BST etiquette am I wrong

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by raulus

I mean, it doesn’t seem rude and inappropriate to me in an online setting. Largely because he doesn’t know who else is having what other conversations. That and it’s not an interruption the way it is in person.

On the other hand, demanding that the seller has to sell to you or getting agitated over the internet could start to seem a bit much.

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

It's a mantra of the BST that "I'll take it" takes precedence over continuing negotiations. And of course it's different to walk up to a table and try to undermine a potential deal in progress before your eyes, and posting online where there is no indication a deal has been made or is imminent.

True, it may not be rude because they don't know what other discussions are going on, but it seems to be analogous. I don't see why the seller has to immediately ignore everyone else who he may have already been in contact with just because someone else says "I'll take it". I've definitely seen listings where that is indicated so if someone says that in their listing, then they should follow it. If they don't say it explicitly, why should they have to drop everyone else just to contact someone else?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by jayshum

True, it may not be rude because they don't know what other discussions are going on, but it seems to be analogous. I don't see why the seller has to immediately ignore everyone else who he may have already been in contact with just because someone else says "I'll take it". I've definitely seen listings where that is indicated so if someone says that in their listing, then they should follow it. If they don't say it explicitly, why should they have to drop everyone else just to contact someone else?

If someone says I'll take it at your price, WHY would you continue to negotiate with someone ELSE hoping that they eventually get to the place you are already at? This is not making any sense to me. The only issue is should Cody have given Jonathan more time before looking elsewhere, and I say yes. This isn't complicated -- the answer to that question is either yes or no, depending on your POV. Or, if you think contract law is the only relevant consideration, then fine, Cody was free to do whatever he wanted.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

If someone says I'll take it at your price, WHY would you continue to negotiate with someone ELSE hoping that they eventually get there? This is not making any sense to me.

I'm not saying I would negotiate with someone who was offering a lower price, but what if they just asked for better pictures or had a question about the card? If they were the first person to contact me about it and I had already responded to them, I don't know that I would just tell them, too bad, someone else bought it. It certainly wouldn't happen that way in person.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by jayshum

I'm not saying I would negotiate with someone who was offering a lower price, but what if they just asked for better pictures or had a question about the card? If they were the first person to contact me about it and I had already responded to them, I don't know that I would just tell them, too bad, someone else bought it. It certainly wouldn't happen that way in person.

So you would not tell them and lead them on? I am not following where you are going with this.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

So you would not tell them and lead them on? I am not following where you are going with this.

I would probably tell them that someone else is offering to buy it and then tell the first person who asked about it that they need to make a decision if they're going to buy or not because someone else is offering to buy it. It gets back to the discussion in the other thread about etiquette. I don't see a problem with the first person expressing interest getting priority even if they didn't commit to buying right away. Again, like at a show, if someone is looking at a card, someone else isn't going to be able to buy it until the first person puts it down and says no.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by jayshum

I would probably tell them that someone else is offering to buy it and they need to make a decision if they're going to or not. It gets back to the discussion in the other thread about etiquette. I don't see a problem with the first person expressing interest getting priority even if they didn't commit to buying right away. Again, like at a show, if someone is looking at a card, someone else isn't going to be able to buy it until the first person puts it down and says no.

Again, how is "I'll take it" not a commitment? What more was Jonathan supposed to do other than cancel all his plans for the day in order to hang by his computer or iphone anxiously awaiting Cody's next message? You are making this endlessly complicated for some reason, I just don't see it.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Again, how is "I'll take it" not a commitment? What more was Jonathan supposed to do other than cancel all his plans for the day in order to hang by his computer or iphone?

Sorry, my post you responded to wasn't clear. I meant I would tell the first person I was talking to that they needed to decide if they wanted the card because someone else was offering to buy it.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

If someone says I'll take it at your price, WHY would you continue to negotiate with someone ELSE hoping that they eventually get to the place you are already at? This is not making any sense to me. The only issue is should Cody have given Jonathan more time before looking elsewhere, and I say yes. This isn't complicated -- the answer to that question is either yes or no, depending on your POV. Or, if you think contract law is the only relevant consideration, then fine, Cody was free to do whatever he wanted.

Because with the first person it was a cash plus trade deal for my card. He could not send pics of the cards he wanted to include in the deal for a few hours when he got off work. In the meantime I had an extremely generous cash offer. Personally I waited until the first guy could send me pictures of the trade part of his offer to make my decision. I felt that was the correct thing to do.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Because with the first person it was a cash plus trade deal for my card. He could not send pics of the cards he wanted to include in the deal for a few hours when he got off work. In the meantime I had an extremely generous cash offer. Personally I waited until the first guy could send me pictures of the trade part of his offer to make my decision. I felt that was the correct thing to do.

And there you probably would have been justified, because the first guy did not express a willingness to buy on your terms, but proposed a different deal.

[Carter08]

Lots of threads make me question what people spend their time on -
this one is special in that regard. I am guilty too for following it. I think a summary of this major issue is a seller posted something for sale, a buyer may or may not have said he’d take it but someone else paid the seller first and got it. Devil is in the details but overall get over it.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by jayshum

True, it may not be rude because they don't know what other discussions are going on, but it seems to be analogous. I don't see why the seller has to immediately ignore everyone else who he may have already been in contact with just because someone else says "I'll take it". I've definitely seen listings where that is indicated so if someone says that in their listing, then they should follow it. If they don't say it explicitly, why should they have to drop everyone else just to contact someone else?

I think it hinges on whether “I’ll take it” trumps all else, and as long as you’re the first to say those magic words, then it’s yours.

I think the general idea is that saying “I’ll take it” is tantamount to clicking the “buy it now” button on eBay. It automatically yanks the item off the platform and no one else can attempt to buy it, and all pending offers are automatically rescinded.