Ethics & Online Deals

As posted, I've been on the hunt for a set of crash bars for a while. A member recently messaged me saying they decided to sell their guards and asked if I was interested....

I asked how much
They named their price... $XXX shipped in the US
I said if they're undamaged its a deal
Several days later after prepping bars for the sale, seller would like me to cover partial shipping cost
I reply that I assumed it was still $XXX shipped in the US
Seller says shipping cost is more than they want to absorb
I say I'd like to stick to the original price
Seller says let me think it over
Seller says never mind, I think I'm going to list them locally

I have a very strong opinion about this, but given the way a lot of my online dealings in general have gone, I'd like to poll the audience regarding their thoughts. Feel free to elaborate with comments.

Sudden price driven change of mind. Probably should have done some more investigation on the shipping costs.
Anyway, however disappointing to the supposed receiver, I can understand the seller on this, but still not a nce move.
Look further for undamaged bars and get over this dealbreaker. Remember, the seller is a willing amateur, same as you.

Happens all the time. Bait & Switch. Not a fan. I'll probably never buy anything from an individual on-line. I have first-hand knowledge of how many turds are out there. I'll never meet up with anybody for a sale either. (Although that could turn out to be fun for me, and quite unpleasant for the turd)

Been in small business for 32 years, my word is everything. If I made a deal and lose money on it so be it.

As AZMike says. Without your word, you are nothing.

I've lost money on so many things I've lost track. My word is more important than $$

Sierra1 said:

Happens all the time. Bait & Switch. Not a fan. I'll probably never buy anything from an individual on-line. I have first-hand knowledge of how many turds are out there. I'll never meet up with anybody for a sale either. (Although that could turn out to be fun for me, and quite unpleasant for the turd)

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I think this sounds more like what MileageMonster wrote, in seller who didn't have his sh!t together before offering the price, not a bait & switch. Reflects poorly on the seller and not a good experience for the potential buyer but at least he wasn't a victim after sending payment.

I’ve had pretty good luck both selling and buying stuff from forum members here and other places. I don’t think the seller set out to be dishonest, he just failed to research the shipping costs first and was perhaps a bit imprecise in his language. Sounds like he was forthcoming when he discovered the costs.


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Checkswrecks said:

I think this sounds more like what MileageMonster wrote, in seller who didn't have his sh!t together before offering the price, not a bait & switch. Reflects poorly on the seller and not a good experience for the potential buyer but at least he wasn't a victim after sending payment.

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You could be right. I was speaking in general, not so much this forum specifically. I should have been clearer. But, before I trust anybody, I have to know them well.

Yes a deal is a deal and a man is only as good as his word. I'm sure the seller got sticker shock on the shipping cost. Without any business/volume discounts, shipping costs through UPS and FEDEX are crazy expensive. When we buy our parts and accessories online and get free shipping, we are getting a good deal.

Yeah, but some of that "free shipping" isn't free. They're just not listing it as such. I've noticed that recently, Amazon Prime is not the deal it once was. Buyer beware.

Not something that I would do, but it’s honestly not the end of the world. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense and the seller cut his losses, at least he was upfront about what happened. I once sold a seat to someone on the board, online shipping estimate made sense, but actual price was much higher than I expected. Still sold the seat, but ended up being negative on the transaction. Another time I sold a pair of panniers on here as pretty mint, when cleaning them up for shipping I noticed one was slightly deformed, told the buyer and he was ok with it.

Sometimes unexpected things happen, move on and shrug it off.

Personally, I don't even bother trying to ship large items.... I only list large items locally. If I do have someone interested in shipping, I tell them straight up its on them shipping and packaging costs. Your situation, I'd hardly consider him scamming or dishonest. He just figured out how much a hassle shipping stuff can be and said "forget it".

Sounds like an inexperienced seller. In this world of "free" shipping it can be downright shocking to see how much it costs to send anything. I'd have a hard time saying it was anything beyond an unfortunate learning experience.

I have some Givi crash bars that I posted for sale on here. Buyer was to pay shipping- I had a couple of guys wanting them. Until they calculated shipping costs. Shipping was so much it made my Used bars almost as much as new bars on Amazon. Yeah they committed to buy them before finding out how much shipping was. I’m not going to hold someone to a commitment like that. I kept them as a spare set.

At least nobody got screwed

Its time I commented on this.....

I'm the culprit.....I made a bad choice...actually a couple of em....
I shouldve just advertised the guards like I always do when selling farkles.
I shouldve done a bit more reasearch on the cost to ship a large box from TX to NY (almost Canada)
Shipping costs have increased ..jus like other things lately.

I had offered the guards at what I felt was a very good price for some non damaged ones....compared to new prices & availability.
When I found out the tru cost to ship was gonna be almost double the amount I had orig found....I offered instead to split the cost $20 to buyer & $25 to me which was about the amount I had orig figured into the sale price.
(Slight differences in box sizes can make BIG differences in ship costs)
I shouldve jus cancelled the sale at that time to sell locally where shipping IS about $25 for that size box.
Instead...I was trying to give the buyer an option to complete the transaction... which...in this case ..was not a good decision.

Some background on me....
I am a retired parts salesman & for most of my career I have sold tractor/farm implement..auto...motorcycle & aircraft parts since 1972. I started selling motorcycle parts & accys/gear on my own around 2001 while still working a regular job. Local riders have brought me their stuff to sell when they didnt wanna go to the trouble of advertising it. I have had mostly positive remarks from those folks....& other buyers I have dealt with.
I usta put my stuff on ebay....until they got stupid...targeting large wharehouses instead of individual sellers.

If a poll tells me that my selling presence on this forum is not wanted...I will go away...
So far....I dont see that...& I hope my image isnt tarnished due to this mistake.
Rod

I sort of figured that is what had happened, shipping price was above expectations. I was trying to sell a large aftermarket tank for a Suzuki DR650. It was not very heavy, but finding a box that it fit in caused the shipping price to be detrimental to my attempts to sell it. I found that cutting the box down an inch on each side (making a custom sized box rather than using one that just fit) reduced the shipping by almost 50%!

The seller made an error, admitted it and didn't take any money from the buyer. Is it a good situation? No. Is anyone out anything? Also no.

Well I take my hat off to cycledelic relic for being man enough to go public and admit he had made a mistake. There are not too many people who would have done that so although the rethink on costs may be unpalatable to some, he has come clean and I applauded him for that. Don’t go away cylcledelic relic, stay with us here!

I think we all learned a little something here and I hope cycledelic relic stays on this forum. Something like this is not reason to leave the forum. I would hope everyone feels the same. I have a garage full of parts like crash bars, seats, wind shields, skid plates etc... and all the take off parts to sell someday. Now I know I will have to look into shipping costs when I get around to listing them.