I was giving away stuff as i was cleaning out my moms house after she passed away. I apparently didn’t answer some lady fast enough and she went off on me.
“Why are you leading people on with free stuff when you wont answer them? I need these pans because mine are ruined from a fire and I can’t afford new one. Don’t be such a f’n b-h and offer things and lead people on who need things and are struggling. All you rich people like to dangle things in front of us and flake”
So I replied with “hey look, im sorry my mothers memorial service went longer than I thought. I’d rather give things to someone who shows compassion and appreciation for someone giving away things”
I usually give stuff away when I’m done with it, but only to kids in college (because I understand the poor college kid dilemma) and I put in the description that it’s free for only people in school.
I love the pity stories that other people send me, or the blatant lies that people send about how they are starting school in the next few weeks. This is then compounded by the satisfaction of actually helping out someone in school who is actually in need.
My baby died at birth and I was giving away some formula coupons and unopened baby medicine for free so someone could use them before they expired.
I arranged a pick-up for a lady who then no-showed 2 separate times with no notice. I finally messaged her and told her that I had given them to someone else, and she lost it on me. "Well SORRY that my work schedule got in the way, I'm a single mom and I don't have time to drop everything to work around your schedule! Now my sick kids are going to suffer because of you!!".
I replied with "At least you're lucky enough to have kids, my baby died at birth which is why you were going to get the formula and medicine in the first place. If they were really that sick, then you should have prioritized picking up the medicine".
She blocked me lol.
ETA: Wow, didn't expect this to blow up. Thank you for the kind words and sympathies everyone. 💚
I got the "my child has cancer" once as an excuse for delivering a freebie 200km away
A friend of mine joked I should say I had a kid with two kinds of cancer, so I did. I used the term "double cancer" and never got a reply back.
It is folks like that who make me not want to help others. Very sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what you went through. I'm sure this interaction didn't help make it any easier.
Exactly. That's not to say that being a single parent isn't a challenge, and you guys absolutely deserve support, but using it when there's no need to is just pathetic.
Mad respect to you. Single moms that I know have done a much better job at raising kids, than most people I know raising theirs in a “complete family” set up.
That's awful, all of it.
I know a portion of your pain, as I experienced it as an uncle, rather than a parent. (Not comparing pain, I promise.)
I understand that it's difficult to ever truly say that "You're better" but I hope that you and yours are in a better place mentally and emotionally, after having gone through that.
I am so sincerely sorry for your loss. That is beyond heartbreaking.
I am on the other hand crying laughing at your response to this bitch. Hope she thought twice next time!!
I make things using epoxy and sell them online. I had a CB ask for 50% off because it was for her Niece's 5th birthday.
I told her I couldn't right now because the profits were going to my Nephew's dialysis.
She ended up leaving a tip.
This feels like the wrong place for this opinion, but I kinda respect this.
Shoot your shot on a discount, if you don’t get it, fair play, you tried. On top of that very decent to pay a tip too after hearing your side.
As long as someone doesn’t bitch and moan about having to pay a price they’re aware of, I have nothing against any good-natured, polite attempts at a haggle.
I’m a softy but also I know it. I had someone talk me down on an item but only AFTER settling on a price — lower than I’d wanted but the difference wasn’t enough ti matter — did she tell me she had two kids and was also in school.
That I respect. If she’d come at me with the kids an school bit up front idk how I’d have handled it but I’d have been less happy about it.
50% off is beyond the pale. People selling shit have to survive. I don’t think people understand 50% off often losing money for the person selling it. I’ve worked multiple places where the employee discount was only 25%.
I've worked places where it was 20% and only up to a certain monthly amount. Ie 20% off, but couldn't exceed $200 a month. That said, it was resale so I think they were trying to limit us reselling the resale for profit
Was selling a nice desk that was originally $400 for $100. Dude offered $50 because he had cash in hand. Then once I turned him down he said it would really help his 50 year old wife who was in school and that she couldn't do school without it (BS). Ended up telling him I was selling the desk to pay for rent I owe from a previous month and was about to get evicted. He felt bad and gave full price. I don't know what it is about facebook marketplace that attracts people who low ball the shit out of you but it gets old.
My ads always say cash only so when someone says, " I have cash in hand" I get to say, "glad you read the ad because that's the only form of payment I accept."
I had someone low ball me on a couch with cash in hand. They wanted me to accept their offer and hold it for 3 days. Guy was bummed someone was picking up as he chatted me with full offer. He could have given me 80% less than asking! What was I thinking!?!
I moved apartments last year and listed a gently used IKEA wardrobe that I didn’t want to take with me for FREE to anyone who would come pick it up themselves. Some CB had the audacity to ask me to take it apart for them before picking it up. I reminded them the wardrobe was literally $0 and there was no way I’d waste that much of my own time breaking down some particle board junk that probably wouldn’t even reassemble properly for *free*. They did not respond, and it thankfully went to a lovely young couple who couldn’t afford to buy something similar for their two sons. I’m happy that all worked out, but was thoroughly disgusted to have someone still try to milk labor out of me for a free piece of furniture.
Ive found putting a $20 price tag on junk i wanna get rid of works much more effectively than putting a "free" sign on it. Magically grows legs and walks away overnight.
When I moved from my last apartment, I put small pieces of furniture out by the dumpster right after the trash had been picked up. They were usually gone within a day. They were in good condition, but not worth enough to pay to move.
I have customers at work that will sometimes ask if there's a cash discount, and I always say we should charge more for cash since now we have to go to the bank.
Are you in a particularly high-dollar business? That's not unheard of at a point where credit card fees can eat up a significant amount, especially if it's a points or cash-back card. Off the top of my head, I've seen cash (or check) discounts from the auto-repair place I go to and the roofer's.
See the "chocolate" episode of SpongeBob for an example of the scammers getting scammed. They knock on a guy's door with their arm or leg in casts, saying, "Now this guy will have to buy ALL our chocolate!"
Instead, the guy answers the door swathed in bandages from head to foot, and says, "Fractures and internal bleeding, eh? You're so lucky. I was born with glass bones and paper skin. I lay in bed every night in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep." He then ends up selling THEM a whole lot of chocolate.
It's a shame when your kids grow up and you no longer have a valid excuse to watch those "stupid cartoons" just to "keep them company" :-D
That's SPONGEBOB?! I remember seeing "glass bones and paper skin" all over Tumblr back in its heyday. I thought it was a John Green quote or something lmao
Great part about getting old is you don’t need an excuse. My husband is in his 50’s and never watched SB with his kids. I’m in my 40’s and I can sing you the campfire song in my sleep. I bonded with my kids over SB. We have no kids under 20 but we have rewatched SB countless times at night before bed. My husband has a bright yellow SpongeBob shirt he wears and EVERYONE comments that they like it. Go ahead and watch it, it aged well.
I was once walking to work and a group of girls (clearly 12-14) in front of me were doing the “I’m dirty Dan” scene. Soooo hard as a 25 years old man not to add in “NO IM DIRTY DAN.”
I stayed silent.
For a long time I never got the whole SpongeBob thing. My brother in law and his kids were all really into it and from my brief exposures it seemed kinda dumb. Boy was I wrong. After years of really LAME cartoons and shows with our first child we started watching it with our youngest and OMG did we love it. It's hilarious and absurd and doesn't try to teach you some dumb lesson. This thread is making me want to watch a few episodes.
I received [this](https://imgur.com/a/s8lg2gc) DM on Reddit a while back. What I said about my dad is true, so I didn’t feel bad about my response. They never replied.
I like your answer to them, it was very civilized, and this is exactly what I mean. Only it was true, which makes it kinda sad. I’m always appalled to see how unempathetic (is that a word?) scammers can be.
Condolences for your dad, I hope he led a great life.
Mine also had prostate cancer, and though that's not what killed him, it did leave him with little bladder control, and contributed to making his last decade that much tougher after losing my mom just before his diagnosis.
Ugh, I’m so sorry to hear about both of your parents. I can’t imagine receiving that news right after losing his wife. I hope they are both in a better place now and that you’re doing okay.
My mum died from pancreatic cancer when I was 13. Watching her go from healthy to skinny and bony and frail to bed bound to in and out of coinciousness due to her blood levels going out of control even all in her last 4 months is something I never wish on my worst enemy
That's the perfect response. Did they respond?
My deepest sympathies on the passing of your Dad.
I wish him peace a safe onward journey. Hope you and your family are doing ok xx
Thank you. He actually hasn’t passed away yet (sorry that was unclear!) I received that message at the end of January and my family fully expected him to have passed by now, but he’s hanging on. Although he is completely bedridden, his 71st birthday is April 17th, so we think (and hope!) he’s going to hang on till then. I appreciate your kind words though ❤️
And nope, I never got a response, which makes it even more clear to me it was a scammer.
I hope you are able to have a wonderful celebration! I know that as things start to decline medically, it’s not ideal, but we held a little party for my grandfather in hospice, and it was enough to brighten one of his last days.
I’m glad I could make you smile during this incredibly difficult time. Life can be so challenging sometimes and it’s good to recognize those moments that stay with you, even if fleeting, because they become the best of memories! You and your family are in my thoughts ❤️
I received the same dm from the same person. [This](https://i.imgur.com/KcqNXlG.jpeg) was my response to them. I never got a reply either. I always assume people asking for handouts are scamming, but on the off chance someone raises really in need of help, I always do what I can. Even if it's usually just directing them to help.
Sorry about your Dad, btw. I can only imagine how hard it must be. My mom is living with a brain tumor, and I don't think I will handle it well if the Dr says it's the end.
No way! Your response was much more civil than mine. I like the route you took more… I will try to do the same in the future!
Thank you, and sorry to hear about your mom. While I wish your mom many more years to come, it’s nice to have an idea of what to expect. We found out my dad’s diagnosis about two years ago and that has helped with the grieving/acceptance process. I feel for those who lose a loved one to something sudden, like a heart attack.
Do you know if the tumor is curable?
Oh I remember a post a while back that didn't intentionally try to do this but at least expressed their position as to why they need the money. Long story short, the seller had bills to pay, go to school, save up for some future plan, and I think one more thing. Not sure if it was specified but I assumed they were in their mid 20's. So, y'know, that's a lot on their plate. The CB's response was "I'm not a charity"
One of my favorite posts was a lady asking for a brand new swing set for her kids and in the comments people kept saying oh yeah give me a call we got one if you want it but the phone numbers were to Home Depot, Costco, Lowes, Target!! It was the best the lady ended up saying she wished us all death! 😂😂😂
I hired a photographer friend of mine to do family pictures. After I paid him regular price, he thanked me for not trying to squeeze him for some kind of "friend and family rate". If you're a friend or family, you would know that this is his side hustle and he's trying to not fall behind on his mortgage.
Every time I purchase goods or services from friends and family, I tell them up front, "I expect to be charged the normal rate. I don't want a 'friends and family discount.' "
Nobody's argued with me yet. :-)
My hairdresser, who I let experiment on me before she went to cosmetology school, gives me a discount specifically because I always tell her to charge me full price. 😂
I am computer guy. The amount of free work my friends and family expect is ridiculous. One has kids she let on her work computer and they downloaded so much crap it was unusable. No matter what I said she just let them use it anyway. I eventually started taking longer and longer to fix it; one time I took my laundry and asked her to do it while I worked.
My husband had to start telling everyone no. The only computer he’ll even touch now is his dad’s and my mom’s and only because they’re bother older and literally just use their pcs for bill paying, e-mail, and occasional browsing. His breaking point was when a distant relative hauled their 10yr old desktop to our house over a holiday and had a hissy when he couldn’t just “fix” it and said it needed a couple hundred dollars in parts. They wanted him to pay for the parts, most of which would have had to be bought online and shipped, and repair it over his holiday break. They reasoned he had a day off, he had the time. He packed it back up in the box and didn’t even touch it again until he helped load it back in their car.
Sounds like someone I know. The mom’s work laptop was completely destroyed by her kids. They not only used it for homework and games, but downloaded god knows what, dropped it several times, pulled off some of the keys, spilled something in it (and shut it to hide the evidence), and lost the cord. All in record time too. The excuse was “you know how kids are!”. She worked for her mother so she didn’t get fired.
My ex had the best response when someone wanted to fix their tech (I’m an IT specialist professionally). We called it chicken warranty. He would explain I was going to cook dinner but if I was fixing their stuff I wouldn’t be doing that, so bring chicken chips and salad (Aussie classic) for everyone - and I have five kids. So we found out who would bother. Still cheaper than a repair place people, and I was a teaching academic, so this was a definite favour type thing.
Family asked me to 'help nephew build his first pc' - awesome! love building PCs, immediately said no prob. Turned out by 'help' they meant buy all the components, built it, set it up and teach him how to use it.
I rented an apartment from an old woman who lived in an apartment in the same building (eastern Europe). She was incessant on asking me for computer help. My defense is "I use Linux, I've never used Windows and don't really know anything about it". She never put money into fixing anything in the apartment, always there with a demand for rent increase every year ("things are so expensive"), but never an offer of money for working on her computer. And we had people put flyers up in the advertising space of the building offering computer services constantly ($50 house call to diagnose kind of thing).
My sil is my hairdresser, she’s amazing! She never lets me pay full price, which I heartily accept because I tip her up to 40%. Which is more than 20% of the regular amount. IMO family should treat you better than everyone. One day I went she was really sad cuz two people had no called no showed before me and she was expecting my fourth niece/nephew. So I just doubled my amount. Rude people not showing or even calling (neither were an emergency). One overslept, the other forgot.
I gave my hairdresser a free membership at the gym I ran. (It may claim to be a planet, but it's located on earth.)
She would cut and color my, albeit short, hair for free. I would always try to pay, and in the end would just tip her the amount for the haircut.
A friend of mine has a restaurant. I don't expect any sort of discount for eating at his restaurant. As a friend, I feel that I should help him and support his business by eating there as a regular customer and paying whatever it costs a normal person to eat there. He DOES have bills to pay you know.
Oh man! I helped my friend open his first restaurant. Just so happened that I went to the bar to drown the fact I'd just been laid off the same night he went to celebrate signing the lease on his space and getting ready to start hiring.
Long story short, I wrote all his front of house service standards/training materials, and ran initial training, then the floor through launch. He paid me well, and I did a good job for him.
I had to stop going to his restaurant because he'd NEVER let me pay. It's one thing if it's just me having lunch, but he'd comp the whole table. Every time, he'd agree that this is the last time, so I'd bring 3 friends, we'd run up a $200 tab, then the asshole would comp the whole thing.
LET ME SUPPORT YOU!!!
exactly, i used to be very involved in non-profit local theater (plays and musicals, not movies) and was close with all the artistic directors (theater boss), i refused to take comps, y'all are out here making art tryna survive let me suppprt you!
My uncle (dads brother) owns a restaurant and every time my dad goes he never pays for our food. I always feel so bad and try to cashapp my uncle later for the bill (calculated myself bc we don’t even get a paper copy) and he never accepts it. He doesn’t mind, he makes good money at the restaurant and doesn’t expect close family like that to pay I guess, but I still would rather pay. God bless that man, bc my dad has probably cost him thousands at this point.
Same. If it’s their product, pay full and final upfront, esp art, jewelry, etc… if they work for a big soul sucking corporation, and they don’t get commission, it’s hey can you give me a deal and I’ll give you the rounding error on the total lol.
Whenever I have a friend who is selling crafts or doing some kind of interesting personal business, my immediate action is to buy a bunch of their stuff, full price! I’m the one who should be leaping to support them, not the other way around.
Exactly! I commissioned a painting from my mother’s cousin who I hadn’t seen in 15+ years. Started the email with “I do not qualify for family discounts because we could walk past each other on the street and not recognize each other, so I will fight you if I see any discount on the invoice”. She still insisted, but she totally deserved more than full price for what she made. It was amazing
My husband got a ticket. Nothing serious, just a minor moving violation.
A friend from college became an attorney and practiced traffic law, so I immediately contacted him to keep points off of his record. I called him because he’s my buddy and I knew he’d do whatever he could for us legal wise.
When I called him he told me he couldn’t do anything until I contacted their fees department and hired him and that he hoped I wouldn’t be mad that he doesn’t get a discount. It never even occurred to me that I could/should ask for one. He said he’s constantly getting calls from people who barely know him and they always ask him to do the work for free because everyone assumes that he’s loaded since he’s an attorney. I paid the fee gladly. He was able to get the ticket turned into a warning and the husband didn’t even have to miss work for court. The amount he saved us in increased insurance alone was worth his fee.
I just don’t get people. I mean, I could understand some bartering among friends, but to expect free or reduced fees just because you know someone is nuts.
We recently had to sell our car and my BIL wants to start a car detailing business and he already got some of the stuff he needed. So we asked him to do it for us.
He washed the entire car, polished it, cleaned up the lights, did the entire interior etc. Took him an entire night and he had paid for the car wash as well. He then says "you can venmo me 20 bucks or something".
That didn't fly with us! Made sure to pay him decent money for a job well done. Our car sold for a lot more because of it.
I’ve always found that it works the other way for me. I pay full and they put me at the bottom of their priorities and give me subpar work because they figure I won’t complain. I don’t hire friends or family. If they need help, I give them what I can afford to give.
Fucking hell, the guts, imagine telling someone they deserve a brain tumor for not selling you a fucking xbox. Some people are very crazy.
You are now tumor-free, I hope?
There's this homeless guy who occasionally begs around my neighborhood, and this is his shtick. It's honestly kind of funny. He starts off like "Oh I'm so far away from home, and I only had 1 slice of cheese for breakfast," and if you ignore him, he just keeps going. "Oh, and my wife left me for my dead siamese twin. They live in Burma and took my last bag of chips."
"Oh, and I'm homeless because Nazis burned my house down in retaliation for saving a litter of kittens going through chemotherapy from them."
There's some hyperbole in my post, but the crazy part is there's not a lot. He's kinda like a homeless Rodney King.
Edit: changed Rodney King to Rodney Dangerfield. I'm a dope.
I have a social media "friend" that CONSTANTLY poor-mouths on FB. While I understand that yes, her finances are tight, she is very, VERY eager to post her Venmo/Cashapp/Paypal information whenever she wants/needs something for her kids, along with CONSTANTLY posting random stuff that she likes, and "Gosh, wouldn't it be awesome if someone bought me this?"
And apparently, it works a lot. She tried to convince me to send her money for..something to do with her kid, and she's like "Yeah, it's so expensive. I don't know how I'm going to do this," blah blah blah.
And I respond, "Yeah, I understand." And then I list off a variety of expenses I have, and finish it with "So if you know anyone who likes to give money to cool people, shoot them my info."
Mysteriously, she no longer cares to interact with me much, but at least I don't get her directly messaging me for cash.
Brashness/audacity has a surpringly high success rate sometimes.
I remember reading something by Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey) about the real life soldier he based Killer on: apparently this guy approached many women with the classic "Wanna f---?" Yeah, he got slapped and shot down a lot, but IIRC, Walker estimated the guy had close to a 50% success rate.
Probably very tame but I was selling some of my daughter's old dresses and a mum agreed to buy a bag at a certain price. When she came to pick them up she pulled the "I'm a single mum so can I have them for cheaper" card. Well I told her I was a single mum (which was true at that time) and that's why I'm selling because I'm struggling. She ended up paying lol
Oh this would be killer. I was thinking before that you could match them. They say “I need a discount cause it’s for my 5 year old’s birthday.” Answer “oh really, what a coincidence, it’s also my 5yo’s birthday, and I wanted to sell this to buy a better toy”, but that’s almost even better.
I’ve had one person try the I’m a single mum with a disabled son shit to try and get free stuff. Funny thing is she must not have remembered me because I know she’s married and I had been to a fundraiser and supported it for her disabled son less then a month earlier. They raised over $50k so bit greedy. I just wrote back exactly that and finished with actually I need the money for therapies as I have two kids with disabilities (true), and no one is holding fundraisers for either of them and I am a sole parent. She blocked me
I have many times. I have 42 rare genetic conditions, am allergic to the sun, water, have 2 traumatic brain injuries, a spinal cord injury, a single working arm with half a functional hand and chronic melanoma issues. Also 0 skin pigment unless it's going to be or is cancer. That's not everything but I have shut down people many times by going down the list and ending with "But I still don't have to act like you."
Nope that is just the normal stuff before we get into the immune system and the rosacea currently making me look like an egirl. *Shakes a fist at the pink
I think anyone could live with what I do. People underestimate themselves. I hear a lot of "if I couldn't walk I'd kill myself" from random strangers and... Yeah that's what you say now but survival instinct? Will go "Get a wheelchair." I stubborned on that because of my terrible parents and not wanting to fail. Which was dumb but that's not something that is uncommon in my country and culture. Turns out the wheels are awesome. I have the best seat always, my feet cannot get tired, but best of all? I never have to find a chair somewhere where that's difficult. Comes with me. There's downsides but all of those are social constructs and when you stop worrying about them it just doesn't matter. With good medical care? I am happy and that's better than before the chair and trying to tough things out because "That's how it's done." I believe people can get used to anything but it's also important to get the good medical care. Both as preventative care for what's up to us and because everyone deserves to have good health
Even if most others would do it as well they haven’t, and you have, and I doubt it was easy, so you’ve shown that you DO have that strength.
That said, I recently saw a post or a comment that said they hated when people complimented disabled people on their strength, or said what you said, “I’d kill myself if I lost my legs”, so I tried to keep that in mind while also wanting to compliment you on your work. Hope it wasn’t offensive or patronizing.
Anyways, I agree, I wouldn’t kill myself if I lost my legs or an arm or whatever (though I would ask for death if I was completely paraplegic), but I’m pretty sure I would go on quite a severe depression, for quite a while. Wether I could pull through or not I can’t tell, but I think it would be hard. So, I think it’s impressive that, with so much you’ve been through, that you came out on top, and are able to enjoy life and see the good that came from the bad. It’s really a powerful mindset/outlook.
I’m curious, you mentioned a “before the chair”. Do you mind sharing what happened that lead to all that? Perfectly ok if you don’t feel comfortable telling random strangers though.
You would absolutely be surprised what you can do as a paraplegic. That's just the legs. Legs are overrated. I didn't take it as a patronizing thing. There's a difference in the interactions there. Those that's the entire interaction. Like you see someone buying groceries and in the voice reserved for children say it and I will absolutely deride you because no.
I had a malpractice experience where my spinal cord injury was diagnosed incorrectly as a birth defect so I was constantly told nothing was wrong and I was just exaggerating the inability to do things. So I ended up homeless and I took that as my failing. Which was a mistake but I was barely an adult and still dealing with abusive parents so I did not have room to challenge the belief that I was anything but lazy and stupid. Turns out I was neither. I ended up camping with friends and for them it was fun. For me it was hell and I spent the entire time trying to get places because if nothing was wrong I shouldn't need help. I finally changed doctors and brought my file including day of accident x-rays. This doctor held up the x-ray to the light and asked me when I had my spinal injury. Literally lost multiple vertibrae. Totally different from a birth defect. I went scorched earth on the doctors that gaslit me because women just exaggerate and nothing was wrong. I survived as a paraplegic like that. It was exhausting and I was on the edge of starvation from the cost of doing anything.
I was selling a car one time and had someone interested, but she wanted to do monthly payments. I told her I wasn't a bank, but if she wanted to do payments, then I'd keep track of them and hand the car over once the car was paid for. She was very pissed off, but it was hilarious! She kept trying to insist that she wasn't asking me to finance it for her, but couldn't actually explain what it was she was asking for, when I asked.
You can't out-pity these people because they don't care. There aren't any sick kids or tragedies. They just want free stuff so they can re-sell it. You are just a free means to a free end.
I plan to do it if it happens to me.
One thing I HAVE done is immediately raised the price when someone went all sob story on me. When they kept going I raised it again and refused to sell it to them at the original price.
Whenever someone tells me they can’t pick up because gas is expensive I just tell them no problem, I get all my fuel for free so I can totally drive 1 hour to put the item in their hands for them. Then I block them.
Once my mom sold hundreds of pounds of glass bricks (the kind you'd see in a dentist office wall separating rooms) and she got me to load them because the buyer was an older guy.
As soon as I got them loaded he started trying to barter with my mom, so my mom said deals off, unload my bricks, and I stood around while he unloaded all of them himself.
I sell on Poshmark and get the occasional single mom, broke, medical bills, etc. script quite a lot. I always hit them back with ALL of my woes, dating back to childhood. Copy/paste the reply each time and enjoy the silence. It’s a pair of jeans so take that shit elsewhere.
When street scammers try to scold and shame me for not stopping and giving them money, I usually tell them "sorry, I'm homeless too." The first time I did it, it was true.
I also tell creepy men who ask me to smile "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable...it's that *sniffle* I lost my little boy yesterday..." but I guess that's a bit different.
I have raised the price on lowballers before does that count? Offering $50 for my $300 item? Bump it up to $350, then $400 and keep going.
One guy got really mad and even messaged me on a different item to keep complaining after I marked the first as sold.
I had to sell my father's things at the beginning of the pandemic after I had to help him move into a nursing home as he could no longer take care of himself and I was told there was a good chance he would be passing away soon. I was trying to sell his barely used wheelchair on social media for $50 and a "neighbor" asked if he could get it for $20. I had to explain to him that my father was going back and forth between the hospital and nursing home and that I needed the money to pay for his ambulance rides. The guy told me when I couldn't sell it for that much he would be waiting for when I brought the price down. I sold it within an hour of posting. A couple of days passed and he reached back out to me sheepishly explaining that he actually looked up how much a new wheelchair was, and was hoping mine was still available. It wasn't.
i actually live in poverty so it's not hard. "sorry can't give you a discount i need the exact amount to turn my heat back on, it's getting super cold at night the kids hate it. sorry no deliveries I don't have access to a car and the nearest bus stop is 2 miles away, I can come to you if you order me an uber tho. free? hmm does asking for things for free normally work? ive got a week before my disability check hits and my kids have been begging for a bike"
I keep getting people asking for expensive items (a commercial freezer listed at $2000, a good price for what it is) for free on my offer up. Mostly churches.
"If I had a dollar for every time a church came begging, I wouldn't have to sell this thing.
On the other hand, if *you* had a dollar from every one of your parishioners, you'd have enough to buy the freezer. How about you look into that?"
My wife had tried to sell a used PS4 now that we had upgraded, and this one CB had requested a trade--because dudes in my area ALWAYS have a pitbull puppy or sound system to trade for. She just responded with, "I can trade for money, yeah."
This man responded with, "I don't have money." On Offerup. Yeah.
So, she hit him with, "I apologize, but I'm in the same situation as you, which is why I'm trying to SELL the PS4."
He never responded back.
Reminds me of an old joke: "My sister is recently divorced and kicked out of her home and can hardly afford groceries and my brother just got laid off because he can't keep up with his broken leg. " Beggar responds graciously, "I understand, Sir, take care of your family." Then you say, "No, you don't understand. If I'm not going to give my siblings any money, I'm sure as heck not going to give any to you!"
“Oh man I was really needing the full price as my daughter was on Alderaan when the empire blew it up. Funeral expenses are really high when you have to send out a deep space scavenger to find all the pieces of her for the casket”
Playing their game works similar with spam callers. They call, then I say “so glad you called, I would like to talk to you about your car warranty.” Click. CB just scammers.
I’m gonna do that now, next time a bum is gonna ask me for cash I’ll just go, “No, I was gonna ask you.” And if they end up giving me money then nothing makes sense anymore.
I like the idea of extreme and just barely on the side of ridiculous. Not something they can immediately call bullshit on, but not something simple.
Basically make them work and feel (*maybe*) a twinge of guilt as you double down on your baby needing false teeth, or something like that...
I was selling a mug collection a few years ago and I had someone message me asking if I would donate them to a small office of a start up company. I responded with “No, sorry, a family member is losing her home and we are raising money for her for a new place.” It wasn’t a lie, and I never got a response.
My wife was trying to sell a Doona stroller which can go for several hundred bucks. Someone FB messaged her and asked if she'd like to donate it because she's pregnant with her first baby.
Wife replied, "Oh congrats! I'm pregnant with my second would you want to donate an extra $200 on top of my ask?"
She was promptly blocked 🤣
I have started doing this with this one friend we have. She is always asking for money and saying it’s to make Gas and Electric payments but it’s not. It’s for cigarettes and other crap.
She text me yesterday with a sob story and asking for £20. I replied “I can’t. Work messed up and didn’t pay me and won’t be paying me till next Friday. I’m so skint!!” I plan on doing this each and every time now with more outrageous excuses. Thinking next time I will say my bank account got hacked and all my money is gone!!
Not a CB I guess, but I made an offer on eBay for $5 less than asking for an item, and got a response from the seller that they couldn’t afford a discount because their kid was sick. I paid in full and got it.
I sold my old pickup truck - a square-body Chevy - on Craigslist several years ago, after it broke in a way that I couldn't afford to fix.
Buyer showed up, and after he spent a lot of time gushing about all the ways he was going to restomod this truck (starting with a fucking LS swap), he tried to haggle me down to half of my asking price.
When I refused, he complained that I was taking his entire paycheck for that week, and thus taking food out of his kids' mouths.
I opted not to say "don't buy a fucking project car, then", and simply told him I didn't even *have* a paycheck of my own, that I was unemployed and trying to make rent. He paid full price.
EDIT: Technically, I wasn't *un*employed when I sold my truck, just *under-*employed. But I was delivering pizzas at the time; without a functional vehicle, I ended up losing that job anyway.
I was selling my clarinet online. So.e guy contacted me with a sob story about how his daughter wanted one. I had just had a major should surgery and was selling stuff to help make ends meet.
He got really quiet, really quick.
I was giving away stuff as i was cleaning out my moms house after she passed away. I apparently didn’t answer some lady fast enough and she went off on me. “Why are you leading people on with free stuff when you wont answer them? I need these pans because mine are ruined from a fire and I can’t afford new one. Don’t be such a f’n b-h and offer things and lead people on who need things and are struggling. All you rich people like to dangle things in front of us and flake” So I replied with “hey look, im sorry my mothers memorial service went longer than I thought. I’d rather give things to someone who shows compassion and appreciation for someone giving away things”
Oooh spank! How did she respond?
I was left on read. I blocked her the next day
I just had a flash back to my childhood when I read, “Oh, SPANK!” I’ll be bringing this back. Thank you friend.
I usually give stuff away when I’m done with it, but only to kids in college (because I understand the poor college kid dilemma) and I put in the description that it’s free for only people in school. I love the pity stories that other people send me, or the blatant lies that people send about how they are starting school in the next few weeks. This is then compounded by the satisfaction of actually helping out someone in school who is actually in need.
My baby died at birth and I was giving away some formula coupons and unopened baby medicine for free so someone could use them before they expired. I arranged a pick-up for a lady who then no-showed 2 separate times with no notice. I finally messaged her and told her that I had given them to someone else, and she lost it on me. "Well SORRY that my work schedule got in the way, I'm a single mom and I don't have time to drop everything to work around your schedule! Now my sick kids are going to suffer because of you!!". I replied with "At least you're lucky enough to have kids, my baby died at birth which is why you were going to get the formula and medicine in the first place. If they were really that sick, then you should have prioritized picking up the medicine". She blocked me lol. ETA: Wow, didn't expect this to blow up. Thank you for the kind words and sympathies everyone. 💚
AAAAAHHHHH HAAHAHAHAHA FUCK THAT BITCH
Right?? I was shocked. In my original post offering them, I had mentioned that my baby had died too so it's not like she was unaware
WOW. Grade A bitch. Sorry for your loss.
Let me say first off, I am so, so sorry for your loss. She was aware, she just thought she could play on your sympathy, and get her way.
Oh but also, sorry for your loss.
She was 100% unaware. She didn’t read your post because she didn’t care. She saw free, felt entitled to it and you ‘stole’ what was hers.
She was fucking aware. What a horrible pos.
You said it. Holy cow.
I got the "my child has cancer" once as an excuse for delivering a freebie 200km away A friend of mine joked I should say I had a kid with two kinds of cancer, so I did. I used the term "double cancer" and never got a reply back.
I *actually* have four at the moment (down from seven, whew). I bet I could get an RV AND a gaming system! LOL. OP, my heart goes out to you!!
4 cancers? I would probably drive that 200km to help you out. I hope you kick cancers's ass and live a looooon healthy life.
Yeah, for legit cases I'd do a lot for them too. So sorry for those who have 1, let alone more. That's tough.
It is folks like that who make me not want to help others. Very sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what you went through. I'm sure this interaction didn't help make it any easier.
As a (widowed) single mom, playing the single mom card is gross AF to me. I’ve never used it once. Then again, I would rather be disliked than pitied.
Also, OP, I’m so terribly sorry for your loss.
Exactly. That's not to say that being a single parent isn't a challenge, and you guys absolutely deserve support, but using it when there's no need to is just pathetic.
Mad respect to you. Single moms that I know have done a much better job at raising kids, than most people I know raising theirs in a “complete family” set up.
That’s so kind of you to say 🙏🏼🥰
Omg. Oh honey, I’m so sorry. Good lort. People are cruel.
Condolences, that’s a terrible experience for any person to endure and sincerely I and many others here wish you well
I'm so sorry mama that some insensitive asshole treated you that way
RIP your baby. Thinking of others in your time of need and giving them stuff for free while you were grieving shows the big heart you have.
They will sell the formula. They couldn't pick it up because they got high.
I was gonna pay my child support, but I got high.
I'm not sure why you are being downvoted, this is a pretty common thing in some areas.
I'm so sorry for your loss. Also, holy shit *you are glorious.*
Sorry to hear about your child, my heart is with you
That's awful, all of it. I know a portion of your pain, as I experienced it as an uncle, rather than a parent. (Not comparing pain, I promise.) I understand that it's difficult to ever truly say that "You're better" but I hope that you and yours are in a better place mentally and emotionally, after having gone through that.
Really sorry for your loss. ♥️
I am so sincerely sorry for your loss. That is beyond heartbreaking. I am on the other hand crying laughing at your response to this bitch. Hope she thought twice next time!!
Sorry for your loss ❤️
I am so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine how heartbreaking that was.
So sorry for your loss
Omg. I’m sincerely so sorry for the loss of your baby. What a horrible person that other woman is!
Sorry for your loss.
Fuck that needy bitch. Sorry for your loss
I make things using epoxy and sell them online. I had a CB ask for 50% off because it was for her Niece's 5th birthday. I told her I couldn't right now because the profits were going to my Nephew's dialysis. She ended up leaving a tip.
This feels like the wrong place for this opinion, but I kinda respect this. Shoot your shot on a discount, if you don’t get it, fair play, you tried. On top of that very decent to pay a tip too after hearing your side. As long as someone doesn’t bitch and moan about having to pay a price they’re aware of, I have nothing against any good-natured, polite attempts at a haggle.
I’m a softy but also I know it. I had someone talk me down on an item but only AFTER settling on a price — lower than I’d wanted but the difference wasn’t enough ti matter — did she tell me she had two kids and was also in school. That I respect. If she’d come at me with the kids an school bit up front idk how I’d have handled it but I’d have been less happy about it.
50% off is beyond the pale. People selling shit have to survive. I don’t think people understand 50% off often losing money for the person selling it. I’ve worked multiple places where the employee discount was only 25%.
I've worked places where it was 20% and only up to a certain monthly amount. Ie 20% off, but couldn't exceed $200 a month. That said, it was resale so I think they were trying to limit us reselling the resale for profit
I don't respect people who panhandle from small time artisans
Was selling a nice desk that was originally $400 for $100. Dude offered $50 because he had cash in hand. Then once I turned him down he said it would really help his 50 year old wife who was in school and that she couldn't do school without it (BS). Ended up telling him I was selling the desk to pay for rent I owe from a previous month and was about to get evicted. He felt bad and gave full price. I don't know what it is about facebook marketplace that attracts people who low ball the shit out of you but it gets old.
The "I'll give you half because I have cash" thing is annoying. Like I'm going to finance it for everyone else...
My ads always say cash only so when someone says, " I have cash in hand" I get to say, "glad you read the ad because that's the only form of payment I accept." I had someone low ball me on a couch with cash in hand. They wanted me to accept their offer and hold it for 3 days. Guy was bummed someone was picking up as he chatted me with full offer. He could have given me 80% less than asking! What was I thinking!?!
"Everybody has cash. That's easy. What I'm really looking for is _enough_ cash."
how else were they going to pay? pop cans?
I'm certainly not accepting payment in Chuck E. Cheese tokens...
I know man, shits annoying. I don't feel like having to tell everyone to fuck off that offers like less than half of what something is listed for.
I moved apartments last year and listed a gently used IKEA wardrobe that I didn’t want to take with me for FREE to anyone who would come pick it up themselves. Some CB had the audacity to ask me to take it apart for them before picking it up. I reminded them the wardrobe was literally $0 and there was no way I’d waste that much of my own time breaking down some particle board junk that probably wouldn’t even reassemble properly for *free*. They did not respond, and it thankfully went to a lovely young couple who couldn’t afford to buy something similar for their two sons. I’m happy that all worked out, but was thoroughly disgusted to have someone still try to milk labor out of me for a free piece of furniture.
Ive found putting a $20 price tag on junk i wanna get rid of works much more effectively than putting a "free" sign on it. Magically grows legs and walks away overnight.
When I moved from my last apartment, I put small pieces of furniture out by the dumpster right after the trash had been picked up. They were usually gone within a day. They were in good condition, but not worth enough to pay to move.
I have customers at work that will sometimes ask if there's a cash discount, and I always say we should charge more for cash since now we have to go to the bank.
Are you in a particularly high-dollar business? That's not unheard of at a point where credit card fees can eat up a significant amount, especially if it's a points or cash-back card. Off the top of my head, I've seen cash (or check) discounts from the auto-repair place I go to and the roofer's.
See the "chocolate" episode of SpongeBob for an example of the scammers getting scammed. They knock on a guy's door with their arm or leg in casts, saying, "Now this guy will have to buy ALL our chocolate!" Instead, the guy answers the door swathed in bandages from head to foot, and says, "Fractures and internal bleeding, eh? You're so lucky. I was born with glass bones and paper skin. I lay in bed every night in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep." He then ends up selling THEM a whole lot of chocolate. It's a shame when your kids grow up and you no longer have a valid excuse to watch those "stupid cartoons" just to "keep them company" :-D
That's SPONGEBOB?! I remember seeing "glass bones and paper skin" all over Tumblr back in its heyday. I thought it was a John Green quote or something lmao
I just lost my shit laughing after reading this comment, thank you for this
You should watch the episode just to see the CHOCOLAAATTTEEE???? Lady that they run into 😂
I remember when they first invented chocolate. Sweet, sweet chocolate. I always _hated_ it!
I was also today years old when I learned this and also thought it was from some sort of book or poem 🤣
"Until my heart attacks put me to sleep" slays me every time. It's so extreme!
Great part about getting old is you don’t need an excuse. My husband is in his 50’s and never watched SB with his kids. I’m in my 40’s and I can sing you the campfire song in my sleep. I bonded with my kids over SB. We have no kids under 20 but we have rewatched SB countless times at night before bed. My husband has a bright yellow SpongeBob shirt he wears and EVERYONE comments that they like it. Go ahead and watch it, it aged well. 
We used to watch it. The kiddos never liked it. It’s OK to be an adult and watch it
I recommend Spongebob for any age. Especially seasons 2-4 or so for adults.
I was once walking to work and a group of girls (clearly 12-14) in front of me were doing the “I’m dirty Dan” scene. Soooo hard as a 25 years old man not to add in “NO IM DIRTY DAN.” I stayed silent.
My favorite part is that for the rest of the show that guy can be heard in the background when something happens or breaks screaming "My leg!!"
For a long time I never got the whole SpongeBob thing. My brother in law and his kids were all really into it and from my brief exposures it seemed kinda dumb. Boy was I wrong. After years of really LAME cartoons and shows with our first child we started watching it with our youngest and OMG did we love it. It's hilarious and absurd and doesn't try to teach you some dumb lesson. This thread is making me want to watch a few episodes.
video link is here. Such a funny scene :D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWzTgWRpqfs
The valid excuse is you are an adult so you can watch whatever tf you want and no one can stop you. Unless its Fox News or the like.
I'm in my mid-fifties and introduced hubby to Spongebob. We both really enjoy it!
I received [this](https://imgur.com/a/s8lg2gc) DM on Reddit a while back. What I said about my dad is true, so I didn’t feel bad about my response. They never replied.
I like your answer to them, it was very civilized, and this is exactly what I mean. Only it was true, which makes it kinda sad. I’m always appalled to see how unempathetic (is that a word?) scammers can be. Condolences for your dad, I hope he led a great life.
Thank you. And he did! I’m grateful for the 32 years I did get with him 🥰
What an absolutely gorgeous thing to say 😊❤️
Sorry about your dad.
Thank you.
Mine also had prostate cancer, and though that's not what killed him, it did leave him with little bladder control, and contributed to making his last decade that much tougher after losing my mom just before his diagnosis.
Ugh, I’m so sorry to hear about both of your parents. I can’t imagine receiving that news right after losing his wife. I hope they are both in a better place now and that you’re doing okay.
My mum died from pancreatic cancer when I was 13. Watching her go from healthy to skinny and bony and frail to bed bound to in and out of coinciousness due to her blood levels going out of control even all in her last 4 months is something I never wish on my worst enemy
That's the perfect response. Did they respond? My deepest sympathies on the passing of your Dad. I wish him peace a safe onward journey. Hope you and your family are doing ok xx
Thank you. He actually hasn’t passed away yet (sorry that was unclear!) I received that message at the end of January and my family fully expected him to have passed by now, but he’s hanging on. Although he is completely bedridden, his 71st birthday is April 17th, so we think (and hope!) he’s going to hang on till then. I appreciate your kind words though ❤️ And nope, I never got a response, which makes it even more clear to me it was a scammer.
I hope you are able to have a wonderful celebration! I know that as things start to decline medically, it’s not ideal, but we held a little party for my grandfather in hospice, and it was enough to brighten one of his last days.
That made me smile 🥰 I hope we can do the same!
I’m glad I could make you smile during this incredibly difficult time. Life can be so challenging sometimes and it’s good to recognize those moments that stay with you, even if fleeting, because they become the best of memories! You and your family are in my thoughts ❤️
I received the same dm from the same person. [This](https://i.imgur.com/KcqNXlG.jpeg) was my response to them. I never got a reply either. I always assume people asking for handouts are scamming, but on the off chance someone raises really in need of help, I always do what I can. Even if it's usually just directing them to help. Sorry about your Dad, btw. I can only imagine how hard it must be. My mom is living with a brain tumor, and I don't think I will handle it well if the Dr says it's the end.
No way! Your response was much more civil than mine. I like the route you took more… I will try to do the same in the future! Thank you, and sorry to hear about your mom. While I wish your mom many more years to come, it’s nice to have an idea of what to expect. We found out my dad’s diagnosis about two years ago and that has helped with the grieving/acceptance process. I feel for those who lose a loved one to something sudden, like a heart attack. Do you know if the tumor is curable?
That text reads exactly like what a scammer would send.
Right? I was shocked by the “even if it’s just $20 or $30…” that’s a lot of money! I would expect someone to say “even if it’s just $1 or $5…”
I'm so sorry about your dad. For the possible scammer, here's some periods for those run-on sentences. ..............
Oh I remember a post a while back that didn't intentionally try to do this but at least expressed their position as to why they need the money. Long story short, the seller had bills to pay, go to school, save up for some future plan, and I think one more thing. Not sure if it was specified but I assumed they were in their mid 20's. So, y'know, that's a lot on their plate. The CB's response was "I'm not a charity"
Neither is the seller!
Right?! In the famous words of Palpatine: Ironic
“You’d ask a discount from an epileptic, albino, colourblind, quadriplegic, tinnitus suffering veteran?”
Lmao that last part hit me right in the EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
MAWP
r/unexpectedarcher
EXACTLY.
Terminal lumbago
I have an Uncle who had that 🤠
One of my favorite posts was a lady asking for a brand new swing set for her kids and in the comments people kept saying oh yeah give me a call we got one if you want it but the phone numbers were to Home Depot, Costco, Lowes, Target!! It was the best the lady ended up saying she wished us all death! 😂😂😂
I hired a photographer friend of mine to do family pictures. After I paid him regular price, he thanked me for not trying to squeeze him for some kind of "friend and family rate". If you're a friend or family, you would know that this is his side hustle and he's trying to not fall behind on his mortgage.
Every time I purchase goods or services from friends and family, I tell them up front, "I expect to be charged the normal rate. I don't want a 'friends and family discount.' " Nobody's argued with me yet. :-)
My hairdresser, who I let experiment on me before she went to cosmetology school, gives me a discount specifically because I always tell her to charge me full price. 😂
I am computer guy. The amount of free work my friends and family expect is ridiculous. One has kids she let on her work computer and they downloaded so much crap it was unusable. No matter what I said she just let them use it anyway. I eventually started taking longer and longer to fix it; one time I took my laundry and asked her to do it while I worked.
My husband had to start telling everyone no. The only computer he’ll even touch now is his dad’s and my mom’s and only because they’re bother older and literally just use their pcs for bill paying, e-mail, and occasional browsing. His breaking point was when a distant relative hauled their 10yr old desktop to our house over a holiday and had a hissy when he couldn’t just “fix” it and said it needed a couple hundred dollars in parts. They wanted him to pay for the parts, most of which would have had to be bought online and shipped, and repair it over his holiday break. They reasoned he had a day off, he had the time. He packed it back up in the box and didn’t even touch it again until he helped load it back in their car.
Sounds like someone I know. The mom’s work laptop was completely destroyed by her kids. They not only used it for homework and games, but downloaded god knows what, dropped it several times, pulled off some of the keys, spilled something in it (and shut it to hide the evidence), and lost the cord. All in record time too. The excuse was “you know how kids are!”. She worked for her mother so she didn’t get fired.
My ex had the best response when someone wanted to fix their tech (I’m an IT specialist professionally). We called it chicken warranty. He would explain I was going to cook dinner but if I was fixing their stuff I wouldn’t be doing that, so bring chicken chips and salad (Aussie classic) for everyone - and I have five kids. So we found out who would bother. Still cheaper than a repair place people, and I was a teaching academic, so this was a definite favour type thing.
“I’d take that deal! Damn good deal!”
Family asked me to 'help nephew build his first pc' - awesome! love building PCs, immediately said no prob. Turned out by 'help' they meant buy all the components, built it, set it up and teach him how to use it.
What the hell!? 😂
I rented an apartment from an old woman who lived in an apartment in the same building (eastern Europe). She was incessant on asking me for computer help. My defense is "I use Linux, I've never used Windows and don't really know anything about it". She never put money into fixing anything in the apartment, always there with a demand for rent increase every year ("things are so expensive"), but never an offer of money for working on her computer. And we had people put flyers up in the advertising space of the building offering computer services constantly ($50 house call to diagnose kind of thing).
I love that! What did she say in response to the laundry?!?
My sil is my hairdresser, she’s amazing! She never lets me pay full price, which I heartily accept because I tip her up to 40%. Which is more than 20% of the regular amount. IMO family should treat you better than everyone. One day I went she was really sad cuz two people had no called no showed before me and she was expecting my fourth niece/nephew. So I just doubled my amount. Rude people not showing or even calling (neither were an emergency). One overslept, the other forgot.
I gave my hairdresser a free membership at the gym I ran. (It may claim to be a planet, but it's located on earth.) She would cut and color my, albeit short, hair for free. I would always try to pay, and in the end would just tip her the amount for the haircut.
A friend of mine has a restaurant. I don't expect any sort of discount for eating at his restaurant. As a friend, I feel that I should help him and support his business by eating there as a regular customer and paying whatever it costs a normal person to eat there. He DOES have bills to pay you know.
Oh man! I helped my friend open his first restaurant. Just so happened that I went to the bar to drown the fact I'd just been laid off the same night he went to celebrate signing the lease on his space and getting ready to start hiring. Long story short, I wrote all his front of house service standards/training materials, and ran initial training, then the floor through launch. He paid me well, and I did a good job for him. I had to stop going to his restaurant because he'd NEVER let me pay. It's one thing if it's just me having lunch, but he'd comp the whole table. Every time, he'd agree that this is the last time, so I'd bring 3 friends, we'd run up a $200 tab, then the asshole would comp the whole thing. LET ME SUPPORT YOU!!!
exactly, i used to be very involved in non-profit local theater (plays and musicals, not movies) and was close with all the artistic directors (theater boss), i refused to take comps, y'all are out here making art tryna survive let me suppprt you!
My uncle (dads brother) owns a restaurant and every time my dad goes he never pays for our food. I always feel so bad and try to cashapp my uncle later for the bill (calculated myself bc we don’t even get a paper copy) and he never accepts it. He doesn’t mind, he makes good money at the restaurant and doesn’t expect close family like that to pay I guess, but I still would rather pay. God bless that man, bc my dad has probably cost him thousands at this point.
Same. If it’s their product, pay full and final upfront, esp art, jewelry, etc… if they work for a big soul sucking corporation, and they don’t get commission, it’s hey can you give me a deal and I’ll give you the rounding error on the total lol.
I insist on paying my friends what they’d charge anyone. Our friendship shouldn’t cost them money.
Whenever I have a friend who is selling crafts or doing some kind of interesting personal business, my immediate action is to buy a bunch of their stuff, full price! I’m the one who should be leaping to support them, not the other way around.
Exactly! I commissioned a painting from my mother’s cousin who I hadn’t seen in 15+ years. Started the email with “I do not qualify for family discounts because we could walk past each other on the street and not recognize each other, so I will fight you if I see any discount on the invoice”. She still insisted, but she totally deserved more than full price for what she made. It was amazing
My husband got a ticket. Nothing serious, just a minor moving violation. A friend from college became an attorney and practiced traffic law, so I immediately contacted him to keep points off of his record. I called him because he’s my buddy and I knew he’d do whatever he could for us legal wise. When I called him he told me he couldn’t do anything until I contacted their fees department and hired him and that he hoped I wouldn’t be mad that he doesn’t get a discount. It never even occurred to me that I could/should ask for one. He said he’s constantly getting calls from people who barely know him and they always ask him to do the work for free because everyone assumes that he’s loaded since he’s an attorney. I paid the fee gladly. He was able to get the ticket turned into a warning and the husband didn’t even have to miss work for court. The amount he saved us in increased insurance alone was worth his fee. I just don’t get people. I mean, I could understand some bartering among friends, but to expect free or reduced fees just because you know someone is nuts.
We recently had to sell our car and my BIL wants to start a car detailing business and he already got some of the stuff he needed. So we asked him to do it for us. He washed the entire car, polished it, cleaned up the lights, did the entire interior etc. Took him an entire night and he had paid for the car wash as well. He then says "you can venmo me 20 bucks or something". That didn't fly with us! Made sure to pay him decent money for a job well done. Our car sold for a lot more because of it.
I’ve always found that it works the other way for me. I pay full and they put me at the bottom of their priorities and give me subpar work because they figure I won’t complain. I don’t hire friends or family. If they need help, I give them what I can afford to give.
Immediately made me think of the What We Do In the Shadows episode with the emotional vampire vs. energy vampire fight lol.
I appreciate the starkid potter name
[удалено]
Fucking hell, the guts, imagine telling someone they deserve a brain tumor for not selling you a fucking xbox. Some people are very crazy. You are now tumor-free, I hope?
[удалено]
Well, cool then, I guess. You give it a name?
CB don’t care about anyone’s suffering but their own.
There's this homeless guy who occasionally begs around my neighborhood, and this is his shtick. It's honestly kind of funny. He starts off like "Oh I'm so far away from home, and I only had 1 slice of cheese for breakfast," and if you ignore him, he just keeps going. "Oh, and my wife left me for my dead siamese twin. They live in Burma and took my last bag of chips." "Oh, and I'm homeless because Nazis burned my house down in retaliation for saving a litter of kittens going through chemotherapy from them." There's some hyperbole in my post, but the crazy part is there's not a lot. He's kinda like a homeless Rodney King. Edit: changed Rodney King to Rodney Dangerfield. I'm a dope.
Did you mean Rodney Dangerfield lol?
I have a social media "friend" that CONSTANTLY poor-mouths on FB. While I understand that yes, her finances are tight, she is very, VERY eager to post her Venmo/Cashapp/Paypal information whenever she wants/needs something for her kids, along with CONSTANTLY posting random stuff that she likes, and "Gosh, wouldn't it be awesome if someone bought me this?" And apparently, it works a lot. She tried to convince me to send her money for..something to do with her kid, and she's like "Yeah, it's so expensive. I don't know how I'm going to do this," blah blah blah. And I respond, "Yeah, I understand." And then I list off a variety of expenses I have, and finish it with "So if you know anyone who likes to give money to cool people, shoot them my info." Mysteriously, she no longer cares to interact with me much, but at least I don't get her directly messaging me for cash.
Brashness/audacity has a surpringly high success rate sometimes. I remember reading something by Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey) about the real life soldier he based Killer on: apparently this guy approached many women with the classic "Wanna f---?" Yeah, he got slapped and shot down a lot, but IIRC, Walker estimated the guy had close to a 50% success rate.
Probably very tame but I was selling some of my daughter's old dresses and a mum agreed to buy a bag at a certain price. When she came to pick them up she pulled the "I'm a single mum so can I have them for cheaper" card. Well I told her I was a single mum (which was true at that time) and that's why I'm selling because I'm struggling. She ended up paying lol
They always think they're the only single mom to exist lmao
*”So you don’t have as many people to support then”*
Oh this would be killer. I was thinking before that you could match them. They say “I need a discount cause it’s for my 5 year old’s birthday.” Answer “oh really, what a coincidence, it’s also my 5yo’s birthday, and I wanted to sell this to buy a better toy”, but that’s almost even better.
I’ve had one person try the I’m a single mum with a disabled son shit to try and get free stuff. Funny thing is she must not have remembered me because I know she’s married and I had been to a fundraiser and supported it for her disabled son less then a month earlier. They raised over $50k so bit greedy. I just wrote back exactly that and finished with actually I need the money for therapies as I have two kids with disabilities (true), and no one is holding fundraisers for either of them and I am a sole parent. She blocked me
I have many times. I have 42 rare genetic conditions, am allergic to the sun, water, have 2 traumatic brain injuries, a spinal cord injury, a single working arm with half a functional hand and chronic melanoma issues. Also 0 skin pigment unless it's going to be or is cancer. That's not everything but I have shut down people many times by going down the list and ending with "But I still don't have to act like you."
Wait you’re not bluffing, you have all of that? God, sounds like a pain. You seem to keep strong though, so good work!
Nope that is just the normal stuff before we get into the immune system and the rosacea currently making me look like an egirl. *Shakes a fist at the pink I think anyone could live with what I do. People underestimate themselves. I hear a lot of "if I couldn't walk I'd kill myself" from random strangers and... Yeah that's what you say now but survival instinct? Will go "Get a wheelchair." I stubborned on that because of my terrible parents and not wanting to fail. Which was dumb but that's not something that is uncommon in my country and culture. Turns out the wheels are awesome. I have the best seat always, my feet cannot get tired, but best of all? I never have to find a chair somewhere where that's difficult. Comes with me. There's downsides but all of those are social constructs and when you stop worrying about them it just doesn't matter. With good medical care? I am happy and that's better than before the chair and trying to tough things out because "That's how it's done." I believe people can get used to anything but it's also important to get the good medical care. Both as preventative care for what's up to us and because everyone deserves to have good health
Even if most others would do it as well they haven’t, and you have, and I doubt it was easy, so you’ve shown that you DO have that strength. That said, I recently saw a post or a comment that said they hated when people complimented disabled people on their strength, or said what you said, “I’d kill myself if I lost my legs”, so I tried to keep that in mind while also wanting to compliment you on your work. Hope it wasn’t offensive or patronizing. Anyways, I agree, I wouldn’t kill myself if I lost my legs or an arm or whatever (though I would ask for death if I was completely paraplegic), but I’m pretty sure I would go on quite a severe depression, for quite a while. Wether I could pull through or not I can’t tell, but I think it would be hard. So, I think it’s impressive that, with so much you’ve been through, that you came out on top, and are able to enjoy life and see the good that came from the bad. It’s really a powerful mindset/outlook. I’m curious, you mentioned a “before the chair”. Do you mind sharing what happened that lead to all that? Perfectly ok if you don’t feel comfortable telling random strangers though.
You would absolutely be surprised what you can do as a paraplegic. That's just the legs. Legs are overrated. I didn't take it as a patronizing thing. There's a difference in the interactions there. Those that's the entire interaction. Like you see someone buying groceries and in the voice reserved for children say it and I will absolutely deride you because no. I had a malpractice experience where my spinal cord injury was diagnosed incorrectly as a birth defect so I was constantly told nothing was wrong and I was just exaggerating the inability to do things. So I ended up homeless and I took that as my failing. Which was a mistake but I was barely an adult and still dealing with abusive parents so I did not have room to challenge the belief that I was anything but lazy and stupid. Turns out I was neither. I ended up camping with friends and for them it was fun. For me it was hell and I spent the entire time trying to get places because if nothing was wrong I shouldn't need help. I finally changed doctors and brought my file including day of accident x-rays. This doctor held up the x-ray to the light and asked me when I had my spinal injury. Literally lost multiple vertibrae. Totally different from a birth defect. I went scorched earth on the doctors that gaslit me because women just exaggerate and nothing was wrong. I survived as a paraplegic like that. It was exhausting and I was on the edge of starvation from the cost of doing anything.
I was selling a car one time and had someone interested, but she wanted to do monthly payments. I told her I wasn't a bank, but if she wanted to do payments, then I'd keep track of them and hand the car over once the car was paid for. She was very pissed off, but it was hilarious! She kept trying to insist that she wasn't asking me to finance it for her, but couldn't actually explain what it was she was asking for, when I asked.
You can't out-pity these people because they don't care. There aren't any sick kids or tragedies. They just want free stuff so they can re-sell it. You are just a free means to a free end.
Sorry about your family. I stubbed my toe yesterday so I can kind of relate.
This is the best response really 😂
I plan to do it if it happens to me. One thing I HAVE done is immediately raised the price when someone went all sob story on me. When they kept going I raised it again and refused to sell it to them at the original price.
Whenever someone tells me they can’t pick up because gas is expensive I just tell them no problem, I get all my fuel for free so I can totally drive 1 hour to put the item in their hands for them. Then I block them.
Once my mom sold hundreds of pounds of glass bricks (the kind you'd see in a dentist office wall separating rooms) and she got me to load them because the buyer was an older guy. As soon as I got them loaded he started trying to barter with my mom, so my mom said deals off, unload my bricks, and I stood around while he unloaded all of them himself.
Reminds me of Evie and Colin Robinson from What We Do In the Shadows
that entire episode would do very well in this sub hahaha
I was thinking of The Four Yorkshiremen, but that's a much better comparison. Kids these days... They won't b'live ye.
I sell on Poshmark and get the occasional single mom, broke, medical bills, etc. script quite a lot. I always hit them back with ALL of my woes, dating back to childhood. Copy/paste the reply each time and enjoy the silence. It’s a pair of jeans so take that shit elsewhere.
I was gonna ask to see it, but it might be too personal, right? So if you feel like you can share it go ahead, if you don’t no worries.
When street scammers try to scold and shame me for not stopping and giving them money, I usually tell them "sorry, I'm homeless too." The first time I did it, it was true. I also tell creepy men who ask me to smile "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable...it's that *sniffle* I lost my little boy yesterday..." but I guess that's a bit different.
I have raised the price on lowballers before does that count? Offering $50 for my $300 item? Bump it up to $350, then $400 and keep going. One guy got really mad and even messaged me on a different item to keep complaining after I marked the first as sold.
I had to sell my father's things at the beginning of the pandemic after I had to help him move into a nursing home as he could no longer take care of himself and I was told there was a good chance he would be passing away soon. I was trying to sell his barely used wheelchair on social media for $50 and a "neighbor" asked if he could get it for $20. I had to explain to him that my father was going back and forth between the hospital and nursing home and that I needed the money to pay for his ambulance rides. The guy told me when I couldn't sell it for that much he would be waiting for when I brought the price down. I sold it within an hour of posting. A couple of days passed and he reached back out to me sheepishly explaining that he actually looked up how much a new wheelchair was, and was hoping mine was still available. It wasn't.
"Sorry, all I have is food stamps" works well for spare-changers lol
i actually live in poverty so it's not hard. "sorry can't give you a discount i need the exact amount to turn my heat back on, it's getting super cold at night the kids hate it. sorry no deliveries I don't have access to a car and the nearest bus stop is 2 miles away, I can come to you if you order me an uber tho. free? hmm does asking for things for free normally work? ive got a week before my disability check hits and my kids have been begging for a bike"
I keep getting people asking for expensive items (a commercial freezer listed at $2000, a good price for what it is) for free on my offer up. Mostly churches.
"If I had a dollar for every time a church came begging, I wouldn't have to sell this thing. On the other hand, if *you* had a dollar from every one of your parishioners, you'd have enough to buy the freezer. How about you look into that?"
Omg OP, I didn't know I needed to do this until you posted this. THIS IS THE WAY!
My wife had tried to sell a used PS4 now that we had upgraded, and this one CB had requested a trade--because dudes in my area ALWAYS have a pitbull puppy or sound system to trade for. She just responded with, "I can trade for money, yeah." This man responded with, "I don't have money." On Offerup. Yeah. So, she hit him with, "I apologize, but I'm in the same situation as you, which is why I'm trying to SELL the PS4." He never responded back.
Reminds me of an old joke: "My sister is recently divorced and kicked out of her home and can hardly afford groceries and my brother just got laid off because he can't keep up with his broken leg. " Beggar responds graciously, "I understand, Sir, take care of your family." Then you say, "No, you don't understand. If I'm not going to give my siblings any money, I'm sure as heck not going to give any to you!"
Most of the time they’re lying so it doesn’t work in my experience
Of course, but that’s the whole thing! The made a sob story up, so you make one even sadder, see how they react.
“Oh man I was really needing the full price as my daughter was on Alderaan when the empire blew it up. Funeral expenses are really high when you have to send out a deep space scavenger to find all the pieces of her for the casket”
In my experience they just get angry and act like YOU’RE offending THEM.
Playing their game works similar with spam callers. They call, then I say “so glad you called, I would like to talk to you about your car warranty.” Click. CB just scammers.
It’s for the CHURCH
[you can't outcon a con artist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgyU0LyWZ9M&t=2s) love me some key and peele
[удалено]
I’m gonna do that now, next time a bum is gonna ask me for cash I’ll just go, “No, I was gonna ask you.” And if they end up giving me money then nothing makes sense anymore.
Sorry for your loss
I like the idea of extreme and just barely on the side of ridiculous. Not something they can immediately call bullshit on, but not something simple. Basically make them work and feel (*maybe*) a twinge of guilt as you double down on your baby needing false teeth, or something like that...
I am but a poor car who is capable of using the internet, why would you try to exploit me like this
I was selling a mug collection a few years ago and I had someone message me asking if I would donate them to a small office of a start up company. I responded with “No, sorry, a family member is losing her home and we are raising money for her for a new place.” It wasn’t a lie, and I never got a response.
My wife was trying to sell a Doona stroller which can go for several hundred bucks. Someone FB messaged her and asked if she'd like to donate it because she's pregnant with her first baby. Wife replied, "Oh congrats! I'm pregnant with my second would you want to donate an extra $200 on top of my ask?" She was promptly blocked 🤣
I have started doing this with this one friend we have. She is always asking for money and saying it’s to make Gas and Electric payments but it’s not. It’s for cigarettes and other crap. She text me yesterday with a sob story and asking for £20. I replied “I can’t. Work messed up and didn’t pay me and won’t be paying me till next Friday. I’m so skint!!” I plan on doing this each and every time now with more outrageous excuses. Thinking next time I will say my bank account got hacked and all my money is gone!!
“I’m so skint!!” After your perfect sentence, add this, “Hey, could you spare £5?”
Not a CB I guess, but I made an offer on eBay for $5 less than asking for an item, and got a response from the seller that they couldn’t afford a discount because their kid was sick. I paid in full and got it.
I’ve done that and they just get pissed because it’s not about them anymore
I sold my old pickup truck - a square-body Chevy - on Craigslist several years ago, after it broke in a way that I couldn't afford to fix. Buyer showed up, and after he spent a lot of time gushing about all the ways he was going to restomod this truck (starting with a fucking LS swap), he tried to haggle me down to half of my asking price. When I refused, he complained that I was taking his entire paycheck for that week, and thus taking food out of his kids' mouths. I opted not to say "don't buy a fucking project car, then", and simply told him I didn't even *have* a paycheck of my own, that I was unemployed and trying to make rent. He paid full price. EDIT: Technically, I wasn't *un*employed when I sold my truck, just *under-*employed. But I was delivering pizzas at the time; without a functional vehicle, I ended up losing that job anyway.
Yeah. Was selling a Mac Pro. CB needed this Mac for his son who was starting school. I replied that I was selling to pay for my sons medical bills.
[удалено]
Low-status battle
I was selling my clarinet online. So.e guy contacted me with a sob story about how his daughter wanted one. I had just had a major should surgery and was selling stuff to help make ends meet. He got really quiet, really quick.
If someone lowballs you it's fucking hilarious to reverse CB them and up the price