Reserving items in the Marketplace

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

In the last months I came across (both personally and reportedly) some people who reserved lenses for purchase and then did not make the purchase happen.

While occasionally a sudden unexpected lack of cash can happen to everybody, it seems that there is people who is prone to a repeated behaviour of this type.

I want to make clear that this is not an acceptable behaviour here.

Reserving a lens from a seller must be regarded the same as actually buying it. It's a tie, a bond.
It is something that you do because you decided to buy and for some reason can not do that immediately.
It is NOT something that you do because you would love to have that lens but then you would love to have that other one also and then you found that Ebay thing and then sorry I could not let it pass can we delay it a further month or even better could you please forget about my reservation please.

This is not a place to play with other people's lenses. People who sell may have a serious reason to do so. Blocking their sale for days or months when you do not really have the serious intention to complete the purchase is an act of egoistical disrespect.

Should this happen, to any seller, and should the matter be brought to my attention, I will put on debate the possible banning of the offending member on the moderators forum.

Thanks for your attention,

Orio
list admin.

exaklaus · Expire: 2011-12-02

1+

Klaus

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

I fully agree. No reservation, buy or buy not. If buying, conditions can always be discussed with the seller (i.e. when to pay etc.).

uusitupa · Joined: 03 Sep 2009 Posts: 42 Location: Helsinki, Finland

Wise words, indeed!

vulko · Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:21 am Post subject:

I think its fine sometimes to say pls reserve it for a couple of days, as one needs consider the purchase. You just need to tell those exact words.

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

There is a priciple but very important difference:
if I agree to BUY and the seller accepts, there is a CONTRACT between both in place and seller and buyer have already agreed on terms (pay a few days or month later or whatever has been discussed and agreed upon). This is BALANCED and fair.

If an item is RESERVED, it is completely without any obligation, but the seller is blocked from selling it otherwise and may loose chances, but he gains actually nothing for being so kind and reserve it. THIS IS UNBALANCED and NOT FAIR for both sides.

no-X · Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 1:17 pm Post subject:

Mmm, I reserved many items for many forum members. Majority of the deals was without problems, but I have some quite strange experience, too...

E.g. I reserved a lens for a week or two and declined all other offers. Two weeks passed, the person told me, that he won't buy it, because he found the same lens somewhere else $5 cheaper. So I offered it again. In a few days the same person contacted me again and told me, that the cheaper lens was full of fungus and asked me to reserve the lens once again until he get some money Laughing

another story - I reserved a couple of lenses for another forum member. I waited about two weeks, he still hadn't enough money. I waited for another 3 weeks, still no change. After next month he even stopped responding to my PM's...

The best are those buyers, who reserve the lens for a long time and after that they require exaggerated discounts or cancel of the deal....

Scheimpflug · Expire: 2011-11-18

my_photography · Expire: 2016-12-25

As members here are from different time zones, some sort of reservation should be allowed, but within an agreeable and reasonable period, between the seller and potential buyer, let say 1 or 2 days.

One time I was in discussion with a seller via PMs and we have exchanged quite a few PMs within the few hours and I told the seller I will be away from my computer for 2 hours because I will be traveling back from work. I even asked for the paypal account so that I can transfer money once I go back online. 2 hours later, I received a PM from the seller saying he already sold the lens to someone else.

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

I did not want to "set a rule" with this thread.
Consider it just a friendly warning about what is a bad habit of some (few) ones.
There's plenty of great sellers here, who are very kind, and due to the friendly terms would usually accept conditions like reservations without deposit, that are normally not even considered elsewhere.
We don't want these fine persons and sellers to be put off by a few unpleasing experiences.
So buyers, especially newcomers, are warned: do not abuse the sellers' helpfulness. Reservation means buying, not playing around. And moderators take this into account.

CarbonR · Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 4:15 pm Post subject:

As I sell many lenses (and buy too, but I do not often buy on forums), I'm quite experienced (130 transactions as seller on the french forum). I've encountered, for exemple, from the less annoying to the most :
- buyer asks for a reservation, and then at the end of the delay, says he doesn't take the lens, no one ask for the lens during the reservation
- buyer asks for a reservation, and then at the end of the delay, says he doesn't take the lens, people ask for the lens and I have to say I can't sell it because it is reserved, but when the lens is available for sale, I find quite fast a buyer.
- same as above, but after two weeks of missed transactions, during which I have many buyers who ask for the lens (record : approx 10 demands in ~10 days), the original buyer don't take the lens, and I don't find buyers too

Sometimes, they do not bother to ask for a reservation : they ask for the datas they need to pay, depending on the mean they use, and then after 5, 7, 10 days I have to enquiry avbout the payment, and sometimes they dare to ask that they are not anymore interested. Generally, I had to say to others that the lens is sold.

So now, since some months, I do not take any reservation anymore. If they ask for it, I can give 1 day, and for a longer time, I ask to pay a small amount (kept if the buyer don't take the lens, considered as a first part of the payment if he takes the lens), or I do not ban the buyer from buying, but he has no priority. First come, first served, I do not want to waste time. Unless there is an obvious detail that shows the buyer is really interested, he has no priority to buy. It is a pity I have to do this, but this is always a mis-educated minority that annoy the majority...

IAZA · Joined: 16 Apr 2010 Posts: 2587 Location: Indonesia

Well, I'm more to be a buyer than a seller here. I can understand this situation, and I'm not a man who like to reserve and then refuse to pay. Sellers here know me well Smile

I only reserve if its night here or due holiday. I agree & suggest new buyer to pay "reserving fee" as a first payment to avoid something like mentioned above.

torbod · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 379 Location: Sweden

Generally I agree with the first post.

However, life is never simple and when a good deal appears Murphy's law often strike. Another great deal appears and you don't want two similar lenses, the cash wont be enough for both deals or you need urgent cash for the bike repair. I think most buyers have come across this kind of issue.

A kind seller can solve this issue as a nice gesture to a forum friend by some kind of reservation service.

Maybe two different words shall be used. Reserve and Hold or something.
Where reserve would be "I promise to buy later" whenever the obstacle is solved and hold would be "I'm very interested, I just have to check out this other deal that ends soon first. Can you please exclude other buyers for two days".

The delay shall of course be mutually agreed upon. And the seller has no obligation to accept delays in the first place.

Speaking for my self I have not reserved anything as I can remember, but I try to keep an open conversation with the seller so he/she knows my status anyway when I'm ambivalent or not able to close a deal pronto (at least I hope so).

As we come from different places, reservation may be a difficult word. Strict in some areas and loose in others. When you "reserve" something in Sweden you can sometimes skip without any obligations. A nice gesture is always to call the restaurant, library or hair dresser as soon as possible and be honest about it so they can take on someone else. Some business are more prone to charge for skipped bookings (doctors, dentists, theaters etc). Perhaps it is due to that they know who you are and can send an invoice...

/T

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

I don't think that a one day skipped reservation is the problem here.
I'm more referring to people that reserve an item for the following week or even month (like "I will get my salary the 20th of next month, could you please keep the lens for me"), and then do never call again.
They exist.

torbod · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 379 Location: Sweden