gnoahhh wrote Today at 9:58am:


I don't see it that way.  Clear selling rules versus friendly aren't mutually exclusive.  There was nothing hostile or unfriendly about the initial sale in this thread.  The ultimate buyer very politely allowed the seller (and other buyer) an opportunity to say "I'll take it unconditionally" or "I'm working out details with another seller".   

I have myself more than once as a buyer, deferred to someone that wanted it after me, that expressed that they would like to have it.  And seen others do the same.

Where I see these disagreements rising is when something is very much underpriced, and people feel slighted if they aren't the one that gets the bargain.  It gets worse when someone that wants a bargain, but doesn't want to commit, wants to tie up the item for themselves by asking questions, to make sure the bargain is as good as it looks before they commit.  And then gets butthurt when it gets sold to someone else.  Somehow, the greed in us, brings out the worst in us.  Politeness in that case could take the form of saying "I'd like to know the diameter this casts as, but feel free to sell to someone else if you don't want to hold it".  Or a conditional:  "I'll definitely buy it if you know it casts at .323 to .324".   

When things are priced at market, where a person can easily buy it somewhere else for that amount, I see a lot of good natured comments back and forth like :  "Thanks, Jack, glad you bought that highwall.  I don't need another and you saved me money."   

If the mold in this particular case had been priced at $250, there would have been no dispute about people asking for pictures, measurements, etc.  It's the perceived loss of the bargain that brought out the resentment.

I talk a lot, and talks cheap.  But, I'll put my money where my mouth is.

As a friendly collegiate gesture, I'll make the following offer to the offended party only:

I have a 25 caliber mold, Dave Mos.  I don't know what it casts, haven't cast with it.  A member here kindly sold it to me for a great price.  I'll pass it on to Gnoahhh for the same price.  $135 plus $10 to ship it.  If you know Mos molds, this is a very good bargain.

To be clear, my terms are:  A public "I'll take it" here, without conditions buys it.  AND, it is for sale to no-one else, just Gnoahhh.

I find it astonishing that such a minor disagreement can balloon into such an endless litany that we've all been watching. I'd love to play Devil's advocate on this but instead I think that I'll just sit on my stump, eat my popcorn and watch it till it runs out of gas.