushed or sloppy and I pay the price. A few years ago I had a "renter" no show on me, he called a few days later looking to setup a showing acting like nothing ever happened I let him know that I wouldn't rent to him and he acted shocked and didn't understand what the big deal was. I have no patience for people like that. Did you set the time or did the "buyer"? Did you actually speak to him? Did you set the location?

I set the time and he agreed to it.
No, I did not speak to him. It was all on Facebook Messenger.
I set the location and sent him the link to the place, and he wrote that he can meet me there. It should not have been a surprise unless he did not bother to click the link.

I know I can't eliminate no-shows completely, but I will take your advice on the talking to them.I will get a Google Voice number.


.

[njhowie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmallCityDave This sounds great but most people won't agree to that.

If someone is serious about the purchase, then I'm quite sure they would. The deposit doesn't even need to be a significant amount - even just $5 or $10. It's a token amount as incentive that they will show - because the seller is giving the time for the meeting whether the buyer shows or not. It's like Aldi charging a quarter for the shopping cart - which you get back upon returning it. I've only seen one shopping cart ever stranded in the parking lot...which I wheeled back to the curb and took the quarter.

The alternative is Ebay, purchase without seeing/touching the merchandise, pay for shipping, wait for delivery, etc. If I were buying something in person and I was serious about the purchase, I'd have no issue paying a token deposit. 20 years ago, I bought our RV on Ebay Motors when it was very new. I sent a few hundred dollars deposit to the seller before going to see it and complete the purchase about a week later as it was a 100 mile drive from where we live.

[6miths]

Quote:

Originally Posted by njhowie If someone is serious about the purchase, then I'm quite sure they would. The deposit doesn't even need to be a significant amount - even just $5 or $10. It's a token amount as incentive that they will show - because the seller is giving the time for the meeting whether the buyer shows or not. It's like Aldi charging a quarter for the shopping cart - which you get back upon returning it. I've only seen one shopping cart ever stranded in the parking lot...which I wheeled back to the curb and took the quarter. The alternative is Ebay, purchase without seeing/touching the merchandise, pay for shipping, wait for delivery, etc. If I were buying something in person and I was serious about the purchase, I'd have no issue paying a token deposit. 20 years ago, I bought our RV on Ebay Motors when it was very new. I sent a few hundred dollars deposit to the seller before going to see it and complete the purchase about a week later as it was a 100 mile drive from where we live.

This seems reasonable to me. It occurred to me that I paid before pick up last month for some Dexcom glucose monitor sensors. I knew it was going to be a week or more before I could get over to pick them up.

[Amethyst]

Ghosting - whether it's an invitation to a party, an offer to help someone, or sales - seems to be a big issue lately. I like to read advice columns, and it's definitely a top complaint. Some people blame online communications, as being less "personal," but we have had it happen with telephone and even in-person invitations. People lose interest, or get interested in something else, and can't bother to call, even with a white fib.

When we were landlords, it was not common, but it happened, to have people make a date and not show up. We figured they'd found another place they liked better, and couldn't be bothered to inform us. Who needs renters with that attitude?

Quote:

Originally Posted by retire-early I set the time and he agreed to it. No, I did not speak to him. It was all on Facebook Messenger. I set the location and sent him the link to the place, and he wrote that he can meet me there. It should not have been a surprise unless he did not bother to click the link. I know I can't eliminate no-shows completely, but I will take your advice on the talking to them.I will get a Google Voice number. .

[SmallCityDave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by retire-early I set the time and he agreed to it. No, I did not speak to him. It was all on Facebook Messenger. I set the location and sent him the link to the place, and he wrote that he can meet me there. It should not have been a surprise unless he did not bother to click the link. I know I can't eliminate no-shows completely, but I will take your advice on the talking to them.I will get a Google Voice number. .

Sounds like you did most things right, was the appointment the same day?


Speaking in person and having them call you before they hit the road will increase the odds, that's what I GV for also.

[SmallCityDave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by njhowie If someone is serious about the purchase, then I'm quite sure they would. The deposit doesn't even need to be a significant amount - even just $5 or $10. It's a token amount as incentive that they will show - because the seller is giving the time for the meeting whether the buyer shows or not. It's like Aldi charging a quarter for the shopping cart - which you get back upon returning it. I've only seen one shopping cart ever stranded in the parking lot...which I wheeled back to the curb and took the quarter. The alternative is Ebay, purchase without seeing/touching the merchandise, pay for shipping, wait for delivery, etc. If I were buying something in person and I was serious about the purchase, I'd have no issue paying a token deposit. 20 years ago, I bought our RV on Ebay Motors when it was very new. I sent a few hundred dollars deposit to the seller before going to see it and complete the purchase about a week later as it was a 100 mile drive from where we live.

You may be right but I think you'd turn away a lot of buyers, with that said I considered asking a couple sellers on bigger items to do that but I've never done it.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerides selling stuff in person is not something that could be worth my time or bother.

+1

We usually just donate stuff like that, especially if it is small. If it isn't fit to donate, it gets tossed.

As for the bigger stuff - - If it's a car, I trade it in on the next car. If it's furniture, Salvation Army has a nice big truck with several strong, pleasant men who are happy to haul it off for me.

We just went to Good Will yesterday to drop off a box of stuff (each), and we are planning to repeat this every week for a while as we go through another decluttering spree.

I have never sold anything on Craig's List, Facebook, or ebay, and don't plan to start at this stage in life.

[retire-early]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmallCityDave Sounds like you did most things right, was the appointment the same day?

No, not the same day.
The PMs were on Facebook Messenger yesterday evening around 7pm.
The transaction was suppose to be 8am this morning.

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmallCityDave Speaking in person and having them call you before they hit the road will increase the odds, that's what I GV for also.

I will do this next time when the transaction is not same day.
I will frame it as a reminder.

.

[rk911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by retire-early Is there are a way to eliminate no-shows? This morning I agreed to meet someone at a Wawa. The guy never bothered to show up. Yesterday evening there was an exchange on Facebook Messenger. He wanted me to drop everything and do the purchase that night. He finally agreed to this morning. I am guessing this was a sign and that he would not follow through on the purchase this morning.

wawa

[rk911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R +1 We usually just donate stuff like that, especially if it is small. If it isn't fit to donate, it gets tossed. As for the bigger stuff - - If it's a car, I trade it in on the next car. If it's furniture, Salvation Army has a nice big truck with several strong, pleasant men who are happy to haul it off for me. We just went to Good Will yesterday to drop off a box of stuff (each), and we are planning to repeat this every week for a while as we go through another decluttering spree. I have never sold anything on Craig's List, Facebook, or ebay, and don't plan to start at this stage in life.

we have sold stuff on craig's list and have had a good response. I've had far more no-shows giving away stuff on our local freecycle board. so many no-shows that i stopped using Freecycle and just take the items to Goodwill.

my bro-in-law died in Calif. last week and as his only living immediate family we'll soon be heading to Calif. to clear out his townhouse. the local Goodwill will be getting a lot of his stuff.