Anyone out there use social media sites to sell the crap they no longer need or want?

It seems there are all kinds of sites out there these days offering the ability to sell stuff. Ebay and Craigslist were really the first ones but since then others have popped up, each attempting to make the process more streamlined and convenient.

You, of course, now have the option (I can’t possibly name them all) of OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, any my wife just found something called TopHatter. All have their own rules and in many ways are pretty similar. I have used both OfferUp and Facebook with mixed results.

Horror story time (OK, not really horror, but rude nonetheless)! It has not happened to me twice…you see an item you want to buy, you inquire about it, you find out it is still available, and then you agree on a time and place to meet (always in public). It used to be that a “gentleman’s agreement” was enough but apparently we live in a society with no honor.

The first occasion was actually a business going out of business and the furniture was for sale. I had to drive 30 minutes to get there but traffic was not great because of a collision. I messaged the seller to let her know I would be a couple minutes late but got no response. When I arrived at the location I was exactly four minutes late. When I walked in the door I found the two pieces I was purchasing and when I went to pay for it the lady said everything in the store had already been purchased by one buyer. I was a little dumbfounded. We had already agreed!! All she said was, “Sorry. You were late so I didn’t know if you were coming.”

The second occasion was just last week. A guy was selling a lawnmower that was near new. He lived in another town 37 miles away, but I worked near there so I asked if I could pick it up the next day since I would be going through on my way home from work. He agreed and we set up a place to meet. An hour after we agreed, he messages me and says, “Sorry, buddy, someone just came and picked it for full price.” Uh, what?? I was going to pay full price and I agreed to purchase it first!

Ok, so those are two of my stories. People not honoring their word. It shouldn’t surprise me because people suck, really. Anyway, OfferUp has a way to rate buyers and sellers but it is ONLY if the transaction actually takes place. So, for the most part, people have positive reviews since they only get reviewed on what they actually sell. There is no way to review sellers (or buyers) when the transaction hasn’t taken place, which is a big fault of the program, I believe. I am sure people have things sold right from under them all the time, but there is no way to report it. That’s a big downside to the program, even if most experiences are positive.

What’s your experience? Share your nightmare stories below.