ebay/autotrader/gumtree adverts

[qprdude]

At the ripe old age of 65, I've decided to recapture my misspent youth and look for a small motorbike to buy.
I am amazed at the amount of sellers who finish their advert by saying "No time wasters"! Is there a more stupid thing to put in an advert?

Is there a huge army of "time wasters" out there, pouring over adverts just so they can waste some sellers precious time?
Do " timewasters" purposely answer adverts, and travel to see the product on offer simply to waste your time?
Is it not possible that sellers can be the timewasters by wildly inaccurate descriptions of what they are selling?

In my efforts to find myself a little "Custom Cruiser" motorbike, I've decided that if the words "timewaster" "tyre kicker" or anything that appears to prejudge a prospective buyer , is used in an advert, I immediately move on. It doesn't matter if the article seems to be perfect for me, I'm not interested in anyone who makes silly statements, when it is THEY, who need to sell something.

There, rant over. I feel better now.

[myglaren]

Gumtree and eBay can be a complete nightmare for both those selling and those wishing to buy cars - and not just cars.
Never had the pleasure myself, fortunately.

[demag]

Actually eBay is ram packed full of time wasters and idiots. I occasionally buy and sell a few bits and bobs. Some years ago I bought a brand new system boiler for the house. Eventually I never used it because I had a whole combi system fitted. Three times I've tried to sell only to be messed about by idiots who pressed the buy button or won the bidding for them then to say they didn't mean to buy it! Then you can't relist until ebay are certain they don't want the item! I sold an old Palm phone, some bloke sent loads of messages asking to buy it but I told him I'd let the auction run. He won the auction with a stupid bid of £60. It was worth about 20. Five minutes later he wanted to know if I'd posted it! When he received it he said it wouldn't work yet I put pictures on the ad of it working. I had 21 messages from him. Eventually I just blocked him from contacting me. I expected bad feedback but he left none. So just be careful and don't be conned.

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[qprdude]

I've read on the FCF about guys travelling a fair distance to look at cars, only to find that they have been totally mislead as to the state of the car so I'm thinking it works both ways.

[bobins]

As Dave says above - eBay is full of timewasters. I'm a frequent eBay buyer, and I see a lot of things having to be 'relisted due to timewaster', I also see a lot of badly listed things that go for a lot less than they should do I've got many bargains through eBay with a bit of perseverance and a bit of research. I've recently got a genuine set of front brake pads for my C5 for just over a tenner, so it pays to spend a bit of time sticking with it and trawling through the listings.

[mickeymoon]

eBay is a total nightmare for buying and selling anything. I recently sold a vehicle to a buyer far away, who paid up front for me to deliver it and he'd meet me half way... then changed his mind... then changed it back again... then changed it, then changed it again . Cost £75 in wasted pre-booked train tickets, and I eventually sold it to a mate cheap just to have it gone after so many messers!

Autotrader is much better, or MCN for you..

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[NewcastleFalcon]

At the ripe old age of 65, I've decided to recapture my misspent youth and look for a small motorbike to buy. I am amazed at the amount of sellers who finish their advert by saying "No time wasters"! Is there a more stupid thing to put in an advert?

I...'ve decided that if the words "timewaster" "tyre kicker" or anything that appears to prejudge a prospective buyer , is used in an advert, I immediately move on. It doesn't matter if the article seems to be perfect for me, I'm not interested in anyone who makes silly statements, when it is THEY, who need to sell something.

Couldn't agree more with that, in a thread I sarcastically entitled "The pleasures of looking for a new car" I expreseed my feelings thus...

I tend to go for Gumtree at first, although descriptions are sometimes pretty sketchy. I have never bought anything off e-bay, and in general am not that keen on autotrader. I also have never bought a car out of my comfort zone....ie more than 40 miles from home.

I find the DVLA MOT Checker a good new source of evidence, with history on line for any vehicle since 2005 including failures and advisories.

One of my "possibilities" has a pretty clean MOT record since 2005 is on for a decent price, but uses the phrase "Won't be here long First to see will buy". The seller obviously doesn't realise that I'm easily put off by an overused cliche I also never like to see a car decribed as "absolutely mint" or for an advert to include the phrase "no timewasters" and possibly worst of all those that include "bargain" or "drives perfect". Clearly my dislike of such phrases reduces the range of possibilities I will go and look at dramatically......

That is by no means the full list of off-putting phrases...

Regards Neil

[Peter.N.]

I do quite a lot of buying and selling on ebay at 77 and most of my experiences have been good. I bought my last two cars that way at a very good price and I am very pleased with them, but you do have to know what you are buying and do some research with other sellers so you know what sells for what price.

I Had a couple of good buys this weekend, a nice leather office chair for £5.00 and a current model Bosch dishwasher retailing at around £400 for £50, also in very nice condition. You have to be prepared to spend time doing research and often travelling to, I don't mind doing either of those and as a result have had some amazing bargains.

Peter

[wheeler]

Been messed about loads on ebay with non paying bidders, it takes so long to be able to relist the item again.
The last car i sold on gumtree i had 3 different people arrange to come and view then not turn up and not answer their phones.

[CitroJim]

There used to be a fashion for bored people to go and look at houses for sale years ago, as a form of entertainment and to occupy their lives...

I guess those people, or their offspring, now use eBay and Gumtree in much the same way...

Buying and selling cars and bikes is a right 'mare anyway at the best of times which is why I don't if I can help it or buy only from people I know well...

That's how I've bought all my Xantias for years now.

Selling anything on eBay I find is a nightmare on the very few occasions I've tried.

[Zelandeth]

I have to confess to having added this to the last advert I put up there...

Just about lost it with the last ad I had posted on Gumtree - a tumble drier, advertised for the sky high sum of thirty quid, with a concise description which included everything necessary. Yet I was bombarded with stupid, inane or downright indecipherable messages.

One of the sentences in the description being "The item has been tested and is working perfectly."

Suffice to say, the message I received asking (I quote) "duz it wrk!!!?" never got an answer. I also had about a dozen others with similarly answered in the description questions, at least half a dozen folks who said they would have it and then never turn up, and two chancers who wanted it for free who wouldn't go away and wound up getting blocked.

Oh...and don't bother stating that an item is for collection only...at least the first ten questions will be "can you deliver it?"

First encounter with that was selling a bed. Guy actually turned up (think he was the fifth one who had said they would buy it by that point), paid me...then asked how we were going to move it. Despite me having stated in the advert prominently that it was a large, bulky item and would need a van to move and that the buyer would need to arrange that - they then started to make a right old scene when I pointed that out. As it was, I was frustrated enough by that point that I just crammed the lot in the back of the Saab without a care for if I damaged the bed components and took it round the block to their place and dumped it in the driveway for them to sort out.

If it weren't for having some decent amount of cash tied up in decent furniture and white goods I really would have just skipped the stuff we got when clearing my father's house out... selling it really is just such a pain. Don't even suggest Freecycle either... it's been tried and is just as bad (or worse) I've found.

[Peter.N.]

Can't say I have had those problems down here, must be a different breed in the West country.

Peter

[CitroJim]

Reading your post Zel, sadly reflects my experiences makes me fearful for the future of the world to have so many clearly stupid, inarticulate and downright ignorant people in existence.

One can only hope they're all celibate!

must be a different breed in the West country.

We are

[Timmo]

Quite a lot of the bike sales posts on fb groups are in a sad way, comical. Poor descriptions, shocking spelling, wrong word use, text speak or worse modern cant spell so wont try types, iz lik mint m8, most do not havr any privacy settings either, very easy to pop on and see what type of petson they are, and more often, how they have used the described 'little use' or 'few rides on canal paths',
It seems that It is acceptable to mess people about on adverts, ask questions that if they read the advert would have been answered, makes you worried for the future generations!

[Gibbo2286]

Your 'daft questions' comment reminded me of the Pound Shop manager saying that the question his staff were asked most was "How much is this?"