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Had a catch up with a mate yesterday (Wed) who said he's selling one of his road bikes blah blah. Tells me the price and I said I'd take it; travel down today (Thu), take it round the block and give him the readies.
Sorted ... or not, as the case may be. He texted me last night (Wed) to say it's on eBay and he's going to let it run because he wants more money. Out of order, says I.
Wouldn't give a monkeys if it was an easily available item. But it's a bike in the spec I want and in budget. I've been looking on and off for 18 months and not found what I wanted close enough and for the spec/money. Hence peed off.
Which of us is being the most unreasonable?
He is
Him.. he's being a spanner.
He is. Do you have the bike in your possession?!
Edit 2: ah ok, I thought you meant you'd already tried it and exchanged money. How much more is it? Split the difference? eBay will rape him for fees etc, plus postage inconvenience.
Good, that's what I wanted to hear.
He is. Do you have the bike in your possession
Nope. Only seen pics, hence re-arranging my work plan so as to head down that way and pick up today.
You've paid for it, surely it's your bike now regardless of where it is.
[edit]
Sorry mis read the OP. Tough shit he can do what he likes if you've not paid for it, although I would downgrade him from mate to acquaintance.
travel down today
= today, Thursday.
He told you it was yours and changed his mind, I'd be annoyed. That's not cool.
Is he on drugs ?
Ok, chronologically: spoke to him yesterday (Wed), agreed price and arranged to head down today (Thu) to pick up and hand over the cash.
Nope. Only seen pics, hence re-arranging my work plan so as to head down that way and pick up today.
As per edit 2 - that's different, your post read as you having already tried and paid for it. Makes him a bit of a greedy tit, but not as bad as if you'd paid for it.
muppetWrangler - Member
You've paid for it, surely it's your bike now regardless of where it is.
Simple as, you have both entered in to a contract. Thing as it's your "mate" that counts for very little.
Doesn't sound like much of a 'mate'...
Check out my revised OP - this should help with clarity of dates, i.e we agreed the deal yesterday (Wed) in preparation of me picking it up and paying for it today (Thu).
Suppose it depends whether he just WANTS more money or actually NEEDS it to pay debts, etc. Poor form either way having already made an agreement of course.
He's being a tool. What will happen if it doesn't reach the price you'd already agreed? Would he take it off eBay then "let" you have it. Wish him good luck with the sale and move on IMO. Not worth falling out over though.
Watch it on eBay - you may get it for less than you agreed!
He's put the starting price as the amount he agreed with me.
Its yours now, so you may make a profit on it!
In which case he's definitely being a tool. Hopefully he won't get any bids in which case you can then bid him down based on the fact that it was overpriced 🙂
Spam the ebay auction with silly high bids.
You agreed a price over the phone, he's now had a wee think & changed his mind & let you know before you expended any time effort or money into it, bit of a bummer but nothing more.
I would downgrade him from mate to acquaintance.
This. Can't be doing with mates like that.
He's put the starting price as the amount he agreed with me.
well that pretty much confirms that he rates you lower than anyone who bids on e-bay.
Just walk away - don't watch the ebay auction, spend you cash elsewhere.
and if he cant sell it on e-bay, then don't buy it or at most only pay half what you previously agreed
it's his to sell as he wants, shrug your shoulders and move on
Does he know as much about bikes as you?
Is it possible that he thinks you've undervalued it to screw him?
(Might he be reading this ?)
well that pretty much confirms that he rates you lower than anyone who bids on e-bay.
I wouldn't quite go that far.
Does he know as much about bikes as you?
Is it possible that he thinks you've undervalued it to screw him?
(Might he be reading this ?)
No.
No - he told me what he wanted and I straight away said I'd have it.
Not sure 😯
He's changed his mind. That's life.
You said it yourself, you have been looking for one with that spec for 18 months and not found it at the right price.
So the price was probably too low, and he has now realised this.
He's probably started a thread on another forum saying how this bloke who he thought was a good mate tried to low ball him 🙂
He's put the starting price as the amount he agreed with me.
I'd file him in the 'pillock' category and buy a bike elsewhere when one comes up. What are you after, perhaps we can find something, you can make him feel silly when he comes to you asking if you want to buy it again!
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Had a catch up with a mate yesterday
There's your mistake. You may think he's a mate, he obviously doesn't regard you as one.
Create a new eBay account under a new email address.
Place HUGE bid to ensure you "win".
Then disappear and don't reply to eBay messages requesting payment.
Mate learns the hard way that eBay selling can be a ballache, you offer him a sensible cash offer as before. Job done.
🙂
good mate tried to low ball him
I didn't low ball him though. He told me what he wanted.
Link to the auction, im sure we could, *ahem*, help out? 😉
That isn't what mates do to each other. Time to reassess what constitutes a mate.
[devils advocate]
A [i]good[/i] mate would have said
"I'd snap your hand off at that price, but to be honest you would probably get more selling it on eBay, the spec is not that common, and hard to find at that price ! "
[/devils advocate]
Offer and acceptance.
"i'd like £X for it" "ok , i'll give you £X for it."
Its a deal. "My word is my bond" and all that.
If he was expecting you to turn up with the cash today and you didn't, he would be pretty hacked off with you.
But you can't enforce it/him, i'd walk away. theres no shortage of bikes out there. And who needs people who welch on a deal?
Some of the comments seem a bit harsh
I assume you know it will sell for more, otherwise what's the problem.. Your mate was going to do you a deal, he got cold feet and he changed his mind. (do some of you really drop your mates because they change their minds sometimes?)
He is your mate, so you completely understand and say 'No worries mate I understand I'm still happy to buy at that price so I will stick a bid in on ebay and if I win maybe we can sort the fees so you don't get stung'
It just sounds like your gutted because you knew it was a great deal so now your trashing your 'mate' on here. Always dissapointing to miss a good deal but if he is your mate then cut him some slack.
Ah Beaten to it by nealglover.
Bit of a crap thing for a mate to do but for me it depends a bit on how much he offered it to you for vs how much it's actually worth (although that's obviously hard to determine). If he'd well under-valued it though and realised his mistake then can't really hold it against him, although I'd still probably have offered it to you first at the increased price if I were in his shoes - he does realise there's fees to pay with eBay doesn't he?...
I wouldn't get so worked up over this. It's annoying, but on the other hand is that it seems your mate has decided he needs as much money as he can for it (times are hard you know) and he doesn't want to make lots of money out of a mate.
If you really want the bike then agree a higher price. If he doesn't get the price he wants and you really want it then you can swollow your pride and buy it after the auction. Or as I would probably do, tell him no he shouldn't have treated you like this and walk away from any deal.
It's bad form of him and annoying but in the grand scheme of things it's not that bad. Mates can do far worse to each other and friendship is a strong bond. And there are loads of bikes - just see it wasn't to be and you'll get a better bike in the future. It's not like he's slept with your wife or anything is it!
kill him with kindness...
'ahh sorry to hear that you're struggling financially.. I would never have made an offer if I'd known, you should have said sooner, it's nothing to be embarrassed about.. do you need me to lend you some cash..?'
maybe let him know your feelings and try to negotiate a deal that suits everybody..?
He is your mate, so you completely understand and say 'No worries mate I understand I'm still happy to buy at that price so I will stick a bid in on ebay and if I win maybe we can sort the fees so you don't get stung'
Really? I'd want him to get shafted for the fees, serves him right! Otherwise you pay for the bike, then pay additionally for the fees, sod that!
there's some real charmless no marks on this thread..! 😆
I would always rather see a bike go to a friend rather than to eBay. Because you know it's going to a good home, you can always borrow it back if you regret selling it, and some people on eBay can be impossible when selling used goods. And it's not just about the money.
One of those rules of life ....
"Never sell a car to a mate"
Guess the same can be said of a bike... one of you will always be just a little bit, slightly upset by the "deal". A seller always wants more, the buyer to have paid less.
I've sold bikes to mates before but always at a vcompetitive prices. As to me the friends have been doing me favours for taking unwanted items off my hands… as opposed to me wanting to get the best price and the agro of achieving that.
But it just a bike … which you probably don’t need. (if you’ve done without for the past 18months, or for however long we've been looking)
So be a better person …. Tell your mate “Hope you get more for it…. I’m still there at the price we agreed if you don’t”
Then both of you WILL be happy with the price.
" I would never have made an offer if I'd known"
He didn't make an offer! the seller stated a price he accepted.
ahh.. these two guys are not really sounding much like mates to me anyway..
I like the OP, but then I like the seller too.. but which one is best...?
there's only one way to find out..
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Oh, I have to laugh. His GF just texted to say she told him to put it on eBay to get more money 🙂 Apparently the deal doesn't count because we didn't shake hands 🙂 (hmm, maybe because we were 50 miles apart during our conversation).
"His GF just texted to say she told him to put it on eBay"
his balls will be on the bay next
His GF
There is only one STW answer to this problem.
There is only one STW answer to this problem.
😆
Presumably his GF (or he) doesn't realise that even if it sells for the exact amount he'd have sold to you it's costing him 10% in final value fees, 4% in PayPal fees, £20 to post, £5 to list plus all the ball ache.
Suspect he'll end up worse off in all counts!
<having a quiet chuckle>
TBH I don't care anymore.
</having a quiet chuckle>
If he's put it on ebay for the agreed amount, it's likely he'll have no bids.
Just wait. You may be able to get it for less, later.
He's gone on ebay knowing that as a fall back he can always sell it to you. This could be quite a smart move, unless you [i]go out and buy another bike straight away........[/i]
Or you could be a sap and hope he doesn't sell it.
no cash was exchanged your in the wrong. if you agreed, exchanged cash and left with the bike different story. he gave you a quote, you failed to come up with the cash at the time of the quote.
The most satisfying outcome now would be for no-one to bid, then OP sticks a last second bid in at the minimum price. He ends up paying the agreed price, seller gets shafted with the fees. (or more likely then goes grovelling to OP to go back to original deal!)
i'd just tell him you are pissed off because you'd agreed a price and he's gone back on his word.
be upfront and sound with him, no reason to lower your standards because he has.
no cash was exchanged your in the wrong. if you agreed, exchanged cash ????and left with the bike different story. he gave you a quote, you failed to come up with the cash at the time of the quote.
Eh? Have you actually read anything in this thread?
no cash was exchanged your in the wrong. if you agreed, exchanged cash and left with the bike different story. he gave you a quote, you failed to come up with the cash at the time of the quote.
I can see where you're coming from with that position per se but it leaves me wondering what sort of mates you have to be so stern over implied Ts&Cs with them.
If he's put it on ebay for the agreed amount, it's likely he'll have no bids.
If its what I typically see on eBay, he might get one bid, certainly not a bidding frenzy. So subtract the fees he'll be worse off.
Buy the bike off eBay. Let him pay the fees. Claim the bike didn't turn up/was damaged and claim the whole lot back off him via Paypal. Then text his GF a picture of some bombers.
You are well out of it SM,do a straight deal with a stranger and get the bike you want at a price you agree on,ride off into the sunset.....
Put the e-bay link up , we'll all have a bit of fun.
Buy the bike off eBay. Let him pay the fees. Claim the bike didn't turn up/was damaged and claim the whole lot back off him via Paypal. Then text his GF a picture of some bombers.
😈
(yes, I know this was tongue in cheek, but part of me still likes the idea)
Then text his GF a picture of some [s]bombers[/s] poor soul getting beaten to death with your penis.
I wouldn't buy it now just out of principle to be honest. Shady behaviour IMHO.
I wouldn't buy it now just out of principle to be honest. Shady behaviour IMHO.
+1
'His GF told him to ebay it'? Pathetic, strike him off your mates list and look for another bike.
You don't need 'mates' like these!
I think whats really the issue here is lack of communication from your mate.
Sometimes when people propose stuff to your face, depending on the type of person you are, you may find it hard to say no, you make feel under pressure to say yes, or you may not be able to quickly do the sums to work out what would be a good deal.
He may have not even thought you were being serious (think: when you see an old school mate down the pub and he says "Yeah we must meet up sometime and catch up properly" - never happens does it.)
The issue is he hasn't explained the situation to you well enough, or been polite enough. If he had sent you a nice little message or phone call just saying "Really sorry, I know I said I would sell but actually after thinking about it I've decided I'm after a bit more money for it.".
The whole situation would of been averted. Communication and politeness. 🙂
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There will only be one winner in all this: Ebay
Sounds like the girlfriend and the OP both knew it was worth more than the OP's mate realised.
The OP didn't tell him, but his Girlfriend did 🙂
There is a strangled friendship in their somewhere. But not sure who's fault it is 😉
OP- please tell us the make and model and we will see if we can find it just by looking at the "low price"
we need detail
I was going to suggest you try to win the bike for the minimum bid (price you agreed) and then insist he posts it so has to suck up all the additional cost. This is even better though 🙂
Buy the bike off eBay. Let him pay the fees. Claim the bike didn't turn up/was damaged and claim the whole lot back off him via Paypal. Then text his GF a picture of some bombers.
I've been wondering why my so called mate wasn't returning my voicemail or "Everything alright mate?" style texts ... turns out he's gone and un-friended me on Facebook as well 😀 I guess his GF made him do that too.
First world problem, eh ... Still, I reckon I'll survive 🙂
Soooo... are you gonna link us to it on fleabay then?
You can do without childish 'mates' like that. Move on.
Read through all that and a rubbish ending so far, a bit like watching Grand Designs and you get to the end and the house isn't finished 😀
Soooo... are you gonna link us to it on fleabay then?
The ad must've been taken down before ending because the link was broken. Maybe he sold it to someone else?
Too right PP.
over a second hand bike? Could some of the earlier posters have been correct and he isn't [i]actually[/i] your mate at all?!turns out he's gone and un-friended me on Facebook as well
Read through all that and a rubbish ending so far, a bit like watching Grand Designs and you get to the end and the house isn't finished
Are you expecting me to break into his shed, drain his brake fluid and replace it with wee 😉