PM sent vs I'll Take it

[Nate]

First person to communicate , I will take it! Whether pm or posting on the thread.

Oh, and PM's with I will take it, and then offer you less does not count.

[CAguy]

I've been buying and selling on internet forums since 1996... that would be almost 2 decades now.

It didn't used to be this way, but in this day and age, HALF... yes HALF of the people who say "I'LL TAKE IT" will eventually NOT TAKE IT.

This is what the times have become.

Here's another Factoid:

Let's say I get 2 PM's for something I'm selling. The first one that arrives is from a new member. The second one that arrives a few minutes later is from an experienced member with a high iTrader rating.

I will almost always sell it to the second guy.

What??? That's unfair, right?

No. HALF... yes HALF of guys who show no iTrader rating or new member will never follow through on the PM or suddenly disappear right before the exchange will go down. Did I say half?

A deal that doesn't follow through is very time consuming. You waste time and lose the potential to sell to other more legit buyers.

A thread that has been marked with "I'll take it" will lose potential for new buyers.

That's why I say in many of my For Sale threads: "Do not mark this thread with I'll take it, instead, send me a PM"

I will then decide on who I'm going to sell it to, as I don't have the time and patience to have a 50% probability of getting screwed over. That's just how it is, I'm not Walmart.

I won't buy anything from someone who has "Do not mark this thread with I'll take it, instead, send me a PM". Just a FYI. As a buyer I don't want to waste my time setting something up only to have the seller keep anonymity and keep taking offers and end up selling to someone else. It works both ways. Buyers don't want to waste time either.

Adds should be well written and driving distances, availability, and any special issues should be in the add. Just like flaky buyers should be called out, so too should flaky sellers.