Post #413933 by kingstiedye on Fri, Oct 17, 2008 5:39 PM

here's the b.s. e-mail exchange:
"Hi Bullet,

Let's see, for the Green Volcano Bowl, it's a very low # 4 in the limited series, so for that one, I'd ask $120.

For the 4 snack tubs, I'd ask $40.

Thanks,
Melissa"
my reply:
"that sounds fine, melissa. how would you like to complete the deal? cheers, b"
then i get this:
"Hi Bullet,
Someone is offering me $250 for the volcano bowl and $75 for the snack tubs and she is in the area. I'm not sure what to do here...you contacted me first, but she's offering more and can come in person this weekend...."
here's my reply:
"well, what you SHOULD do is tell her you have already made a deal to sell them. if you need the money soon, i can do that. if you wanted an auction, you could have put them on ebay. as far as i'm concerned, we have a deal. bullet"
here's her last e-mail:
"You know Bullet, I'm new to the whole Tiki Central scene. Everyone has been really lovely and friendly, several people even telling me "Wow, you know, you should really charge more for that, it's so rare...how long has it been since you actively collected / traded?"

It's my preference to sell in person---I'm not comfortable mailing the Munktikis and Shags in particular. And I was upfront about that. And while you did say you might be in the area in a couple of weeks, I had an equally eager buyer ready to show up immediately. And I'm in the process of moving, so time is of the essence for me.

Someone offered me $350 for the Green Volcano Bowl---if I mailed it to Ohio. I was not cool with that, so I declined. Instead, I sold it yesterday for $200 to a really awesome collector, super-friendly, who was willing to drive to my place, pick it up right away in person, and cherish it.

So ultimately it's not about the money for me---it's most important that a true appreciator buys these mugs to display them, use them, etc. And from what I hear, you are one of the top, if not THE, collector / appreciator on Tiki Central. Yes, the 40+ people with whom I've been emailing, trying to juggle all their requests quickly and fairly, all know of you and speak of you, quite respectfully.

So when I threw $120 out there (before I had a chance to do any sort of research at all), that probably sounded amazing. I can see why you're flustered---getting volcano bowl basically for a steal would've been fantastic....but not entirely fair to me. Had the difference been only $20 or so, I would have set the bowl aside and taken on total blind faith your possibility of driving down to San Jose in a few weeks.

But I am moving and I do need think about my finances. And I stated my apprehension about shipping. I'm honest, I'm not charging ridiculous prices (like many others I've noticed), in fact I'm looking to Tiki Central folk to mentor me on pricing. I've set my prices to average selling price, not the highest. Because the spirit of the exchange is important to me.

So you have my apologies that volcano bowl didn't work out. And you have my promise that he's found a good home. And you still have my offer of the 4 Snack Tubs, which----because they are sturdier and have no protruding or delicate appendages---I would consider shipping.

So your previous email, instructing me as to what I SHOULD do and sounding rather peeved, isn't really friendly.

Again, my apologies it didn't work out this time.

~Melissa"
what a load of crap!

[ Edited by: kingstiedye 2008-10-17 17:40 ]