So Much for THAT Theory (warning, I tend to waffle on.......)

[Merriweather]

Ok, my theory about sucky customers has always been that underneath it all, in spite of the fact that they're face to face with a real person, sucky customers feel that it's the "big company" they're dealing with, not a person, so therefore, general rules on interactions with others don't apply. Everything revolves around them, and they can be as much of a pain in the a** as they want, cause they're a person vs. a "big company". Don't read signs and still want to know the info? No problem, it's "big company"'s responsibility to make sure you know what you should know. Want it in a two pack instead of a three pack? Why should you have to take it the way "big company" wants it, it should all be your way.

This was reinforced by most of my dealings as individuals - for the past year or so I've been slowly de-cluttering/downsizing/simplifying my life, selling off this and that on Craig's List. I've also bought a couple of batches of things where I wanted some of it, and sold off what I didn't want to finance what I kept. No where near a business, just a dozen or so ads per month. For the most part, people are very nice, which backs up my theory above.

But today, I think my theory is shattered - or at least proved to have exceptions. OK, she wasn't exactly sucky - but she sure had the SC attitude, even though she could in no way feel it was her against a "big company".

I had, earlier in the year, done a clear-out of my fabric stash ( all you quilters know what I mean) and had about 40 yards of odd pieces left. I put up an ad on Craigs List saying that was the last batch, I wanted it out the door, so I was offering it for $xx , which came to only $x per yard, to get it ALL out. I even put a note on the ad, stating please note, the ridiculously low price per yard ONLY applied to anyone buying the batch. I said in several places in the ad I wanted to sell as a batch.

So a woman emails me, she's interested. We email back and forth, and set up a day and time. On one email I specifically state, just want to make sure you are aware, I'm selling this as a batch, NOT individual pieces. She responds with another email, doesn't confirm this, but still wants to come by. She read the rest of the email, she had to have seen the note.

So today she comes by, I get out the fabric, she starts picking out "I want this piece, and this......". I very politely tell her, as per the ad, I'm selling it as a batch. I even mention that I put that on her email the previous night to be sure she realized it. I got no comments (or denials), just annoyed looks. I even was nice enough to offer to sell it piece by piece, but at a higher price (almost double, but still extremely cheap for qult shop quality fabric).

She has the nerve to ask if I can take a credit card Does my living room look remotely like a shop? Had I not been talking about how I had been doing my spring clean the past year via Craigs List? Do I sound like a shopkeeper?

Eventually, she decided to take all the fabric "well, I do like a lot of it, some I don't, guess it's be worth it" (Lady, take it or leave it, the guilt chip aint gonna work when you're getting it for about 1/10th the price of a quilt shop). And luckily her friend just happened to have a bill of exactly the right amount.

My first reaction was that if you can't read an ad or an email, you shouldn't be shopping on Craigs List. But since on the emails she read the address and directions just fine, but not the note about selling as a batch, I think now she felt that since I was "only" an individual and not a "big company" she could waltz in, walk all over me, and take what she wanted for the price she wanted in spite of what I posted, and I'd be so grateful to sell it I wouldn't protest.

Guess I need a new theory, so much for trying to rationalize that SC's aren't after us on an individual level

[Sapphire Silk]

I do some buying and selling on Craigslist. I never meet the customer in my home. We meet in the parking lot of the local Walmart. You never know who you are allowing into your home.

That being said, this "lady" was indeed a SC. That her friend had a bill of the right amount was probably not a coincidence.

[depechemodefan]

I hate when people do selective reading. And she assumed you had a credit card machine yeah, wonder if she keeps one at home, just in case.

[Merriweather]

I do some buying and selling on Craigslist. I never meet the customer in my home. We meet in the parking lot of the local Walmart. You never know who you are allowing into your home.

That being said, this "lady" was indeed a SC. That her friend had a bill of the right amount was probably not a coincidence.

I use the nearby Fred Meyer carpark a lot, meeting "near the recycle bottle bins". One evening I met another woman at the furniture store carpark, we just happeded to pull in so we could just reach out and exchange money and good thru the windows, and we both began to laugh like crazy, as simultaneously we had visions of cops dashing in thinking they were breaking up a drug deal and finding craft supplies, LOL.

I always use a local store if I get the least bit of a bad vibe (and often have DH go instead) or if it's an easy item to do that way. But often it's craft items that need to be gone thru, so I keep a table in our workroom/converted garage. The fabric is a good example, as in the past I might have a bin full, that could be looked thru for them to pick what they want of it. Lots of craft items are that way, a person needs to look thru them and pick what they want. And I do tend ot have a lot of craft items, as I clear out things I no longer want, or buy a batch of things and keep what I want and sell the excess. Also, if it's a household appliance, I like to be able to offer to plug it in so they know it works. So meeting somewhere else just isn't always feasible.

However, I do use comon sense. It helps that it's a fairly small town, low crime rates, etc. Some towns I would never feel comfortable doing this in. Also, we have the door into our workroom/converted garage, and let people in there, not in the main house (no one can get an idea of layout, what we do or don't own, etc). We also have the company signs from our home security system prominently displayed. And I never have anyone out unless someone else is in the house with me, preferably DH.

I also put faith in my gut instinct, the least little hint of bad vibe, and I'll say something is sold (or if I've already promised it to them, that it was accidentily damaged, etc). I never, ever would feel I needed the money bad enough to go against even the faintest bit of uneasiness. And when I do have someone over, I never give out the address til there have been phone calls/and or emails back and forth enough to convince me they're really interested in the item and on the up and up.