Sold Item Not Sold

[VillagesFlorida]

Wondering if anyone has had this happen to an item you have listed For Sale using the new Panjo site? I listed a TV yesterday and today had some interaction with a potential buyer. Agreed they will come tomorrow to pay for the TV and pick it up. About an hour ago a different person contacted me asking if the TV was still available. I told him that I felt it might be sold but, in the event the deal falls through I would email him tomorrow. Now, all seems to be going well with this listing and potential sale. Now, I get an email notifying me that my item has been marked " Sold" . The buyer is not someone I recognize, either by name or email address listed in this notice to me. The purchase price does not agree with the amount I accepted. Anyone have any idea why someone would go to these lengths to interfere in my transaction when, clearly, he will not ever see this TV? Am I missing something? What is in it for this person? Right about now I am not impressed with this site and I feel invaded.

[lanabanana73]

The problem is, that this Panjo Marketplace offers a "Buy Now" option on each listing. You are not required to contact the seller to discuss the purchase. It's extremely confusing! I wish it was not an option.

[VillagesFlorida]

Ok, I did not notice that as an option. And, I don't like it. I was in the middle of discussions with my prospective buyer when this other apparent buyer swooped in. Sure makes me look like an idiot. I feel bad for the person who hit the " Buy It Now" button if that is what happened. I also feel some loyalty to the person I was dealing with before this happened. This problem needs to be addressed so that sellers are not caught in the middle between buyers. No way was I going to mark my listing " Sold" until I finished my dealings with the first purchaser. What a mess.

[Indydealmaker]

Ok, I did not notice that as an option. And, I don't like it. I was in the middle of discussions with my prospective buyer when this other apparent buyer swooped in. Sure makes me look like an idiot. I feel bad for the person who hit the " Buy It Now" button if that is what happened. I also feel some loyalty to the person I was dealing with before this happened. This problem needs to be addressed so that sellers are not caught in the middle between buyers. No way was I going to mark my listing " Sold" until I finished my dealings with the first purchaser. What a mess.

You are right that the new format causes confusion. The first buyer is not actually your first buyer. He was your first "looker". All of these transactions are first come first served. Your item is not sold until someone clicks on the Buy Now button. If you decide that you want to take a chance on a "potential" buyer, then YOU should click on the "Buy Now" button. That will keep your experience from happening. The item will be marked as sold. If your "Looker" decides against the buy, you can always relist.

[VillagesFlorida]

Thank you for helping me understand this! I really wish the format was the old style that was easy to work with....no issues talking back and forth, answering questions from buyers, etc. This is just a setup for problems in my opinion.

[Indydealmaker]

Thank you for helping me understand this! I really wish the format was the old style that was easy to work with....no issues talking back and forth, answering questions from buyers, etc. This is just a setup for problems in my opinion.

If used properly, the new approach takes better advantage of a digital medium. The old approach is less efficient. When you have to wait for a phone call, it always comes at a time that is convenient for the Buyer, not the seller. When questions come by digital message, the seller can respond at his convenience at all hours of the day and night.

The Buyer has the opportunity to lock up item even at 3:00 a.m. and if you use Paypal, you can even have the money in your account by the time you get up in the morning.

Those types of items that most often require a personal inspection prior to a commitment do not have to gum up the works because most of your buyers are going to want look before buying, so everybody still has the same chance as with the old system.

With other items, many people, particularly those with lots of online buying experience, realize the importance of just "buy now" and worry later about having to re-sell it themselves if it is not just right.

[philnpat]

Another problem I see with selling on Panjo is you must list the dollar amount you are asking. If you are looking for "best offer" the website will not accept the listing.

[billybye]

I liked the old site. If you do not add a pix, your item will not come up when someone might be searching for what you have for sale.
I do not have phone with picture taking ability. Listed a couple of items recently without pix and did not sell anything. With old site I never had a problem selling anything.
Progress??

[PANJO]

IndyDealMarker - great responses.

Hi - this is Chad form the Panjo marketplace support team.

I'll start with an important fact - all listings get a "buy it now" button. That button either a) goes to a page where a buyer can pay you with a credit or debit card or b) goes to a form so the buyer can submit his/her name and contact info to you.

VillagesFlorida - when you created your listing you selected the option "I want to collect payment on my own." This pointed the "buy it now" button to a form to collect a potential buyer's information. You communicated with a prospective buyer over the message system. At the point you promised the TV to someone, but the transaction hadn't fully completed, you could have marked the item as sold so that you didn't get any more inquiries about the TV. I understand that is work and I don't blame you for not taking that action. As a result, someone who was VERY interest in the TV, as you priced it and as you described it, clicked the buy it now button. The system automatically marked the item as 'sold' at that point so that no one else would try to inquire or purchase. Upon receiving the email from the individual who completed the web form, you could have simply responded by saying, "I a sorry, the TV is already sold. You beat me to the listing. I hadn't yet updated the status of the listing. Have a nice day. Signed, your beautiful, smart, kind, neighbor :-)"

There is a question/comment about about price negotiation - there is a price negotiation system built into the message system. Let's say you list a bed for $100. Let's say a prospective buyer says, "Will you take $50?" The message system gives you the ability to respond to the buyer with a check out page to pay the $50. That offer will only be visible to that one buyer. NOW... let's say you do all that. Now let's say that between the time you agree to $50 and the buyer paying the $50, the listing is still live and still listed for $100 and someone else comes along and pays $100. Good news - you just got $100 instead of $50 for your item.

All this said, at Panjo, we recognize that we can improve the clarity of these tools and features. We understand we can improve the messaging to buyers and sellers about next steps and options. We are working on those improvements thanks to your feedback.

Thanks a bunch for asking this question. I hope my comments above help you sell, browse, and buy with more joy, success, and confidence.

[Indydealmaker]

The old way of selling items was more user friendly. Many of us would like panjo gone...

How was the "old way" more user friendly?

Keep in mind that it is NEVER a good idea to put your phone number online. It is there forever and can be one component for ID theft or burglary. A phone number can get you a street address and unanswered phone call tells the bad guy you are not at home and that television you have for sale is just waiting to be ripped off.

[Fraugoofy]

The steps to posting were quicker and u had more personal contact w the buyer!

[Indydealmaker]

The steps to posting were quicker and u had more personal contact w the buyer!

This new classified approach does not preclude the seller and buyer talking.

If the buyer wants to talk, he can message you privately and include his phone number. If not, he just buys. All this can take place 24/7.

I can't tell you how many times I have called to tell a seller I want to buy only to have to leave a message. Seller comes home and picks up messages. The first messages are the last to be heard. So, someone who called after me is quite often the one who gets the item because the seller does not think it through. He does not care anyway. He just wants a sale.

Emailing your interest can end up with the same problem. People tend to read the last one first. So, you, as the early bird don't get the worm.

[billybye]

The steps to posting were quicker and u had more personal contact w the buyer!

I agree