when someone acts like they want to buy a coin you have for sale; AND asks for pictures and a price, communicates back and forth like he wants the coin and then; DEAD SILENCE like he dropped off the face of the earth... no courtesy message saying he is no longer interested, no saying sorry he can't afford it, nothing.. How do you like it?
It would be nice to hear why, but at the same time I wouldn't take it personally. Who knows what happened, but something more pressing financially than buying a coin could have come up.
I recently ask about a coin here on CT and the guy said make an offer, so I did. I havn't heard a thing. Maybe he didn't get the pm, or was insulted, but still have the damn courtisy to write back. We need to have a $%*T List here at CT for everyone to see...
I,m sure it wasn,t very fun Victor but then again nothing ventured nothing gained. Maybe a great buyer will come along.
If an open posting says make an offer then make an offer, if it is firm and someone wants to haggle it down, then the other might feel it more polite to ignore the offer rather than to discuss the issue of reading and comprehension skills. A person could also make a deal then forget about it, or other things come up, I have a beloved brother like that, he is a great guy to be around, funny personable, but if he says something, the best course is to believe it when you see it.
And then I've heard of instances where the person comes back in 2 months and expects that you have held the coin for them. Geesh, some people's kids.
I had a couple of people do that with my recently listed Grandpa Glover's collection. The person made an offer, I accepted, I gave instructions for payment - and then nothing. That was a month and a half ago. I really hate it, and have listed the coins for sale again. If you can't honor an agreement, I'm not going to hold your coins.
I can see your frustration; however, if this were a shop the person walked into, and inquired of you in the same manner, then simply walked away from the counter without uttering another word about the merchandise, would you be as equally upset? Look at this way, this has been a part of the world of enterprise for a long time, and I doubt it will ever change.
You just can't take that stuff personally. Some people just don't finish things, while others will lose interest or something else comes up. Stuff happens.
*******Nope in a retail store I would expect it. But on coin forums [not eBay] the stuff I from time to time offer for sale has a little discount built in to the price. It's like offering an incentive to members only- be it free shipping or an extra coin thrown in for free. Usually I am hoping to help a YN or maybe someone just getting started with offering my duplicates slightly discounted. I don't always have photos handy especially if I am answering a want post. So for someone to actually say they want it and request pics it takes some time and effort. Granted if the sale falls through now I have pics available where I didn't before. Several replies to this thread are defensive of the potential customer. And sure I can respect that. But actually I was looking for replies that say "yes, it ticks me off too" when the deal just dies in mid-air. And it's good to know I am not the only one who thinks this behavior is unacceptable.
Are you saying the guy died? What are the chances of that? Actually I did get a late reply to the deal that precipitated this thread. In a forum such as CT I guess expecting common courtesy is old fashioned. Perhaps kids today have other priorities besides taking two minutes for a short reply.
What about the people who are selling coins and you ask for pictures so you are not buying something blind, they say they will send them and then nothing. It is not just the buyers that do this but the sellers to. If they sold it to some one else or whatever happened, the common courtesy would be to send a message saying sorry it is not available anymore.
That's one cause. Tack on accidents, heart attack, etc. and the odds go up. Then you tack on wife/husband/relative with similar problems and pretty soon odds aren't so bad.
With rental real estate, we can never relax on a unit until the deposit is in,. Then it goes down a little, but have to wait longer since they can stop the check. Done several times... Eyes bigger than their wallets. Same for coins very often.
I have dealt with private sellers (none from CT as far as I am aware) who I have corresponded and spoke over the phone with... asked for photos, etc., received them, and then hear the asking prices. In some cases, the prices are way too high, even with mutual negotiation. Factor in that there isn't much guidance with grading Colonials, Pre-Federals, and EACs... I have generally just walked away. It should be noted too, that the current fad it seems for such specimens I have met quite a few slippery characters... I've seen some super crap graded obnoxiously high with equally obnoxious asking prices.