Gumtree, Bumtree

[pbasspecial]

Just bought a tc mini spark on gumtree described as 'in new condition' but this thing has more scratches than Run DMC and the singing detective. Sent the seller an email that my wasn't best pleased but wondered what my best course of action/expectations are?

love to hear your stories too. 

[wateroftyne]

To be blunt, you’re going to have to suck it up and move on.

[pbasspecial]

Yep, that's what I thought Michael but I guess I just wanted air my annoyance about these sites and to say how this would never/rarely happen on BC.

[christhammer666]

Everything I have bought of their has been ok but I had one occasion where a VM jazz was on there for £180. I thought ill have some of that, So I messaged the seller he was great come and said pick it up in a few days. All going well so far , then get a message from the seller saying someone had offered £220 ,I said i aint stupid and to shove it. Funniest part was, a week later he had the nerve to message me and ask did I still want it

[ambient]

How did you pay?

PayPal you should have some recourse.

Everything I've bought from Bumtree I've collected it. I treat it like a local advertiser.

[pbasspecial]

I did a cash bank transfer as I wanted to keep all my bass purchases on the down low for a while

its fine, just a bit disappointed that some people feel the need to bump up its condition.  It's all about managing expectations.  

Its only a £30 pedal.  At least he sent it.  He could have kept the money and said it got 'lost in the post'

[Paddy515]

These days scratches = patina. Should add value to the item if you ever wish to re-sell it. Haha.

[skidder652003]

wow respect for doiung a cash bank transfer and trusting to get it delivered. I use gumtree all the time and its been 90% positive BUT its always been buying/selling in person. 

[Skol303]

I don't mean to sound like an derrière (it's just inherent in my personality ), but many of these 'deals gone wrong' threads ultimately seem to result from the seller/buyer leaving themselves open to risk. Not wagging a finger here, just a heads up that situations can be avoided if you stack the odds in your favour.

Sending something expensive by post? Get it insured and use one of the top two courier companies (UPS or DPD).

Buying something from Gumtree? Pay with PayPal and they'll help you sort out any shenanigans.

If you cut corners, you'll find bandits.

[Burns-bass]

35 minutes ago, Skol303 said:

I don't mean to sound like an derrière (it's just inherent in my personality ), but many of these 'deals gone wrong' threads ultimately seem to result from the seller/buyer leaving themselves open to risk. Not wagging a finger here, just a heads up that situations can be avoided if you stack the odds in your favour.

Sending something expensive by post? Get it insured and use one of the top two courier companies (UPS or DPD).

Buying something from Gumtree? Pay with PayPal and they'll help you sort out any shenanigans.

If you cut corners, you'll find bandits.

Paypal won't intervene if you call it a gift, which is what most people do. 

I agree though, if possible it's always worth meeting in person. I wouldn't send a guitar or amplifier to someone I met through Gumtree. But that's just me being a bit old school.

[ped]

3 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Paypal won't intervene if you call it a gift, which is what most people do. 

I agree though, if possible it's always worth meeting in person. I wouldn't send a guitar or amplifier to someone I met through Gumtree. But that's just me being a bit old school.

NEVER use PayPal Gift, unless you are actually giving a gift. It's rule number one. Any seller that asks for a gift payment should be avoided IMO.

[ambient]

1 minute ago, ped said:

NEVER use PayPal Gift, unless you are actually giving a gift. It's rule number one. Any seller that asks for a gift payment should be avoided IMO.

It seems to be the done thing on here. 

[Dad3353]

18 minutes ago, ped said:

NEVER use PayPal Gift, unless you are actually giving a gift. It's rule number one. Any seller that asks for a gift payment should be avoided IMO.

 

15 minutes ago, ambient said:

It seems to be the done thing on here. 

Between long-standing, reputable BC members it can work, although the 'risk' element is always there, naturally. One should be prepared for a straight loss, whatever the amount, and whoever the Seller when using that option, however. For my part (I'm not a regular user of the Marketplace; still less for high-value items...) I have never had any issues with gift payment, but I choose carefully with whom I deal. I have been lucky so far; one shouldn't count on luck, though.

[Burns-bass]

27 minutes ago, ped said:

NEVER use PayPal Gift, unless you are actually giving a gift. It's rule number one. Any seller that asks for a gift payment should be avoided IMO.

Agreed. 

Nowadays you can split the fee I believe, which is sort of like insurance I guess.

[Skol303]

Some sellers don't like taking the extra hit on PayPal commercial transactions. In which case, I offer to pay the difference as a Gift payment, but always pay for the item itself as a commercial payment.

Business is business. If you leave yourself open to risk, that's your choice. Personally, I prefer a risk and (relatively) stress-free approach  

[tonyquipment]

If it works then keep it and move on 

[ambient]

Maybe look through some adverts on here, you’d be surprised what some people’s idea of mint is. To me mint is like new.

You’ll see adverts describing something as mint except for.......😊

[pbasspecial]

So 24 hours later.  No response.  No surprise.

As WOT suggested, gonna suck it up and move on.

[T-Bay]

21 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

 

Between long-standing, reputable BC members it can work, although the 'risk' element is always there, naturally. One should be prepared for a straight loss, whatever the amount, and whoever the Seller when using that option, however. For my part (I'm not a regular user of the Marketplace; still less for high-value items...) I have never had any issues with gift payment, but I choose carefully with whom I deal. I have been lucky so far; one shouldn't count on luck, though.

My experience on here has been excellent as well, the feedback helps but no issues on couple where there was no feedback but the members had been on a while. I had one item that was very slow to post (three weeks) but a mention of a PM to the mods and it was in the post the next day. I know there are exceptions but generally where people invest time and effort into a forum they tend to be decent sorts in my experience.

[Maude]

On 29/03/2018 at 16:49, ambient said:

Maybe look through some adverts on here, you’d be surprised what some people’s idea of mint is. To me mint is like new.

You’ll see adverts describing something as mint except for.......😊

I bought some confectionary described as mint, every single one had a bloody hole in it!