BST "I'll take it"

I think this "I'll take it" crap is getting out of hand.

"I'll take it" simply means the seller does not want want to be bothered answering any questions. Now when someone says "I'll take it" their under the assumption that the item is theirs even if there are other people talking to the seller in the interested in the thread. This is the only forum I have ever seen that is run by the "I'll take it" method. I find this method insulting to buyers with questions.



Mac

Not sure I totally agree with you there, Mac. "I'll Take It" as I view it is a reward for a buyer who knows exactly what he wants, has done the research beforehand about the item to the point that when he/she sees the item listed, is ready to pull the trigger on the spot. In a way, its a reward for a buyer who has done their due diligence beforehand and doesn't need to drag the sale out by pestering the seller with a million questions they should (IMO) have taken the time to educate themselves on prior to noticing the sale.

Now, I am talking about known lights with plenty of threads to read up on beforehand, such as for instance your Mini or mini Mini.:wow: Also, its not totally without risk for the buyer, because if they "Take It" on a hot light, there is that chance its not just the right combination they thought it was, especially with the custom mods and lights.

IMO, if anyone has to ask a bunch of questions beforehand, then the item description sucks, or they were too lazy to research it beforehand.

I understand what your saying but I still think that it's not right and lately it seems to be backfiring as now everyone knows they have to say "I'll take it" so they post the famous three words in the thread............then back out. I'm seeing this more and more everyday.


I did my homework and wanted an SFIII. One was posted with no pic and no indication if it was a single or dual stage model.

I posted "Sent PM" in the thread and simple told the seller Upon receiving a picture I would take the light. Also I asked him if it was a single or dual stage light....not that it mattered. I simply asked for a picture.


The seller passed right by me and jumped on the "I'll take it" person.

Then the "I'll take it" person backed out and gave me the light.

Then the "I'll back it up" person bitched and said he "Officially" had second dibs and was upset...........


These are now the common practices here.


Mac

That's why the rules encourage people to describe the items thoroughly. I hand't thought about what Mac says. As a seller, I'd give an "pending answers to questions" (or pic request, or whatever) over other requests. Only after the person with first dibs declines, I'd go down the list. But, here's the catch, the seller would have to state this in their sales description or we should consider ammending the BST guidelines. I'll keep that in mind for my sales. Thanks for bringing it up, Mac.

i feel that the seller should state it clearly in his first post as to how he would decide who gets the item. is it the first person who says "i'll take it" by posting a reply or the first person who responds in any way (eg pm or email). that should be the fairest way, imho. no offense intended.

I agree with you Mac, that sounds like a squirrely mess that should have been able to be avoided with a better sale description, and hopefully a pic or two.

Since the Super's came in many flavors, a very exact description of just which incarnation this was would have (IMO) avoided all this mess. I don't balme you one bit for asking the seller exactly which model it is. Though you take the risk that you *may* lose the light if someone comes along and doesn't care which it is, and thus pulls the "I'll Take It."

IMO, in the story you outlined, the first buyer is comitted, and there is no excuse to back out. If someone did that to me (In a true Sales thread, not a Feeler or Interest type thread), then he's on my list to never do any business with in the future. IMO, the backup buyer is now the one with the right to buy the light, and with me at least, now has the right to purchase next by stating he/she'd back up.

Really, all of this could have and should have been avoided (IMO) by a more precise sale description with pics, especially for a light that came in so many combinations.

It sounds like your problem could be solved by replying, instead of sending in a PM, that you'll "take it" depending on the answers to questions. Then you are publicly in the queue, and everyone is happy since there are no surprises.

mikeymoto said:

It sounds like your problem could be solved by replying, instead of sending in a PM, that you'll "take it" depending on the answers to questions. Then you are publicly in the queue, and everyone is happy since there are no surprises.

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Thats won't work and defy's everything the "I'll take it" represents.

"I'll take it" means there are no questions asked.


Mac

cmacclel said:

"I'll take it" simply means the seller does not want want to be bothered answering any questions.

Mac

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The above is the exact reason I do it when I sell something. I am not a bit ashamed of my "I'll take it" policy. Before I started doing that I would get more PM's and emails than I cared to answer. Many of them were simply trade offers even if I stated "no trades". The PM's were not that big of a deal but some members would rather use email. I am on dial-up and my service does not even tell me when I have a new email. I have go to the homepage and log in to my email account to just check if any new messages are there.
I have had potential buyers in the past get mad at me because I did not answer their email about an item before I sold it. I did not even know they sent an email. Even if I put in the description "Please PM any questions" some people would still send emails.
So the bottom line for me is that "I'll take it" eliminates a lot of the hassle on my end.

EDIT: I hope my post does not come accross as rude in any way. I have a hard time putting into words what my mind is thinking sometimes.

I always thought the was a good sign for the seller. It was signaling a "no problem" sale. I think it's just someone trying to say "I understand what you are offering for sale, am willing to meet your terms, and am ready to make payment."

With so many people viewing any sale and multiple posts in response, how else can someone indicate their willingness to purchase? And how else would others know when the item is "sold"? Are we to assume that the first person to post a question or a "PM sent" has already purchased it? Or do we just have multiple people all claim the same item, assuming there's only one, and then have the seller try to figure out who had the best claim? Imagine the uproar some people would raise if they weren't the ones picked. And depending on how long before the seller logged back in and posted a confirmation of sale, there could be dozens of offers in the meantime.

Although I can imagine a few instances where you might occasionally have to tell an or poster that "Sorry, it already sold via a PM", that would occur a lot less frequently than any alternatives. Personally, when I have ben a Seller, I have been glad to see . It's a sign of a pretty definite sale. The alternative, question posts and PMs, have usually not resulted in sales. On a recent sale, which I mentioned in another post would be occuring soon, I had about 6-8 PMs requesting one when they were completed. I replied to all those inquiries giving them first dibs before I put the rest up for sale. Only one of those people actually bought an item. If these had been public posts instead of PMs, the other people who actually did buy the items would have thought they were all gone already and may never have bought one. My personal policy is to sell the item to the first person to make a definite commitment to purchase as long as it is followed by payment in a reasonable time frame. Only once have I ever had someone say and then not make payment, so after several attempts to arrange payment I told them the deal was off and I was offering it back up for sale.

As a buyer, I'm looking for an as a sign that the item is gone. If I don't see it or something similar, I assume the item is still available and if I am interested I will indicate my willingness to purchase by posting my own . I don't think I would buy as much stuff if there were no way to tell if it was sold or not. I would hate to have to sit back and wait to see what the response is to a question post or PM to see if the item is taken or not. As a matter of politeness and in order to not confuse or put off other buyers, if I have an alternate offer, I make it via PM. And if somebody else posts an while I'm still making up my mind, that's the risk I take. Occasionally, I've even been grateful when it happens since I knew I was fixing to spend too much anyway, but some things are almost too goood to resist.

cmacclel said:

Thats won't work and defy's everything the "I'll take it" represents.

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...like I said before, I'd honor an "I'll take it" pending (insert request here) as first dibs. As a seller it is my roll to fully describe the item and (if possible) provide accurate pics).

greenLED said:

as a seller it is my roll to fully describe the item and (if possible) provide accurate pics).

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As Greenie just so eloquently put it, a fully described item complete with pics would eliminate 99% of any of these issues from happening. :thumbsup:

EricMack said:

As Greenie just so eloquently put it, a fully described item complete with pics would eliminate 99% of any of these issues from happening. :thumbsup:

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Agreed.......


Mac

Just notified mods about this and respectfully requested they consider this feedback for BST guidelines.

I hate it when you're typing a long post and then come back to see other's responses which totally change your viewpoint. That's what happened here. I didn't understand Cmacclel's first post correctly, as objecting to Seller's policy, not the buyer's response.

I think the policy is intended to avoid the very problem which happened to him, buyers and sellers getting into a fight over who has claim to an item. Any buyer who doesn't honor his under such a policy is the one to be blamed, not the seller. As for the "I'll back it up" person who bitched and said he "Officially" had second dibs, he is as much to blame as the person who backed out. Such claims should be considered nothing more than expressing an interest in the item if it becomes available. Those type of posts should only serve to aid the seller in finding another buyer if there is a problem like occurred here. It does not obligate the seller in any way and a buyer who tries to use it that way should be avoided. Imagine if all the people who take the person at their word felt as though they had to do a "backup" post just in case. The sales threads would become a mess.

As I mentioned in my last post, if a seller has a "First: I'll Take It" policy and I have questions, I take my chances on being beat to the punch while waiting for an answer. But I don't fault the sellers who have such policies, they are just trying to make it clear what someone has to do to have an "Official" claim on an item. Anything else and the potential buyer is taking his chances. And if a seller doesn't have a "First: I'll Take It" policy, he's free to determine who to sell to any way he wants and nobody should ever complain if it's not him.

The problem with the "I'll take it" school is that you may end up with something that is not what it appears to be.

There are simply too many iterations of some lights, and some of the owners don't even know what those are!

I've bought at least 2 lights that were advertised that ended up not being what I expected. While the sale post was technically correct, it did not mention some aspect that was different than standard or expected for that particular light.

Fortunately, I was able to sell them without problems later, as the other than normal features were desired by some people.

Any seller who doesn't fully disclose the condition, and all of the options or changes to a light needs to expect that people will back out if further investigation reveals that it is not exactly as expected.

Personally, I think the "I'll take it pending questions" should be sufficient to notify everyone that the buyer intends to buy it, if it meets the criteria of the buyers questioning, and should serve as a place holder.

Buying blind is a crap shoot, and certainly neither a good policy for buyers, or for CPF's long term well being.

This should be fixed, because it creates a situation that is impossible to control of handle otherwise.

Bill

I completely disagree, I have personally had an I'll take it pending.......cause problems. I sell my items with the I'll take it with no conditions for that very reason now, if someone has a question they can pm me first. If someone out there doesn't like my terms.....my bad.
But as the seller we/I have the right to set the terms within the rules here on CPF.

Beamhead as a seller you can sell it anyway you'd like. I just take offense to that policy as basically what your saying to everyone is.....


If you have a question I don't want to deal with you.



Mac

The purpose of the "I'll take it" method is to avoid confusion and squabbles. Either someone says the magic words, or they don't. Its real easy, and everyone knows exactly whats going on. Any other method invites problems, and we see it all of the time.

In legal terms, which don't necessarily apply here, there needs to be an unambiguous meeting of the minds to form a contract. Saying "Is it the blue one?" does not evidence a poster's unambiguous intent to buy the item; and so neither the seller nor subsequent posters have any idea whether the "Is it the blue one" guy intends to buy the item.

Ask of the seller all of the questions you want. But asking a question is not the same as saying "I'll take it."

I don't see what is gained by adding confusion to the equation, but .

cheers

cmacclel said:

Beamhead as a seller you can sell it anyway you'd like. I just take offense to that policy as basically what your saying to everyone is.....


If you have a question I don't want to deal with you.



Mac

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How do you see it that way? Is it because sometimes people desire the item for sale so much that they will take it quickly? If you want to believe that I don't want to "deal" with you or anyone else that is your right, but once again I disagree. BTW your feelings on this don't offend me.

EDIT: To extend your logic on this a certain auction sight should eliminate the Buy It Now option, I'll take it = Buy It Now IMHO.:shrug:


OT: Mods, Do the same rules in BST apply in Custom BST?