Frustrations and Gratitudes

 

Getting rid of unneeded objects has always been a thing of frustration for me. It takes way more effort and time than it should. With every object I get rid of, I would like to think I have learned from past experiences and gotten a little smarter but life has a way of lashing back and saying, "Not so fast!" At the end of my last ad in which I was selling a twin bed and mattress for a measly $20 just so it didn't end up in the landfill and I'm not messaged by everyone looking to make money off something offered for free, I appended a list of rules to save me from some of the frustrations.

If you are reading this ad, it is still available so don't ask. - Marketplace provides a button shortcut to ask the seller, "Is this still available?" This requires me to respond to dozens of inquiries with the same, "yes it is" and if I don't respond in a timely manner, people will repeatedly message me or get upset that I didn't respond immediately. This solves that dilemma. 50% of the responses for this bed still asked me if it was available, which I ignored.

I will not hold this item for anyone. First come first serve. - All the time I am asked if I will hold the item for their next paycheck or for them to drive 100 miles to pick it up and I have been burned countless times by holding the item only to have the party never show up. This then requires me to relist the add since anyone reading an ad several days old at that point automatically assumes it is no longer available. 

Price is not negotiable. - The second most common response I get after if it is still available is will you take (generally 50% of asking price). I price things to move quickly, not get what the market will bear. Since I can count on dozens of interested people within an hour of posting, why do I negotiate with someone early on knowing someone will come along quickly and pay what I asked because it is cheap already.

I will not deliver this. Pick up only. - Despite the Marketplace tool specifying this, so many times I am asked to drive across town or to a nearby town to meet the buyer halfway. Since I am always selling something for just enough money to discourage bargain resellers, driving anywhere would cost me more in fuel, depreciation and self worth, than the item I am trying to get rid.

So this time around, as I said earlier, 50% of the responses were asking if it was available which I ignored. The other 50% asked when it could be picked up to which I responded, "anytime". About an hour later I looked out the window and saw a pickup and trailer stopped in front of my house as they were looking to verify they had found the right place. I opened up my garage door and waved to them and they immediately pulled into my driveway. While they were backing into place, I marked the bed as sold in the app. The buyer got out of the truck and handed me a $20 bill immediately so I deleted my ad from Marketplace immediately. For 15 minutes, the buyer and others loaded the bed and chit chatted with me. The bed was going to their 4 year old daughter (also there) who still was using a crib because the parents couldn't even afford to buy a mattress, much less a bed, box spring and mattress. I was happy to see the bed going to a family in need who would appreciate it.

When they left, I walked inside and after another 15 minutes or so, checked my phone. I saw that one person was still messaging me about the bed asking what my address was because the ad had been deleted and they were on their way from a town an hour away. I quickly messaged back that it was sold. Immediately I got a response back of why I had sold it out from under them and not held it for them. I patiently explained that I had no idea where they were coming from and that as I stated in the ad, I won't hold things for anyone. I apologized for causing them inconvenience. What I got was a tirade of how misleading I had been, how I had wasted their precious time and now fuel and that they were going to immediately report me for fraudulently leading them on. I blocked them from messaging me and ignored them. Whether or not they reported me, I have no idea since a week has gone by and I have not heard anything more about the incident.

But I am once again reminded that "no good deed goes unpunished."

I went out to my garden and filled a basket with yellow squash, green beans and ripe tomatoes. It was the first full basket of the year and hopefully the first of many more.