Absolutely FUMING about a seller!

[Baylor]

I know how disappointing it must be, especially since it was supposed to be a birthday gift, but I can somewhat see the seller's side.

I am no longer doing payment plans with people I don't know. After my last offer period, two different people completely flaked out on me with paying anything, and then wondered why I was furious. I really am of the opinion that if you can't afford at least half up front, then you have no business buying the item, no matter what it is.

However, if the seller was really so rude to even suggest that your boyfriend get a credit card... I can see why you'd be so irked. There are more polite ways of saying no, I can't do that kind of payment plan.

[Noriko010884]

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!

Having read that I can see it from the seller's perspective. I still have the same opinion on the subject though.

With regards to your experiences, the buyers are well out of line to have behaved in such an ugly manner. You've had the kindness and decency and the patience to allow them the opportunity to pay for a cel over a period of time. You have been understanding.. they should appreciate that and never have the gall to be so unreasonable and rude to you after you're doing them a favour!

What is it with some people?!

[Not Sir Phobos]

* absolutely insulting.

"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."

* first class assclown,
* absolutel rude
* vile
*elitist,
*asanine attitude,
* just being a dick.

I read and re-read the e-mail reply and I don't see any of your colorful descriptive words in it. I didn't see any. I note that your boyfriend tried to set up a payment plan with someone on the terms of "when you can spare it". That type of verbage would make me uneasy especially if the buyer only has an $8hr job.

I saw no insult or slander in that communication what so ever. The seller should be able to name the terms of a sale, especailly a high risk sale such as this one.

The "if you have one" comment I didn't take as an insult either, the seller was trying to work with him on other means of payments.

And yes, 3 months IS a long time to wait for someone to pay off a cel.

[sletia]

Yeah but this is a seller that does payment plans all the time, and he's a very big dealer. As in he's on the list on Alternative Keeptrack.

[EternityOfPain]

This is my take, I am trying to be as fair as possible so please don't take it is as being rude as that is not my intention.

I can understand that this $200 cel was supposed to be a gift and your Boyfriend was trying to work out a deal with the dealer of some-type of payment plan however to me it seemed that nothing was to concrete. What I mean is by saying "I will be able to pay $50 and any time I can spare some money" honesty isn't something a dealer who makes there living from selling cels happily agree with. I find that when he said $100 up front and another $100 in a month very fair I know several dealers that unless its a huge substantial purchase will they even consider payment plan (I know Anime-Game does not accept payment plans anymore due to the work overload and the trouble with collecting on several individuals). I also believe that when he mentioned a credit card he was only giving you an option. I know many individuals who don't have a credit card, nothing wrong with that he was simply saying (I believe) that its an option to be able to pay it off.

I can understand how you see that it could come offensive especially that it was supposed to be a gift but you have to always remember dealers need to make there money and unless they know you that you wont flake out on payment they will be reluctant to choose that method of payment.


Note: I should mention that "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. " was not when I originally read this thread that it did say something like "I will be able to pay $50 and any time I can spare some money" which sounded much more relax and not anything concrete which I was basing my remark on.

[Ms. Poe]

New buyers, I think, would make any collector or dealer wary.

I've been burned in the past, and burned when I was new to collecting. It's not a good feeling either way.

That is why I now put a clause in all of my payment plans. If you do not stick to the schedule we come up with, you forfeit the item as well as all monies paid up to the default point.

I'm sorry the seller didn't hold your boyfriend in a high regard. The CC statements was a bit out of line. But, it may just be the sellers personality, too. So, try not to be too offended. Just have your boyfriend save up $200 and give it to you on your birthday. If the cel is gone, I'm pretty sure $200 can go towards something useful, or that you want.

[jcaliff]

* absolutely insulting.

"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."

* first class assclown,
* absolutel rude
* vile
*elitist,
*asanine attitude,
* just being a dick.

I read and re-read the e-mail reply and I don't see any of your colorful descriptive words in it. I didn't see any. I note that your boyfriend tried to set up a payment plan with someone on the terms of "when you can spare it". That type of verbage would make me uneasy especially if the buyer only has an $8hr job.

I saw no insult or slander in that communication what so ever. The seller should be able to name the terms of a sale, especailly a high risk sale such as this one.

The "if you have one" comment I didn't take as an insult either, the seller was trying to work with him on other means of payments.

And yes, 3 months IS a long time to wait for someone to pay off a cel.

This is pretty much exactly what I thought when I read the original post. I honestly don't see anything particularly rude in the seller's response. I don't think the "if you have one" comment was meant to be insinuating anything about the buyer. If a person wants to make that kind of payment plan, it implies that they don't have another way to pay for the item. The seller obviously didn't want to assume that the buyer had a credit card, but wanted to remind him of that option. I'm assuming you added the italics for emphasis since most people don't use html in their emails back and forth. Without those italics, it looks completely innocuous to me.

I think the seller wasn't trying to be rude or lose a customer. I don't blame a seller for being hesitant to take a payment plan from someone he doesn't know, with no history in the community, for a cel which, in the grand scheme of things, really isn't that expensive. Not only that, but the seller didn't even just say, "no", but gave him other options to pay for it. It sounds to me like the seller was going out of his way to give the buyer a chance to buy the item, with less risk to the seller. The seller is under no obligation to sell anything to anyone, and could have just told him, "No, sorry, I'm won't sell it for a payment plan."

Something else to keep in mind - if the buyer flakes out, the seller has lost three months of time in which that cel could have been bought by someone else, but had to be taken off the market. Just because it's been on their site a while doesn't mean that someone might not see it and decide to buy it in two weeks.

See if he could go into any retail store and offer to make a three month layaway payment plan for a luxury item that costs $200 on the terms of "sending ... $50.00 'when you can spare it'," without an exact timetable of when payments will be made and let me know how that goes. I also do remember when $200 was a lot of money. And you know what? I didn't buy things I couldn't afford. Plain and simple. Not even presents.

[RoboFlonne]

As a business prospect. Lay-A-Way which is the equivalent of Payment plans. Is a tricky subject.

If you don't pay it off in 3 months then the seller keeps what you have put down.

In business that's awesome. You get to keep the cel plus the $50 down payment.

That seller isn't very good in business or as a person.


That is no way to treat people! I feel very sorry for you Nelia!

[Cloud]

Do you treat people that way? I try to treat everyone equally.

[Baakay]

Hmmm. I had to go back and re-read the original post.

When I first read the post, I saw (if you have one) <-- in italics, presented in parentheses. This sort of typography is normally understood as a sign of emphasis. I assumed this is the way the seller replied in the original, because when that isn't the case, ordinarily people add "emphasis mine" or something like that.

So... assuming that was the way the original read, I interpreted it as a sarcastic comment. Which is totally uncalled for (unless the BF was being obnoxious on the other end, and it didn't seem as though that was the case at all).

On the other hand, if that was NOT the way it was presented in the original, it could well have been just a remark, in which case it probably wasn't meant to be insulting. But at 6 am I'm inclined to take someone's post at face value and give my opinion.

Either way, it strikes me that the seller would have been better served to say something neutral and positive, like: "We take payment plans under these circumstances (and list them). Unfortunately we are unable to make other arrangements." No blame, no insinuations, no problems, just a nice firm "we'd like to help you out but we can't, sorry." I can't imagine anyone having a problem with THAT.

[vapalla]

I have to admit, the italics threw me off too. There might have been better ways to word it, but if your boyfriend wasn't giving a concrete payment plan, and he's never dealt with this dealer before, I could understand how the dealer might feel wary about a very open-ended payment plan.

If this dealer is well thought of and you have had good dealings with him before, perhaps you should write and say that you were put out by his letter, but in retrospect you think he may have meant something other than you originally thought and could he clarify his meaning. I have discovered many times especially on the internet people mis-understand each other and things are not always as they first seem.

[miz ducky]

I have discovered many times especially on the internet people mis-understand each other and things are not always as they first seem.

Yes when things are in type, the only emphasis (with out actually underlining, italics or Caps lock) is in the readers head.

None of us can truely know if someone else means something the way that WE understand it with out actually knowing the person and how they speak in person.

Those of us reading your post can only guess what was being said. We don't have your bf's full message and we don't have the seller's full message either.

When corresponding in type, you should keep things clear and as free of assumption as possible. I think business people ought to know that much.

[Caroline]

aw nelia, i hope you can find a way to still purchase the cel. your bf is definitely sweet and you shouldnt let some jerk ruin your birthday. $200 is a lot of money depending on your income, so i dont understand why the dealer wasn't more understanding...