BST Courtesy and Protocol
 

Not trying to be a dick here, but I am wondering about the protocol of a sale on BST.

http://net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=240219

I sent a PM asking for a closeup scan of a few star cards, such as 84 Marino and Elway, and the 86 Rice. Also a one line question asking the sellers opinion of the grade of the sets.

The email was answered, telling me the sets are sold, but he has other singles from some of the sets if I'm interested.

Is there an unwritten rule on BST that first inquiry has any priority? I did not commit to the sale on the inquiry, but wanted some clarification on condition prior to purchasing. I wasn't expecting the first inquiry to be met with "Items are sold", especially with the second "PM sent" coming over 12 hours later.

Thanks in advance...
Bob

My experience has been that the first to commit to purchase and pay gets the cards over an ongoing negotiation unless otherwise specifically agreed to by the seller.

You asked for pics 3 days after the original post, he might have sold it in that 3 days and forgot to update. The person who posted after you isn't necessarily the buyer.

I had a situation once where I was the first to respond in the thread. I said that I would take the card, but the seller told me that he had already sold it to someone else. This other person didn't leave a response in the thread, but PMed before I did, and bought the card. Oh well, it happens. :(

^^this^^ also adding that a lot of people will just send a PM without posting in the thread.

Is there an unwritten rule on BST that first inquiry has any priority?

No, none. First to say "I'll take it" does....

It sounds like this was a case of the seller not updating the thread to say that the item was sold. It's generally considered good BST etiquette to do that, but sometimes people are slow to do it, or they forget or neglect to do it for whatever reason. That's why I always say "I'll take it if nobody has already claimed it" when responding to a BST post. Also, as others have said, people don't always post "PM sent" or "E-mail sent" in the thread. I would say that's a best practice, but not absolutely necessary. When I do it, it's more to make sure the seller sees that I've responded, rather than to make any official claim as the first responder.

close up scans
 

some sellers have problems uploading hi res scans or better pictures for many various reasons.
You were playing safe which makes perfect sense as is your right;
I have done the same thing.
However while you waiting for the an answer some body swooped in and bought them based on what they saw.
He could have handled better in this politically correct world we live in maybe IE: said he had problems with getting scans in time to you because "my cat got stuck up in a tree" or some other lame excuse, but just said they were sold no apology given and tried to peddle you other merchandise which is a bit tacky on his part.

Re: BST Courtesy and Protocol
 

An emphatic +1.

Why would asking a question, or for more pictures give you any priority over someone who actually wants to buy the card or cards? A seller should pass on a sale to answer your questions and hope you agree to purchase?

I don't understand this mind set at all. Obviously as others have stated a commitment to buy takes priority over an on going negotiation. In cards, and pretty much everything else in life.

This was my items and it so happened that I had three individuals including the one that is upset in this post asking about the sets all around the same time so of course I sold to the first one that paid the money plus I told him and the other two that I had doubles on the sets but was not sure about the 1984 topps football set and would sell the others to them if interested. The one posting this did not respond to the pm but the other did and is interested any duplicate sets. I am sorry that I had everyone wanting the set run at the same time but first with the money gets the merchandise......I still have the duplicate sets on the other years but 84 if you are interested.....thanks

In my mind, the BST is like a candy machine, once you put the money in, you get the candy. Until then, no matter how early or often you look at the candy, or how many questions you ask, the candy isn't yours.

On a related topic, while I can understand the logic of posting an "email sent" note on a BST thread, I generally contact the seller directly and I don't always post about it in the thread. Unless I post "I'll take it" in the thread, which means "I'll take it if you haven't already sold it to somebody else".

Doug

Thanks for the info to everyone who took the time to post.

And no, I am not "upset" at all; they are all pretty common items. I thought I could capture some "low hanging fruit" on a low priority want list. I was simply looking for a clarification and opinions, mostly for future reference.

Yes, I wanted a better scan before making the decision, which I still feel is reasonable. I also completely understand if someone came in and purchased outright without asking for scans. I wasn't prepared to do so. Simply wondering if there are rules or courtesies around being first in, which I thought I might have been.

Thanks for the feedback and clarifications. Much appreciated.

Bob

Committing and inquiring are two different things, especially considering many inquirers never commit and some don't even respond.

Really is a great place to shop. I have done probably 40 transactions without an issue of any kind. Great communication and I've gotten some rarer stuff I wanted and paid fair prices (without putting fees in someone else's pocket). And on occasion I've unloaded items to raise cash for other purchases. More I use BST the less I appreciate the hassles of crazy high buy it nows and the like.

Lost in all of this is the fact that someone had a reasonable question and received reasonable responses and had a reasonable reaction. What is this place, and what have you guys done to my internet?

The fewer rules the better. I have to get involved (not a ton I can do but I try to help) in approximately 1 deal a month. That tells me things aren't that bad and we don't need more freaking rules (*I don't like rules in general).
The overriding theme is act professionally or you won't be allowed there. Communication is always key and CAVEAT EMPTOR. Always PM me or another moderator with anything suspicious or that just doesn't look right (a person selling a 10k card that just registered, for instance). Those issues get looked at very quickly. There are no safeguards there other than everyone's own policing....and of course there is always UCC that lawyers can debate as in normal business. In other words regular laws, and some being federal if over the internet, always apply. Because everyone is vigilant on the BST we have almost no actual scammers who have ever gotten away with anything that I am aware of. A few deals have gone sour but those were with know collectors.... Carry on...

.

I always state in my sales posts "pm over post". I don't have time to constantly check the listing for posts but I do get instant notifications via email from pm's. That way FIFO (first in/first out). It's the fairest way I've found to conduct business on the B/S/T. I've actually had this happen a couple of times:
someone will post "I'll take it in the thread" and by the time they pm me, someone else has committed to buy (or even paid) via an email or private message. It literally comes down to 1-2 mins. on some items.
Just some food for thought.

Bst
 

I think a seller should specify the way that a buyer should contact them. I had a problem several years ago when I posted an item, and within a few minutes, a had a post on the thread, a couple of PM's, and a couple of emails, so I had to sort through everything to determine who was the first person to commit to the purchase.

So now, I always specify the type of contact. I will state - "PM's only". This way I don't have to constantly check my email or the thread, only the PM's.

Rick

I never post in the thread when I plan to buy the card. I either PM the seller or email them if they specifically note they want emails in their post. Seems like a waste of time to post in the thread and then PM.

AndyH

I PM first then state in the post, PM sent.

I assume, buyer send a pm to buy cards. Thats how i always do it. I rarely post in the thread

Interested in opinions on the following situations and who sellers would sell to...

1)You log into net 54 and see that two people want the same card, the first PM is a member you haven't dealt with and the second PM is a repeat buyer, who do you sell to?

2)You log into net 54 and see that the first PM is from someone who wants to buy a single card, the second person want to buy that card and a few more. Do you sell all the cards to buyer #2 or sell the single card to #1 and the rest to #2?

I always PM first and then, if I think of it, post in the seller's thread. I do that more for the courtesy bump than as communication.

Knowing Doug, I could not help but picture him standing at a candy machine and asking it questions

Pending
 

The op should have said I'll take it pending the scan and if the scan was no good could opt out at that point. Also, the seller really should put scan up first so that this back and forth can be avoided.

Just in case these are serious questions.
1) first PM
2) single to #1 and rest to #2

Posting scans would solve a lot of problems. Same thing with posting a price.

+1

There is a member that keeps listing cards that I'm very much interested in but, without a price, I don't even bother.

what he said. ↑

I'm anal about trying to make sure all my stuff at a show is tagged for the same reason. I hate walking up on a dealer with no prices.