Gumtree rant

[dickm]

Do any forum members try to sell stuff via Gumtree? And if so, do you get what my daughter calls a load of "flakes"? Folk who contact you, ask inane questions but still give the impression they are serious, even offer a sensible cash price and fix a time. Then disappear.

Just put the old Golf Estate on Gumtree and so far had two standard flakes and several incomprehensible emails.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

[marcros]

there are endless automated responses on gumtree, asking questions that appear genuine but are not.

 

[paulm]

It's useful for low value and/or bulky stuff that you wouldn't want to have to post, and it is fee free (unless you pay for a pinned ad), but yes, can get a fair few time wasters along the way !

I guess it's because there is no feedback system, so folk can mess you around, for whatever reason, and there's no comeback on them. Facebay local groups are another similar outlet, with very slightly more (but still not much ) protection, but again pretty useful for some stuff

 

[Ttrees]

Do any forum members try to sell stuff via Gumtree? And if so, do you get what my daughter calls a load of "flakes"? Folk who contact you, ask inane questions but still give the impression they are serious, even offer a sensible cash price and fix a time. Then disappear.

Just put the old Golf Estate on Gumtree and so far had two standard flakes and several incomprehensible emails.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

A golf estate !!!
I think you may be better off selling on a property website instead :lol:

 

[whatknot]

I use Gumtree a fair bit to buy and sell, most of the time I have positive experiences but you do get some muppets as you do everywhere

As its free at least for lower priced items (not sure for cars) its one of those things you have to put up with

There is also Preloved, not so much footfall but again its free, and you can renew adverts without having to redo them (or pay) as you do on Gumtree

I would imagine you get more muppets with cars than other lower cost items

Do any forum members try to sell stuff via Gumtree? And if so, do you get what my daughter calls a load of "flakes"? Folk who contact you, ask inane questions but still give the impression they are serious, even offer a sensible cash price and fix a time. Then disappear.

Just put the old Golf Estate on Gumtree and so far had two standard flakes and several incomprehensible emails.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

[nev]

Yep, timewaster central.

Also don't put your phone number on the ad.
Recently I advertised a cheap car on Gumtree and subsequently received at least 3 phone calls a day greeting me by my listed gumtree name concerning my 'recent motor collision'. All from different numbers, landlines and mobiles. Removed the advert and they stopped immediately.
Lesson learnt.

 

[RogerP]

Tried all the free selling sites at one time or another with mixed success but overall too many idiots and time wasters. I stick to eBay and have had no real problems in 15 years or so. Okay it's not free but can be quite cheap if you choose to list when various offers appear.

 

[whatknot]

ebay is okay and it depends on what you are selling

I have had more problems with ebay scammers than any of the others, mainly as Gumtree & Preloved are generally cash on collection

I have had a few on ebay who claim it didn't arrive or mess you around in other ways, paypal will always refund the buyer, no matter what you say

Tried all the free selling sites at one time or another with mixed success but overall too many idiots and time wasters. I stick to eBay and have had no real problems in 15 years or so. Okay it's not free but can be quite cheap if you choose to list when various offers appear.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

We no longer use eBay, primarily because when we did have a problem with a couple of out and out frauds eBay and PayPal were both as much use as chocolate kettles.

 

[Robbo3]

I've sold several items on Gumtree up to a value of £100. I give a PAYG mobile number & ask buyers to be patient if they want a text reply as I have to get one of the kids to do it for me. That protects my landline number.
The email address I use is a throwaway one. If it gets compromised in any way I close it & create a new one.
I get lots of offers around half of the asking price, occasional offers from people who have just got home from the pub - you can tell by the time stamp & the slurred typing , & checks from Gumtree staff (probably automated) about a week before the advert runs out. It took me some time to work them out.
If the items don't sell, I delete the advert & repost it so it goes to the top of the list again.

 

[disco_monkey79]

Also be careful if you're buying on Ebay and the seller has put their phone number in the listing.

I recently won an auction at around the £100 mark. I got in contact within about an hour of it finishing, and in the meantime, someone had already called, pretending to be the winning bidder.

If I'd paid by Paypal, then there was a chance the scammer could have collected the goods that I had paid for. Fortunately, because I'd got in touch promptly, the seller told the scammer where to go (and I paid cash on collection).

 

[AJB Temple]

I presume you guys are aware that eBay owns Gumtree and harvests the data.
Also Distance Selling Regulations do not apply to private sellers on eBay because DSR does not cover that category, but business sellers must abide by DSR as law in the UK does not regard eBay as legally an auction. (Auctions are exempt from DSR).
Remember also that PayPal in Europe/UK is a Luxembourg bank and not regulated by the FCA or PRA in the UK. Therefore you cannot use Financial Ombudsman Service to resolve issues and there is no effective UK complaints process.
Be careful in managing the size of your transaction risk with these guys....

 

[whatknot]

I confess I for one didn't know Gumtree was owned by ebay, although what difference it makes I don't know

I had an inkling that there was a connection given the number of items you see linked to ebay ;-)

I presume you guys are aware that eBay owns Gumtree and harvests the data.
Also Distance Selling Regulations do not apply to private sellers on eBay because DSR does not cover that category, but business sellers must abide by DSR as law in the UK does not regard eBay as legally an auction. (Auctions are exempt from DSR).
Remember also that PayPal in Europe/UK is a Luxembourg bank and not regulated by the FCA or PRA in the UK. Therefore you cannot use Financial Ombudsman Service to resolve issues and there is no effective UK complaints process.
Be careful in managing the size of your transaction risk with these guys....

 

[transatlantic]

I find facebook to be easiest. Very quick, very simple.

 

[whatknot]

So *did* I

Until one day my personal account was disabled and despite many attempts to regain it I never did

I had a selling page and that also disappeared

So all the work I had done to start it off and organise it, all the contacts made, photo albums uploaded

All gone

So i wouldn't rely on facebook for long term if I were you

I find facebook to be easiest. Very quick, very simple.

 

[transatlantic]

Oh - I thought we were talking about one off sales

 

[whatknot]

It doesn't matter if its a one off or more, if you get cut off from your account you your posts disappear, as do your items for sale or items you are in the process of purchasing

If you cannot access your account all contact is lost both ways

Oh - I thought we were talking about one off sales

 

[Mark A]

I find facebook to be easiest. Very quick, very simple.

A couple of years ago I was after a trailer. Facebook was suggested by my sister, so I logged in and began searching for relevant groups. There's thousands :shock: I'm not a Facebook user and find the ergonomics of the website frustratingly unintuitive and clunky, so it could just be me, but as a buyer I found myself a bit lost.

Simple websites like eBay and Gumtree are easy to navigate: type "trailer" into the box, select nearest first and you're away. Facebook, on the other hand, required me joining umpteen number of groups, was banned for something like a fortnight for joining too many at once, then when I was eventually permitted to log in it took hours and hours to browse through. Yes, there is a rudimentary search box for each particular group, but I found it wasn't very effective.

If there's an easier way please tell me! I have come across some interesting things for sale on Facebook the few times I've searched, but the post's old and the item likely already sold.

Mark

 

[transatlantic]

I find facebook to be easiest. Very quick, very simple.

A couple of years ago I was after a trailer. Facebook was suggested by my sister, so I logged in and began searching for relevant groups. There's thousands :shock: I'm not a Facebook user and find the ergonomics of the website frustratingly unintuitive and clunky, so it could just be me, but as a buyer I found myself a bit lost.

Simple websites like eBay and Gumtree are easy to navigate: type "trailer" into the box, select nearest first and you're away. Facebook, on the other hand, required me joining umpteen number of groups, was banned for something like a fortnight for joining too many at once, then when I was eventually permitted to log in it took hours and hours to browse through. Yes, there is a rudimentary search box for each particular group, but I found it wasn't very effective.

If there's an easier way please tell me! I have come across some interesting things for sale on Facebook the few times I've searched, but the post's old and the item likely already sold.

Mark

Well I have only ever sold things on there using the market place. You take a photo, add a description and then its done.

 

[Mark A]

Never heard of Facebook Marketplace until now. A search for trailers locally found lots of results - some quite nice for reasonable money.

I'm sorry I paid £1600 +vat for my Indespension two years ago now. Thanks Transatlantic for opening my eyes [CRYING FACE]

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