Robvolz 

If someone PMs they want something, you give them your info for PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, Etc……

How many reminders do you give to please pay? How long do you wait?


And if there is no contact, when do you either sell to the next cyclist up or relist it?

Thanks

Robert

Mad Honk 

Robert,
I always post that the first to respond is the first in line. If it falls short of a deal the second person gets to step up to the plate. I would suggest a time frame of a week as some times we are all pretty busy. Smiles, MH

tyrion

24 hours.

bibliobob

I feel like 24 hours is appropriate. If no contact for 72 hours, it's definitely fair to move to the next buyer.

Robvolz 

I respect the hell-outta Mad Honk. I'll cool my jets and give a full week. After, this is a hobby, not a career, and we do have lives out side this venue.

Thanks again for the voice of reason. I doff my cycling hat.

Robert

delbiker1 

Personally, I am not giving someone a week, unless there is a request made for the wait, and I am am ok with it. If someone really wants an item I am selling, in today's world, I can see no valid reason for waiting a week for a buyer to either pay or make contact. I do not wait to ship, I do not want to wait for payment. Until payment is made, the deal is not sealed.

oneclick 

I go with first person, and give them lots of time, some don't.

A recently new and almost as recently departed seller was much more abrupt, sent me an email at 6:50pm saying yes, she would sell to me, when I hadn't replied by 8:37pm she sent another telling me I was too slow replying and the deal was off.

If time was ever of the essence I would say that - reply and money sent by date/time, or the next in line gets it.

jadmt

A day and time to move on. Unless the buyer tells me up front he has a compelling reason for delayed payment.i have found people that don’t pay right away end up flaking out anyway.

iab

At 24 hours I contact the buyer and tell them they have another 24 hours or I'm selling to the next person in line. If there is no line, and if after 24 hours and I get a payment, I consider it a nice surprise, but I am off to other selling avenues.

steine13

A friend of mine who's a car dealer taught me that "the car business is the now business."

I feel that way about any kind of deal making on used items. Communication is key, if someone needs time, they can request it and no problem... as was said, it's a hobby, not a living, not life and death... but it takes 20 seconds to shoot a PM... it's a matter of courtesy and respect for each other's time.

If someone makes contact and then disappears? 24 hours.

cheers -mathias

beech333

I don't think I have been in that situation as a seller, but I imagine 24 hours, then another 24 hours if there is a good excuse, unless I know them.

That said, I know I faulted there when I wanted to buy something off you a couple years ago, but then caught covid and slept for about 2-3 days. FWIW, I did try following up to complete the purchase, but I don't recall if I heard from you again and later saw that it sold. No ill will was held.

bark_eater 

My ruling: I'm wrong.

Kabuki12

Move on.

Mr. 66

You are guilty!

Robvolz 

With other sites, eBay as an example, you bid. If you win, you get a notice. 24 hours later you get another notice. And by notice I mean an alert (if your phone is set up for alerts).

There is no alert system with Bike Forums. And, not everybody checks their messages daily. Sure, there might be an email message that you have a private message, but I check email once every other day myself. I'm sure others are this way too.

Like I earlier mentioned, this is a hobby, not a main source of income.

Somewhere between 24h communication and a week for payment is the answer. For me at least.

Carry on.

Bad Lag

You offer.
They agree to buy.
Wait up to 24 hours.
If no payment is made, you contact them saying they have 24 hours to pay or it is going to the next bidder.

Had you put these time constraints in your original offer, the terms would not be a surprise. The clock starts ticking as soon as they agree to buy.

A fair corollary, is you agree to ship within 24 hours of receiving payment.

steine13

Nobody is saying "must pay by X"... we're saying "must communicate within a day or so, rather than disappear without explanation."

cheers -mathias

mrv 

When buying I always try to tell the seller if they get buyer before I commit & pay, then I’ve lost out. If I’m just asking questions.

if I’m selling- and they say they want whatever it is- I’m willing to wait a couple days. But if there is no communication at that point I figure the next person in line is up.

now- if I just had stuff people wanted to buy….

billytwosheds 

The thread title and text point to the OP asking for a "ruling" on a specific situation, not a general rule. We each have our own tolerance for flakey or unresponsive buyers/sellers. This isn't eBay.

bark_eater 's post suggests there is missing context for, again, a specific complaint. If this is trolling, there should be consequences.

I've had dozens of positive buying and seller experience here, and a couple weird or disappointing ones.

Make a claim of some funny or foul business, or move on.

Robvolz 

not a troll. Not a particular incident.
just about to sell a bunch of stuff and want
To know expectations.

Chuck M 

I've only bought a couple of things on here vs. several on eBay. But on here, they were handled through the private message function of the board which sends me an email notification when the seller replies to my offer. I think it is just a courtesy to arrange the payment in a timely manner. Especially since on here, the items are almost always sold at a much fairer price than on eBay.

bark_eater 

I'm wrong.

Robvolz 

you sound angry.

many people use eBay or Chairish, etc for their livlihood.

Bike Forums sales is supposed to be a friendly courtesy between hobbyists.

just managing expectations. If a simple friendly discussion like this riles you up, consider not reading my posts.

I am going for a ride.

billytwosheds 

I still suspect there's more going on here than you let on.

BTW judging/naming someone's emotional state in response to their calling your actions to question...is textbook narcissistic behavior. Nothing cool about it.

RustyJames 

Communication, communication, communication. I’ve bought quite a few things from members and sold a few bits and clarity from both parties makes things go well. In my world, if I’m selling, ~36 hours from “yes I’ll take it” to $$ being received seems fair. Life happens but don’t say yes and leave me hanging. A check-in to see if the buyer is still interested at the 36 hour mark is proper and if I get to the 48 hour mark and nothing then I would move to the next interested party.

Also, if I say “I’ll take it” I like to pay as soon as I have a way to pay the seller but that’s me.

FWIW - everyone here has been great.