The Story of the Poor Loser and the Greedy Inlander

[Frank Beck]

Once upon a time there was a villager in the Empire who was selling a 914. We'll call him "Charlie". This man had a beautiful wife and a 914-6 engine. One day he thought “I’m weary and my eyesight is weak, instead of restoring this load of crap I’m going to put it on Craigslist and sell it for $8,000 so I can buy my wife something special. Like beer, a new cassette player, jewelry, or breast augmentation.”

Not two hours after the ad was placed people started calling. And texting. And emailing. From all over the world! Now this man was nobody’s fool and realized that maybe he had priced his load of crap too low. It soon became apparent to the villager that he should talk to as many callers as possible to see what they had to say before he committed to a Buy It Now price. One person realized that he was no longer in the running to purchase the load of crap for $8,000 and blurted out “You DO KNOW you have a 1967 911S engine there and it’s worth far more than what you’re asking for it!” Since he couldn’t buy it he figured “The SOB who buys this is going to pay through the nose. I’m going to teach some early Porsche 911S owners a lesson or two.”

The villager decided at that point to accept “offers”. When one of the callers told him he wasn’t the auction type the villager said “This is not an auction”. The short, old, obnoxious caller said “Of course it is and you’re no longer satisfied with your original contracted asking price. You’re holding an auction.” The villager, frustrated and obviously pissed, said “Do you want to buy this or are you just busting my chops?” The short, old, obnoxious Porsche artifacts collector said “The latter and I’m not your guy”.

The moral of the story: Sour grapes always produce bad whine.

[DOUGS73E]

Story well told; I wonder what 'this load of crap' went for?
Photos and copy below from the Craigs List ad:
"914-6 Barn Find - $8000 (Chino Hills)" - in SoCal










what was found...
all the pieces front to back, top to bottom. yes it is in pieces but its all there. The brief history is that the guy i bought it off of took a totaled 914-6 and started bolting everything to a 1974 914-4 so all four corners are bolted in, but the rest is in boxes. it is priced to sell it is what it is and the details are in the pictures. i will answer what i can but i am not an expert at what im looking at.
WILL NOT PART OUT!!
9096319793
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[rower]

I am glad someone nice told him what he had.

[derwhite]

And Frank..........the guy's name was Buster!

CW

[gsjohnson]

And everyone lived happily ever after

[BrentF]

It soon became apparent to the villager that he should talk to as many callers as possible to see what they had to say before he committed to a Buy It Now price.

Not sure that a listing on Craiglist stating an offering price is the equivalent (contractually speaking) of the Buy It Now concept on Ebay, as you seem to be suggesting? Your beef doesn't resonate with me. The Villager meanwhile is no Village Idiot, because he had the presence of mind to post the various serial numbers so prospective buyers would know exactly what was being offered for sale. Absent that information, i doubt whether you (and a host of other people) would have given this Craiglist ad a second look. Better luck next time. Always a good idea to separate your emotions/ego from a potential sale/purchase.

[Frank Beck]

Actually I was eyeing the hood badges.

[Flat Six, inc.]

I don't even bother calling on ads anymore...especially Craigslist.

[Jim Garfield]

Yeah, I don't know what it is about Craigslist that brings out the flakes. I think every time I have called about something on Cl something is always weird.

[Frank Beck]

I find it fascinating (I really do) that some of you don't understand that those of us in the biz generally buy everything Porsche related at wholesale because we can. (Caveat: Unless of course I need something for a project then I have to bite the bullet.)
Your mission of enlightening every seller of a Porsche thing's actual value is to be commended but a casual observer of history and other cultures might think you stepped in a big pile of socialism. (Trying to make everything "fair" is a fool's errand.)

BUT please don't accuse people like me of taking advantage of a seller just because I expect to purchase at their advertised price. The price that THEY established.

I have often sold things for less than their "market" value. I don't begrudge those buyers at all; good for them. When the seller gets what he wants and the buyer can turn around and make money everyone is happy. I sleep very, very well at night knowing that I left money on the table for the next guy.