The Stovebolt Site Forums The Back Office The Greasy Spoon Sale gone wrong

So, this Facebook Marketplace ad pops up. Clutier, Iowa. 1950 Chevy, sitting 19 years, under 4k miles, minimal rust, $5k. Cool, it's an hour from me, so 5 hours after the listing, I contact the seller that I'd like to see it.
Thursday, Me-" how about this afternoon? ".
Her- "Yes, I'll meet you at 6pm"
I get to the farm and no one there.
Her- "oh, I'm delayed until 7pm".
Me- "Ok, I'll wait".
1845- Her-"I got stuck and can't make it".
Me- "Ok, I'll try tomorrow morning".
Friday, 0745- Her- "I can't make it today".
Me- "Ok, I'm free Sat-Sun so let's hook up. Please don't sell it without me seeing it".
Her- "I won't, you have first shot at seeing it".
Sat 0900- Me- "I'm free all weekend, can I come see it?"
Her- No answer. No answer.
12:00- I see it's shown as sold. WTF!?
Obviously, someone offered her more, sight unseen and I got a royal [censored]. 3 hours of driving and I get [censored]. Jeezus, Marketplace just sucks!
Brian

That just flat sux, Brian. Marketplace is just like any other buy/sell platform -- its only as good (or bad) as the people who use it. Still --- something seems off to me about the description you provided. minimal rust (whatever THAT means), less than 4k miles (?) sitting 19 years ... for 5 Large?? Hmmmmm.... And then all that run around? She didn't want you to see the truck. If there even WAS a truck to be seen ...

I truly dislike dealing with unethical, dishonorable people like that. But it just shows that the Bible is correct -- People are inherently bad and must choose to act with integrity. I've had pretty good experiences on Marketplace so far. So far ...

Probably for the best anyhow.

I take marketplace with a grain of salt. I expect to kiss a few frogs before I get what I want. It took me 3 months to find my latest buy a 1989 C1500 that is a very clean original truck.
Goldie, my '89 C1500

Wayne -- Exactly.

A few things I do when contemplating FBM ads. Check how long the seller has been a member of FB. Same year as ad, avoid. Click on sellers other items for sale. Sometimes the same vehicle will be for sale in a dozen or more markets and it's always a too good to be true deal. Two big red flags. On their FB profile, no friends, or just a couple sketchy pics. Again, just not right.

Lots of sketchy folks trying to steal money in Marketplace. It's always buyer beware.

Facebook in all forms is a cancer.

I too was planning on a FBM purchase this weekend and the seller sold it without notifying me. That’s after we messaged back and forth several times. The item was at her parents house about 30 miles from here, so I had all the logistics worked out for meeting up today. She had my number but didn’t bother to call or even message me. At least I didn’t drive out for nothing.

That’s not how I operate. Very rude.

John

After I retired from herding misfits and troublemakers in a high school auto mechanics class for 20+ years, I spent several years investigating automotive warranty claims and doing "pre-purchase inspections" of classic and collectors' vehicles. Some of them were extremely scarce and E$$$$PENSIVE muscle cars, etc. It was a real education to see just how far scammers would go to pass off cobbled-up junk as collectors' items. Even the so-called high end vintage car dealerships weren't above fudging things if they thought they could get away with selling a 5 gallon bucket of Bondo and a slick paint job. One muscle car dealer in Australia kept me very busy, once he realized that I could spot a fake and saved him a truckload of money on a few occasions! One legitimate restoration project took the high dollar prize- - - - -a "numbers-correct" 1959 Corvette that went to a collector in France after I did my inspection and confirmed its provenance- - - - -for $90K!
Jerry

When I was rebuilding my ‘54 I needed cash , so I (reluctantly) liquidated a bunch of firearms. Armslist was still a viable resource at the time , used it like marketplace. Sales were brisk. On more than 1 occasion , in the interim between making a tentative deal over the phone and meeting with that buyer , I had individuals contact me and make a higher offer. In each of those occasions I told that person that I was obliged to follow through on the tentative agreement , and I’d contact them after. In each of those occasions the tentative deal was consummated , I told the tentative buyer that I had someone else waiting in line but did not use that to leverage the agreed upon price , and I contacted the standby guy to inform him that the item was no longer available.

That is the only way to conduct a transaction , unless , of course , a seller has no personal integrity.
It seems that personal integrity is diminishing in today’s society , along with situational awareness.

These situations are sort of like a rumored conversation between Winston Churchill and a high society British lady. He asked her if she would sleep with a man for a million dollars (or the Brit equivalent in "pounds") When she said yes, he asked if a hundred would be sufficient. The "lady" was outraged- - - - - -"What kind of woman do you think I am?" "We've already established that- - - - -now we're just haggling over the price!"
Jerry

Two red flags I have noticed:

1. Too good to be true
2. Never available for in-person viewing

don