I have to ask. Am I having a really bad run of luck when trying to sell my belongings or are these experiences par for the course?

So far, I have had:


People e-mailing me, sending me PMs or messages on FB to 'reserve' an item and then not responding to my message telling them 'Yes, you can have it and when would you like to come and get it?'

People asking me 'Can I come at such and such a time?', to which I respond 'Yes, of course' (sometimes cancelling appointments), only to have people say 'Oh actually, that doesn't work for me after all', or agree to come and then call numerous times to say that they are running late (in one case the person was running so late my dad and I had to call them and say that we had to leave my storage box because it was pitch dark and snowing heavily and we'd been waiting an hour and a half) or (today's example), people not showing up at all and not calling or e-mailing or giving any contact at all to say why...

People telling me they would like 'lots of things', but they don't have a car and what am I going to do about it / can I post a TV, duvet and microwave to them / can they come next week instead of this week (and then not getting back to me when I say 'Yes').

People (in this case someone from EF) asking me to post DVDs with a paying in slip, only to give no sign of life a week after the parcel was sent, not replying to PMs asking if the parcel arrived and - should I be surprised - not paying for the items.

People contacting me to say 'I want to buy such-and-such, you'll never sell it for the price you're asking but I'm willing to pay x', I respond and say 'OK', and they don't get back to me...

I could go on.

I've posted adverts on here, on Facebook and on Anibis and have had an absolutely awful experience with all three.

I appreciate that I'm in a particular situation because most of the items I'm selling are in my storage box, which means that I have to make a three-hour round trip to go there and my dad has to make an hour's round trip to come and help me, so something like a no-show is particularly irritating because it's not like I've just been sitting at home waiting for the doorbell to ring (I should add today it was 'just' my dad who was inconvenienced as I couldn't make it to the box), but even so... People are just so RUDE!

I have bought things from people online here that needed collection, and I always turned up when I said I would.

When I was in the UK and preparing to move here I got rid of a lot of my belongings on a mailing group when people could 'freecycle' unwanted items (recycle by giving away for free). Not once did someone fail to turn up to collect an item.

The last time I moved and sold items people came when they said they would and they paid what they said they would.

So what is it? Have I just had the misfortune to come across a particularly rude and thoughtless bunch of people or am I being too accommodating and giving the message I can be messed around?

And does anyone have any hints on how I can avoid this kind of thing happening again? Or do I just have to accept that this is the way things are?


ARGH!!!


Thank you for listening, I'm sure when this is posted I will feel much better...

I think it's just you. I've had no problems when I've sold stuff. Or maybe that's because I'm big and scary?

That's really awful and last thing you need at the mo. but it sadly doesn't surprise me. Keep your pecker up and 'tout de bon' x

I've got an elderly friend who has a brand new Miele top loader washing for sale here, still under garantee- and she is having the same issues. People turn up then say 'oh, I'll give you peanuts for it' and when she refuses, they leave.

Do you think it would help if I changed my profile picture to something a little more... macho?

That's an even worse experience than what I'm having!

Sorry to hear that!

I also had a similar experience once... I was contacted about an item I had posted. At first it was all ok, but then the person started making ridiculous demands, such as asking to pay only a quarter of my asking price.
After we had settled on a reasonable price, the person suddenly wanted me to ship the item, even though I had clearly stated only pickup. It would have been very expensive, which I told him/her, but they only said 'Oh it's ok, I'll pay for the shipping costs', which didn't make sense, since he/she wasn't willing to pay the intitial (low) price, but then is willing to pay for the shipping costs?!
And it always took at least 4 days to get a response...
In the end I didn't sell the item to that person, because it just sounded like he/she wouldn't pay and therefor wanted me to ship it.

Anyway, I think the only way to avoid bad experiences like this is not to give in.
If you state pickup only, then stick to that. If that person really wants the item, he/she will pick it up. If your place it 'too far' for the buyer, you could meet at the train station or so.
Shipping is always risky, because unless you send it registered (another 6 francs minimum), he/she can say it was lost on the way.

As for time/date: Set up a time frame where you are available. Don't accomodate too much time to the buyer's demands (I mean silly demands, like 'I ONLY have time THIS Sunday between 10.00 and 10.30) and don't cancel any appointments you already have!

And in your situation, you have to drive three hours to pick up your items, and the person doesn't show up, just forgot him/her. No-shows also make me angry, and if that person doesn't have the decency to call you, he/she doesn't deserve the item you're selling

Sadly, you're not alone. I don't know why people think this type of behavior is okay, because it's not. Whatever happened to the idea of "treat others as you want to be treated"?

Bad manners from Forum members [Marketplace no-shows]

I feel for you. i think it's terribly rude behavior. But I don't think it's just you. I see comments on fb and here suggesting that it's all too common. And freecycle seems non existent - we gave away loads of stuff in the US when we left via freecycle.

I hate throwing stuff out that can be used, but we got rid of a bunch of things lately by taking them to the recycling center. I have no patience for this. My bad.

Good luck with your move though!

Most swiss don't buy used stuff, better offer these items on ebay.de(.Com)
If they want to buy they are looking for a bargain.
Did you tried to sell these Items on ricardo ?

One thing I do when I sell stuff online: Show them you mean business. How? Be strict and kind of stiff with your terms. Don't make yourself appear soft. Only deal/meet with prospect buyers within your time. Do not reserve, only first come first serve. Do not cancel appointments just to show potential buyers your stuff, etc. no show in 15 minsutes without contacting you? Forget it and move on. If you're desperate to sell, lower the price. And finally, no shipping unless paid first!

Very good suggestions. You lose less time by being strict and saying take it or gtfo. Write if the price is negotiable and write if it's not. Write no dreamers, no time losers, etc. Personally I've not had problems. Maybe you make them feel like they're doing you a favour by buying your stuff, while it's the other way around.

Time wasters...ugh!

There is no solution to get rid of rude/uneducated people, unfortunately. However, taking those as a "given", your attitude to the whole thing will make the difference.

Set a time, a place, and a price that is convenient to you. Set a reasonable amount of "wiggle room" in your head, and stick with it.

For example, you could say: item will be sold for X, buyer must show up at my house at X time, on X date. If people show up and want to pay less, their bad, they took a trip for nothing. If they show up late, well, their bad if you are not around. You can do something while you wait for them - read a book, post on EF ()...if they don't show up at all, they're still rude, but at least you're keeping busy/entertained.

Don't let it get to you. Rude people are not worth your time worrying.

No you are not alone. It's just as bad trying to sell a house.
Same experience here giving things away via Freecycle. No problems there.

Once I wanted something big, and a friend said he would help me with his car, but he never showed. I texted the seller as soon as it was obvious that I wouldn't be able to transport, and came anyway to pick up the smaller items I had also reserved, and made another appointment after I spoke to my 'friend'. The seller was very understanding and even gave me some extra little things for my daughter.
Sometimes things DO go wrong through no fault of the buyer, but it's common decency to tell the seller ASAP.

Following the other thread about this forum, it is clear that the problem comes from your attitude!


Others are perfectly innocent and you should have reacted better to accommodate any of their needs, at all costs.

I have had all of these problems, from no-shows, last-minute changes, low-ballers, haggling on my doorstep etc, to the point where I am now pretty strict when it comes to organising pickups. From my own personal experience it seems to lean more towards certain demographics too.

That is just the way it is. People book tables in restaurants and don`t show up, order taxis, you name it. That is why hotels usually demand a credit card in advance these days.

Talking about the facebook group - because I'm involved in that :-/

You can "report to admin" this crap behavior. There are 20k members there now and yes there can be no shows and messing around and stupid requests. A lot of the members seem to assume that the items are all in Geneva.. Lost count of the number of times i've heard "oh you're in Nyon, can you bring it to Geneva" .
Not a whole lot admins can do except ban the person but at least it gets them out!

Yesterday i was selling a 20.- helmet and somebody asked me to make a +2 hour round trip to give it to them. No!

Is absolutely correct..

Agreed- and yet, all sellers should make sure the location is CLEAR in the advert. Here people often say 'Neuchâtel' but then it is on the other side of the Canton- and then say 'well I am in Neuchâtel Canton'.,

Vl22, would your Church not take the items to sell at their next bric-à-brac? And select the best bits to join other items a friend will be taking over to the UK for you- in a cardboard box?

I think that's certainly not the only reason...

As per the subject.
You can blame it on mobile phones.
Back when there were no mobile phones, you actually had to keep appointments - simply because there was no way of telling the other party you couldn't make it.

These days, with mobile phones ubiquitous, people can and do change their mind on a whim, often at the last moment "because something has come up".
They could inform the other party, of course, but some just don't seem to have the guts to do so. Another trait of our times.