I need a polite way to fix this problem..
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
United States
February 10, 2011 8:22pm CST
I posted my Durango for sale on Craigslist when I knew I was buying a van. I got a lot of e-mails about it, I made a few appointments for people to see it which didn't work out.. etc. etc.
So for a couple days I've been talking to this girl who seemed interested in it. She asked to come out on Friday, but unfortunately hubby and I are both working tomorrow night. I replied last night saying that wouldn't work, and when was another time she could come out. When I got home from work her response in my inbox said she could come on Monday. Well, I did not feel like waiting until Monday.. so instead of responding to her, I e-mailed the next person in line to see if they could come sooner.
This morning I check my mail, and nothing. I waited a few hours, still nothing. So finally I e-mail the girl back and said Monday was fine. We set a time and I gave her the address and my phone #.
Then, the other guy I e-mailed last night finally e-mails back and says he's so interested he'll come out tonight. I asked hubby what I should do.. and he said go ahead and let the guy come out tonight, because there's no guarantee he'll buy it anyways.
So the guy comes out, and is basically ready to go. He has no questions, doesn't even want to test drive it. He hands me the money and asks me to sign some papers for the DMV, that's it. The Durango is sold!
Well, I'm certainly excited because I thought selling it would be a huge headache. I thought I'd have to deal with people trying to talk me down from what I was asking, etc etc. He never questioned it, he had exactly what I asked for in cash, he'd stopped at the bank on the way.. he basically already knew he wanted it.
But now, I have no car and this poor girl is expecting to come look at it on Monday.. what the heck do I do now?
I know I shouldn't have let the guy come tonight after I'd already made the appointment with the girl for Monday.. but there's nothing I can do about that now.
I need to find a polite way of telling the girl that the car is no longer available and that I sold it even though I'd made an appointment for her to see it.
Hubby says I should just lie and tell her I decided not to sell it or something like that.
What would you do in this situation? Have you ever made a similar mistake?
6 people like this
17 responses
@GreenMoo (11833)
•
11 Feb 11
I think you should just tell the girl the truth, that someone was unexpectedly able to come over and bought it on the spot. She will recognise that you were trying to sell it as soon as possible, I'm sure.
I don't see that there's anything to be gained from making up some story.
1 person likes this
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
11 Feb 11
I have to disagree. There just might be something gained if the girl turned out to be a nutcase...like their lives!
Okay, so chances are nothing bad would happen, but as kats sent her address and phone # to this girl, it might be better to play it safe and tell this girl a white lie, rather than the whole truth. We have to remember that this person is still a stranger, and we should always be cautious when dealing with strangers, no matter how old we get.
Just my 2 cents on the matter.
Happy mylotting!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
11 Feb 11
Sacmom.. whether I lie or not the girl has my address and #, and either way the car is gone, no matter how I tell her it's gone. I did end up making up a white lie though.. I told her hubby sold it without checking with me first. This way I don't look like I did something mean.. it was a simple miscommunication. LOL.. oh my vanity!
@skysuccess (8857)
• Singapore
12 Feb 11
katsmeow1213,
Honestly, I have yet to encounter this dilemma like yours.
As such, I would advise that whether you are going to tell her the truth or a lie, do it well before the appointed time and date of the appointment. I prefer the former besides you would never know if she really intends to buy your ware in the first place. I mean, what happens when she turns up on Monday and decides otherwise?
Like you, I cannot foretell the future and how things will turn out if you really save this for her. Fair is as fair as it gets. But, if I were you, I could have made a call to her that there's a potential buyer turning up and may offer a higher price in cash for it. While at the same time, tell the appointee that you have another buyer coming in on Monday offering a higher price to ensure that it will be there.
I do not think there's anything wrong with this leveraging, right? It is a dog eat dog world (orient adage) out there. First come, first serve - win-win situation for everybody. Talking about selling things, I just do not have any difficulty as I have a queue for my personal collections, cameras and family car - so it is a matter of price at the end of the day for me.
I hope you have already informed her that the Durango is no longer available and my latter would help you get a few extras next time. Have a nice day.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
12 Feb 11
Yes I have already told her it's no longer available. Though I was not interested in trying to get more money for the vehicle. It was barely worth what I was selling it for and I was just happy nobody tried to talk me down.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
14 Feb 11
Really, you did nothing wrong so I'd just tell her the truth! It was basically a misunderstanding. You could let her think your husband had made arrangements for the other guy to come see the car and forgot to tell you. That's always a good one to fall back on...when in doubt, bloame hubby...lol!
Annie
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
11 Feb 11
Actually I did. If I remember right I had two potential buyers on the same day for a car I had listed for sale. The first guy was coming from several cities away and wasn't supposed to show up until around 5pm. The second guy lived nearby and therefore was able to come by sooner. I felt bad for making the appointment with the first guy, but at the same time I knew there was no guarantee that he'd buy the car from me anyway.
Fortunately it didn't work out with the second guy and the original guy I promised to see it was the one to buy it. He did wonder why the engine was still warm even though I had listed it as no-op. LOL
If you didn't do so already, why not just say that your husband sold it? Be sure to add something like you didn't know he had a buyer lined up and that you're sorry for wasting her time. Hopefully that'll do the trick.
Good luck!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
11 Feb 11
That's basically what I did. She's coming from another city too, so I'm glad I can reach her before she makes the drive all the way down here.
@jillhill (37353)
• United States
11 Feb 11
Okay...I am bad. I go with hubby.....like say that someone had looked at it and was not committed...but changed their minds....since they were first they got the first chance to buy it....sometimes telling a little fib eases the situation...be profusely sorry and she'll won't be mad!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
11 Feb 11
I did lie and say that hubby sold it without consulting me first. She did not reply to let me know if she got the message or not. Hopefuly she got it and won't just show up on Monday!
@curtangel (108)
• United States
11 Feb 11
I've never made that particular mistake, but I could see how it could happen. In fact, I've been on the other side of that! I don't think she should expect that you were going to see one person at a time, waiting days to see if the next person was interested.
I would just e-mail her and tell her that another person looked at and bought the car - maybe apologize for any inconvenience to her. And I would do it ASAP so that she could make an appointment to look at another car if she wants.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
11 Feb 11
Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I just hate being mean and doing mean things.. and to me this feels mean. But it also would have felt mean to tell the guy I e-mailed last night that after I offered it to him I made a different appointment so could no longer make the offer, you know.
@curtangel (108)
• United States
11 Feb 11
I'd probably feel the same way - but I don't think its mean. You didn't do anything to purposely waste her time - sometimes things just happen that way. If you really feel like you have to, lie about it - but just contact her soon so she can plan to look at other cars.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
11 Feb 11
Yes, I will. I do not want to waste her time at all.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169477)
• United States
11 Feb 11
If I was going to lie, I would tell her that hubby sold it. Or you could just say that something came up.The sooner you can let her know the better though.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
11 Feb 11
Actually, that is what I ended up doing.. I told her hubby sold it to a friend without checking with me first. And I e-mailed her last night.. have not gotten a response yet.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
12 Feb 11
i WOULD JUST CALL HER BACK & TELL THE TRUTH. There is no guarantee she would have bought it. Cah in hand is worth making her mad over i would say. Glad u sold it.
@bunnybon7 (50970)
• Holiday, Florida
11 Feb 11
yes i also put my car on craigslist before i left florida. but my daughter lost her car and desperately needed it. i couldnt bring myself to just sell it right out from under her. and i couldnt seem to reach the guy before he showed up with the money. i had to tell him the truth much to my embarrassment. 
perhaps you can tell her someone in your family desperately needed it? 
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
11 Feb 11
Wow, thankfully I have time to notify her before she drives all the way here!
@payout (3797)
• United States
11 Feb 11
Hey katsmeow,
I would say the best way to fix this mistake is to be honest and said you have gone an offer from some and it was just hard to turn down. You apologize for not trying to set up a viewing of the car. That you took up some of her time. Or say that the offer was greater then the asking price.
Just see it has this when you go apply for a job the position is limited and can be filled by only one or so many people whatever they are asking. Who ever so more interest and more pushing and straight forward and simple gets it. The better impression and interest wins, so that's how this situation was but it was mostly base on interest.
The lady can be upset since you planned it and plan to met up with her so she can view the car. And kept good communication some people have different reactions towards that type of situation.
Right now im liking at houses but i can't fall in love with a home if I don't feel ready or everything isn't ready yet so anyone can buy it anytime .
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
13 Feb 11
I realize that it might hurt this girl's feelings, but whenever I've sold something through the computer (either through Craig's List or through Cheapcycle), I've always said that it is first come, first served. I will arrange several appointments to look at the item, but I will tell people that if it is sold before the time of their appointment that I will let them know that it has been sold. Doing it this way has never caused any kind of a problem at all.
@zeciram (161)
• Philippines
11 Feb 11
Maybe you can tell her that your hubby had already sold the car and forgot to tell you.
Everything will work out just fine. No worries!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
11 Feb 11
That is basically what I told her.. blame it on the man, LOL.
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
11 Feb 11
I think you could just tell her that the guy was supposed to come but didn't show, then he just showed up out of the blue. I would say she probably would try to talk you down from your asking price as most people do. Just explain he showed up with cash in hand and didn't want to test drive or anything. She may be a little disappointed but who wouldn't sell it to someone with cash in hand.
@imnobodyspecial (318)
• United States
11 Feb 11
I'd say you've a bit of an ethics problem here...would of, should of...is all past tense and it's too late for that.
Call the girl so at the very least she won't make a trip for no reason and explain a buyer with cash in hand showed up and purchased the vehicle, apologize for the inconvenience and take the lesson to heart.
