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FB Marketplace Scam???

I always like to exchange a couple messages like asking when they'd like to come see what I have. I set up a time, send them my phone number, tell them to call me right before they are going to leave and I'll give them my address.

I don't sell a whole lot but the flakes seem to be coming out of the woodwork the last six to nine months. I list some things, "price is firm" and I always have somebody to ask if I'll take less or make an offer of less.
 
Mwdan said:
I list some things, "price is firm" and I always have somebody to ask if I'll take less or make an offer of less.
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I never understood that either, but, as the saying goes, ‘don’t ask, don’t get.’ Never hurts to pose the question. A quick “price is firm, I have others interested” usually settles it.
 
tourmax said:
That's the same everywhere these days. facebook market place, craigs list, kijiji, whatever.

Anything that's of value or a good price seems to go in minutes. Probably because people are hungry for deals with everything being so expensive these days (ie: inflation) and then there's the "flippers" looking to make a buck. I don't think "collectors" figure into it that much as they probably get "beat out" by the flippers who are treating it as an income source.

I even see it in the local thrift store (called value village here). If you want to get some neat piece of vintage electronics or audio gear, you better be there when the put it on the shelf or you don't stand a chance. There's a guy who "flips" that stuff locally and he hits the store at least twice a day. I've pretty much given up going there because it's always stripped clean by this a-hole. He's the same with yard sales too. He loads up early n sat morning and is on the road until Sunday night. Absolutely vacuums up everything and anything.

Probably just a low income person trying to make a living of some sort, but man does it p!$$ me off when I'm walking through the "in" door and he's pushing a couple carts full of vintage electronics (speakers, head-units, flip clocks, etc) through the "out" door! Or if I happen to hit a local yard sale and as I'm pulling up I see his crappy little rusty car pulling away with a back seat full of speakers or similar.....regular Joes just don't stand a chance against that type of fanaticism.

I actually went to look at something he had for sale once. Was waaay overpriced, but the thing that struck me is he had walls and walls of crap in the basement room he took me to. All four walls, floor to ceiling and rows and rows of shelves in between. More than one man could ever fix or use in a lifetime....more than one man could ever sell in a lifetime. Obviously a "flipper" with an obsession.....I often wonder what he would do if his basement flooded......probably just dry it all off and raise his prices as "freshly washed"....lol!
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You meet all kinds of people in the reseller world. The small time businessman, the hoarders, the paranoid schizophrenic, the hobbyists. I have actually met a paranoid schizophrenic who was a buyer, and he was a little scary. He had been posted to Afghanistan and was suffering from PTSD. It didn't make him any less scary though. I also met a huge Russian guy named Igor, who could bend me in two without breaking into a sweat and was one of the nicest hobbyists I have met.

Mwdan said:
I always like to exchange a couple messages like asking when they'd like to come see what I have. I set up a time, send them my phone number, tell them to call me right before they are going to leave and I'll give them my address.

I don't sell a whole lot but the flakes seem to be coming out of the woodwork the last six to nine months. I list some things, "price is firm" and I always have somebody to ask if I'll take less or make an offer of less.
Click to expand...
The flippers know that if their timing is right, you just might accept a lowball price on a firm sale. So they are playing a numbers game. Send out a swath of emails to see if there is any chance of a bargain to a whole bunch of sellers, and meanwhile, they research if they can make anything off of it. If they conclude there is no market, they ignore your response. Or they found something better. I'm getting that quite a bit now. The longer the delay between contact and pickup, the less likely it will happen. I don't consider anything sold until the money and merchandise change hands. And for that reason, I don't hold anything without a deposit.

I have a GT Triple Triangle Karakoram hard tail mountain bike for sale and last week, some guy expressed interest in it. After a few back and forths, he asked me to deliver to him. I said sure, if you will send me a $60 deposit, I'll bring it to you. Then I told him I'm sorry to have to ask for a deposit, but I've had people ask for delivery before, and then try to renegotiate the price. He said that's not going to happen, as he won't send a deposit. I said no problem, if he's ever able to make it out here, I'll drive him back home with the bike(bike needs some work). That was the end of that. It is what it is these days. The world has changed and it is best to recognize that.
 
BilboBaggins said:
You meet all kinds of people in the reseller world. The small time businessman, the hoarders, the paranoid schizophrenic, the hobbyists. I have actually met a paranoid schizophrenic who was a buyer, and he was a little scary. He had been posted to Afghanistan and was suffering from PTSD. It didn't make him any less scary though. I also met a huge Russian guy named Igor, who could bend me in two without breaking into a sweat and was one of the nicest hobbyists I have met.

The flippers know that if their timing is right, you just might accept a lowball price on a firm sale. So they are playing a numbers game. Send out a swath of emails to see if there is any chance of a bargain to a whole bunch of sellers, and meanwhile, they research if they can make anything off of it. If they conclude there is no market, they ignore your response. Or they found something better. I'm getting that quite a bit now. The longer the delay between contact and pickup, the less likely it will happen. I don't consider anything sold until the money and merchandise change hands. And for that reason, I don't hold anything without a deposit.

I have a GT Triple Triangle Karakoram hard tail mountain bike for sale and last week, some guy expressed interest in it. After a few back and forths, he asked me to deliver to him. I said sure, if you will send me a $60 deposit, I'll bring it to you. Then I told him I'm sorry to have to ask for a deposit, but I've had people ask for delivery before, and then try to renegotiate the price. He said that's not going to happen, as he won't send a deposit. I said no problem, if he's ever able to make it out here, I'll drive him back home with the bike(bike needs some work). That was the end of that. It is what it is these days. The world has changed and it is best to recognize that.
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The guy on the other end might also be thinking he might get scammed out of his deposit.

And thats the problem these days; the scammers are so many and so “scammy” that everyone who’s an honest buyer or seller is suspicious of everyone and anyone who replies or inquires…
 
tourmax said:
The guy on the other end might also be thinking he might get scammed out of his deposit.

And thats the problem these days; the scammers are so many and so “scammy” that everyone who’s an honest buyer or seller is suspicious of everyone and anyone who replies or inquires…
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Sad but true.
 
I alway ask for a phone number so I can speak to them about the transaction. If I get one I’m fairly certain they are serious buyers and can vet them with the phone call. I block my number when I make the call.
I never sell to anyone based on messaging or emails alone. A phone call is mandatory.
 
I’m the opposite. I never talk to anyone on the phone. If they want to talk I just ignore it and keep messaging or emailing.
 
You guys are so funny! You know what the chance of getting injured or killed driving a car? Yet you do. Motorcycle percentages...yikes!

Yet selling a piece of gear on CL or FB is conducted with all the spycraft detailed in a John le Carre novel.
 
I’d be willing to bet that the people who say they’re not worried are not doing very much business on CL or FBM.

Yeah if you’re doing it once a year or something who cares. But if it’s 2-3 times per week, then you start to care a little more how it goes down. And what info you give out. And who you invite in your house.

So for those people who don’t care, how many transactions per year do you conduct? Approximately of course.

For me it’s between 75-100 transactions per year. Including buying.
 
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Is Monster Receiver Guy still listing items and degrading and harassing/terrorizing potential buyers?
Haven't seen any mentions of him in a while.
 
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