Selling stuff - money question

[bassintheface]

In this entirely fictiscious scenario you're selling say, a nice bass. Say you've got it advertised for £2k - so a proper nice bass.
Someone offers you £1800 but with the catch of £1000 down payment, then the balance by the end of June - yes, June. 3 months away. A quarter of a year.
A second person offers say £1650 and will do the deal in full, cash by this time next week.

Which do you go for?
I'm ignoring all the present value of a pound stuff - you know, £1 today is worth something like £0.96p in 6 months or similar.

[bassintheface]

Just noticed my spelling of 'fictitious' was to sh*t - iPad autocorrect!!

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

This all sounds a bit Lionel messy. I wouldn't be dealing with bitty transactions. Of course , haggle is ok. But I would like cash all together , or deal is off.wouldnt lower the price too much tho'.

Edited March 21, 2013 by RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE

[dougal]

That depends [i]entirely[/i] on how well I know the person behind offer A.

If it's a friend, offer A every time. If I don't know them from Jack, offer B every time.

[Raymondo]

In all seriousness?!....you go back to number two offering to sell at 1800 and tell number one ...thanks for the offer I'll get back to you if I don't sell it.....then sit back and wait for number three!

[LukeFRC]

In most cases I'ld wait till june then sell it to person A.
Unless someone else gets in there first with a value you would expect.

I don't think I would ever do pay in instalments - if you want it you save up till you can afford it.

[OutSpoon]

Depends on 2 factors;

1. How likely is the 1st person offering a delayed payment to default, or not honour the payment
2. How much do you really need the money now.

If the answer to 1 is not likely and 2 is not really - then I would go with £1000 now and £800 later.

If the guy is likely (or possibly) to not make the £800 payment or you need the money now - then I would take the £1650 now.

[Lynottfan]

You go back to the second person and say £1700 cash in my mitts, saturday afternoon at 2pm, and if he shows you take the loot off him imho.

[xilddx]

I kept a bass for someone on here for about six weeks with no deposit. They convinced me they really wanted it, and I asked him to let me know if he changed his mind and I'd put it back up. He still loves that bass.

I would not do that for an ebayer, and I wouldn't take a crap offer because cash was available.

[Musky]

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1363901402' post='2019307']
In all seriousness?!....you go back to number two offering to sell at 1800 and tell number one ...thanks for the offer I'll get back to you if I don't sell it.....then sit back and wait for number three!
[/quote]
This is the way to go IMHO.

Too much can happen in 3 months (notwithstanding any kind of relationship you might have with the person in question), and £1650 is less than I'd be happy to accept at this stage of the game. The lower offer is likely to be an opening position anyway.

[flyfisher]

I guess it depends on how much you need the money, but if I thought the bass was genuinely worth £2k then I'd wait for another offer.

Is this a real situation though? Even if you'd accept £1800, that's no reason to take £1000 now and risk the £800 over 3 months. I'd suggest the buyer gets a short term loan for the £800.

Unless they were a mate, why would you want the hassle?

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='bassintheface' timestamp='1363901120' post='2019292']Someone offers you £1800 but with the catch of £1000 down payment, then the balance by the end of June - yes, June. 3 months away. A quarter of a year.[/quote]

On the bright side you get the use of the bass for another few months until the balance is paid........... right?

[toneknob]

If it's worth £2k, advertise at £2250, accept £2050 and ask if they want the shirt off your back as well.

Depends how much you trust them and how badly you need the cash. Assuming they're both strangers I'd go for option 2.

[Dad3353]

A counter-example, from a year or two ago...
An amp I wanted was on 'tbay for £600. I didn't have the cash, so didn't bid. No-one else did, either, and the auction finished, unsold. I contacted the seller, through 'tbay, and offered 3 monthly payments of £200 each, and £50 more for the trouble; I'd pick the amp up when all was paid. He accepted, I sent 3 payments, then had to wait 2 more months to be able to travel to England to pick it up. I (well, we; it's a heavy amp...) took my Hiwatt back to France, in a splendid flight case. Great deal, and we got to meet a decent young bloke. Sometimes trust pays off. Not always, but sometimes...

[Donnyboy]

Now that is reassuring!