The only thing asked for was for both parties to honor their word. However unreasonable the agreement may seem to you, that was what was agreed upon by both parties. That is what is relevant. You can ask for a pink fluffy elephant in exchange for holding something for someone, nobody cares. What you think the deal should have been, or what you think the seller should have agreed to, or what you think is fair is completely irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that the seller agreed to do something of their own accord and chose not to honor their word. Feel free to justify away, those facts (according to warjohn of course) will not change. Is there anything else you did not say? I am sure we would all be interested in hearing what it was not.
My point of view exactly. I"ve been in business for a long time and absolutely despise folks whose word is not worth a dime. You break your word with me and you are classified for good.
The seller in this case gave his word that he would keep the saw for the buyer, so they had a deal. It doesn" matter imo if the buyer showed up within 20' or 30', that timeframe stays within reasonable limits.
I buy a lot of oldie saws and sometimes sell a few newer ones to finance the hobby. Experience has learned me that there are a lot of bad buyers and sellers, and that fellowship is growing by the day.
On the purchasing side :
get there fast if you want it ; people won't hold it for you even if you have their word. Always call before you leave to pick it up otherwise you might be driving for nothing.
Stay clear of buyers that say 'make me an offer'. They just use your offer to mark up the price. My motto is if you want to sell something, gather info and determine your selling price
on the selling side :
Lowballers who make ridicule offers....phony bidders that crawl back into their hole once you accept their bid, "firm" buyers who don't show up because they suddenly found a better deal, etc, you name it.
I don't allow bidding anymore on my ads...it's a firm price, take it or leave it. No bargaining on the phone. I seldom accept to "keep" items for the potential buyer, unless he pays in advance.
Like Jacob mentioned, in consumer to consumer business, you have to have a very thick skin nowadays. But, you also happen to meet very interesting folks that compensate for a great deal the bad encounters you make. It's so rewarding to do business with honoust folks. Think about that when you want to buy or sell something in the future.