Why so many Flaky Buyers?

Hey, i have to admit that i have "flaked out" a few times. Typically, it is strictly due to an oversight on my part. Between all the spam, communications related to my business, "talkin' jive" with my buddies, audio stuff, etc... I sometimes have as many as 70 - 85 emails waiting for me when i get home!!! Needless to say, i have to skip over some stuff without making immediate responses and come back to it later. If i have a few "downpours" of email in a row, it might take me a couple of days to sort through it all. More than a few times ( unfortunately ), some things have gotten lost in the shuffle.

By the time that i realize what has happened, the product is usually already spoken for or the seller may not feel confident in doing business with someone that "disappears" for several days. This is besides the situations that arise with computers going "haywire", server based problems, phone lines that act up, etc...

While nobody ( buyer or seller ) likes getting "jacked around", I guess that we need to take this type of situation into consideration and realize that some people are not quite as "addicted" ( to both the puter and audio ) as we are. Sean
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Something that Driver said about requesting in-person pickup of an item & then never hearing from them again struck me......Usually when I'm buying a used component sight unseen I request the Serial# from the seller. That is so I can call the manufacturer & ask questions about the version, any upgrades, has that unit been in for repairs, etc. You'd be amazed what you can learn from doing that. But a certain # of sellers never respond again, or get really uptight, when I ask them for that info.....I wonder why? Would be like buying a used car without getting the VIN# first in order to obtain a Carfax report......

Lots of thoughtful responses, but I'm sorry I don't agree with the many excuses some have given. Comparing selling used high-end equipment with selling new cars is hardly a valid comparison. Neither is the implication that since you are the buyer, you can do whatever you want, and that is your perogative. What ever happened to common courtesy & some degree of ethics? I guess that's kind of similar to much of the state of our society.

There are lots of 'buyers' out there who don't know what the hell they want to do. It almost seems like it is a game played for its own purpose. You don't email a seller saying you will buy the item, only to follow this with no replies or meaningless excuses not to follow through. Yes, things happen, and I fully understand that, but I can tell you that much of the time, it has nothing to do with this. Rather, there are other, less healthy dynamics in play here.

Sounding a little bitter there. These are facts of life and human nature. And as far as comparing with used car sales, whether you want to admit it or not, it is a lot like selling used cars or used anything, with both parties trying to get the best deal they can, and those are the dynamics at hand. And until the money has exchanged hands, the buyer or the seller will do what ever they want and do. And courtesy goes both ways, don't try to lay this all on the buyer. It is the unethical seller that caused most buyers to be wary. You've heard"good deal, buyer tells 10, bad deal tells 100"? It rings very true, no matter the business.
And on the subject of knowing what they want? Who has always known exactly what they wanted? Seems to me those of us that do the selling have an obligation to do some honest informing as well. And it does cost us a sale and it does change people's mind, but the truth will do that. I get a little fed up with those on theis site and 1 other I visit(rec.audio.markeplace) with those audiophiles among us that want to run off those that ask questions about the Pioneers, Fishers, Bose and what not. And yes, A lot of the questions seem pretty stupid to me too, but I also remember a guy that thought you had to put the microphones in front of the speakers to record to tape. Someone laughed at me and thought it was funny, but he showed me how to do it. We that know have the responsibility to teach.
I turn away sales, not often but often enough that I remember it. And its usually from a not knowing buyer. We as sellers do have an obligation if we are going to be any good at this to occasionally do that, because its the right thing to do. Salespeople, the good ones, close 3 out of 10 deals. That leaves you with the choice of offending the other 7, as I think you are doing here, or learning from them.

How about flaky sellers? I had one deal this last month where we went through a week of settling all the details and all he had to do was send a payment request to PayPal, and he decided he wasn't going to sell the item. This after it had been listed for a month and then relisted. Sigh...