Deal or run??

"I am sorry, was not my intent - that is fine you can have them, and don't know what a sale barn is
I was going off your ad wanting chickens off of the buy-sell-trade group
got laid off and my unemployment is out was just trying to keep my phone on"

So I still get to feel like a schmuck!

Kathie

__________________
www.littlebitfarm.net

I would still be very careful. You said she has changed things on this deal several times. It cant be that hard to decide on an exchange place and stick with it. I would get a receipt or something stating the terms of the exchange.

And most people I know have no trouble getting extensions on their unemployment .

She very well might be telling the truth, I dont know the unemployment laws for yur state, I am in MI.
I am just saying be careful.

Good luck and you arent a schmuck.

Carol

Id just reply...
Thanks anyway, I have made other plans.
thats it.

__________________
I'd rather have one Chewbacca than an entire clone army.

This one smells too much like future problems to me. Have her put an ad on the 'free' of craigslist or freecycle. I suggest you take yourself out of the equation. Good luck!

No, you don't have to deal with her.

Peg

Well, then. Pack your bags we're going on a guilt trip!
I would just blow her off at this point. She's been a total flake and now wants to make you feel bad for her situation?
Good grief! What is with some people?

__________________
"Perhaps I'll have them string a clothesline from the hearse I am in, with my underwear waving in the breeze, as we drive to the cemetary. People worry about the dumbest things!"
by Wendy

Kathie,
She's a "user". Be nice to her and she'll hang around forever--with new deals and schemes. Get tough and she'll go away. It's not the chickens or rabbits--it's the amount of mental and emotional ropes she can tie on you. Discontinue any conversations or emails. If she's really that hard up she will need them for her food supply, won't she?

The world is not full of jerks, but they are strategically placed--so you will come across one nearly every day of your life........

geo

Still sounds like a scam. She is now trying to guilt you into paying what is decent money for unseen merchandise. I agree with the, "Thanks, but no thanks" response.
Then do not respond to anything she sends no matter what manner of bull feces she tries to lay on you. It sounds to me like she was going for making you emotionally involved by dragging this out, which happened because she now has you feeling as though you owe it to her to take them. That is all part of the deal for them.
You never took possession of the animals, nor did you sign any sort of sale contract.
Just respond as indicated above and wash your hands of the issues this person appears to have.

Ron

So I still get to feel like a schmuck!

You do? Then isn't the option of feeling like a schmuck yours? I suggest you choose "not" to feel that way. You are not responsible for her needs!

__________________
I am what I am! Acknowledging this is the beginning; and my growth is yet to end. http://motdaugrnds.com/farmsales ~~~~~ http://motdaugrnds.com

Man people are paranoid on here....

I would take them from her. Sounds like she is just absent minded and flakey, plenty of people in the world like that. Lord knows if I had lost my job I would probably be a little absent minded too.

Personally I would pay her for them too, $5 for a laying hen is a steal even if you only get a year or 2 of eggs out of them. Same on the rabbits.

Simple fact is there was a miscommunication there, nobody's fault really. She thought you wanted to buy hens from your ad and you thought she wanted to give them away. Seems pretty reasonable to me from both sides.

Nicely worded. And her reply was equally straight up. Seems you both accidentally misunderstood the other, and it's been clarified with no anger or paranoia. Well done.

How you proceed from here is up to you. If it were me and I really wanted the birds I'd take them for free, but then probably give her a $20 anyways.

I am a bit confused why people are being so judgmental. I can usually smell scams a mile away, and this smells more like someone who didn't know what they were getting into with animals, or how to get out of owning them gracefully. Stupidity can be a pain, but many of the people I most respect handle stupidity in others with kindness and guidance. Kathie did pretty darned well in my book.

"So I still get to feel like a schmuck!"

Nope. You can if it makes you feel good, but there is no reason to. You have spent time and effort and are more of a schlemiel than a schmuck.

Hi Kathie,

You have too many alarm bells going off to ignore, that something is just not right, better safe than sorry. You should always listen to what your intuition is telling you.

But if you want to feel better give her a little info about the sale barn (address, day and time for sales).

Kathy

How old are the birds??
If they are two years old and you can get them for $5 that is a great deal.. at least around here. I mean a really, really great deal.
But I would absolutely 100% look at the birds first.
If they are scrawny naked little things it is not a good deal, but a healthy bird is great!

__________________
http://www.thehennery.blogspot.com -
the farm blog
http://thehennerytraditionals.blogspot.com/ -
the herbal blog + shop

Hit the nail on the head here.

Harry Chickpea - I appreciate your rational thinking....but...

There was never any discussion of a fee. If the seller saw an ad from Kathie offering to take birds if they were free, then trying to require payment for whatever reason is wrong. I tend to be judgemental and cynical first, and take the time to reason things out. Sorry I just don't get a good feeling here.

Her original ad said she was looking for pullets. Nobody gives those away free so I assume she was buying them.

Thanks Patt.

I'll agree maybe the seller thought she'd be getting money from Kathie, but neither clarified this important point.

She never mentioned the ad (from 3 weeks earlier), I had no idea that she had even seen it or was thinking about it. Neither one of us discussed the price, our mistake. She has emailed and called and apologized. We were both thinking different things, I don't think she was out to cheat me.

I will meet her Saturday, in a public place, and get the hens and rabbits. At this point she is expecting no payment and is ok with that. I will have some cash with me and if the animals are in good shape will pay her something.

She is heading for Texas, I don't expect any further contact.

Kathie

__________________
www.littlebitfarm.net

That sounds like a good plan.