Why "PM Sent"?

B

Benjamin Marks

Veteran
Local time
4:55 PM
Joined
Mar 27, 2005
Messages
3,340
I am curious about something: Why do RFF'ers write "PM sent" in response to classified ads? Since the seller will get the PM, there is no need to alert him/her via the BB system. It seems likely to (and intended to) discourage other interested parties -- the equivalent of blocking out on a rebound with elbows extended. If I were a seller, I'd find it infuriating, as it is my sale that is being interfered with. Was this practice imported from Fred Miranda or one of the other forums?

Quizzically,

Ben Marks
 
Well, this morning I saw a nifty 21/4.5 Biogon in the classifieds. I clicked on the ad and saw two "PM Sent" messages. I then thought, "why bother indicating interest" and moved on to other things. I assume that I am not the only ad viewer who had this reaction. There are many ways to choose a purchaser other than "first come, first serve": you might prefer one in driving distance or in your country, you might prefer someone you know, you might prefer a higher price, you might prefer a money order rather than paypal . . . now the seller, who has paid for an ad, never gets to evaluate my offer and it is because of the actions of other potential purchasers. That isn't really what the seller paid for is it?

Ben Marks
 
It's thoughtless at best. All it does is discourage other inquires at the expense of the seller. If I had to choose between two equally good offers, I'd pick the buyer who didn't to that "PM Sent" bulls#!t.
 
It's the excitement of the purchase that makes people do it. I used to do it because I saw others doing it and assumed it to be classifieds etiquette. Now I know better...
 
Double Negative said:
But those previous "PM sent" messages could just be lowballs or trade offers, etc. If you have genuine interest in the article, it wouldn't hurt to send a PM. You never know - even if one of those prior PMs was a legitimate buy offer it could still fall through for some reason. Buyers back out or have remorse.

Until it says "sold" or "pending" go for it. Even then it might still be worthwhile if a buyer backs out...
Click to expand...

You are right that those are possibilities. My own experience has been that when I have done as you suggest, nothing has come of it. And of course that might have been true if no "PM sent" message were attached to the ad. But the fact that I could take those actions does not change the fact that the potential buyers are interfering with the seller getting the full benefit of his ad. And I am willing to bet that if nothing comes of the first "PM sent" notice that the PM-poster does not remove it from the queue. I have no proof, of course, I'm just sayin'
 
In my experience, when someone writes "PM sent" on one of my ads, it means they'd like to pay about 1/2 my asking price, and live outside of where I said I will ship to. Therefore, posting PM sent just alerts me to delete their PM before reading it.

All of my successful transactions have an email to me (available through the system here), or a PM in my inbox without the PM Sent on the ad.

Emails will always have a priority over PMs.
 
This is why when I post an ad, I usually ask that no one respond "PM Sent" unless that PM is an offer to buy at my asking price.
It has been my experience (and I have sold quite a bit here) that once a "PM Sent" message is left, the volume of inquiries on an item drops dramatically. Many would-be buyers just assume the item has sold.
 
As for the agreement of a willing buyer and willing seller, what does "fair" have to do with it as far as third-parties go? Fastest trigger finger on the "I'll take it" key on your computer means nothing unless the seller has said that is what he or she is after. "First come, first serve" has the whiff of even-handedness about it, but no one acts that way when selling anything of consequence and none of us should be distracted by it. It is a red herring. Buyers and sellers are always evaluating the entire package of an offer, no?

Ben Marks

And by the way, the whining of which you complain is a community trying to set its norms -- I have seen several posts here from different points of view -- the reason for the OP was to elicit those responses, and to put forth my own views, of course. How are you to know how to behave unless you know what your community thinks?
 
Last edited:
This thread is interesting. I, too, put PM sent because that is what I saw people doing when I first joined and thought that was the norm on RFF. I have lived through earlier discussions about posting "PM sent" so I no longer do so, unless I send a PM agreeing to all the seller's conditions. I do that because there seem to have been times when one way (PM, posting) did not work and the redundance was helpful. In particular, the limited capacity of the seller's box could mean that (s)he never gets the PM and the post indicates that there is a potential buyer.
Happy to comply with whatever works but we should then be clear about it because there have been different signals given.
 
dude

dude

please! If I pay for an ad here, I'm going to sell to whoever I want to.

Writing PM Sent under an ad here, says nothing except "I'm a dodo" and am too busy to just write a real PM or email and buy the thing.

chippy said:
seems to be a lot of angst and complaining over a very trivial thing to me, present company exempted of course, but its usually the people that buy and sell on the forums as side buisness (buy and flip!) that most often complain about "PM sent", because it somewhat slightly hinders the benifit it provides sellers, to 'screen' the buyers and possibly get a higher price or sell to someone (else) closer (?).

the answer and alternatives are simple, when someone leaves a "PM sent" in your advert, you can reply, as is customary and accepted etiquette with a "Still Available". on many forums that also provides the seller with a bump to the top for thier advert which is advantageous to the seller!!..

as for prefering to sell to someone closer (or other such reason) that replied, at a later date, than someone offering to purchase first, within the parameters (inc price) of your advert, usually strikes people (buyers) as unfair DUH!, which is another reason why they leave the PM sent sign.

if the seller prefers to sell to someone closeby, stipulate it in the Ad or better still, sell via a different medium that is designed for local, instead of using the wider market to collect the higher price, when in fact you dont have any intention to sell to that market!...in other words, if you advertise worldwide or nationwide then you take first come first serve--pot luck and stop whining!
Click to expand...
 
There is no question the forum software is qlichy. I have been on both ends of not getting PM's .If I tell a seller to check their PM it is simply to let them know I've sent one. Pretty sure that is what's going on 90% of the time. Sellers can sell to whomever they want. This whole PM sent negativity is strange honestly.
 
Last time I sold something here on RFF I got really annoyed by someone who sent three PM's and also wrote "PM sent" for each one. I replied to the first PM, saying that the item was sold pending payment but the person persisted.
Now I just ignore them.
 
I would much prefer that the site disable ALL remarks on ads. Not that I have anything against it per se. Most of the things I've sold usually get remarks like "great price, or nice setup, or if I hadn't already bought one of these" etc. I do it myself if I see someone else's ad that has something that's nice. But none of this is really what I'm after. I want the money, honey. It's a crass, commercial transaction. Not looking to sell to "the rangefinderforum community" whatever that is. It's a free system to join, and any old stranger can, so that means less than zero. I want to trade what I have for cash. I'm looking for someone who is interested in trading their money for my item. That's all, and the comments don't do anything for this, and sometimes, as others have said, it hinders the process.
 
chippy said:
if you have to ask, then theres little point explaining what fair means :rolleyes:

if your OP was only to elicit comment, i.e. to draw out remarks to see what other views there might be, then why are you getting so hot under the collar if someone has an alternate view!!!! why not take the point made and accept it as it was given and the time taken to respond!..to object so vehemently suggests rather than eliciting a response you are simply wanting people to agree or you are lobbying for a no PM sent rule
Click to expand...

I think you are missing the point: the concept of "fairness" you espouse is nonsensical. But, fair enough. I take from your post that you think first-come, first serve is the right way to run a marketplace, even one as casual as that on RFF.

I think it is pretty clear from my original post that I am against the practice, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be defended cogently by someone who had given it some thought. Your characterization of the opinions expressed here as "whining" may have been a careless or hasty choice of words, but it does suggest strongly that you don't really care about the opinions expressed here. Take a deep breath. It's OK. We were all young once.
 
I tend to be more discriminating when posting "PM sent" after I send a PM to the seller. If I'm seriously interested enough to buy with little reservation, I'll post the message after the PM. If curious and want to discuss the item with the seller, I'll send a PM without announcing it on the forum so as not to disuade other buyers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom