Joined Oct 2009
L6: Expert
Forum Thread
Am I being unreasonable or wrong in this Craigslist dispute?
September 27, 2011 at
01:48 PM
Hi folks,
I will keep the story short but sufficient in quickly helping you understand the situation.
I sold a merchandise to a person on Craigslist for $130 dollars. This person was unable to pay the complete $130 at the time and offered to pay in two payments and told me that he was good for it. I initially declined this idea, not being comfortable with it. He later offered to "give up" a piece of electronic as collateral as something for me to hold on to. This was a Playstation 3 Slim. The first payment which I accepted was then $80 alongside the PS3.
He said he would be able to pay the remaining $50 the next weekend. The first meet-up was on a weekend, so it was essentially a week in-between the two original proposed payment times. However, at that time, I was going on a holiday and got stuck at the airport. As such, I couldn't make that weekend and asked if he could do the day after.
The first transaction was made on July 1st, meaning that the second payment was supposed to be on July 8th to 10th?
Since then, he has either been out of town or has repeatedly told me that he does not have the money on dates which he himself set up as dates of payments (3 or more times now). I have also found out that the merchandise which I sold him (a phone), is now broken.
I recently (i.e., mid September) -subtly indicated- to him that I cannot be waiting forever to get my money back and that at some point, I would take the PS3 as collateral. He proposed an October 1st payment as a date where he "should be" able to make the payment.
Based on e-mail exchanges in the past 48 hours, it is evident that he cannot make that date again, to which I provided an ultimatum for an additional one-more week extension.
Should he miss this date, I will terminate the deal and consider the PS3 to be collateral.
He is now flipping out, and mentioning that he couldn't believe that I was like this. He stated that he would be forced to call a lawyer should it come to that. He also indicated that he is only getting paid at the end of October and can only pay "then". He says he doesn't know what else he can do but again reiterated that he would be forced to contact a lawyer should it come down to that.
I haven't responded yet, but I'm looking for thoughts and ideas here. Am I being unreasonable? I'm only asking for my $50 back and it's close to 3 months now.
Thank you in advance to all who respond.
I will keep the story short but sufficient in quickly helping you understand the situation.
I sold a merchandise to a person on Craigslist for $130 dollars. This person was unable to pay the complete $130 at the time and offered to pay in two payments and told me that he was good for it. I initially declined this idea, not being comfortable with it. He later offered to "give up" a piece of electronic as collateral as something for me to hold on to. This was a Playstation 3 Slim. The first payment which I accepted was then $80 alongside the PS3.
He said he would be able to pay the remaining $50 the next weekend. The first meet-up was on a weekend, so it was essentially a week in-between the two original proposed payment times. However, at that time, I was going on a holiday and got stuck at the airport. As such, I couldn't make that weekend and asked if he could do the day after.
The first transaction was made on July 1st, meaning that the second payment was supposed to be on July 8th to 10th?
Since then, he has either been out of town or has repeatedly told me that he does not have the money on dates which he himself set up as dates of payments (3 or more times now). I have also found out that the merchandise which I sold him (a phone), is now broken.
I recently (i.e., mid September) -subtly indicated- to him that I cannot be waiting forever to get my money back and that at some point, I would take the PS3 as collateral. He proposed an October 1st payment as a date where he "should be" able to make the payment.
Based on e-mail exchanges in the past 48 hours, it is evident that he cannot make that date again, to which I provided an ultimatum for an additional one-more week extension.
Should he miss this date, I will terminate the deal and consider the PS3 to be collateral.
He is now flipping out, and mentioning that he couldn't believe that I was like this. He stated that he would be forced to call a lawyer should it come to that. He also indicated that he is only getting paid at the end of October and can only pay "then". He says he doesn't know what else he can do but again reiterated that he would be forced to contact a lawyer should it come down to that.
I haven't responded yet, but I'm looking for thoughts and ideas here. Am I being unreasonable? I'm only asking for my $50 back and it's close to 3 months now.
Thank you in advance to all who respond.
209 Comments
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What kind of friggin' crackhead can't come up with $50 in 3 months?
Also, I get paid once a month as a grad student.
....Send me a cot damn PM!!!!
In any case, this isn't 1 month; it's 3 months. If someone can't come up with $50 in 3 months to complete an agreement, it's a good indication of what type of person you're dealing with.
I'm not sure how much truth there is to this, but I would think it makes sense as to why he was so willing to give up a PS3 to a random stranger on craigslist. He's told me repeated times in September that his mom is giving him a lot of flak for not having the PS3 home yet (one of the reasons why I feel bad about this whole thing, it's like I'm screwing his brother over if it is actually the case).
At this point, I don't know what's true about what he's telling me or if what he's telling me are just things to guilt trip me, etc. Another random observation was that in one or two of his e-mails, it had "Sent from my Windows Phone" or something along those lines. If it's an indicator, he was either using someone else's phone or he has the cash to purchase a new phone to replace the broken one that was sold to him.
Ugh. 10 more days to go. Here's to him contacting me soon!
j/k
I'm not sure how much truth there is to this, but I would think it makes sense as to why he was so willing to give up a PS3 to a random stranger on craigslist. He's told me repeated times in September that his mom is giving him a lot of flak for not having the PS3 home yet (one of the reasons why I feel bad about this whole thing, it's like I'm screwing his brother over if it is actually the case).
At this point, I don't know what's true about what he's telling me or if what he's telling me are just things to guilt trip me, etc. Another random observation was that in one or two of his e-mails, it had "Sent from my Windows Phone" or something along those lines. If it's an indicator, he was either using someone else's phone or he has the cash to purchase a new phone to replace the broken one that was sold to him.
Ugh. 10 more days to go. Here's to him contacting me soon!
If it was me, I'd sell it now. I'll bet you have at least 10 offers for it through your PM here that are well over the $50 he owes you. If you want to be nice for another 2 weeks, well, kudos to you for being upstanding, but in my opinion, you've been upstanding for way too long.
So wait for October 9th and then list the item for sale wherever to get your money back. Don't answer any communication from the guy again. Maybe once to tell him you sold it. Other than that, you're done with it. You were nice and waiting WAY longer than you had to for him to make good on the deal. This transaction should have been done and over with in one day -- a 3 month plus 2 weeks waiting period was not what you advertised.
Also, since we are talking about less than $2500 here (if I remember correctly) this would land in small claims court. It would also cost him more than $50 just to start the paperwork. Not to mention that if he doesn't have your address, he can't serve you easily by certified mail. It would cost him several times the initial court fee to hire someone to hunt you down and serve you.
You set a date, if he keeps it and actually pays you back great. Even giving him that option is likely beyond the kindness of most people I know. I would suggest making sure that (if you meet again) meet in an insanely public place. The front of a police station, or in the lobby of a courthouse sounds about right.
This guy sounds sketchy, and likely not morally correct in the head.
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I'm not sure how much truth there is to this, but I would think it makes sense as to why he was so willing to give up a PS3 to a random stranger on craigslist. He's told me repeated times in September that his mom is giving him a lot of flak for not having the PS3 home yet (one of the reasons why I feel bad about this whole thing, it's like I'm screwing his brother over if it is actually the case).
At this point, I don't know what's true about what he's telling me or if what he's telling me are just things to guilt trip me, etc. Another random observation was that in one or two of his e-mails, it had "Sent from my Windows Phone" or something along those lines. If it's an indicator, he was either using someone else's phone or he has the cash to purchase a new phone to replace the broken one that was sold to him.
Ugh. 10 more days to go. Here's to him contacting me soon!
I'm not sure how much truth there is to this
So if the buyers brother says the buyer stole his PS3 you could get into some trouble. Be careful on that OP.
The only reason I remember such a thing is that Detroit pawn shop show
Crazy Lady: Yeah I want to sell this Xbox 360
Pawn Guy: Sell or pawn?
CL: Sell it, I dont want this damn thing in my house, its my no good cheating husbands Xbox, how much you give me fo it?
PG: its your husbands?
CL: yeah that sumabitch!
PG: does he know you are selling it
CL: no, wha he got to no fo?
PG: because I cant buy it unless he is ok with it. you cant sell someone elses property
CL:
Your first big mistake (and it's an obvious one) is allowing a payment plan. The whole point of private sales and CL is to get paid for the stuff IN FULL in cash at the time of the purchase! You see.....this is the EXACT reason why you should NEVER offer any payment plan. At best, let the potential buyer put down a "non-refundable" deposit for the item and let the buyer have X days to come up with the balance. Until then, you hold onto the deposit AND the merchandise. Of course, have some kind of written contract!
Now that you're in this mess though, your only option now is to have the buyer stop by and sign some kind of agreement stating that you have the PS3 as collateral and you're allowing X days until he comes up with the balance owed. Make sure you have on the agreement that if X days has lapsed, then the PS3 is yours and he forfeits his collateral. Both of you sign it and each keep a copy.
If he's unwilling to come to you to sign such an agreement, then put it in an email and have him acknowledge that he's okay with those specifics. It'll be just as good as a signed contract/agreement in a court of law.
For now, without any agreement (except maybe verbal), I don't think you can just keep the PS3 and sell it. It depends on your state's statute of limitations in civil small claims cases. I think it's usually 2 yrs (sometimes up to 4 or 5 yrs). Until that has lapsed, you can only keep the PS3 as collateral and can't sell it. Because, if he comes up with the balance due within the statute of limitations, he may be able to sue you for the value of the PS3 since you have no written agreement.
By the way, I agree with the comments here that the buyer isn't going to get any lawyer. That'll be stupid! Just talking to a lawyer will probably cost him that $50 he owes you!
OP:
List the PS3 on craigslist for $75 with a "for sale" date of October 9.
Send link to crackhead.
???
Profit.
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OP:
List the PS3 on craigslist for $75 with a "for sale" date of October 9.
Send link to crackhead.
???
Profit.
Your solution is rather obvious. Who here didn't think of that?!!? The issue is whether the OP can just arbitrarily sell the collateral without legal issues in the future.