Ill take it. WTF

[TonyNorCal]

+1 on the phone number. It's best to talk to someone. There's less chance for ambiguity and it just seems more 'solid'.

That said, if you PM'd him with an unequivocal "I'll take it" and he accepted then it should still be a deal.

For everything below I am speaking generally and not saying it applies to you or your case.

Sometimes people PM or post a qualified "I'll take it" that has conditions or isn't really unequivocal. Sometimes I see people post things like...

"I'll take it pending a review of photos..."

"I'll take it if you can meet me at (such and such a location)..."

"I'll take it if it's (such and such specific model)..."

I've also seen people post the "I'll take it." and then in another post start asking questions about the piece. This indicates to me that they're not really sure about taking it.

All of the above examples are not unequivocal commitments to buy. Any "I'll take it" that comes with string attached or isn't really a firm commitment because it depends on the seller accepting your terms isn't the same as a basic...

"I'll take it." Period.

That's what talks. I think that saying "I'll take it." means that one understands and accepts the seller's item and terms.

Now, if you tell the seller you'll take it with conditions and he accepts, then that should be a deal as strong as any other. But having posting an "I'll take it" and then some conditions or an indication that it's not a firm commitment should mean the seller is free to move to the first unequivocal "I'll take it" if he can't carify what the potential buyer means or if he simply doesn't accept the offer.

This should be about commitment on both sides.

[draconianruler]

Cheer up man, another will come along. It's all about the hunt.

Its so true. I think I love the hunt more then the actual item I spend most of my time on the classified section however I've had to watch what I buy nowadays. Another item will come in sight to replace the one that slipped through your grasp

[Army GI]

Ugh. Didn't we just have one of these threads?

[LECTRIKHED]

Some people sell different ways. I've had mainly good experiences here at Calguns.

When I sell it is first person to meet me somewhere with cash gets it. When I'm selling I really don't want to wait days and days for someone to meet me when there is another person with cash in hand.

I guess sellers should make it more clear. First person with money gets it. Buyers should be more vigilant. Show up asap with money. If it is 11pm, meet them at 10am at the ffl, to get it.

[rivviepop]

Back to your original post... I think it's unscrupulous if the seller did in fact sell it out from under you to a person who was able to sit there and blast emails back and forth; not that it's a law or rule or anything, but the moral way to do it is you hash out with the first "I'll take it!" and work you way down the line. It should be first come, first serve. But I know from a lot of reading here on the forums not everyone has this set of morals.

You gotta feel people out, though - I'm selling a CZ and had someone PM, and follow it up with some very serious chatter about "ok when can we meet" and "let's do it XXX day", so I called a FFL (checking if open Memorial Day), then PM'd back with my phone number. That was... 2 days ago? and I didn't hear another word - the supposed buyer just disappeared, *poof*. Not the first time someone's flaked on me, either.

It's a game, you gotta take the good with the bad - not everyone is a great seller, nor is everyone a great buyer. Some people are great buyers/sellers but just can't communicate clearly online, too - as mentioned, get a phone number or give yours and hash it out Ma Bell style.

[battleship]

Agreed - best to leave your number with the ill take it, and ask for theres.

Not sure why the seller would ask if you still wanted it and you replied yes, then he turns around and tells you, to bad, i sold it this morning. thats just BS.

Further more i think sellers should understand that when someone says i will take, it its basically money in the bank, and they should be a bit more willing to wait 8 hours for some one to leave work and get in touch with them, this seller probably had a counter offer with a better price. which is just plain wrong. Unfortunatley this is not like ebay - first come first served - Not everyone has a blackberry- for the price of one of those i would buy a gun.

[blackberg]

I waited for socalserf for half and hour last friday and no show, he even emailed me early in the morning

wasted about 90min, and gas,

-bb

[Mssr. Eleganté]

I waited for socalserf for half and hour last friday and no show, he even emailed me early in the morning

wasted about 90min, and gas,

-bb

Are you enough to leave him negative feedback?

[rue]

It's tricky. I've bought more than the feedbacks indicate on here (thanks for the positive I-trader folks) and it's hard to pin people down sometimes. I remember this one sale me and the guy went back and forth like 2 weeks before we did the deal. We just couldn't get free to do it but he stuck it out with me and I waited for him too. Turned out to be a great guy. Nothings perfect on here at least we have what we have though. Before I found this site I payed WAY more for guns and never got good deals.

[ivanimal]

I make it real clear that I will take it and list the item as described. I also send a PM to the seller right away I always include a phone number. I always ask how they would like to do the deal, and get paid. That said I have missed a heck of a lot of items by a few minutes or hours. That's just how it goes. I am always happy to see someone else get to it first if it was done fairly. Never hard feelings here there will always be something I want coming in.

[NeoWeird]

Since I've been here I've had about a dozen different people send me PMs asking about firearms I had for sale, tell me they want more pictures, details, etc. I get them exactly what they want and within 24 hours of me getting the PM/email. They send me an "I'll take it". I send them a PM or email asking them when they want to meet and then they just ignore me.

At first I chalked it up to bad servers, the person forgot, etc. So I sent a second PM/email, then a third. After that, and seeing them continually posting consistantly, I got the idea. Some people just get cold feet and are too cowardly to do the right thing and just let you know. If it's a seller, it's VERY easy to just say "someone else got it instead" and keep it when they realize they don't want to sell it anymore.

$10 says that's what it is. There is no third party; just they don't want to get rid of it anymore.

[tankerman]

Had something similar happen. Guy posted a thread on Friday with a number of firearms as a "feeler". I was interested in one of the shotguns he had. So I sent him a PM asking a question about it, and also if he could send me a pic. Well, he emailed me a pic on Saturday. So everything looked cool, price was right, so I emailed him back (to the same exact email he sent the pics from) and told him I'd take it (this was on Sunday morning). Monday after work, after still not seeing a reply email from him, I checked the for sale section and found his "feeler" thread had turned into a "for sale" thread and the price of the shotgun had been raised some $50 and was already "sold" to Ivan. I was pissed to say the least. When I questioned the guy about it, he said, "oh sorry, I didn't check my email. What do you want me to do about it?" I was even more pissed.

Nice....Sounds like the guy was playing a few people to get more money out of the deal. If that's the case the person is a scumbag. More likley the guy was checking his email, frequently.

[rkt88edmo]

I waited for socalserf for half and hour last friday and no show, he even emailed me early in the morning

wasted about 90min, and gas,

-bb

Agree, in cases like these the neg. feedback is the right way to go.

[saki302]

Having sold a bunch of stuff here, "I'll take it" is only worth the buyers' word (which in some cases is worth squat). An "I'll take it" with a condition tacked on isn't a firm deal either.

A definite "I'll take it" PERIOD, with a phone number means your place is secure in line. Lots of feedback is also a factor if you consider most of the flakes I've dealt with had zero.
I've been flaked on many more times by buyers than passed over by sellers.

-Dave

PS- if you wasted time meeting up with a no-show, that's definitely grounds for a negative feedback. If the guy leaves you retailiatory feedback, email the mods.

[rivviepop]

I remember this one sale me and the guy went back and forth like 2 weeks before we did the deal. We just couldn't get free to do it but he stuck it out with me and I waited for him too.

I just counted in my email...when I bought my S&W 66-3 3" not too long ago, I went through 37 emails and at least 10 phone calls over a month and a half with the seller as well as the FFLs and craploads of faxing and stuff, I wanted that gun so bad and he really wanted to sell it to me ('cause he knew it was going to a good home, original buyer in the '80s). Due to our geographical disparity it took a lot of effort on both parts and it was a serious chore; the seller's not a Calgunner, but if he were I'd give that guy 20 positive iTrader feedbacks.