Advice Request re Fairness in Selling

[kootenay joe]

I have a few knives that i have posted in AAPK over the last 3 years that resulted in other members contacting me and saying "if ever you want to sell it, please let me know. I will buy it". Each time i would respond "no plans to sell this one, but if i change my mind i will let you know".
Now i am considering selling some of these knives because i need the $ more than the knife. I do remember which knives brought these requests but i cannot recall who it was that i promised to contact. For some of these knives 4 or 5 people said they wanted to buy it.
If i post these for sale in the For Sale Forum they might get snapped up before any of the 'requesters' see them and they will rightly feel annoyed and lied to.
How can i manage this fairly ?
One possible way would be to post it for sale and say: "if you are interested, PM me with an offer. This listing will be open for 5 days after which i will contact the person who has submitted the highest offer". Five days would ensure that every person who told me they would buy it, has a chance to see it being for sale.
However, are there any rules against selling in this manner ?
And do you see this as fair ?
Can you suggest another way that might be more fair ?
I know many of you here have more experience than i do in buying and selling knives and quite possibly have missed out on knives that you thought would be sold to you 'one day'. Hence i am asking for your input. I'm sure i will learn something and quite possibly it will help me 'do the right thing'.
thank you, kj

[New_Windsor_NY]

Hi KJ, try this first. Click on your own user-name or profile. When you get to that page, on the right side, about half way down, click on "Search User's Posts." When you get to that page, you can enter key words in the search box. It will only show results from YOUR posts. You "may" be able to see who responded to the various knife posts you made. Just keep entering more and more specific terms until you get the results you want. It isn't as complicated as it sounds, even with the amount of posts that you've made.

[kootenay joe]

Thanks N_W but the requests i received were in PM's or email, both of which have long since been deleted to make room for new messages. I think these folks did not want their interest to be known and at least one person actually asked that their interest be kept confidential.
kj

[New_Windsor_NY]

Oh well, good luck with it all then.

[richard]

as you say 4/5 people wanted to buy. a knife.
they cant all have it.
so your suggestion to offer . for sale . to highest bidder . seems fair to me.
just saying

[TripleF]

Start a thread......"Who PM'd me about wanting to buy this knife?"

[Paladin]

Start a thread......"Who PM'd me about wanting to buy this knife?"

Scott nailed it. Resolve it before you put the knives out there. Let the potential buyers step up and identify themselves.

Ray

[kootenay joe]

Thank you Scott & Ray. For some reason i never thought of starting a thread to ask who had contacted me. Seems obvious now that it has been stated.
kj

[gsmith7158]

Roland I'm pretty sure that I made those statements about any and all of the beautiful knives that you have shown over the years, so please clear all mammoth or ivory knives with me prior to listing.

[Paladin]

Roland I'm pretty sure that I made those statements about any and all of the beautiful knives that you have shown over the years, so please clear all mammoth or ivory knives with me prior to listing.

I knew that one was coming! I just didn't know from where!

Ray

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Roland I'm pretty sure that I made those statements about any and all of the beautiful knives that you have shown over the years, so please clear all mammoth or ivory knives with me prior to listing.

Problem solved!


In all seriousness Roland I think what Scott suggested is the best approach to this situation if you want to give these people who had prior interest a shot at these knives. That's the best you can do, everybody can't get what they want but the good thing is where there is one knife there are more.

[kootenay joe]

Thanks to the advice here i now know how to handle this. Now i need to find the courage to part with knives that are some of my best ones. I have an 'attachment' problem.
kj

[doglegg]

Roland, seeing the knives you have already parted with it really makes me excited about these new ones.

[deo-pa]

Scott's approach seems quite fair. I can remember making such a statement about one of your CF Kayser's. So if you decide to sell one of your CFKs I may well be the guy who PM'd you.

Dennis

[Chase]

Roland,

I agree with the guys who have already posted. I would just put it out there that anyone who has asked for one of your knives, via PM or email, to please contact you again. I wouldn't post a picture until you have given those folks the opportunity to reconnect with you.

After that..put them up and take the highest bidder!

Good luck my friend

Tom

[kootenay joe]

Tom, thanks, "putting it out there" is a good idea. Maybe i should start a new thread to request the 're-contact' so that people involved will have a good chance to read it ? And in which forum: General Knife Discussion" or in the "For Sale" forum ?
kj

[robbobus]

Roland, I like the way property in the U.K. is brokered. "Offers over £xxx accepted.". For some reason, $xxx obo means less than the asking price to most people. One occasion I had a dozen people want to purchase an item I listed, one guy offered me double what I was hoping to get.

[kootenay joe]

Rob, 'overs over $xxx' would be an excellent way to list a knife. In some forums, BF is an example, a selling price must be stated in the listing so asking for offers would not be acceptable. As far as i know there is no similar rule here at AAPK. It would certainly help sellers to get 'market price', particularly for the more rare knives which are not sold often enough to know a market value.
kj

[Chase]

Roland,

I would put in General Knife Discussion and link it to the for sale threads. I would also state that anyone that has responded previously must respond by a certain date (be reasonable say 7-10 days max) then put them up for sale, with a statement for sale to highest bidder over a certain amount, above your determination.

Tom

[eveled]

I love seeing the work you do on the knives Joe. I appreciate your integrity in even being concerned about the commitments you’ve made. It speaks volumes about your integrity.

Good luck on all the sales. I hope you get top dollar for all of them.

[kootenay joe]

Eveled, thanks, your kind words mean a lot to me. Rather than 'top dollar' i prefer a deal in which buyer and seller are equally happy with the deal. This usually means a little less than top dollar.
When i was much younger, an older friend advised me to "always leave a little in it for the next guy" which i have tried to do in all my dealings from knives to real estate.
kj