Email ping pong when selling a car

[Buster73]

I’m currently advertising a car for sale , I’ve had numerous email exchanges with people asking questions that if they’d read the advertisement they would have the answer to their questions .

Then if you reply to them asking you to ring to discuss, they never ring .

Or when they do , they reply that you’re too far away to come and view.

Whats the matter with folk nowadays man ?

[limpsfield]

Same here. I just carry on being patient and polite. I've recently sold two cars and I think the ratio is something like 5 enquiries to get a serious one who might actually pick the phone up.

It is frustrating, but as a seller I think we just need to suck it up.

It is not just cars either. I sold a desk on FB for £60. Agreed the sale and then, "can you deliver it for free to Cardiff?" 280 mile round trip. People are nuts!

[anyoldcardave]

A polite, please read the listing, is my reply.

It is usually boozed people, getting excited then sobering up.

I offer free delivery upto 200 miles on some that have sat around too long, because I am equipped to do it, and it often gets them away. Laziness has taken over, unless it comes to your door, it is too much effort.

[Silverbullet767]

Wots ure best price m8? Swap 4 polo mint n cash ure way?

The general public are by and large thick. Best not to have email exchanges, don't get me started on gumtree or other online marketplaces, they're populated by mouth breathing s.

[supacool1]

Jeez, it's not cars. You try and sell anything and you get dipst after dipst message you with the with irrelevant questions, knocking you down on price, telling you what they want to pay, then if you agree and only then they ask you where you located. When it's clearly stated in the advert. And then moaning about the distance.

Tried to sell some drone spares on Marketplace. Advert went live. Got a number of messages offering me half what the advert stated or asking if I would deliver!?!? The first few I was polite with, but then I snapped and started to troll.

[joropug]

Same with everything, I had a nearly new nice toaster for sale for £10 on gumtree and had about 20 messages over 2 weeks, 3 failed pick ups. Gave it away instead.

FB and Gumtree make things worse by having a 'is it still available' button that people love to click.

[VeeReihenmotor6]

Silverbullet767 said:

Wots ure best price m8? Swap 4 polo mint n cash ure way?

The general public are by and large thick. Best not to have email exchanges, don't get me started on gumtree or other online marketplaces, they're populated by mouth breathing s.

This!

And it is also the reason I don't both selling privately any more. Part ex or get a specialist to do it for you. The relatively small finanical hit is worth it to save wasted time and angst on joe public.

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

Timewasters, they get excited about the idea of getting a new car until it gets to the point where they have to interact with a real person or get off their sofa.

[TownIdiot]

Buster73 said:

I’m currently advertising a car for sale , I’ve had numerous email exchanges with people asking questions that if they’d read the advertisement they would have the answer to their questions .

Then if you reply to them asking you to ring to discuss, they never ring .

Or when they do , they reply that you’re too far away to come and view.

Whats the matter with folk nowadays man ?

I am probably guilty of this.
Much prefer an email chain but also I do try and get all my questions in early rather than ask them on the drip

If the seller won't answer or send a pic then I probably wouldn't travel.

[Pebbles167]

If I'm selling a cheap item, Im up for a bit of email ping pong and don't even care if they ask stupid stuff and don't read the advert. I've found these people have still turned up and bought it.

I usually buy and sell a car or bike each year. I'll be polite when I'm the buyer, and expect the same when I'm the seller. Any nonsense opening messages to do with best price, petrol or diesel, service history or anything else listed in the ad gets an instant block as they'll only waste your time.

Engaging with buyers asking sensible email questions and allowing some reasonable haggling has led me to many decent sales and I've always got a price I'm happy with and way above trade or PX. Some like to call which is fine, but I've probably only spoken to about 10% of buyers on the phone and that's usually just to help them find my house when they arrive.

Learning how to spot who the idiots are is key, though I appreciate it can be hard since selling a vehicle privately is rare for some.

[ScoobyChris]

Silverbullet767 said:

Wots ure best price m8? Swap 4 polo mint n cash ure way?

The general public are by and large thick. Best not to have email exchanges, don't get me started on gumtree or other online marketplaces, they're populated by mouth breathing s.

I found Freecycle even worse. Had a metal bed frame (in excellent condition and very saleable) but decided I didn't want the hassle of aforemetnioned mouth breathers, so feeling charitable, I put it up on Freecycle, mentioning that it was FREE but COLLECTION ONLY several times in the advert. Within 10 minutes of it going live, I had a bite:

- Hi! is the bed still available?
- Yes, it's yours - when can you come and collect it?
- Great. Btw, I don't have a car. Can you deliver it (50 miles away) this afternoon?
- ?!

Sadly, there were quite a few others that followed a similar line until a nice chap took it off my hands for his daughter's student flat.

General experience of selling that that everyone buying stuff these days seems to be an entitled wannabe Mike Brewer offering little and expecting the world. Sad times!

Chris

[leef44]

Aren't these just small time traders who spend each morning going thru Auto Trader and just send off a whole stream of cold call emails?

When the odd one replies then they know there is someone who might be a punt for getting a cheap trade deal

[maz8062]

I don’t understand why people get upset with all of this. You’re selling a car, someone asks a question, you answer politely and it either continues or it ends. No problem - it’s better to have these type of calls than get scammed.

If I’m interested in a car and the seller is snarky, sarcastic or plain rude, I’ll never buy it. I buy the car as well as the owner and first impressions are very important in expensive purchases. If the owner gives the impression that they’re doing you a favour, why bother?

Just treat every enquiry as a sales lead where conversion ratios are very low. You can have 20 calls about your car, 19 are time wasters and 1 buys it. That’s sales for you.

Edited by maz8062 on Wednesday 7th August 16:34

[MrBig]

I'm seriously considering setting up a 2nd facebook account with a different name, so when I'm selling I can tell these dhead knuckle draggers exactly what I think of them.

[TriumphStag3.0V8]

Silverbullet767 said:

Wots ure best price m8? Swap 4 polo mint n cash ure way?

The general public are by and large thick. Best not to have email exchanges, don't get me started on gumtree or other online marketplaces, they're populated by mouth breathing s.

Joking aside, I put a mini up for sale, spares or repair and got offered an "XL bully pup, 10 months old" as a swap. WTF?

Mind you I also had someone offering me £500 as he seemed to think that a fully working, MOT'd fully loaded R55 Cooper S was worth only about £1500. I replied with 12 pages of laughing emoji's and then blocked him.

I ended up deciding to keep it, so fixed it myself.

[Lester H]

If the car is ok or good, just sell it to a known and established dealer. The price will be agreed on the spot - it won’t vary later- and that will be it. You will be disappointed at the offer, but have no comeback no knock down for undeclared scuffs,etc,, no dealing with the Great British Public. You will be a bit annoyed when you see it marked up on sale, but it will have been valeted, minor cosmetic damage eradicated and given a warranty. It may ‘fly away’ the next day, or hang about on the lot for weeks. Often there is no knowing for the dealer, who will be engaging with all the tyre kickers instead of you.

Edited by Lester H on Wednesday 7th August 18:23

[FamousPheasant]

maz8062 said:

I don’t understand why people get upset with all of this. You’re selling a car, someone asks a question, you answer politely and it either continues or it ends. No problem - it’s better to have these type of calls than get scammed.

If I’m interested in a car and the seller is snarky, sarcastic or plain rude, I’ll never buy it. I buy the car as well as the owner and first impressions are very important in expensive purchases. If the owner gives the impression that they’re doing you a favour, why bother?

Just treat every enquiry as a sales lead where conversion ratios are very low. You can have 20 calls about your car, 19 are time wasters and 1 buys it. That’s sales for you.

Edited by maz8062 on Wednesday 7th August 16:34

This. Selling a car is no different to selling anything. Not every interaction will result in a sale, but you have to work through those leads.

[anyoldcardave]

FamousPheasant said:

maz8062 said:

I don’t understand why people get upset with all of this. You’re selling a car, someone asks a question, you answer politely and it either continues or it ends. No problem - it’s better to have these type of calls than get scammed.

If I’m interested in a car and the seller is snarky, sarcastic or plain rude, I’ll never buy it. I buy the car as well as the owner and first impressions are very important in expensive purchases. If the owner gives the impression that they’re doing you a favour, why bother?

Just treat every enquiry as a sales lead where conversion ratios are very low. You can have 20 calls about your car, 19 are time wasters and 1 buys it. That’s sales for you.

Edited by maz8062 on Wednesday 7th August 16:34

This. Selling a car is no different to selling anything. Not every interaction will result in a sale, but you have to work through those leads.

When you do it day in day out, take the time to type a detailed, warts and all, description, take 24 pictures, warts and all, you know the ones asking stupid questions are not your buyer.

If someone has obviously looked and read, asks sensible relative things, then sure, email ping pong it is.

[soad]

leef44 said:

Aren't these just small time traders who spend each morning going thru Auto Trader and just send off a whole stream of cold call emails?

When the odd one replies then they know there is someone who might be a punt for getting a cheap trade deal

Some could well be, hence I don’t entertain any “offers”.

[LuS1fer]

I just reply succinctly.

Selling an e- bike

'Hi, will you take £x, I can collect Tuesday'

'Yes, no problem'

'I've looked on eBay and they are going for £less, will you take that'

'No, go and buy those'.