Warning when selling birds on gumtree Perth

[Bmac27]

Gday all ...
Just thought I'd share a rather unpleasant encounter I experienced today from a bloke here in Perth ... and a warning to those advertising on Gumtree and the crazies you can come across !

The guys name is Darryl and he is from Dianella , North of the river , who has red Strawberry finches for sale but not advertised ...
He responded to my ad last week as I was looking for a hen to couple with my cock bird and has been harassing me by phone call trying to force me into buying from him ... initially I told him I'd come take a look (at no time did I indicate I was going to definitely purchase the birds) but after a think about it I called him up and politely declined as he stated he had 3 pairs all in one aviary with 15 young and had no idea which were which as they were not tagged or separated and couldn't tell me if they were related or not .
Long story short he has called me half a dozen times and text messaged me today and sprayed me with all sorts of abuse , practically called me every name under the sun ... what a laugh !
You really do come across some absolute fruit loops out there on Gumtree ... just be careful who you deal with as this guy was quite suss in his approach , very pushy and boy did I cop it when I told him I was not interested .
From now on ill be sticking to reputable breeders whom I've associated with in the past .
Cheers ,
Brad

[Pete Sara]

Mate I have had the same but with people wanting birds. I have a rosa bourke that I still have and 3 people at one stage wanted it. The first was a no show at last minute , then the next the same thing a week later. The 3rd I gave up on as they have done it to me before as I recognize and keep most numbers for security sake..

The price will go up when I get the dna results back if its a hen ....A lot of time wasters on there ...Let alone cant read pick ups weekends only , or asking for birds that you don't have for sale. It takes all sorts I guess . Or the big shocker I didn't realize where you were , well hello that's why its says my suburb in the add .

. Pete

[Niki_K]

Gumtree is a huge headache! I get so many people contacting me for birds, then saying my $5 zebs are too pricey, or asking me to hold them, then not showing up at all. On the flip side, I also end up with people just showing up at my place, after I give them my address for pick up, despite clearly telling them to call or text beforehand! They don't seem to understand when I say that I need at least 30 mins notice to catch the birds, and just think they can show up at any time they please without checking if I'm even home or not!
Even more surprisingly, I get heaps of people asking for me advice, as though I'm a vet!! I've had at least 3 people contact me, wanting to know what they should do, as their finch has a.) broken a leg, b.) flown away, c.) hurt it's wing!!!

[Bmac27]

Yeah I've heard it all Pete n Nikki , from sob stories , to threats from a whacko who told me her hubby was a homicide detective and that everyone was out to harm her and kill all her birds ... wouldn't stop going on and on about how many people were stalking her , I've had outlandish requests to reduce the going price of an uncommon species to less than half it regular retail value ... even people who have no clue what they are buying and when I explain that the birds are high maintenance they all of the sudden change their minds ...
Some are innocent enough and you can pick up on that , but the ones who think they can play you for a fool really get on my nerves ....
This bloke today though ... he took the cake !!!
Never have I experienced anything like it , he virtually lost his breakfast at me haha ..even dropped the big C-bomb on me too for crying out loud .... all because I politely explained that I was unwilling to risk buying an inbred bird if he could not be sure of its parentage !
Well he didn't take too kindly to that and proceeded to call me an effing pr..k , get effed you effing C-bomb
And this guy would have to have been a senior citizen by the sounds of his voice ... talk about gobsmacked , I didn't know whether to be offended or just laugh at what had just happened !
Some people !!!

[elferoz777]

That sis pretty ballsy considering he was going to give you his address to collect the birds!!!

You could have been be a maniac and come to his house to sort him out LOL!

[firetail555]

I put a lounge suite on Gumtree and somehow a scammer linked my phone number to his computer and made enquiries for hundreds of items asking to be emailed and I something like 500 text messages over a 3 day period in reply, some calling me a scammer!! I dont use gumtree at all anymore

[Niki_K]

Wow, that's pretty extreme (and bizarre!)

*sigh* 4th person in a row that I've held birds for and hasn't shown up, only to text that he'll contact me later about them grrrr! Sometimes, selling birds is far more trouble than it's worth!!

[Diane]

Thats why I prefer to sell to the local bird places. I dont even bother catching up the birds till I know if they are wanted and the price suits. I ring the local places, they say no or yes and quote a price, if Im happy with that I take the birds that day. Done and dusted.

Dont get as much as when selling direct to public but they will take more than one or two buyers would in one go and the benefits of not having to wait for Joe Public to turn up and the other problems mentioned in other posts make up for that.

[gouldianpaul]

Gday all ...
Just thought I'd share a rather unpleasant encounter I experienced today from a bloke here in Perth ... and a warning to those advertising on Gumtree and the crazies you can come across !

The guys name is Darryl and he is from Dianella , North of the river , who has red Strawberry finches for sale but not advertised ...
He responded to my ad last week as I was looking for a hen to couple with my cock bird and has been harassing me by phone call trying to force me into buying from him ... initially I told him I'd come take a look (at no time did I indicate I was going to definitely purchase the birds) but after a think about it I called him up and politely declined as he stated he had 3 pairs all in one aviary with 15 young and had no idea which were which as they were not tagged or separated and couldn't tell me if they were related or not .
Long story short he has called me half a dozen times and text messaged me today and sprayed me with all sorts of abuse , practically called me every name under the sun ... what a laugh !
You really do come across some absolute fruit loops out there on Gumtree ... just be careful who you deal with as this guy was quite suss in his approach , very pushy and boy did I cop it when I told him I was not interested .
From now on ill be sticking to reputable breeders whom I've associated with in the past .
Cheers ,
Brad

It's always difficult when you are selling birds outside your own network of fincho's. Personally that's why I sell most of my birds via this site, our local bird club or the bird sales. I still get the annoying person placing orders for birds then continue to shop around (amongst my contact of finchos by the way). Then when the birds are ready they claim they don't have any money at the moment.

So for me I think the best way is to take a deposit when orders are made or inform the buyers first in will have pick of those available.....and if I had a $1 for every time a buyer came in and went straight to the avairy that I clearly informed them was my breeding stock so don't bother looking at one of those b/c they are not for sale....then I would be rich!!

I guess it's all part of the "fun" of selling your excess stock...but you shouldn't have to put up with that sought of abuse.

Cheers
Paul

[Alf63]

I would sell 90% of my excess stock at bird sales these days. I only sell from home to people I know well otherwise my gates stay locked.

The internet is a wonderful thing but is the last great refuge of scammers and nutters and as such I never sell on Gumtree, Petlink etc.

Regards

Alf