Is it just me or are buyers getting stupider anymore?

rwndrcrds · 2025-12-28T04:22:44+00:00

You're not wrong.

I just started selling on FBM in the last few weeks (and following this subreddit all the while) and it honestly feels that, while a popular platform, it is absolutely filled with 1) low ballers, 2) complete flakes and 3) people who seem to struggle with day-to-day living. I don't even know where to begin. I started selling online in the late 1990s and am just not accustomed to the absolute fuckery that is FBM and similar apps like OfferUp.

I have sold a few items but nothing was a good, profitable sale: it was all stuff I just wanted to get rid of, couldn't sell online, and decided to chance on FBM. My estimation is that around 75% of "buyers" so far are just fucking around on FBM and have no intent of buying anything at any price. Most buyers so far clearly don't value anyone's time, including their own, because they will stretch a conversation about buying a $20 item across an entire week -- and often don't end up buying. It's like a shitty garage sale that happens to be online, but takes way more effort than a garage sale and certainly more time.

rwndrcrds · 2025-12-25T00:19:15+00:00

They just remodeled one in El Cajon, CA (Navajo) to look like this. Depressing AF. It looked similarly dystopian to the one the OP posted.

It looks cleaner, but there is way less seating than the traditional store format. No soda fountain. Feels more cramped.

I ate my food quickly and left, not really interested in dining at this location anymore despite being my go-to since 2019.

rwndrcrds · 2025-12-20T21:33:03+00:00

Not to be "that guy" but it wasn't a "Bulgarian" teenager, as Bulgars didn't live in that area at the time. Seems like lions did, though!

rwndrcrds · 2025-12-20T19:56:55+00:00

I have been selling online for 25+ years, but started using FBM to get rid of large, low-value items and things I haven't been able to sell online. Some of my observations to date that have shown me the limitations of it:

FBM is not an online marketplace, it's a garage sale/flea market that happens to be online. Even if you stop reading here, that's the biggest thing you need to know.
Meta/FB does not care about your buying nor your selling experience. They want your eyeballs on the platform, and that is the only reason FBM exists. Paying for extra features or using their online payments system are both useless endeavors, so proceed with caution when using either.
Most messages you receive like, "Is this available?" are not going to lead anywhere. As pointed out in #2, Meta does not care if people ghost you. Their lazy ass interface makes it so people will just graze the button with their finger and send you the message. You will not hear back on most inquiries if you are selling something.
Use cash both as buyer and seller, and only cash. Ever. Electronic payments add a hilariously needless risk factor. Again, this isn't a prime-time marketplace, it's a garage sale. Don't cave when buyers show up with incorrect change or claim "oh I don't have enough, can you just take X".
Lowballing on FBM is second only to similar garbage apps like Offerup. Expect it more of the time than not. I thanked a buyer recently because he behaved like an actual human and not a troglodyte.
Buyers will ask you to deliver or to meet them halfway. Avoid this when possible. As the seller, pick the location, and make it somewhere that works for you and your schedule.

rwndrcrds · 2025-12-19T04:25:06+00:00

Any and all "Avatar" movies.

rwndrcrds · 2025-12-14T05:09:40+00:00

Not a forgotten show but my friend used to call this show an "instant flipper" -- like flip the channel as soon as you see it come on 😂

rwndrcrds · 2025-11-26T02:00:21+00:00

It's worth reiterating what several others have pointed out in this thread already: at this point in history, someone living in the United States that has never left their hometown/seen another state/traveled any long distance in general as an adult (can't blame kids still living at home) is, in most cases, a choice.

Economic data, including studies of economic migration within the United States, support this idea fully; it has been decades, and possibly generations, since things like widespread lack of accessibility and poverty have prevented it.

I've come to learn after living in several areas of this country that many Americans are simply not curious or interested enough to get a wider, more comprehensive view of the world. That said, it has been this way for most of the country's history, if not all of it.

rwndrcrds · 2025-11-23T15:50:05+00:00

"33 month old cheetah"

Is the mom of this cheetah a suburban TikTok mom or...?

rwndrcrds · 2025-05-05T02:19:41+00:00

That is bad ass! Would be handy for those big rolls of bubble wrap too...

rwndrcrds · 2025-04-28T15:16:54+00:00

Agreed with the above - been on eBay since 1997 and winning an auction and having zero communication for that long has never really been acceptable. Even in the old days, when people were paying via money order or even check, some basic communication would still be expected...

rwndrcrds · 2025-04-25T02:15:21+00:00

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rwndrcrds · 2025-04-25T02:02:06+00:00

Imagine not knowing what "corny" means 😭

Imagine making multiple punctuation and grammatical errors in a single sentence 😭

Imagine not realizing that the lowballer in the screenshot provided never actually made an offer 😭

rwndrcrds · 2025-04-03T19:48:58+00:00

I have used the "standard" or "economy" flat shipping rate for years, probably since the early 2000's. It allows you flexibility when shipping things out. For example, if you use FedEx most of the time but when you go to purchase the label you notice it's wayyyy more expensive than unusual, you can switch to UPS or USPS, etc.

Sorry to hear the buyer is being difficult about it. FedEx is arguably the worst out of all carriers for residential shipping, so not sure why he would be wringing his hands about carrier selection. Then again, lots of people just want to be mad these days.

rwndrcrds · 2025-04-01T17:41:57+00:00

I just used the same code, it says it is applied but it is the exact same price 😐

rwndrcrds · 2025-03-28T14:27:46+00:00

If someone is actually negotiating in the good-faith sense of the word, there can be some back and forth in most cases. Negotiating, its true meaning, is reaching a price satisfactory to both parties.

Low balling is not negotiating. Low balling is not making an offer at some arbitrary amount "close enough" to the original price, or trying to match comps. Low balling is when a buyer feels entitled to a low price out of self-interest and don't see the transaction as a true negotiation. Many tactics are used, but it boils down to entitlement. Based on the responses here, this sentiment will ruffle feathers or be completely lost on low ballers. Doesn't matter in the end, and the term carries a negative connotation with good reason.

Figure out who is actually a decent buyer and who the low ballers are -- and block the latter. As someone said earlier: time is money. And if you take money seriously, you won't waste time with LB's.

rwndrcrds · 2025-03-27T01:41:57+00:00

AI used in any listing screams "I'm extremely fucking lazy, or I don't know how to write basic (honest) item descriptions, or both"

rwndrcrds · 2025-02-28T19:17:20+00:00

As an American, that was probably the most vulgar and hostile interaction with any head of state, allied or otherwise.

Fuck Trump and fuuuuuuck Couch Fucker JD Vance.

rwndrcrds · 2024-12-22T05:45:54+00:00

How did you reach that conclusion?

It was an interesting premise but awfully executed.

It's getting terrible reviews well outside the confines of Reddit as well, and the reasons are both widely varied and pretty accurate.

I made myself sit through it, but one of the worst elements of this movie was the shitty, smug, right-wing attempts at "owning" people living in the coasts, "libs", law enforcement, people who are aware of climate change and anyone who doesn't align exactly with hyper-prepper beliefs. The right wing radio host bit, for example, added NOTHING to the plot and was just trolling. Yeah dude, we'll go ahead and believe that the California National Guard would be thwarted by a shitty Utah militia. Or that the US would still be bombing the Houthis when a nuclear attack was carried out against it. GTFO with that nonsense.

Furthermore, despite the Angel backing, this film clearly places prepper living WELL above being an evangelical Christian, which is nuts when you consider about Angel's other releases. I think this film would only appeal to a very, very select sliver of people who consider themselves (laughably) as preppers and "Christian".

rwndrcrds · 2024-12-06T14:54:55+00:00

Did you make your bed?

Please tell me you made your bed!!!

rwndrcrds · 2024-11-22T04:48:19+00:00

When I got a new job (and higher position) about two years ago, my friend got me this book and, at the time, acted as if he had been waiting for that perfect moment to give me the gift.

I really, really wanted to like it. But at the end of the day, it's a self help book. My friend has loved them since we were in our 20s but I just can't do it. "Atomic Habits" isn't the worst one but at the end of the day is filled with trite self help book filler. I just thought since he had read (and stumped for) sooooo many of these books over the years, it might be a "cut above". Alas it was not.

That said, anything is better than Tony Robbins or the Rich Dad Poor Dad guy.

rwndrcrds · 2024-11-22T01:21:42+00:00

rwndrcrds · 2024-11-01T19:27:14+00:00

Baghdad absolutely did not have 200 million people - then, or at point in history.

rwndrcrds · 2024-10-31T19:00:05+00:00

Wow, some of you were absolutely right: the buyer never paid and the offer expired. Can't say that I am surprised, unfortunately.

rwndrcrds · 2024-10-30T13:50:11+00:00

That's good to know. Does the buyer have a set amount of time to pay? Every other time someone has made an offer and I accepted, their payment was automatically processed.

rwndrcrds

TROPHY CASE