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.
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.