umcarls9@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Charles Carlson) (11/09/90)
This is a topic I've never seen discussed on the Net. I see lots of 'Anyone had any good/bad experiences with ABCXYZ CO.?' But I've never seen 'Anyone had any good/bad experiences buying from an individual on the Net?' That is the question I am curious about. Every now and then I see something advertised on here for a decent price that I wouldn't mind buying. <although most of the stuff seems not to be that much cheaper than mail order, such as $50 off of a hard disk over mail order, I'd go mail order!> But at times there are some decent deals. I'd be interested in hearing about any experiences. I haven't seen any public flames warning people about any certain individual so am I to assume that everything generally goes OK? Or is everybody just afraid to buy from individuals? I guess the main thing that makes me shy is wondering why some of the people sell over the Net? Most of the stuff seems to be general everyday popular items that there should be no problem selling by putting up a bulletin on a board at work or at school, or worse yet, a $5.00 ad in your local paper. Either of those seems less work than trying to mail something across the country or around the world. Charles
jgarland@kean.ucs.mun.ca (11/10/90)
In article <1990Nov8.192749.8001@ccu.umanitoba.ca>, umcarls9@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Charles Carlson) writes: > This is a topic I've never seen discussed on the Net. > I see lots of 'Anyone had any good/bad experiences with ABCXYZ CO.?' > > But I've never seen 'Anyone had any good/bad experiences buying from an > individual on the Net?' > > That is the question I am curious about. Every now and then I see something > advertised on here for a decent price that I wouldn't mind buying. > <although most of the stuff seems not to be that much cheaper than mail > order, such as $50 off of a hard disk over mail order, I'd go mail order!> > > But at times there are some decent deals. I'd be interested in hearing > about any experiences. I haven't seen any public flames warning people > about any certain individual so am I to assume that everything generally > goes OK? Or is everybody just afraid to buy from individuals? > ^^^^^^^^ Almost certainly... Rule #1 of life: Never screw potential colleagues (or anyone else with whom you might end up dealing with again tomorrow). Corollary #1: If you're going to screw someone, do it fast and then get out of town. As most people on the net really don't fit Corollary #1, they end up having to abide by Rule #1. [Probably in some cases whether they want to or not.] John Garland jgarland@mun Bitnet jgarland@kean.ucs.mun.ca Internet
chris@imagine.ADMS-RAD.Unisys.COM (Chris Sterritt) (11/13/90)
In article <1990Nov8.192749.8001@ccu.umanitoba.ca> umcarls9@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Charles Carlson) writes: >That is the question I am curious about. Every now and then I see something >advertised on here for a decent price that I wouldn't mind buying. ><although most of the stuff seems not to be that much cheaper than mail >order, such as $50 off of a hard disk over mail order, I'd go mail order!> Yes, AS EVERYWHERE, you must watch the real price. I've gotten some (list) 50 dollar games, that (mail order) cost $25, for $10. Seems like a win. :-). I've also sold some programs that were just gathering dust (not just games). >But at times there are some decent deals. I'd be interested in hearing >about any experiences. I haven't seen any public flames warning people >about any certain individual so am I to assume that everything generally >goes OK? Or is everybody just afraid to buy from individuals? Hey, you'll find people out there paranoid of just about anything -- I'm not being terribly facetious (sp?) here. What are you afraid of? >I guess the main thing that makes me shy is wondering why some of the >people sell over the Net? Most of the stuff seems to be general everyday >popular items that there should be no problem selling by putting up a >bulletin on a board at work or at school, or worse yet, a $5.00 ad in >your local paper. Either of those seems less work than trying to mail >something across the country or around the world. WELL, in my case, I work (this week, literally!) at a company where there is exactly ONE other mac user! Furthermore, I don't go to school, and there are no users groups that are near me. Contrast this with the net: your email goes into the eyeballs (and occasionally from there into the brains! :-) of thousands of Mac addicts every day. SURELY there is a *MUCH* higher chance of selling something this way. Case in point: I sold my copy of SmallTalk/V for the Mac; got about three responses, compared to the twenty or so responses for the games I sold at the same time. As with *EVERYTHING* else, be careful: when I sold stuff, I had people send me a check. Then, once I had it (NO, I didn't wait for it to clear!) I sent them the software. EVERYONE was happy: I've even bought SIMM memory this way (interestingly enough, everyone who I've *purchased* from has sent ME the stuff right off, parallel to me sending my check!). I feel pretty good about checks; they have the person's name and address on them, and you've got to send the software SOMEWHERE. So, in summary, chalk me up as a happy NET purchaser/vendor. I *DID* have one person never send me their check... so I never sent them the software. No fuss... I'd deal with them again, same terms :-). Oh yeah, one final anecdote in this too-long reply :-). You *MIGHT* see my name as 'something' of a deadbeat; I had a guy send me an SF book that was available in Canada, and not in the US, and he sent the book before he sent me his address via email. The book arrived just fine, BUT the return address was mangled beyond readability! I hurredly sent him email to get his real one, but he'd left school for the summer already, and never got the mail. Happily, I asked on one of the nets about him when I thought he'd be back at school, and he contacted me, and I sent him a check, AND he cashed it! :-). So, best of luck; I've never heard *ANYTHING* but good stories on net-trading and selling. --chris sterritt
dbarnhar@oiscola.Columbia.NCR.COM (11/15/90)
In article <1990Nov8.192749.8001@ccu.umanitoba.ca> umcarls9@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Charles Carlson) writes: > > >This is a topic I've never seen discussed on the Net. >I see lots of 'Anyone had any good/bad experiences with ABCXYZ CO.?' > >But I've never seen 'Anyone had any good/bad experiences buying from an >individual on the Net?' > >That is the question I am curious about. Every now and then I see something >advertised on here for a decent price that I wouldn't mind buying. ><although most of the stuff seems not to be that much cheaper than mail >order, such as $50 off of a hard disk over mail order, I'd go mail order!> > Sometimes mail order is the best bet. Sometimes not. Mail order prices on SIMMs are certainly not that great. (From the major mail-order places that people usually deal with e.g. MacConnection & MacWarehouse.) Sometimes the net prices are terrible. I've seen Mac Pluses advertised for outrageous prices. The net is just another resource to consider when buying (or selling) something. > >But at times there are some decent deals. I'd be interested in hearing >about any experiences. I haven't seen any public flames warning people >about any certain individual so am I to assume that everything generally >goes OK? Or is everybody just afraid to buy from individuals? > The main thing to consider, as always, is caveat emptor. Aside from this, I have purchased a hard disk (a reasonably risky purchase) from an individual on the net. I got an excellent deal, and I'm completely satisfied. Your mileage, of course, may vary. That's the way it works. I've known people that were completely UNsatisfied after visiting their local dealer. > >I guess the main thing that makes me shy is wondering why some of the >people sell over the Net? Most of the stuff seems to be general everyday >popular items that there should be no problem selling by putting up a >bulletin on a board at work or at school, or worse yet, a $5.00 ad in >your local paper. Either of those seems less work than trying to mail >something across the country or around the world. > First, as evidenced by this post, it takes almost no effort to put something on the net. Second, it is often possible to reach the best audience this way. I'm not sure what your Mac community is like in Manitoba, but in South Carolina, it doesn't seem very large, and most of the people in the user groups have machines at WORK or school, not at home. This means that if they buy something, they have to clear it with their boss, and if you are not a major vendor, then FORGET IT! On the net, I can reach a lot more people who would be interested in a piece of Mac Hardware than I can by putting out something locally. Besides, even if there are 2,000,000 personal mac users here in South Carolina, I don't know them, and it would be more difficult to reach them than it would be to reach others by the electronic media. > >Charles Dave Barnhart NCR Cooperative Computing Systems Division 3245 Platt Springs Rd. West Columbia, SC 29169 email: uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcae!oiscola!dbarnhar -- Dave Barnhart NCR Cooperative Computing Systems Division 3245 Platt Springs Rd. West Columbia, SC 29169 email: uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcae!oiscola!dbarnhar
davidsen@sixhub.UUCP (Wm E. Davidsen Jr) (11/23/90)
In article <316@oiscola.Columbia.NCR.COM> dbarnhar@oiscola.UUCP (David C. Barnhart II) writes: | Sometimes mail order is the best bet. Sometimes not. Mail order prices | on SIMMs are certainly not that great. (From the major mail-order places | that people usually deal with e.g. MacConnection & MacWarehouse.) Sometimes | the net prices are terrible. I've seen Mac Pluses advertised for outrageous | prices. The net is just another resource to consider when buying (or selling) | something. I agree with your thought that the net is just a resource, but "not that great?" I see SIMMs for $42-48 in _PC Week_, what would you consider good. I bought 10MB of 1x9 80ns for $48 including shipping about a month ago. -- bill davidsen - davidsen@sixhub.uucp (uunet!crdgw1!sixhub!davidsen) sysop *IX BBS and Public Access UNIX moderator of comp.binaries.ibm.pc and 80386 mailing list "Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -me