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Offended! What would you do?

(38 Posts)
LizH13 Fri 06-Feb-26 10:18:22

I advertised my cooker for sale and got an expression of interest quite quickly. The lady said she’d come 2 days later. Then she messaged and said it would be two more days before she came, her message made it obvious she would have the cooker. She arrived 30 mins late checked it out and said could we help her get it in the car (fortunately an estate type) She reversed the car closer to the house and set about making space in the boot. In all this time she only asked about the condition and safety of the cooker. Before we put the cooker in my husband asked if she had the money, she said ‘yes, I wasn’t just going to drive off!’ then got the money for us. We helped lift it into the car. As she turned to go she suddenly said she was ‘VERY OFFENDED’ that we had asked her for the money!!
We were both really shocked and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head all night. Surely you pay for goods before taking them She also insisted on a receipt and statement that the cooker had no faults.
Is it a cultural thing that some people just like to take offence. I’m so upset

Whiff Sat 07-Feb-26 05:39:25

She knew you where selling and agreed to buy it so why would she be offended you asked for the money.
When you buy from an individual you take it on trust it's what they say it is. If she wanted guarantees then she should have brought it from a shop.

I haven't sold anything but given things to charity or advertised things on can't remember if it was called buy nothing or pay nothing local site . The freezer and separate fridge worked that I gave to a charity even had the manuals which I taped to them. I had new kitchen so they wouldn't fit . Things on the pay nothing site where old but still in good condition. And people where happy with them.

SORES Sat 07-Feb-26 05:49:57

I would have sent it to Emmaus or the BHF, or any other local charity who would come to collect it, check it sell it.
That she messed you about before she even came to pick it up was a clue to her mindset.
So she was offended ?! so what! pay up, lady! Sold as seen.

BlueBelle Sat 07-Feb-26 06:29:06

I think you should have held your hand out before loading it.

How it works for me is they get to look at the item I m selling, they say yes or no, I hold my hand out for the money and say thank you, then, and only then I give them the item.

I think the cultural sentence is an unnecessary add on.
I don’t think either of you should be offended she obviously felt you didn’t trust her and you felt upset that she felt that !!!

AuntieE Fri 13-Feb-26 14:10:37

Surely, it does not matter whether you pay before putting the article you have arranged to buy into your car or afterwards, when buying from a private home?

Here everyone puts the thing they have agreed to buy in the car, or bag, then pays for it, not the other way around.

Like your customer I would have been offended if you had ask for the payment before I had even got into my car!

Labradora Fri 13-Feb-26 16:38:02

LizH13 I don't think you have to do anything.
Don't sweat the small stuff ! Life's too short! Clichés I know but they have some sense.
" Don't give it another thought" as a delightful ex-boyfriend of mine used to say when I was worrying unnecessarily about something.

Furret Fri 13-Feb-26 16:40:10

Silly woman. Forget her.

62Granny Fri 13-Feb-26 17:05:28

You are lucky, when I advertised mine, it said in the advert it would not be available till a set day, they initially wanted to come that day to collect, then agreed that the specified day was ok, I messaged the day before to confirm they still wanted it and they confirmed, did they turn up did they heck🙄
Never heard another peep from them.
The scrappy took it.

Franski Fri 13-Feb-26 17:35:16

Maybe when you say culture, are ypu saying maybe she wasnt a native English speaker..or that she is from a different cultural background..? I have a couple of friends who come from other countries, where people tend to be more direct. I know they dont mean to be rude so I just smile.

Visgir1 Fri 13-Feb-26 17:44:58

Agree... Money before goods.. A while ago my chum sold quite a substantial piece of furniture, she was given a Cheque, but did ask for Name and Address by the couple who bought it. Cheque bounce, plus not known at address given. Bank unable to help or trace.

M0nica Fri 13-Feb-26 20:36:32

I am afraid I am more robust. if someone did that to me, I would have told her, that as she had loaded the car without money even being meentioned and as I didn't know her, How was I to know that she wasn't about to do runner

Like others I would have actually brought the matter up earlier and not have loaded the cooker into the car until I was paid.

As for signing a piece of paper to say it had no faults, never do that. Supposing something got broken in the journey back to her house or because it was badly handled when she got home. You would soon have had her banging on the door demanding her money back. I doubt she would have returned the cooker.

CariadAgain Fri 13-Feb-26 21:42:48

I must admit I'm surprised at that viewpoint that goes "sold as seen" being expressed - as obviously something works unless we're told specifically that it doesnt work. Meaning = how can one tell something does really work if all we're told is "sold as seen"? Just because something doesn't look visibly broken doesn't necessarily mean = "Yep it works and I the seller am responsible if it doesnt work".

Yep....you can tell someone who has done volunteer work in a couple of charity shops in my time - and most of the time the donated goods are in sufficiently okay condition to donate them. But "there's always a few" and I was gobsmacked that there are people who do donate goods to charity shops that are only fit to be binned instantly and wonder why the heck they do it. There's books with missing pages. There's books with notes on (some of them even get sold on Amazon). There's clothing that is stained.

So yep there are people who will move goods on to other people when they aren't actually fit to sell or donate.....

Some people don't think logically and don't care. I've had that one in my own home before now - ie back when I took lodgers in my last house to start with and the main lodger room included a light I had acquired the normal way (ie bought it new) sitting in the room that was absolutely fine of course when I let it out to a particular lodger. Cue for some months later she left - and I checked the room and my own darn light electrocuted me!!!!! She'd obviously damaged it in some non-visible way and not admitted it to me - ie as I'd have obviously charged her for its replacement. Goodness knows it was only a cheap desk light and it was owned by me - but she'd "passed it back to me" damaged without saying a word (and her a chapel-going "Christian" according to her too).

Then there was the lodger who passed my bought new for the lodgers single bed back to me on leaving his tenancy. I gave up taking in lodgers at that point and had arranged to sell the bed to someone - cue for me taking my mattress cover off the mattress and yep...."sold as seen" would have meant they'd bought a bed not fit for use off me. I had morals - and so I told them "Very sorry - but that lodger was even worse than I thought he was and he owes me a new bed...because he's 'gone to the loo' on that bed and should have paid me for it - but didnt admit he was a dirty lout and owed me".

So - yep...no-one should take anything as "sold as seen" - because of the number of people without morals there are out there and the buyer has no way of knowing if the seller is actually trying to sell them something that is unsaleable.

LemonJam Sat 14-Feb-26 11:53:05

It's highly unusual for buyers to ask for a written statement that a second hand electrical item being sold has "no faults". The seller can and would be sensible to decline to offer such a written guarantee as "no faults" is almost impossible to guarantee. The buyer can always take someone with some electrical knowledge with them to help with the inspection of said item should they choose.

The process is quite straightforward-
1) Seller advertises item,
2) potential buyer declares interest
3) buyer's responsibility to check the item in person and ensure that they are satisfied with the item as they see it on inspection, ie "sold as seen" is the term most frequently used
4) buyer brings up any matters they wish to negotiate- e.g. if I buy can you help me get it into the car? If I buy will you provide a warranty/statement guaranteeing item has no faults?
5) seller confirms their terms of sale- price, yes/no help into car etc
6) Buyer, with full understanding of sellers terms makes an offer to buy or declines to purchase
7) Seller decides whether to accept buyer's offer and agrees price if so
8) money changes hands- purchase made.

Following such a straightforward process cuts down risk of the problems OP faced.

Not sure why any buyer should have a problem with a seller's terms 'sold as seen'. The onus is on the buyer to be satisfied the item meets their requirements on viewing. If they don't like such terms don't buy- simple. Find another seller or shop that offers the terms that you're looking for. That can be sorted out on the phone at an early stage.

If you find a book in a charity shop with a missing page- kindly point it out to one of the shop assistants as that may not have been obvious when the book was donated - and decline to make a purchase.