FP - What's the worst auction/selling experince you have ever had?

[MR FLIPPER]

Did you get ripped off? Did you waste your time on anything?

Give us a head up so we can all learn avoid the same dilemars.

[stenrok]

Hi,

Yes I have. Purchased an autoblog. I checked the sellers feedback...all good. I checked out his online webisite where he did his other online business and it all looked ok. He offered the following as part of the sale.

•1 Month Technical Support
•Blog Commenting to 100 Blogs *
•Add to 50 RSS Sites *

He initially transferred my site, sent me some tutorials on setting up the site. I then had a technical problem and asked a question and no answer. He also did not do any blog commenting and did not configure the 50 RSS sites. Idid not here from him for approximately 5 weeks. In that time I sent him a number of emails. I also advised him if I did not hear from him I would dispute the sale.

In the end I hit the dispute button on flippa. I also hammered him on the feedbackat this point. About three days later I received an email from him and his story was he was in hospital and he was not available. I did not believe him but I played the game. He gave me some help which ended up with the site going off the air. I contacted him again several times and he did not respond.

I then contacted Flippa and they did not want anything to do with it (please note guys for future reference). So my site is still off the air and I did not receive the majority of what he offered in his listing.

The positive out of all of this...this is one of the major reasons I started to sell websites. I felt absolutely ripped off but it made me think that I could do a lot better with customer service with selling web sites. So I got into the business and while I have only been doing this for a couple of months...I offer great customer service...because I do not want to see other buyers get treated the way I did.

In a lot of ways it is still pot luck. I think I did all of the right things but I still got a dud. I think hen I gave him the bad feedback he had no intention of helping me any further.

My lessons

1. dont pay the success fee untill you are completely happy with the sale
2. Be careful with the timing of your feedback

cheers

[Luka]

Not really bad but I bought a site with 5 unique articles, a unique theme for $11 from Flippa, and sold it for $21 (I paid $19 for listing fee!), very small loss, but thats my worst.

[Ryan Sorensen]

So far the worst experience is a site I just bought off of DP about 5 days ago. The seller hasn't given me any sign that he's even alive after about 4 emails and a few PMs. I got a great deal and it would suck if the seller is dead!

[stenrok]

Got another experience which has just recently happened.

Guy purchased my listing. Note that in my listing I openly point out I do not move web sites (I am a hosting company so why would i do this). However, I do give out information to buyers to help them to move if they ask. Original hosting period was 7 days. I extended this to 30 days to assist this buyer. I gave him a bunch of ebook bonuses which included all sorts of marketing material. This was never advertised. He started to ask me all sorts of questions about starting up a flipping business....I answered them all...some of my answers were a page and half long. there was somewhere in the vicinity of 16 to 20 emails where he sought assistance of running a business. I over delivered which is something I always do and I have mentioned this in a number of threads I have contributed to on this forum.

I recently notified him that his hosting was expiring and he needed to move his sites. His free hosting had now gone out to about 5 weeks...originally it was 7 days so he was getting a reasonable freebie.

This is where it all went wrong. He comes back to me and asks me to move his sites. I remind him I do not move sites. He then accuses me of not detailing this in the listing. Threatens me with putting bad comments on all of my listings if I do not respond within 24 hours and then says I have not given him all what he has purchased.

Upto this point, in all of his emails he has complimented me on my honesty and help.

I have since gone back to him and referred him to the listing where I clearly indicate I do not move sites. I have reminded him of all the extras I have provided to him and the help I have given him which was well outside the charter of selling the sites in question. I have also asked him to clarify what I have not provided to him.

I am still waiting for his response. By the way, he gave me very positive feedback on Flippa.

So what are my lessons in this example?

I really don't know. I generally put trust in all people I deal with. I try to help people as much as I can. Yet, I now have to deal with a guy who seems to be out to "get me" all because I told him I don't transfer sites.

I have many buyers who are a pleasure to deal with. I go out of my way to help them...yet it only takes a person like this to completely deflate my sails.

Guys and gals...would love to hear any comments on this as I am a little demotivated at the moment and cannot understand why someone would change attitude as quickly as this.
cheers

[BrettM]

I take two lessons from this.

#1 -- sometimes something wonky just happens, and nothing you could have done to prevent it.

#2 -- I love the over-deliver, I'd suggest you attempt to close the deal as soon as possible.

What I mean by the second point is, continue to over-deliver but be focused on finishing off everything and getting the client to "sign off". That way what 'needs' to get done isn't buried in all the extras (that you're graciously providing).

You can over-deliver during, and after, the sale -- but get the sale done .

[stenrok]

Hi all,

I have another one...I am starting to feel paranoid as I seem to be the only one with all of these bad experiences (-:

firstly, thank Brettm for your helpful comments.

One of the first purchases I made was for a site plus a free site would be built after the purchase. When I won the auction, first site was delivered...domain transferred etc. I then had to create a domain name for the secon site which I did. I gave this to the seller...surprise...surprise...have not heard back from him. To rub salt in the wounds...in January this year I received an email from him asking me if everything was all ok..I responded and advised him he still had to produce the second site...it is now March and I still have not heard from him.

This is another contributing reason why I became a seller....rather than a buyer. It is so easy to provide an excellent service compared to some of these guys who are not much more than scammers.

cheers

[flipcrowd]

I feel for you Stenrok, but unfortunately unless using an escrow service or dealing with buyers/sellers you have experience with theres always the risk of 'buyer/seller beware'.
It's a shame there are so many scammers out there, and flipping/hatching by its very nature will lend itself to a number of...less than savoury characters... but the silver lining is I think it makes it easier to differentiate yourself as a great buyer/seller once you have built that rep up (its just a shame building it can mean dodging a few mines along the way!)

Some of it is luck of the draw too...I'm sure there will be both buyers and sellers that have never had an issue...lucky them!

My only advice would be as a buyer make sure you do your due diligence, be wary of buying of anyone without a good rep, and wherever possible never pay the whole amount till you have the whole product.
As a seller, just ensure your listing covers ALL bases, that way you can easily refer back to it if theres ever a dispute.

Only other tip would be to build a list of reputable traders you deal with...as this grow over time it gives you a ready-made list of contacts you can rely on (good tip from Imminent/Thomas/Bryan that everyone should make use of!)

[stenrok]

ok...so I have another one to add.
Recently had another issue with a seller who won an auction but did not pay. The problem I have is I am reluctant to give this seller negative feedback as they can also hit me hard with their feedback. So I have decided to leave it alone. Unfortunately, how do other sellers get protected from these buyers as I am sure they also do not give negative feedback.

My opinion on Flippa is they are very hard on sellers...but seem to give the buyers an advantage.

Anyone with any opinions?
cheers

[BrettM]

I'd leave it alone. I think it was posted earlier here, or in the 'getting good feedback' post, to get into a back-and-forth via feedback isn't worth it. As Bryan posted in his Avoid Getting Scammed post:

Needless to say, if you find a seller with a lot (more than 10%) of bad feedback you should immediately walk away and not even question them about it.

I say don't risk months / years of less bids due to negative feedback, for one moment of sticking it to the man.

If there's a "feedback period" after which you can't leave feedback anymore, let that expire then report the incident to Flippa. Either way, as honourable as your intentions, you can't police the world .