Question to anyone who has sold items

[zman1988]

When you have an item to sell, how do u decide who gets the item?

the first person says they will take the item and will pay and pick up the item in say 3 days, or the second person who shows up with cash that day?

 

I was raised up with the understanding that when you have made arrangements to buy and pick up something that it was pretty much a dun deal, but on several occasions i have made arrangements and about 2 days before the agreed time that i was to pick up the item, the seller contacts me and says the item is sold

 

This is me ranting but i would like your guys opinion. My grandpa was the one who taught me this, he was a horse trader and by that i mean to him everything had a price so he did alot of wheelin and dealin. Am i in the wrong with this way of thinking?

[FlatBlack]

Some people say they are going to buy things and then never come through, and cash talks.

 

I've learned paypal is really great for this, you can just send money and pick it up whenever you can.

[auxilary]

depends on how i see it. if someone is dead set and promises to show up and get the parts, i'll hold them. after that, no second chances if they flake. it's a flaw of mine. Depending on the item, if hte person wants it really badly, they can leave a deposit.

[Drax240z]

First person to put cash in my hand gets it. I tell people that up front, and most of them are pretty good about it. On the odd occasion I'll take a non-refundable deposit from someone to hold the item until a set period of time is up.

[Challenger]

Thats usually the best. Tell them, first cash sells it. But sometime use your judgement. You can sometimes tell if someone is legit and really just needs to go to the bank to get cash. But if I tell someone its theres in a few days when they pick it, I wont sell it to someone else. Thats crappy dealing.

[kiwi303]

generally cash in hand, first in first served. but if someone needs time and I agree to hold it. it's held until the agreed time.

 

Since I moved rural I'm usually dropping things into the mail or shipping anyway, so it doesn't come up often, Electronic Transfers mean they can pay immediately and it can go on the next mail run past the gate.