Paranoid's Blog - Notes on Trading/Buying From Me

RSS Bot · August 15, 2006

I just wanted to post something, and hopefully, anyone I deal with in the Marketplace will get over here and read this first.

I just want to save people some time. If you're in any way fussy, picky, or wound a little too tightly when it comes to the transfer of goods and services, and you see something I have offered, just skip the PM to me. Don't bother.

Anyone who has dealt with me here or on eBay will tell you I'm quick, courteous, and responsive. I'm also REAL easy to deal with. I'm not into this hobby to make a dime. I don't care if I make money or lose money or break even on a deal, as long as everyone comes out happy. It isn't a business for me at all, and I am in the fortunate place where I can afford such a luxury. It makes the hobby that much more enjoyable for me.

I'm not sure why so many of the traders, buyers and sellers here are so uptight about specific issues. #1 that I see is a lot of people don't like posts with "Make Offer" and no hard cash price posted. Listen... if someone says this, and you offer them say, $50 for the item, and they go NUTS on you, acting like you're some sort of jerk for "lowballing" them... I understand how you could become sensitive. If you put up "Make Offer"... you should really mean it... To me, "Make Offer" means... "Tell me what it is worth to you, and if it is worth the trouble to me, we've got a deal... no matter HOW small the offer is". Make offer may mean... "This is going to go to the highest bidder"... an informal auction. And that is fine, too. Make your offer, again, what it is worth to you, and, if the guy comes back and says, "we've got a deal", good. If not, it was worth more to someone else.

I recently sold my $150 value AMD 2400+ system for $90 and a SNES control deck. I had it advertised at $125. Really, it was worth $90 and a SNES deck just to get it out of my house. I'd have taken $50 for it, probably. Seems like a lot of you are simply afraid to barter, haggle, and deal.

Which is fine. I just want to save those of you like this the trouble. Save your time and mine. If you some of you feel this entitled to be picky and vocal about your opinions on trading, then I feel justified in responding with a post that says, "Don't PM me if this is how you feel".

It'll be your loss, not mine, anyhow.

On the other hand, if you're laid-back, easy-going, and flexible, you'll find that I'm willing to make great deals and I'm a low-stress transaction that pays quick, ships quick, is reliable, and makes accurate representation of the items I have available.

And again... this is in RESPONSE to a recent aborted transaction, but that individual isn't the first time I've ran into difficulties with issues like this, or seen other people post similar attitudes, so I'm not singling out this ONE individual. This recent transaction just made me want to clarify my position on this issue for everyone, so that I can avoid the headache in the future. Basically, if you're SERIOUS about an offer, a trade, a purchase, the terms aren't going to hang you up unless it is clear that the other party is trying to screw you. I'd prefer to only deal with SERIOUS traders, buyers, and sellers in the future, here... and this seemed like the best way to get the word out. And it is worth noting, most of the trades, sales and purchases I've made here have been with EXCELLENT folks who are trustworthy, reasonable, and easy going as well. In my experience, the "picky-purchaser/seller syndrome" only applies to a very select group of Atari Age members. They know who they are, and, if it is all the same to them, I'd rather they just ignore my posts in Marketplace, going forward.

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?a...;showentry=1852