Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[MechanicMatt]

My nephew sent this picture of the two of us tonight and asked me if I was ready to get the boat back on the water yet

This boy doesn’t realize, I daydream all day, since 2nd grade….. of hunting and fishing

I’m just BLESSED to have a job that allows me to have fun in the outdoors

 

[svk]

That's funny, once you made the trip to see the item I figure the negotiating is over. You can walk away if you have to, but if you wanted it for less, you should have asked me before we agreed to meet - I may not be interested in your offer and wouldn't waste either of our time. I use words and photographs in the listing to give a representative description, including the known flaws. Different philosophy I guess.

I don’t disagree. I mean it depends on what the item is to.

If I have something I’m just trying to get out of the yard, I’m fine wheeling and dealing.

On the other hand, if I have something that is high-quality and someone tries to lowball and/or insult me, discussion will be over.

One time as a young man when I was getting ready to move I sold a case of 7.62 x 39 ammo to this older guy who was really a jerk during negotiations but I wanted cash and wanted to be done with it. I said if anyone ever treats me like that again, I’m going tell them to f themselves. It’s nice when you’re holding the cards and you can just tell people flat out, NO.

 

[Squareground3691]

Where did you get you OEM carb? No Stihl dealers close to me. I just got a Hipa for mine. Haven't put it in yet. If that is a bust, I'll go back to OEM.

EBay , not exactly sure if it was this guy , but he has a ton of oem Stihl parts for sale , and is good to deal with, https://www.ebay.com/str/seesawsrun...uid=Tlx6FfZ4S9a&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[diver64]

I hear you. Last boat I sold the guy showed up $400 short on the agreed price. I ended up keeping the downriggers and selling them separately to get my price.

I would be quite unhappy if I and a buyer agreed on a price, I took the time to show up with the item and the buyer then showed and tried to dicker over it. I would get back in the truck and go home.

 

[EchovsStihl63]

When you are selling an item for $2600. You and the buyer agree on $2200. Then he shows up with $1500. You then tell him to have a nice day. When I bought my last saw I made an offer on it. The guy said it was too low. I made another offer and he accepted it. I'm fine with that. I don't show up and drop my offer if there is nothing wrong with the item that I am buying. I have had way too many people try to pull that on me.

I never make an offer through messaging or over the phone unless I know with out a doubt that I want whatever it is no matter what condition of something I may find in person, which is rare.

I think the last time I did that was when I bought the '01 2500 RAM. The truck was ROUGH but it had all of the bits that I need to swap the NV4500 into my '02 2500. I offered him what I felt comfortable based on the pics and he accepted, I showed up asked zero questions and put it on the trailer and paid him.

 

[MechanicMatt]

I’ve bought three things off “Marketplace”

Each I paid the sellers asking price

I selected them because of their price. I hate when people offer lower prices on stuff I have up. Either you want it or you don’t…..

But buying stuff from a Pawn Shop, I feel it’s part of the experience to haggle and get it for as low as possible. Lord knows they have the person a fraction of their asking price!!

I once got a Model 70, Stainless 30-06 for $400 when the guys tag said 750

I bet he gave some widow $100 for that rifle!!

I’ve gotten two model 70’s from him and neither did I pay his asking price

 

[H-Ranch]

I hate when people offer lower prices on stuff I have up. Either you want it or you don’t…..

Meh, I see selling online similar to the pawn shop experience and expect people to haggle. Heck, even ebay has an "offer now" or whatever button. I usually research the item I'm listing to get an average price and land somewhere around there and allow for a little room to come down (this mostly just sets my expectations.) The first day I'm probably not as willing to go as low as I might after a week. Stuff I just want gone gets listed lower than the going rate. A lot depends on the item too, as mentioned by several others. But I certainly don't get mad over *reasonable* offers.

When I'm buying, most times I just pay asking price because I've likely selected one that is already a deal and I know it. I'm patient and often wait for months to find what I'm looking for. But then you have to be ready to jump on it.

 

[djg james]

My nephew sent this picture of the two of us tonight View attachment 1247643and asked me if I was ready to get the boat back on the water yet

This boy doesn’t realize, I daydream all day, since 2nd grade….. of hunting and fishing

I’m just BLESSED to have a job that allows me to have fun in the outdoors

One of my bosses gave me a sign which now hangs on my wall "Born to Fish.... Forced to Work".

 

[sean donato]

On the flip side, I prefer to message as it cuts down the BS especially from tire kickers or people who want to aggressively negotiate before showing up. (If I am selling, I don't wiggle much until people are in front of the item holding cash).

I hate it. Especially with the younger crowed. Either you want to sell something or you don't. I never haggle price over the computer. That's just dumb imo. My message to all the people with truck I wanted to look at was simple.
"Hi, I'm interested in your truck. When can I look at it, I will have cash in hand.
my phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx, if you prefer to talk or text.
Thanks, Sean."
Don't know how much simpler or to the point I can be.
Only guy I messaged a bit different was a 3 hour drive one way, I simply asked if he would mind snapping a few extra pictures of the frame and if I needed to bring the rollback or not? I noticed the check engine light was on in his video with the truck running. I'm looking at sub $5k trucks. So, I know there's going to be issues. Just be upfront, I'm not picky.
The truck I'm going to look at today I already have a decent idea what it's issue is, and should be a pretty simple (if not tedious) to fix. Had to send him a picture of bank envelope full of cash to get a time and address from the kid. Life shouldn't be so difficult.... it's a 20 year old truck ffs.

 

[svk]

I think buying online is a vicious cycle. Sellers are guarded because there are so many scammers out there and vice versa.

Usually a few text interchanges will give a decent vibe about the person you are dealing with.

Although when you message someone you want to buy it and they ghost you, that drives me insane. Just tell me someone else has dibs or its sold FFS.

I hate selling things these days. What drives me even more bonkers is when friends or acquaintances say they want to buy my stuff then when I want to sell they all lose interest or they want it for 25 cents on the dollar. I always will cut a deal to a friend but I am not going to fire sale.

 

[H-Ranch]

I think buying online is a vicious cycle. Sellers are guarded because there are so many scammers out there and vice versa.

Usually a few text interchanges will give a decent vibe about the person you are dealing with.

Although when you message someone you want to buy it and they ghost you, that drives me insane. Just tell me someone else has dibs or its sold FFS.

I hate selling things these days. What drives me even more bonkers is when friends or acquaintances say they want to buy my stuff then when I want to sell they all lose interest or they want it for 25 cents on the dollar. I always will cut a deal to a friend but I am not going to fire sale.

I almost always start with email exchanges and then go to text/phone if it appears legit. I've broken that rule a few times on items I really wanted, and probably missed out on some deals by not calling first.

I hear Facebook MP has its share of scammers now too, which makes me smile since they are not immune to it. I wish there were none anywhere, but that's not the current state.

I understand not getting a reply on a newly listed item *IF* the listing is removed right away (meaning I wasn't first in line.) But yeah, don't leave a listing up after it's sold. It's one click to take it down! I know sometimes emails go to spam folders, been the victim of that from both sides.

 

[svk]

Anything in the "public" area of Facebook such as marketplace or any public post/group is a cesspool of ********, spammers, and scammers. I run a number of FB groups with one of them being over 70,000 members. It is mandatory to have groups set to "private" which means someone not in the group can see the group but cannot see what's inside of it. Secondly you need to have new member approval and post approval on or you will be absolutely overrun with spam. But if you set the standard that drama will not be tolerated, you will have very few issues.

Facebook now reminds me of this place 15 years ago. Lots of drama but leadership does nothing to deal with the problems.

 

[StihlsawuserMS361]

I would think that it would be worth it. My grandfather bought one brand new for me to use to keep his place weedeated with around 2010. I put lots and lots of hours on it and its still kicking today. He had a lot of creek banks to keep knocked down. I've never really had to do anything to it except maybe adjust the valves? Can't remember if I ever did that or not, but I can not see that carb being any more complicated than a typical OPE carb, probably toss a new metering and pump diaphragm in it and be in business.

Powerful machine and would really send the tall Johnson grass flying in the late summer.

FS 130 here. My vote is buy it. I love the torque of a 3 Mix. Also they don't need to run as fast as a typical 2 stroke and are quieter . Good luck!

Very common here too. Agree on dollar amount, then they show up a few hundred short. That's a good size hit, unexpectedly.

 

[Haywire]

 

[svk]

A few weeks back I ordered two laptops from HP. Instead of putting them in the same box, they shipped them separately. Each of them has followed this completely crazy tracking route.

 

[JimR]

Here is a good one for you about when I bought my Rayco 1665 Stump grinder. I spoke with the guy beforehand on this unit. Does it run?, oh yeah. Are there any issues with it?, nope, I've used it several times. Are the cutter wheel bearings good,? yes. I told him to check them for me and how to check them. Again, they are not loose. Asking $2500 or b.o. I believe that I offered him $2200 for it. It was over a 2 hour drive to pick it up.

I get there and this is what I find. It wouldn't start. Then he says the alternator is not charging, the belt has almost an inch of slack in it. I bend over and push the cutter wheel back and forth. The bearings are wiped out really bad. He says that he couldn't get it to move. I asked if the main telescoping boom works. He says it is a little bit rusted up from sitting. I found out later on that there is a mild kink in the outer beam causing that issue. I bought this for $1600. Had I known the main beam was kinked I might have given him $1000. The points were corroded, carb crusted up, fuel pump diaphram shot, cutter wheel bearings shot and the drive chain was pretty well shot too. The moral of this story is to never trust or believe a seller until you actually look at it and run it.

 

[GrizzlyAdams86]

I love the people that haggle on a price and say okay, I'll give you what you want.
When they show up they say this is all I have and it is not near the negotiated price. I have sent a few people walking that pull that crap.

That was what happened trying to sell my '01 Dodge a few years ago. It had 332k for miles, but still ran and drove decent, 4x4 worked but with what the rust worm was doing and it was going to need front brakes & axle joints again (besides intake gaskets and some other seals) I decided to sell it. Put it out in the front yard for $950/BO, I was looking to get $650. Had a few lookers but no interest until I got a call from someone who wanted it. Story he gave was he needed a truck to get his boat out of where it was stored because he couldn't store it there anymore and his other truck he junked because it wasn't fixable. Then began a game of phone tag (plus I was out of town for the weekend) and then he changed his story to "just needing a wood/brush hauler" claiming he didn't have a boat but still needed to buy the truck ASAP and wanted to know if I'd give him a break. So I asked what he was willing to offer and he claimed that $500 was the best he could do. I told him 650, but he claimed "I need gas money too" with some other excuses, I did get him up to 600 but he then said "I'll think about it over the weekend". Another round of phone tag with a "not saying yes, but not saying no" answer I just hung up and wrote him off. Then a week later he texts me "Will you take $450 for the truck?" to which I replied "$650 cash FIRM-NO LOWER". Someone else ended up getting the truck in a trade deal later.

 

[JimR]

Hey mechanicmatt have you ever seen any issues with the rear fuse box on the 2008 Malibu or G6's blowing out or shorting out? My G6 blew the parking light fuse. I replaced it and the lights were working fine for about 2 weeks. Then they croaked. The #6 fuse is fine as is the #27 parking light relay. I have no power coming out of that box for the parking lights. I hooked a jumper from the hot lead in the box to the parking light wires and all the parking lights work. I do not know what other electronics are involved in between this fuse box and the other 2 fuse boxes if any. I saw that there is a circuit board inside of this fuse box. Unfortunately it appears to be not accessible. There are 3 metal staged pieces holding the box together. I could drill them out to look for a short. There are no water leaks in the trunk.

 

[Lee192233]

Hey mechanicmatt have you ever seen any issues with the rear fuse box on the 2008 Malibu or G6's blowing out or shorting out? My G6 blew the parking light fuse. I replaced it and the lights were working fine for about 2 weeks. Then they croaked. The #6 fuse is fine as is the #27 parking light relay. I have no power coming out of that box for the parking lights. I hooked a jumper from the hot lead in the box to the parking light wires and all the parking lights work. I do not know what other electronics are involved in between this fuse box and the other 2 fuse boxes if any. I saw that there is a circuit board inside of this fuse box. Unfortunately it appears to be not accessible. There are 3 metal staged pieces holding the box together. I could drill them out to look for a short. There are no water leaks in the trunk.

I've seen burned/melted pins in the fuse panel connectors of that vintage GMs. Remove the panel and loosen the bolts that hold the connectors in the panel, remove the connectors and inspect the pins.