Why so many Flaky Buyers?

Welcome to retail. While the internet has enabled us to buy gear at prices we never dreamed of, the downside is the quantity for sale. There are so many choices you cannot help but run into "shoppers" who are not fully committed to any one item. That is why you get so many "still available" inquiries. I try to limit the amount of tire kickers by posting "serious only please" but it still doesn't get rid of the "are you the original owner? how long have you had the piece? does it have this (insert whatever) when the same information can be gleaned from the manufacturers website, why are you selling?" and it goes on and on. All questions, which in my opinion, have nothing to do with anything. All part of the selling process I guess. I do get annoyed with the lowball offers (20%+ off the market price) and then want you to pay shipping on top of it. I usually tell those people that with their generous offer I will even load the piece in my car and drive across country to deliver it. You just have to take the good with the bad.

Fletch, i'm sorry but i'll have to ask you to leave. Your response is WAY too level-headed and realistic for you to be an audiophile. As such, we have no room for "unbelievers of the mystical arts of audio" : ) Sean
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Great responses so far. I would add that there are no widely accepted rules on how to buy/sell on the internet -- it's not something that is taught as part of our culture or growing up -- it's so new. Over time, that will straighten itself out, and there will be more "rules of the road" or commonly accepted behavior. This pertains particularly to the time lapses of the net -- there have been plenty of times when I've asked questions as a buyer, gotten a response, made an offer and was then told that the piece had been sold. Should a buyer complete the transaction with an interested party "in dialog" before selling to a new party? Maybe. What are the right ethics here? Ditto for someone saying "I'm interested" and then buying it somewhere else before the dialog has been fully completed.

I'm with Lancer -- if a commitment has been made, the dialog should be over. But until there are clearer codes of conduct around how to handle the time lapses of dialogs, both buyers and sellers will sometimes suffer. My two cents. Thanks.

My last comment but kind of proves a point. I just received an email from a seller in NY who some will know to be something of a character, and he is. His being 83 tears old and a wealth of knowledge and a joy for me to talk to, I don't get real concerned about it. On this occasion he decided to ship.(Luxman PD 121 TT, That I think I have lost my buyer for, so if there is any interest?) was going to get back to me on shipping costs and such, fine. This was 4 weeks ago. Did not here from him and I assumed he sold it local, as he prefers to do, again no big deal. He made a post yesterday that I answered about 10b glass, and he writes today saying thank goodness I wrote, his computer crashed and he lost my address, do I still want the tt? And this is the kind of thing that happens all the time, lost emails(and they do get lost)put in wrong folder etc. As a seller, we have to sell to the 1st person that says, "I'll takes it." As a buyer, if you want it, get on the phone and do it, helps both parties out. 97% of us are not flakes, and if the non flakes talk to each other, get a feel for each other, you know if you have a firm deal or not. And on the more expensive stuff, and I do mostly selling, I want the buyer to call me, I wani him to know that I don't try to run LS3/5a's with a Phase Linear 700, nor would I. Scares all of us when you hear about something like that. I want them to know I don't and won't use the word mint, cuse unless its new, in my eyes it virtually can't be mint. And so on.
Its just like all relationships, and its one of the few things you gotta like about Oprah when she harps on it, its all about communication.
I'm done, THanks everyone

Jvia: as you point out, communications, or lack of, is the fulcrum that often determines whether or not the buyer or seller can leverage the sale. The communications factor is often as important as price, or more so. I find too many of us rely on email for convenience, when in fact, five back and forth emails usually take a lot longer than 1 phone call. Most of the itmes I have bought have been closed over the phone. This includes $100 cables to $4K amps and preamps. If you are a buyer or a seller, don't be afraid to include your phone number. It really helps. --Lorne