Why so many Flaky Buyers?

Flaky BUYERS? So right Lornecherry
You hit it on the head, get on the phone and talk, especially with the way I type. Not only that, if you always looking like I am, you never know what that person on the other end will tell you as far as what else they have. There is really not enough space to tell all the other stuff I have found in the course of finishing a deal and hearing, "Oh yeah, I wish I would post this so and so I never use" and such. Communication works.

Bad thing about buying and selling on the web, lag time and catalog shopping. Some of us take forever to answer an email, the net itself is sometimes slow,down, misderecting email, etc. People don't like hurting your feelings,saying they want it, starting out with good intentions etc. Then you have to realize, sombody else may be posting what you have for sale RIGHT NOW at 50 dollars less, and they are going to look. Audio sites are like a big Sears Chanukah/Christmas Wishbook, only better in that the pages get constantly updated
I think I have about 1/3 of what I get inquiries on the Web sites go through, about 90% on Ebay. Of course its a contract on Ebay,and by bidding the buyer feels more commited. Bad thing there is that you have to answer 5241 questions like
"Why is the minumum bid on your 100wpc Mark Levinson $1500, cause my Scott is rated at 200wpc and I only paid $300 for it". I guess what I am saying is"Welcome to the world of retail", and have a little more pity on thise sales guys in the audio store next time you go in, cause there is a lot of rejection before you get any rewards.

But now at least all of us in this thread know 7 people that would not do that to you. Good luck

My last comment but kind of proves a point. I just received an email from a seller in NY who some will know to be something of a character, and he is. His being 83 tears old and a wealth of knowledge and a joy for me to talk to, I don't get real concerned about it. On this occasion he decided to ship.(Luxman PD 121 TT, That I think I have lost my buyer for, so if there is any interest?) was going to get back to me on shipping costs and such, fine. This was 4 weeks ago. Did not here from him and I assumed he sold it local, as he prefers to do, again no big deal. He made a post yesterday that I answered about 10b glass, and he writes today saying thank goodness I wrote, his computer crashed and he lost my address, do I still want the tt? And this is the kind of thing that happens all the time, lost emails(and they do get lost)put in wrong folder etc. As a seller, we have to sell to the 1st person that says, "I'll takes it." As a buyer, if you want it, get on the phone and do it, helps both parties out. 97% of us are not flakes, and if the non flakes talk to each other, get a feel for each other, you know if you have a firm deal or not. And on the more expensive stuff, and I do mostly selling, I want the buyer to call me, I wani him to know that I don't try to run LS3/5a's with a Phase Linear 700, nor would I. Scares all of us when you hear about something like that. I want them to know I don't and won't use the word mint, cuse unless its new, in my eyes it virtually can't be mint. And so on.
Its just like all relationships, and its one of the few things you gotta like about Oprah when she harps on it, its all about communication.
I'm done, THanks everyone

Sounding a little bitter there. These are facts of life and human nature. And as far as comparing with used car sales, whether you want to admit it or not, it is a lot like selling used cars or used anything, with both parties trying to get the best deal they can, and those are the dynamics at hand. And until the money has exchanged hands, the buyer or the seller will do what ever they want and do. And courtesy goes both ways, don't try to lay this all on the buyer. It is the unethical seller that caused most buyers to be wary. You've heard"good deal, buyer tells 10, bad deal tells 100"? It rings very true, no matter the business.
And on the subject of knowing what they want? Who has always known exactly what they wanted? Seems to me those of us that do the selling have an obligation to do some honest informing as well. And it does cost us a sale and it does change people's mind, but the truth will do that. I get a little fed up with those on theis site and 1 other I visit(rec.audio.markeplace) with those audiophiles among us that want to run off those that ask questions about the Pioneers, Fishers, Bose and what not. And yes, A lot of the questions seem pretty stupid to me too, but I also remember a guy that thought you had to put the microphones in front of the speakers to record to tape. Someone laughed at me and thought it was funny, but he showed me how to do it. We that know have the responsibility to teach.
I turn away sales, not often but often enough that I remember it. And its usually from a not knowing buyer. We as sellers do have an obligation if we are going to be any good at this to occasionally do that, because its the right thing to do. Salespeople, the good ones, close 3 out of 10 deals. That leaves you with the choice of offending the other 7, as I think you are doing here, or learning from them.