Buying Stuff

[Sundayjumper]

Well, trying to.

I saw a thing adverstised for sale and enquired by email. Yes, it's still available, and here's a PDF with details of this thing which is for sale.

I followed up with a phone call and arranged to go and see it.

I arrived, found blokie and he gave me a printout of the PDF. Then told me it's not for sale.

WTF ?

"But we've got this one here, it's exactly the same"

No it's not. I saw both of them on your website, and did my research, and I want the first one, that's why I asked if it's available and arranged to come and look at it. I didn't ask to come and see the other one. I don't want the second one.

<facepalm>

[Jobbo]

Is the other one not silver?

[GG.]

I can only assume given the reluctance to disclose the details of said item that SJ must be referring to robotic sex dolls

Well, that or BMW compacts.

[dinny_g]

My pet hate is ordering something on-line that's "In Stock", them taking your money and then, immediately saying they're out of stock and would you like something else.

No and I now have to wait ages for a refund...

[Mito Man]

Could be worse, my dad ordered a micro digger in Jan - the delivery company they sent it through came to deliver via lorry and just expected him to have a forklift, which he didn’t so it returned to Stoke. Then it turned out that they didn’t have a single lorry capable of fitting a 2.3 by 1.5m package on the tail lift so there would be no way of unloading without a forklift. Further digging revealed that said company lied to the seller that they had a Hiab (presumably just wanting the business and hoping the customer would have a forklift lying around). So now they have had to pay a third party to collect it with a Hiab and had a chunk of their warehouse space wasted during all the stockpiling crap going on so that really was stupid on their part.

I did think about going to their warehouse to collect it with my trailer as it fits and only weighs 900kg but don’t need it till the summer, it would a 400 mile trip and a day wasted and this way the company don’t profit from being fucking hopeless.

[dinny_g]

Yep - that’s worse...

I’m just looking to buy a £150 to £200 item they the Manufacturer no longer makes but it’s unlikely the final production run is sold out.

Someone must have stock... but short of phoning each one individually, there’s no way to know. (I’ve phoned 3 or 4 who’s website say they have them but they actually don’t)

It’s a FlexiFoil Super 10 stunt kite by the way - first world problem I know...

[Gavin]

Surely you did put a deposit down on the one they didn't have, even if it was an imaginary deposit? Pretty sure it's the OV9 way...

[tim]

I bought some office furniture a few weeks ago - ordered online from a place in scotland as they delivery tomorrow and it was in stock....

Some time towards the end of tomorrow I get an email to say they don't have it after all, but would I like this alternative almost identical set? Ok go on then, I'll expect it tomorrow.

Some time towards the end of tomorrow I get an email to say they don't have that alternative set either, and would I like this fucking hideous "better" alternative. No I fucking wouldn't, please cancel the order.

In the time it took them to reply to that email (28 hours), somewhere else had taken the order and delivered the one I wanted originally, and I'd built it and was sitting at it when they called me to "discuss my cancellation". I do not think they enjoyed that conversation.

It still took a week to actually get my money refunded, which they'd taken with the original order, in breach of all sorts of T&Cs.

So yes, buying stuff can be utter shit.

[mik]

Could be worse, my dad ordered a micro digger in Jan - the delivery company they sent it through came to deliver via lorry and just expected him to have a forklift, which he didn’t so it returned to Stoke. Then it turned out that they didn’t have a single lorry capable of fitting a 2.3 by 1.5m package on the tail lift so there would be no way of unloading without a forklift. Further digging revealed that said company lied to the seller that they had a Hiab (presumably just wanting the business and hoping the customer would have a forklift lying around). So now they have had to pay a third party to collect it with a Hiab and had a chunk of their warehouse space wasted during all the stockpiling crap going on so that really was stupid on their part.

How did you do that without your digger?

Made up story.

[Nefarious]

I got sent on a wild goose chase to pick up a 2015 Disco Sport on behalf of my brother from the other side of Glasgow at the weekend.

Except the postcode given took me to a train station and the address didn't exist. And the vendor stopped answering his phone.

OK, it was clearly a scam, but I'm left scratching my head as to exactly what the scam was. Fair enough, they got a £200 deposit off my brother, but he offered that rather than it being asked for. The car was supposed to be £18k so was going to be paid for via bank transfer - so there was no question of bashing me over the head and grabbing the money. Was there supposed to be some kind of "oh I just need you to pay x by Western Union" type trick that never happened? Was there actually a real (stolen?) car somewhere that was instead being used to scam a potentially more gullible victim?

Left a bit confused and annoyed at wasting half a day and a quarter of a tank of fuel.

[Rich B]

Had your brother seen the car?

The scam was they got £200.

[JLv3.0]

Similarly I get quite annoyed when I know something's a scam, but can't work out what the scam is. There was a spate of top-flight 'bikes on the local classifieds for way below market price, and I think someone on here explained the scam but I can't remember what it was and I don't understand.

[Nefarious]

The scam was they got £200.

Maybe, but like I said, the £200 was offered, not requested.
Also, there must've been 20 quite long, specific and detailed emails in the build up to this - it doesn't have the feel of a quick and dirty deposit scam.

If you're right and they're just harvesting deposits, I'd be quite disappointed - I was hoping for something a bit cleverer (and with a better pay off for the work involved)

ETA - no, nobody has seen the car (apart from photos)

[Sundayjumper]

Maybe, but like I said, the £200 was offered, not requested.

Maybe they had something more complex in mind, but the offer of an easy no-risk £200 appealled enough that they couldn't be bothereed and focussed on someone else ?

[Nefarious]

I guess that's the most likely (although the long and detailed emails continued after the £200 had been handed over)

My broad thinking is there was something in the way we were setting up the payment/collection that scuppered their plan (e.g. they were hoping my brother would come by train, meet him at a station, and avoid the need for a physical address), or that the plan involved the actual vehicle and that became unavailable to them at the last minute for some reason.

I suspect it will remain forever a mystery...

[Orange Cola]

I guess that's the most likely (although the long and detailed emails continued after the £200 had been handed over)

My broad thinking is there was something in the way we were setting up the payment/collection that scuppered their plan (e.g. they were hoping my brother would come by train, meet him at a station, and avoid the need for a physical address), or that the plan involved the actual vehicle and that became unavailable to them at the last minute for some reason.

I suspect it will remain forever a mystery...

Ironically their car was probably pinched.

[Nathan]

I got sent on a wild goose chase to pick up a 2015 Disco Sport on behalf of my brother from the other side of Glasgow at the weekend.

Except the postcode given took me to a train station and the address didn't exist. And the vendor stopped answering his phone.

OK, it was clearly a scam, but I'm left scratching my head as to exactly what the scam was. Fair enough, they got a £200 deposit off my brother, but he offered that rather than it being asked for. The car was supposed to be £18k so was going to be paid for via bank transfer - so there was no question of bashing me over the head and grabbing the money. Was there supposed to be some kind of "oh I just need you to pay x by Western Union" type trick that never happened? Was there actually a real (stolen?) car somewhere that was instead being used to scam a potentially more gullible victim?

Left a bit confused and annoyed at wasting half a day and a quarter of a tank of fuel.

Car was probably a ringer and they got spooked

[scotta]

The scam was they got £200.

Maybe, but like I said, the £200 was offered, not requested.
Also, there must've been 20 quite long, specific and detailed emails in the build up to this - it doesn't have the feel of a quick and dirty deposit scam.

If you're right and they're just harvesting deposits, I'd be quite disappointed - I was hoping for something a bit cleverer (and with a better pay off for the work involved)

ETA - no, nobody has seen the car (apart from photos)

So did he get the deposit back?

[Nefarious]

So did he get the deposit back?

What do you think?