classifieds don't work

Am I just unlucky, or do other people find that as soon as you contact a seller to buy the item they have placed on the Classifieds forum, they come up with an excuse for not selling it.

Only used the classifieds twice and it's happened both times.

Is it worth perservering whilst I have wad of cash in my pocket or should I just use something that works, i.e. ebay?

was it Hora?

no it wasn't, don't particularly want to diss anybody either

i have had top deals every time and always better prices than bloody FEEbay. you do need to pounce quickly though. never had anyone not sell the item after advertising it? bad luck me thinks. persevere for sure.

No problems either, some people do tread carefully though, thanks to a thieving git, so seeing you with only 7 post in 3 months maybe they are politely saying no.

Are you sure it wasn't Hora?

It was me and I do genuinely feel bad for letting you down. I have sold quite a few bits on here and (as far as I know) you are the first person I have disappointed.

are YOU Hora?

Thankfully no.

Classifieds work just fine thanks.

1. I came into work from holiday, mate said, "Dave's after a bike, can you find him one?" On the classfieds, 2 mins, found a Commencal. It's now in my garage, to be delivered to Dave tomorrow.

2. Email from my mum, looking for a light bike to keep in her flat. On the classifieds, 2 mins, Specialized female specific. Couple of emails, paid up. Due next week.

And thats just this week! Classifieds are fantastic really.

I think it works really well and never been mucked around. Have bought and sold bikes/frames/clothing occasionally over quite a few years. Currently have a whole load of stuff on the Classifieds and am getting a good response.

I always keep people informed and request that they let me know when their item has arrived.

Mucked about once recently but that's been it. Keep at it well worth the effort.

On the whole good experience, but it is a bit odd sometimes… Guess thats people for you..

Definatly stick with it – I've always had positive experiences and quick replies.

Never had any problems whatsoever , and I aint a prolific poster.

funkster

Only used the classifieds twice and it's happened both times.

Did you agree to buy at the price advertised?

If you have only used it twice its not really much of an experience / base to say it does not work!

um yes to both times. Emailed straight away to say full price, let me know how to pay? I don't know how much more straight forward I could get?

Incidentally I've used ebay twice in the last 3 years, never had a problem and manged to pay people some money without any issues or without them suddenly withdrawing the item from sale ..

Anyway enough whining, I am now going to get on with my life?

cheers anyway

I'm hesitating before buying anything on the STW classifieds again after a recent experience and of course I've bought a fair bit on here.

I'm also 'sure' that there is an element of building up a rep selling small bits and bobs before a potential IWH stings someone again (i.e. on a frame etc). Slighty OT but someone committing fraud on here now knows to post a fair few times first then sell. Hence I wont buy anything I cant collect or they know someone I know.

Well i for one am not as paranoid as Hora 😉 and have bought and sold loads, and never been let down yet, just use a bit of common sense.

Samehere. I didnt ask the 'right' questions on my most recent purchase and as its a private sale there is nothing I could do.

Never had any major probs using classifieds. Occasionally the are a few hiccups, but on the whole they are great. Some sellers can be slow coming back to you at times.
Dont think i've ever bought something off here and been disappointed with it.
Never spend more than you can afford to lose.

Never spend more than you can afford to lose.

I wont buy anything that I would treat as a 'punt'/a risk of losing my money.

I've only once had that happen to me, the trouble is it was the bike i'd wanted for a bloody long time and still do, going to buy myself a new one next year.

(for no good reason, I suppose) I'm always a little bit wary when somebody emails me without posting on the thread as well. One tiny step closer to being scammed is how it feels to me.

I also look at how big a user of the forums a buyer or seller is. If they use the discussion ones a lot I'll prob have an opinion on them. If they use classifieds a lot and have done for a while, then I "know" they aren't ripping people off. If they use classifieds a LOT, I know they're in it for profit and don't offer them goodwill prices

Annoys me on the classifieds how most people cannot be bothered to put some pictures up. Someone is selling a road bike that would be ideal for my mate (who is waiting with cash), and they couldn't be arsed to put and pictures up, and someone called 'dibbs' anyway.

Whoever pays first gets the item. You want it, you pay, I just cba with the fuss sometimes!Thats how it should be I think. Rant over.

I'm always a little bit wary when somebody emails me without posting on the thread as well. One tiny step closer to being scammed is how it feels to me.

ay this has happened to me recently leaving me with a nasty decision to make, when all I want is a good honest transaction. I have now removed my email from profile and will only buy sell with regulars, sad really like the ebay only bidders with 10 or more feedback.

Must admit, I generally don't see the point in pics – if the item's well described then I know what it looks like (colour aside I guess) but you'd be mad to try to judge condition from a photo

If someone's showing pics of specific damage (chainsuck marks, scratches etc) then maybe, but you still can't really tell from those whether there'll be an effect on function/strength

Sensible to have pics available to those who ask, or already on flickr or somewhere but I think it's mostly a waste of stw bandwidth to have loads on the thread

limited experiance on the classfieds, selling some stuff but it worked out fine. I think my general paranoia about buying from a random stranger prevents me from doing it more…

Jim Kirk – better that way IMO. BTW- I dont beleive in the goodwill/matesrates pricing crap. Prices should be lower on here as you dont have ebay fees and there is also a degree of real risk.

I've only used the classifieds once. Got a brilliant bike frame for an excellent price. drove there to view, paid cash, drove home. Perfect.

Kev

I've had no problems with using the classifieds either,

I'm always a little bit wary when somebody emails me without posting on the thread as well. One tiny step closer to being scammed is how it feels to me.

Must admit that I'm guilty of doing that one, never really occurred to me that it might be seen in that way!

I did have an idea that might work (don't know if it's been suggested before), after doing business with someone then if the seller and buyer were to just post their experience of the transaction on the same thread as the FS item then other people could just look up the users past use of the classifieds and see how others got on with them etc… Might work to instill a bit more confidence.

Only had trouble once and most of my bike came from the classifieds…

Took seller over a week to post 1 of the 2 items I paid for, second never turned up and seller ignored my emails. The item that did turn up was beyond repair… 🙁

If you pay using paypal gift then use a credit card, that way you can claim your cash back through your card company if it all goes wrong. You do unfortunately get charged by paypal for using the credit card tho.

I've used the classifieds on here to both to buy and sell. I've only had on real problem and that was back at the start of the year but it was resolved after a couple of weeks. I can be a bit slow to post out though!

I have bought and sold quite a bit of stuff off this forum over the last few years. Only had two problems which is a lot less than Ebay which I pretty much never use anymore.

Anything over a couple of hundred quid I would want to collect though.