We have reached the point in our stay in India where I oscillate between frantically trying to cram in the people and things that I still want to see and panicking about all the work that we have to do to get our butts home to Canada. This week, the pack-panic is winning. We brought relatively little with us when we came over, as we had chosen to find a “furnished” house and receive a smaller shipment via air freight. The limitation of this is that we only have the same physical space in which to ship our goods home in. We leave in three weeks, and, until recently, I had done little more than think about this daunting task.
When we were on our look-see trip, we discovered that a furnished house has little more than the bare walls. We knew that we would have to acquire some items to make this a home, and over the course of the year we have, so the first task was for me to decide what to take and what to leave. This meant that I ushered Willy and the lils out of the house and did a complete inventory of every item, then decided if we pack or sell/donate. It took all day, but most of the decisions were not difficult, and we ended up with a fairly long list of items that we wished to sell. I posted that list on various message boards on Monday night. Luckily for us, almost all of the items had multiple interested parties within hours, and I am fairly confident that it will all be gone before we leave.
It had been so long since I tried to sell anything online that I had forgotten about the various types of buyers that there are out there, most of whom I had seen in my sales in Ottawa before I left. Over the last few days, I have interacted with the following types:
The Under-pricer: they commit to buying your items, but change the prices in their reply, hoping that you don’t notice before agreeing to the sale. We notice.
The Mooch: The person who wants to buy large items but doesn’t have a means to get them, so instead of trying to make arrangements just assumes that I will deliver them.
The Drive-by: They show up at your door with no warning and expect to be let in, or call/text, upset that you aren’t home. Hmm, maybe you should call first?!
The Wannabe hoarder: They try to buy the entire list, but are easily discouraged when you tell them that a few of the items are sold.
The Flake: They claim an item within minutes of it being posted, and then never show to pick it up, despite repeated assurances that they are “on their way”. For several days.
The Indignant flake: They ask to view or buy an item, never show up for the viewing, then get mad when it is sold to someone else.
The Under-cutter: they ask for a discount on EVERY item.
The All-or-none shopper: They find out that some of the items they requested are sold, so when asked if they want to make arrangements to pick up the rest of their list state “oh, I didn’t really want those things”
The Carpet bomber: They post their desire to purchase and item from multiple email accounts, responding on each list that I have posted the items for sale on.
The Doubter: They don`t believe you when you tell them that an item is sold.
The FOMO: they select a couple of items, are told they are sold, select a couple more, are told they are sold, select a couple of more…
The Jerk: They offer MORE money when told that the item has been spoken for, or even paid for!
This experience has taught me that these types of shoppers exist all over the world. The nice thing about it is that the people who have been successful in purchasing and picking up our items have been really prompt about it, and very happy with their purchases. It’s nice to know that our things are going on to nice homes. Now if only I had realized the ramifications of selling our sofas and chairs a full three weeks before we left…