Warning: Bad trader imranchoudhry@hotmail.com

[Happy13178]

This guy may or may not even be a user here, but I'd avoid trading with this guy.

I had a computer I posted for sale on craigslist, simple system that was a P4 1.7, 256mb ram, 40gb hdd, etc, for $150. This guy messages me, says he interested in picking it up. No problem. I set a place to meet, at Bayview/Eglinton at 6pm yesterday, he says fine, all is good.

I get there with the computer and wait....and wait....and wait. Guy finally shows up at 6:30 and immediately starts haggling, which don't get me wrong, is fine.

Then he starts going on about how he has to take my word for what's in the system, and he can't test it out to see if it is what I say it is, and if he buys it and it doesn't work he's out the money, and is asking his dad if he wants anything in writing. He then says he's come all the way from Oakville, I'm assuming he wants me to sympathize and drop the price even more, then he finally doesn't take it.

Couple issues with this. If guy wanted to see it tested and working, he should have said so and I would have arranged for him to come by my place to test it before buying. Second, buying used online and he wants something in writing? Is that a joke? If guy wants assurances that it'll work, he should buy it from a store. As it is he left me waiting in the cold for a half hour and haggled for another 20 mins before finally deciding not to take it, which is a huge waste of my time. If he had questions, he should have asked them in email before making me go out and have to drag the computer back home afterwards. He was obviously within his rights to back out if he wasn't comfortable with the deal, but he should have made it clear what he wanted before arranging to meet. He didn't even know what he was looking at....he was looking at the back of the computer and said "So, whats this?"
Me: "The monitor port." Really....

If anyone should happen to come across this ***** in their dealings, beware.

[seekay]

wow what a story. i really have a low tolerance for idiots who arent clear on what they want and what they're doing when buying stuff online off of forums and such. Buying used electronics should always be tested, no matter what, it just eliminates all the hassle that may ensue. If it's broken then dont buy it, if it meets your expectations, then buy it. If the seller is confident enough in the product to give you his/her home address to test it out, then by all means, i think it should be taken advantage of.

All the homework should be done beforehand (detailed/high res pictures of the item, working, defects etc...), and once an agreed price is reached, that's the confirmed price. If you want to haggle/bargain, then do it before you agree to meet up, for me, once the price is confirmed, that's it. The only situation where a price should change is if the seller decides to be nice and drop the price for a mistake or just out of good mood, or if the item is not as described in the posting, but still acceptable for purchase.

sorry, i just had to vent =)...and thanks for the heads up

[aKiu]

I agree, those are extemely bad trading principles

Haggling after agreeing on meeting up and a deal is being a bad buyer.

My friend once sold a guitar, and was waiting for the guy to come meet up and buy it. He showed up 30 min+ later, tested out the guitar, and said he can only afford XXX amount (which was much less than the agreed price)

Waste of everybody's time, waste of his time, and makes the buyer look like a cheap, pennypinching, ghetto idiot

Please, anybody who is going to buy things from a seller, MAKE SURE u work out a deal BEFORE you go meet up. Don't waste each other's time!!

... sorry i had to vent too...

[Happy13178]

wow what a story. i really have a low tolerance for idiots who arent clear on what they want and what they're doing when buying stuff online off of forums and such. Buying used electronics should always be tested, no matter what, it just eliminates all the hassle that may ensue. If it's broken then dont buy it, if it meets your expectations, then buy it. If the seller is confident enough in the product to give you his/her home address to test it out, then by all means, i think it should be taken advantage of.

All the homework should be done beforehand (detailed/high res pictures of the item, working, defects etc...), and once an agreed price is reached, that's the confirmed price. If you want to haggle/bargain, then do it before you agree to meet up, for me, once the price is confirmed, that's it. The only situation where a price should change is if the seller decides to be nice and drop the price for a mistake or just out of good mood, or if the item is not as described in the posting, but still acceptable for purchase.

sorry, i just had to vent =)...and thanks for the heads up

That's exactly it. If the guy wanted to see it tested, perfectly fine. I have no issues with that....I have issue with the guy asking to meet up at a corner without asking anything and then being a ***** while he's there. Really, avoid trading with this kid.

[Amourek]

My policy: pickup only unless the buyer is trusted i.e. references. You meet somewhere, could be a no show, or could pull some crap on you like that. Generally I like to avoid meetups all together if it can be avoided.

[felix]

hmm .. that name sounds familiar. I think I might have traded with him before. Do you know if he has a username on RFD?

As for the bad trader concern, I only give my phone number/contact info if a deal is firm. That is, they must respond with the item they want to purchase at the agreed price, and they usually state an approx date and time when they'd like to pick up. I learned the hard way with giving out my phone number first. If they want to lowball on the phone afterwards, just be firm with your agreed price and do not hesitate in your response. They should only call you prior to pick up and not to negotiate pricing.

And yes, pick up only is easiest of course for the seller. Sometimes though the seller might not want strangers coming to their home (not everyone lives in an apartment or condo where meet up is usually downstairs), in which case they might be more comfortable meeting up in a public place nearby.

[Jon Lai]

Damn, why do people haggle once they get there? They have every right to haggle, but that should be taken care of with emails.

And for $150, how much does he honestly want to be discounted? That's already a pretty good price considering those specs.

[Happy13178]

hmm .. that name sounds familiar. I think I might have traded with him before. Do you know if he has a username on RFD?

As for the bad trader concern, I only give my phone number/contact info if a deal is firm. That is, they must respond with the item they want to purchase at the agreed price, and they usually state an approx date and time when they'd like to pick up. I learned the hard way with giving out my phone number first. If they want to lowball on the phone afterwards, just be firm with your agreed price and do not hesitate in your response. They should only call you prior to pick up and not to negotiate pricing.

And yes, pick up only is easiest of course for the seller. Sometimes though the seller might not want strangers coming to their home (not everyone lives in an apartment or condo where meet up is usually downstairs), in which case they might be more comfortable meeting up in a public place nearby.

Dunno if he has a username on rfd, checked heatware and didn't get a hit off that email address. I have his contact number as well. I offered to meet the guy at a location I was going to be going by, and he agreed...if he had said at that point that he was only looking, and he would want to see it tested, that would have been a different story. As it is, the price was low enough for the system to move fast, and it looks like it'll sell to someone else anyways, but still. I have no patience for *******s like that.