Getting a little peeved as this is getting more and more common…

Someone puts something up for sale, and the first thing you see is “Dibs and pics please”.

Surely, if you are saying dibs (as in, you WILL buy the item), pics are superfluous. If you need pics to decide if you are going to buy it, then just ask for pics as you don’t have the right to the item!

Seen, on this and many other classifieds, people saying dibs and then not buying it…

Am I getting riled by something that really doesn’t matter??

We’ve been through this.

There’s no such thing as “dibs”.

First to pay gets teh goods.

You need to be quicker with your dib’s and pic’s

money talks BS walks

Had this elsewhere recently.
Dibs was for the playground.
If you aren’t definately going to buy something, don’t imply that you will.
Good manners and prompt payment; it’s how grown ups play.

Never accepted any ‘dibs’ bullshit. First money offer I agree with wins as far as I’m concerned.

I’m also quite perplexed by the way trading is done on here. On another forum all the communications have to be in the sale thread until the final offer is accepted.

This seems a much more sensible way, to keep everything public, this stops ads of opening post, then the next post is that it is sold. If 3 people all email the seller offering the same price how do you know who was first?

By keeping it public it’s easy to see when someone has offered the asking price.

dibs doesn’t mean ‘I’ll buy it’ it means ‘can I preserve the opportunity to buy it first’.

Usually for a short period of time due to needing to examine its condition (hence the pics request) or check if it will fit what they’ve already got.

I ask for dibs if I’m pretty keen on something, and I don’t mind giving it either, but I try to be clear that I won’t hold it for long if theres other interest.

I can’t see what your issue is TBH.

I’d ignore calls for dibs – particularly if it

doesn’t mean ‘I’ll buy it’ it means ‘can I preserve the opportunity to buy it first’

but if someone said “really interested, can I have pics please” then I’d prob give them 1st refusal (if they were quick in responding)

Does dibs imply “I’ll pay full price, once I’ve confirmed it’ll fit”, or “I’m looking for ways to chisel the price down a bit” ?

Wot druid said.[list]

I ask for dibs if I’m pretty keen on something, and I don’t mind giving it either, but I try to be clear that I won’t hold it for long if theres other interest.

You wouldn’t hold it for long at all, someone offers the money I’m happy with, I’ll take it. I’m selling parts, not leaving with someone to hold for while till they make their mind up.

First to ask the question should get first refusal IMHO
NOT snipped with a Pm sale.
Missed out on some forks this week.

OTOH asking for pics suggests that the poster hasn’t included any… And if they haven’t, yet have the capacity to, then they’re obviously a damn fool.

It does annoy me when you see something for sale, reply first accepting price, ask how to pay and then get a espouse from seller saying its sold. I think it should be conducted on the forum.

I usually sell to the nicest person. had enough of rude ignorant **** who can’t even be bothered to let you know the goods have arrived or to say thanks for the extra beer and sweets in with the items.

Scienceofficer – Member
dibs doesn’t mean ‘I’ll buy it’ it means ‘can I preserve the opportunity to buy it first’.

Usually for a short period of time due to needing to examine its condition (hence the pics request) or check if it will fit what they’ve already got.

I ask for dibs if I’m pretty keen on something, and I don’t mind giving it either, but I try to be clear that I won’t hold it for long if theres other interest.

I can’t see what your issue is TBH.

Totally agree, I can’t see an issue.

yep, much better to do a dibs, followed immediately by an email. it just lets you see who got there first.

OTOH asking for pics suggests that the poster hasn’t included any… And if they haven’t, yet have the capacity to, then they’re obviously a damn fool.

Dibs is for ****. Selling stuff with no pictures is for idiots.

A perfect match.

If someone says “dibs” to me – that means – pre pubesent idiot. They go to the bottom of any queue I might imagine.

TBH, if you see a bargain, ask them for their paypal address and then pay for it. Then it’s yours. If the seller is in communication with somebody else, and they did the same milliseconds before, then the seller will refund you.

I always stick a courtesy “YGM re the thing you’re selling” up on the forum straight away so that people know that there’s other interest, but I’m not going to claim ownership until the seller says so. If there’s lots more “YGM re..” messages up there, then I make my mind up a bit quicker.

When I’ve sold stuff I’ve had lots of dithery mails, combined, lesser offers.. It’s a pain in the arse to work out who got there first, so the first acceptable offer of paypal payment wins. It’s not that hard to sort out really!

Only ever buy from people who post pics! (with the ad)

It is very simple to do…. even I can do it 😆

There’s no such thing as “dibs”.

First to pay gets teh goods.

This ^

hmmmm, “pics” is a new thread in the making !

I’m not so sure that they’re helpful

Most of the time pretty much irrelevant IMO – they’re unlikely to show any flaws in the item and if they do it won’t be sufficient to gauge need for repair or scrapping, unless we’re suggesting hi-res pics from every possible angle. Better to ask if there is any damage or wear to the item (and wait for a proper answer – “as described” could then apply and might offer you some protection)
If I was a specially nasty seller I’d do the pics from a flattering angle with no marks visible, after polishing “the turd” to within an inch of its life as well.

I never give dibs in my sales as its first to pay, wins but its completely up to the seller how he wants to conduct his sales. There are other forums where dibs is the thing to do and it is done on here so if i see something i want i’ll ask for dibs/first refusal but only do this if i am 99% sure i’m wanting it. If you have more than one person calling dibs on items and you are having a big sale then for me it gets too much to keep a track of as i cant be bothered.

Plus loading pictures onto this website isnt as easy as some other sites. Took me a couple of goes to get it right so i just upload it once to flickr then i dont need to upload them to 2 different websites and if you cant be @rse’d to click on a link at the bottom of my advert then you cant want the item that bad.

I got stung on ‘dibs’ before. Doosh bag never paid so first to pay wins a prize

I never understand sale items with no description or pictures. I find a two pronged approach is best with a post on the forum ad and an email with the offer or request for further details.

if someone said “really interested, can I have pics please” then I’d prob give them 1st refusal (if they were quick in responding)

Isn’t this what “Dibs and pics” means?

Posting adds without pics, or links to pics, is pretty stupid though. Pics obviously aren’t perfect, but at least they give an indication of condition (and that the thing actually exists).

Anyway, as others have said, it’s up to the seller to sell to whoever they like. If you want to guarantee that an item is yours, go to a shop.

I don’t like them term either, but if I’m selling and the first enquirer asks a reasonable question then I will hold the item while I deal with them first. Which is a bit like “dibs” I suppose.

So yes, I also sell to the first person offering the price, but also try to give the first person to respond a fair crack at it.

Dibs only means dibs if you are buying it – i.e. ‘how do you want paying’.

Not ‘dibs and pictures please’. It shows you are not sure yet as you want to study the items ‘likeness.

If someone said “really interested, can I have pics please” then I’d prob give them 1st refusal (if they were quick in responding)

Isn’t this what “Dibs and pics” means?
Yes, it’s the same thing, just articulated by a small child 😉
My (unsubstantiated) feeling is that a caller of dibs is more likely to turn out to be a pain in the arse so I’d actively avoid dealing with them

Either include pics in your ad or link to a pic hosting page. You want to make it as easy as possible for yourself and the seller. Otherwise people have to ask you for pic and you have to send pics and its a PITA.

Look at autotrader, would you buy a car without seeing what it looked like? No, thats why they all have pics.

I’ve never asked for dibs and I think I lost out once or twice, but thats what happens. Usually a message stating “I’ll take them at £xx pending pic of this or that” is sufficient to secure the item.

If it annoys you that folk ask for pics then USE A HOSTING SITE AND HAVE THEM ONLINE IN YOUR AD ALREADY FFS.

Thanksyou.

Just put your stuff up with pictures and a link to more/closeup ones, and monitor your thread/emails for a few hours after you put your stuff up for sale. Makes it a whole lot easier selling things by being a bit organised about it.

No need to faff around with sending people pics or working out who asked you first.

Even a computer doofus like me managed to upload loads of photos to flickr and link them into the classifieds.

Most people put ‘dibs’ on pending pictures to confirm that it exists, and its not (visually at least) knackered. If they can see pictures immediately then in my experience, most people make an offer, decide they want it and cough up near enough straight away. Only ever had ‘dibs’ pending decision once doing my classifieds this way, and it was a forum regular so I didn’t mind hanging on a few days for him. If you can’t view pictures on flickr/photobucket etc then sorry but you probably shouldn’t be looking at STW at work. 😛

my personal hate is when you stick in a wanted, someone replies, then someone else jumps in and says they’ll have it. only happened to me once admittedly, but quite un stw-like i thought.

“Pics will be put up later” – Why post the ad now then? Wait until you can do it properly.

“Can email pics” – if you have them then put them in the ad. If you’re too stupid to manage that then you’re not someone I’d want to buy from.

“I haven’t got anywhere to host pictures” – http://tinypic.com you moron

“Here’s a link to my Pinkbike ad” – Child, avoid.

🙂

I hate the buyers who think that calling ‘dibs’ is the first stage of negotiating over the price.

Or worse, those who say ‘I’ll have it’ then wait 24 hours to contact you with an offer 25% under the asking price.

Oh, and the trade sellers who pay scant regard to the trade rule but seem to have the tacit approval of the mods.

vinnyeh – Member

Oh, and the trade sellers who pay scant regard to the trade rule but seem to have the tacit approval of the mods.I’ve never quite worked that now out either. I’ve tried the “REPORT POST” option, just to be ignored. Then I raised it on the forum and a scant[/b] response that they’d queried the seller and that my complaint was unfounded.

Go figure.

had this is december with someone here selling an xbox, all good until i sent an email just to confirm payment address, only to be told that it had just been sold on ebay!!!!!!

now that took the urine……..

Dibs means nothing to me as seller or buyer.

When selling I keep a note of the order people say they will pay as I understand not everyone can pay instantly but after 12-24 hours it goes to next person as I’ve always found that if people really do want something they make sure they pay promptly.

I usually email a pic of the POP as well. But that’s just me 😀

As a buyer I expect similar treatment, normally the case, and know some people are very quick of the mark. You win some you lose some.

Not sure about the comments above regarding pics – I’ve only recently sorted getting them on flickr, only a click away so I don’t think you have to display the actual pics in the add ?

Am I too late to lay claim to dibs on this thread please!

WFM! I never realised so much depended on these classified sales happening NOW!.
A tenner for a flange woddler… 1st to pay gets it or the stock market will crumble.FFS you are selling 2nd hand bike bits on a cycle forum to like mind bikers. Its not a big deal, if it means that much to you go to ebay and stay there.
I’ve made some good mates via these classifieds all over the country. Its easy just treat people as you expect to be treated. there will always be some losers and crimnals out there, but they generally fail the iq test.
Lighten up