Absolutely FUMING about a seller!

Nelia · Post by **Nelia** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 8:35 pm

I couldn't be more enraged right now! >_<!!!

This is cross-posted on RS, but I'm so mad I just had to come to Beta where I could get my head cleared.

Okay, situation:

My boyfriend went to one of the cel dealers in our community (I won't name the name) and wanted to buy a certain cel for me that I've always wanted, for my birthday.

Now, my boyfriend isn't in the cel scene, and the cel he wanted to get for me was $200. Now, remember when you first started collecting? Remember when $200 was a LOT of money? Especially if you were living off of $8/hr?

Well, he contacts the seller. He tells the seller that he wants to get this particular cel for his girlfriend for her birthday. He asks politely if he could do a payment plan - $50 up front (25% of the total cost), and the remaining off over a short span of time. When you're only making $200 or less a week, and you have bills to pay that are already more than what you can handle, it's a sacrifice to squeeze out $50 off of your paycheck. And the fact that this was going to be a birthday gift was a double kick in the balls, since the seller had no sense in the thought that there was someone else involved in this transaction, and his attitude about the sale could potentially hurt his business.

So, anyways, this seller gets back to my boyfriend and is just absolutely insulting. This is the final reply email, and mind you, my boyfriend was simply asking to place an order and being totally reasonable:

Dealer: "You don't sound like you have a solid idea of how/when you are going to have this paid off. Sending me $50.00 "when you can spare it" doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in me about this transaction. I would suggest that you try to get a little more together for your downpayment. Three months is a pretty long time to pay for a $199.00 cel. Try to get at least $100.00 down & pay the balance off within 1 month. Or just charge it to your credit card(if you have one) & pay your CC off over time. let me know what you think."

Moral of the story? You're supposed to treat ALL of your customers fairly, even if they don't have as much money as others. I wouldn't care so much about 'getting a bigger down payment' if he had said it without making the comment "if you have one [credit card]". It doesn't matter if you're buying a FIFTY dollar cel, or a FIVE THOUSAND dollar cel. The person on the other side of this screen is a PERSON. And thanks to this seller acting like a first class assclown, my birthday present has been ruined. I told my boyfriend not to even bother if that's as nice as the seller can be to someone, then don't waste your money. Wait until a sequence mate pops up on Y!J. And I personally am not going to buy anymore from this seller, and if anyone asks where I got a certain cel from, I'm going to tell them flat out that this seller is absolutel rude and vile towards people who don't have as much money as he thinks they should have. Not everyone just has $200 sitting around to blow on a cel.

I knew this seller had an elitist, asanine attitude, but this just blew me away. It's just absolutely NO way to treat a customer, and the sick thing is that this dealer didn't realize that the person inquiring could have been anyone. He's lost my business, permanently.

PS: This cel has been sitting on this seller's site for quite some time. I imagine he would have been more than happy to give it a good home.

And here I was considering buying a high end cel at the next convention. Oh, well.

Now, I know that some folks are going to sneer at this and make off the wall comments about how he shouldn't be buying cels if he can't afford them, yadda yadda, but my boyfriend was being SO thoughtful when he wanted to get this cel for me. A similar thing would be me contacting a video game dealer and saying, "My boyfriend wants that import game for his birthday, but I don't have $200 right now, could you do a payment plan?" and the dealer snrking at me and practically saying, "You shouldn't be buying it if you can't even afford $200."

gosh I am so upset about it. -_- Maybe I'm overreacting, but it's just being a dick when you make comments about "You shouldn't need a payment plan for a $200 cel".

sailorsv13 · Post by **sailorsv13** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 8:59 pm

Hey! I am a VERY poor college student so regardless of how much money one has I KNOW what it feels like to desire a cel so much that I need a payment plan (and a couple credit cards hehe)!

The seller really sounds like a jerk, well at least an uptight businessman/woman. It seems to me like if the seller was worried about the rest of the cel being paid off at all he/she would have simply asked for an ebay ID or a reference from another dealer who has had successful business with you or your boyfriend. He could at least have inquired as to your knowledge of purchasing cels and the importance of making a thought-out payment plan. It sounds more like he/she wasn't worried about you paying the rest off, but how long it would take...which is stupid as you said that the cel has been posted for a long time...if you are going to pay the FULL price of a cel marked $200 for THAT long, the least he/she could do is wait a little longer. If it is like many other dealers that I have come across it is better to make a sale now to someone who will pay such a high price for a cel posted so long!

Sheesh, I hope you find a sequence mate soon. But don't worry, your birthday is not ruined due to the enormous amount of love you have received from your boyfriend in all of this! My bf has never been interested in my cels enough to even know what I like or ask me to pick on out

~ Bri ~

logorzat · Post by **logorzat** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 9:23 pm

People are so inconsiderate. It may not seem like alot to the seller but to some people $200.00 is alot of money and I really don't think it's unreasonable to ask for a payment plan. If it wasn't for payment plans most people wouldn't have the higher quality cels in their collections. That jerkoff doesn't deserve you or your boyfriend's business.

sugarcels · Post by **sugarcels** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 9:57 pm

I am a very poor college student. Even $100 may be just too much without some kind of layaway plan. Sadly not many stores have that option, so I miss out on a lot of things

What this seller did was very mean and elitist. Not all of us can plop down that kind of money! Does that mean we have no place here? What a way to think.

sletia · Post by **sletia** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:03 pm

I still think you should tell them who it was.. the answer might surprise them.

cutiebunny · Post by **cutiebunny** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:11 pm

But, I think it's also important to see it from the seller's point of view.

You have a cel that you value at $200(hopefully, the seller paid roughly this amount and is not jacking up the price of a cel they bought for $8 ). Someone approaches you and tells you that they'd like to buy the cel for their friend's birthday, but can only pay $50 now and will pay the rest whenever they can. Unless a seller has had previous experience with the buyer, they'll be hesitant to want to sell to that person, and even more hesitant to send the item to that person before payment is received in full. Now, if the same person approached the seller and asked if the seller took payment plans and, if they were willing to set a time limit(ie. 4 months) to pay off the item(and at which time, the item would be sent to them), then, that sounds like a solid plan. But, because there are buyers out there who do engage in fradulant schemes, then, it makes sense that the seller is hesitant to do business with you.

I'm not sure if the seller attempted to be curt, though. Some sellers don't have much fluency in the written English language, and a polite business response may, depending on their grammatical structure, etc. seem to be anything but kind. However, if the intent was to be rude, then, I agree that that response was not deserved.

All in all, take it with a grain of salt. So this seller refused to do business with you. Fine. Save your money and buy an item you really want from a seller who is willing to do business with you.

Nelia · Post by **Nelia** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:17 pm

Cutie-

"Someone comes along and says "I can only spare $50 this month for this cel. Since it's for a friend's birthday, would you send the cel to me and then I'll pay you back whenever I can spare the funds to do so".

LOL, no, hon, he just wanted to pay off the cel within a couple of months. XD He didn't want the cel sent to him before it was paid off at ALL. He just couldn't afford the entire amount up front and wanted to do what we all do - get a payment plan for it and pay it off. My birthday isn't until April.

cutiebunny · Post by **cutiebunny** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 10:26 pm

If that's the case, then, it seems odd to me that seller would refuse to work out some type of payment plan. Unless they're desperate for funds, why lose out on a potential customer?

The great thing about this hobby is that there tends to be lots of great eye candy around. Even if you lose out on an auction or dealer update, there's always many more items to be had.

Either way, don't let this sour deal spoil your birthday. You have two months before April rolls around...and that's plenty of time to find something on YJ or Mandarake.

Good luck

usamamo · Post by **usamamo** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:37 am

sugarcels wrote:I am a very poor college student. Even $100 may be just too much without some kind of layaway plan. Sadly not many stores have that option, so I miss out on a lot of things

What this seller did was very mean and elitist. Not all of us can plop down that kind of money! Does that mean we have no place here? What a way to think.

I am with you. I am a casual on call, and my income varys every week or sometimes not at all (thank goodness for partners

). So being able to pay off cels weekly is a god-send. It gets frustrating when sellers/dealers don't do payment plans for expensive cels. Don't get me wrond all you seller/dealers out there, I totally understand it from your POV.

Does that mean we have no place here? What a way to think.

That ran through my head as I read Nelia's post. Sometimes it feels like the world is against you because you aren't so well endowed financially.
But, thank god for those that do payment plans

I owe many a thanks to those sellers who are kind enough to understand lifes difficulties.

Nelia I hope your bf isn't so appaled that he thinks all sellers are like that. And don't worry, what comes around goes around. You will find that sequence mate

Cloud · Post by **Cloud** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 5:37 am

But some of them are?

Cordelia · Post by **Cordelia** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 7:02 am

Hey Nelia

I think your bf is really sweet. Anyway, I'm SURE u can find another cel u like before April. If a cel has been on a dealer's site for too long, it's probably not such a gd deal. Unless this is an absolute wishlist cel, it is no big loss.

Well, I think the seller may have valid concerns abt the payment plan when dealing with someone unfamiliar. However, maybe he/she could have rephrased certain things better. Like what others have said, I find it strange that the seller was not willing to consider the plan at all if the cel is not moving; he/she doesn't have much to lose if the buyer has to finish paying instalments before receiving the cel.

Baakay · Post by **Baakay** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 7:54 am

I can understand the seller's *point of view* in the sense that there have been SO many really low ripoff artists around for the last few years. There comes a point at which they just have no choice but to be wary of everyone.

That having been said, though, the "if you have one" comment was totally unprofessional, rude, sarcastic, and uncalled for in ANY way. If the seller were a used car dealer, would he point and laugh at the potential customer and say "gawd, you don't look like you can afford your RENT, much less a CAR!!" I don't *think* so.

I'm really sorry this happened to you.

vapalla · Post by **vapalla** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 8:08 am

Yeah, it is ok for a seller to say "sorry, I can't sell under the terms you mention, but I will sell it for 1/2 down and the remainder within 30 days." That would have been the polite and diplomatic thing.

Maybe the seller has had a run of really annoying requests from buyers and took it out on your BF, but that is hardly fair is it?

Noriko010884 · Post by **Noriko010884** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 8:21 am

I think the seller's attitude is unreasonable.

Your bf isn't offering a lower amount, nor is he going to scam the seller, after all, he's the one paying up, it's the seller who has the ability to scam when it comes to payment plans.

Too many people are selfish and inconsiderate. That attitude is just completely unnecessary. It's because of people's lack of common courtesy that I'm disgusted by society nowadays. The world would be much more pleasant if people weren't so self-centred.

jenn-b · Post by **jenn-b** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 8:34 am

I'm sorry here, but being on the bad end of the "payment plan" situation, I can understand a certain amount of animosity. I have had so many situations where plans have gone awry...people have been rude about my time-lines...people assume they will get a payment plan, without previously contacting me, etc. So, honestly, I admit, I have alot of anger toward payment plans. And if you want to see the extreme end of payment plans, just read Animegame's update section.

I understand the situation and that your boyfriend was trying to be sweet. That was very kind. Just don't let this ruin the day. Take his sweetness as the gift!