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Rudeness With 'net Sales

I have decided to go back to dealing with dealers I know, or can meet face to face. I have grown sick of the rudeness of sellers, in particular, and occasionally buyers when transacting over the internet. One part of me wonders if I am cutting my nose to spite my face, so to speak. But I find a pleasantly transacted deal has an effect on my enjoyment of this hobby and maybe even causes me to feel better about the equipment acquired. I am interested in how others have fared with internet transactions in this regard.

This post is probably an over-reaction to a recent discourse with two dealers on the internet whose primary focus in their correspondence in reply to my enquiries was about the consequences of me failing to meet my side of the bargain - stated so indelicately by both as to seem more like an accusation. My reaction to both was to tell them I had no interest in entering into a contract with someone who clearly was going to be unpleasant to deal with. As it happens both are connected with this site (but I will not name them).
redkiwi
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
I guess the potential is ever-present. Many inquiries (for me) are more about information, a review, sometimes combined with a low ball offer!- Yup,I get irritated;I some times take it out on the source;where it belongs.

I did a transaction;spent 2 hrs. on the phone-describing, etc, / it went bad(nsf-personal check, for a postal cod) So, it doesn't always go as planed; phone conversation or not.

I spent 45 min on the phone(yup,I always seem to pay for the call). At the 44 min. mark; he tells me doesn't have the $$$ ; wants me to take a "junker" as part trade.--- I wasn't to nice to him;you can be sure.
j_thunders
173 posts
 
The good one's outnumber the bad one's I think. My last two deals have been outstanding. If you find a bad dealer who can't handle the inquiries then do what you did and move on. I'm not saying it's not ok to take a pot-shot at em when your walkin out the door, it's just that it takes too much energy to get upset over stuff like this. The good one's are out there, find them and stick with them. See the recent thread on good dealers for some ideas, but don't let the two pricks in this world spoil the whole thing for you--buying and selling on the net is fun.
mapleleaf
30 posts
 
I guess I've been real fortunate. I'm relatively new to Audiogon and I've only had three transactions; one with a dealer (stewart at SOS) and two personal ones. All three were great to deal with; I sent money, they sent the items. Why can't they all be like that? Sure would hate to lose you guys to attrition. I think there's got to be a better way to separate the "Good" from the "Bad"...
Post removed 
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
You just take the good with the bad... the good far outweighing my few unpleasant online experiences. Life in general is about tradeoffs; in this case you put up with some annoyances, but look at the $ saved compared to retail! The $/annoyance ratio still makes online trading very worthwhile at least for me. If $ weren't such an issue, as it isn't for some fortunate few, my perspective might be quite different however.
Red to specifically answer your question, the 'manners' encountered during a few of my online transactions indeed left a lot to be desired, but I've encountered worse (& better too) even in the retail shops. Overall however, I'm more satisfied with my online dealings than with retail, price notwithstanding. Just sleep on it for awhile; try to not allow the bad experiences taint everything?
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