Never Again...

sisterpine · #1 10/11/06, 02:24 PM

I have finally completed the deal of selling my DH's elderly friends Jeep Truck on Ebay- what a frustrating, time consuming, stressful event! The vehicle will be picked up this afternoon for transport from Montana to El Paso Texas where it will become a restore project for someone. I had such fear of being ripped off (been there done that) that this whole thing almost made me nuts. I made 500.00 for selling the vehicle and I must say it was not worth the weeks of worry, planning and sleepless nights! Think I will stick to selling smaller stuff from now on!

omnicat · #2 10/11/06, 07:29 PM

lol. Did you ask us first if you should do that? I'm sure you would have been warned away. Selling on ebay with your reputation, something that belongs to someone else, can be problematic. And a vehicle....well, I'm glad it worked out in the end!!

sisterpine · #3 10/11/06, 09:03 PM

Gosh me too! I have been selling antique auto manuals for this elderly gentlemen for several months and when I agreed to see the truck I did some research etc and thought I could muddle my way through--silly woman I am! DH and the owner both took me out to dinner to thank me for all of my help and I imagine in a few days all of my teeth grinding will stop LOL. Just wanted to post as a warning for others who may think they can do the same that it is not as easy as it seems!

bubbba · #4 10/12/06, 07:05 AM

What was the problem? or perhaps problems by the tone of your post??

Peace

harrisjnet · #5 10/12/06, 07:45 AM

I sell for others on ebay. I haven't had any problems so far. I haven't sold anything big like a truck yet. What was the big headache?

copperkid3 · #6 10/12/06, 09:24 AM

Just finished up with a similar experience and know EXACTLY what you mean. My parents' had a 32' 5th wheel travel trailer that has been sitting on the corner for a year and a half without so much as a bite. (Of course that might be because dad neglected to put a "for sale" sign in the windows for much of that time!) Finally he made a statement, that he would pay a commission of 10% of the sales price if I could get it sold. Things have been a bit slow, so I took him up on the offer.......fortunately he only had ONE trailer to get rid of! I happened to belong to a local yahoo group that sells/trades, etc. to others of like mind in the community and there was a listing that someone was looking for just what we had. So we emailed back and forth and arranged a showing and eventually a deal was struck. I should hasten to add that we never actually met the "new owner" as she was in another state and it was her mother and sister-in-law who came out to broker the deal. However after getting a $500 deposit check, we were notified by the sis-in-law a few days later, that Mom had found another newer trailer that her daughter would probably like better and was trying to convince her to drop OUR deal. SIL suggested that if we hadn't already cashed or deposited the check; now would be the time to do so.....as she had heard her MIL talking about putting a stop on it. The trailer needed a few things fixed before transferring title and getting the rest of the cash.....but within a week we were ready to go......or so I thought. Dad had "misplaced" the title, but we didn't know about that until all parties had shown up to "sign on the dotted line"......so another day wasted and then we decided to go to the Secretary of States' office to see about getting a duplicate title......another couple of days wasted before we found out that it would be at least a week to 10 days before one would be reissued and sent back. The SIL was a "crazy" which didn't help matters......the original deal was for $4500.00; with the $500 deposit already paid, then only $4000 remained and was to be paid in cash. She showed up with a cashiers' check in the amount of $3500.00 and couldn't figure out why I was a bit upset!!!
After getting that straightened out.....she assured me that she would be back shortly from her bank and we could conclude the deal. Several hours later and still no word from her......I called and found out that her bank wouldn't give that kind of money out at the drive-thru and she would have to get back to us the following day!!! Then she showed up and tried to re-negotiate the deal down further because the trailer didn't have a "new battery".......dad relented and gave her a $100 credit to go buy herself another......was hoping that I would NEVER have to see or deal with her again......but unfortunately, a week went by and the trailer still sat on the corner.....unmoved. Another call and she stated that she was "just going out the door and heading over to pick it up".......she didn't show at all that day, but the next day, we found out that she came out with another person who had a truck with a 5th wheel hitch and was preparing to tow it off, when the jack mechanism somehow broke and then she "lost" her keys to her car......she managed to talk my dad into driving her home.......and another day went by. The title came in the mail a week after the trailer left and I gave her a call and arranged for the wife to meet her at the local Dennys' to get it to her......I was done...FINALLY!!!! Brrooohhhhaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahaha

I have never worked so hard for $450.00 in my life!!! The mental and emotional anquish just weren't worth it. Never again......NEVER!!!

Bruce in NE · #7 10/12/06, 10:31 AM

So far I've sold a fixer upper house, an RV, and a small backhoe on ebay. The only problem came with the RV. The guy's wife picked it up. I got a call that evening from the husband who said the carb had somehow stuck on the way home and had caused his wife to panic and drive off the road. Fortunately she wasn't hurt. No more selling vehicles on ebay for me.