Beware of Dealing with Member calibration aka Cal Smith

[rigmaster]

I have sold a few things and bought alot more than I sold...3 of my cases came back to me because they were not perfect, no big deal I refunded their money and didn't give them bad I trader.Engles cases are hand made and not always perfect like people!No big deal to me... I sold them to someone else that understood hand made.

 

[TheMarsMan]

It means that his buyer didn't pay, which makes him not a buyer (yet). Lenny was the one that packaged the item without payment, and as even Lenny says, really all that's happened there is Lenny has it ready to go for his real buyer. Sales fall through all the time for all sorts of reasons. Again, what's the harm?

As far as a guaranteed sale goes, I think any salesperson will tell you that your sale is guaranteed once you have the payment (or a signed contract), or, for a guy like me, after the buyer has had the item through his inspection period (which is when I figure I have a guaranteed sale).

if you are going to sell stuff, your buyers are going to jerk you around a bit, it happens in all sorts of sales, it has nothing to do with the lack of integrity in pool. Any sales guys will tell you you have to let stuff like this roll off your back. if you can't, you really shouldn't be selling. You know, as little harm that happened to Lenny, even less happened to you, yet you are having a very hard time letting this one go.

What do you suggest we should do to Cal? What does he deserve here?

Thanks

Kevin

The harm is he had another buyer who didn't get the cue because it was already "sold". When the other buyer was contacted two weeks later he didn't have the money anymore.

So the bottom line is he screwed up a sale by promising to buy the cue and not following through.

 

[Goose1972]

i think these two guys need to move on. sounds like they've both been stand up people here for a while.

i think the tone has been way to harsh, on a guy who simply changed his mind. fast lenny still has his product, s&it happens. dont do business with him again. but this thread i think is overkill.

i personally feel bad for calibration. seen the title of the thread for days, and thought he pulled some super sc@m bag move. but in reading this. i think people need to grow up, roll with the punches. the petty action from a potential buyer, has been answered by a public witch hunt.

 

[classiccues]

So the fact that calibration gave his name and home address, and had made arrangements to pay, but never did means what then? Sounds like a guaranteed sale to me. Or did you neglect to read that the cue was already packaged and ready to ship, just awaiting payment that never came?

Any cue dealer will tell you this has happened to them xxxx times. I agree with Mars, the hurt is when you take it off the market and or deny it to some one else who would have paid, and that buyer then moves on.

What Cal did doesn't make him a bad person, or a risk, he just changed his mind. It does suck BTW when it happens.

JV

 

[Fast Lenny]

It means that his buyer didn't pay, which makes him not a buyer (yet). Lenny was the one that packaged the item without payment, and as even Lenny says, really all that's happened there is Lenny has it ready to go for his real buyer. Sales fall through all the time for all sorts of reasons. Again, what's the harm?

As far as a guaranteed sale goes, I think any salesperson will tell you that your sale is guaranteed once you have the payment (or a signed contract), or, for a guy like me, after the buyer has had the item through his inspection period (which is when I figure I have a guaranteed sale).

if you are going to sell stuff, your buyers are going to jerk you around a bit, it happens in all sorts of sales, it has nothing to do with the lack of integrity in pool. Any sales guys will tell you you have to let stuff like this roll off your back. if you can't, you really shouldn't be selling. You know, as little harm that happened to Lenny, even less happened to you, yet you are having a very hard time letting this one go.

What do you suggest we should do to Cal? What does he deserve here?

Thanks

Kevin

If you read my whole post you will see it was more than just saying I'm very interested and I will get back to you kind of thing that happens everyday because I have had that happen countless times. It was simply 20 questions, then I want the cue, give me your address for payment and its being sent out tonight. The cue is marked sold and packaged up with his address ready to go. A week goes by and no check, I ask if it was sent and he states he had some troubles and was trying to pull the funds together, he should have messaged me when he did not send it out immediately, that was mistake number 1.

I message him another week later as I was holding it for him as I was giving him a chance to get the funds together and get the cue, that is what a good seller would do IMO. He does not reply and leaves me hanging so I was fed up and re listed the cue and let him know I was unhappy about it and would let people know how he does business along with the negative iTrader. Let me tell you I am going to send you a check for a cue your looking to move and you have other people interested who will buy the cue but its already marked sold and you tell them it is. 2 weeks go by and no payment so you re-list it but the other buyers have either bought another cue or do not have the funds any longer to purchase.

Re-listing a cue that is marked sold or returned to you for whatever reason does not help selling it because most items will have a handful of potential buyers and it will usually sell within one week of being listed. Like I said I had other people who would have taken the cue. I do not think Cal is a bad guy as I said and there is nothing that can be done other then letting people know what happened and leave the iTrader and if anyone does this to me I will do the same thing because its wrong. I do not want to be strung along again, so if you think its okay to do stuff like that and change your mind after saying your sending payment then I would not want to do business with you period.

I guess in your opinion I should have just not posted and given reasons why the cue was re-listed and warn others about a bad dealing because we had a deal period. You might change your tune when it happens to you, you mark it sold, package it up, and wait 2 weeks while you wait for other buyers. I cannot understand someone rationalizing this kind of stuff, its not as bad as a cue rip off but its still bad business to do which cost me a sale on my cue period. I would say for every 1 person who thinks its not a big deal for people to do this there are 9 who have had it happen to them and think it is.

I am past this and was pissed but now its not the biggest thing on my plate. I am stating if you do this then expect something to happen like this thread and negative iTrader, the iTrader is there for a reason. Notice Cal is not in this thread defending himself because what is there to defend, all I stated was fact and true, he hurt his reputation with his actions, not me. He made a mistake in handling the deal and does not have the money to make the purchase, life goes on and I am sure people will have many good deals with both of us in the future. Next time when you say your going to buy and the check is in the mail then make sure to do so, if something happens then contact the person ASAP instead of leaving them hanging. If I was messaged the day after he did not send payment telling me what happened then this thread would not be here, its the 2 weeks of waiting that pissed me off.

 

[Fast Lenny]

The harm is he had another buyer who didn't get the cue because it was already "sold". When the other buyer was contacted two weeks later he didn't have the money anymore.

So the bottom line is he screwed up a sale by promising to buy the cue and not following through.

John, why do you have to be such a smart person?

 

[ridewiththewind]

I was always under the impression that the deal ain't done until the deal is done...funds have cleared and the buyer is happy with their purchase. I don't even touch those funds until I hear back from the buyer that all is well. Otherwise...it's just a pending sale.

When it does happen...it does suck...no denying that! However...if I have more than one interested party...I try to keep them in the loop until the deal is done/finalized.

I can remember wanting a certain cue so bad at the time...that I waited quite some time for the other potential buyer to poop or get off the pot...and drove the dealer nuts with emails in the interim. I finally got that cue.

Sent from my VM670 using Tapatalk

 

[CPB614]

To be honest, I was a little confused about your posts also. Lenny starts a thread to warn the community about dealing with Cal and you use the thread to warn us about some unnamed seller? I don't get it, what's the benefit to the reader?

Thanks

Kevin

Well, it's actually quite simple...

This thing is pretty common on this site, and all sites like it. The fact that Lenny called out Calibration should be a lesson to all, and even to me.....If more people did this exact action, (whether you agree with it or not) it could possibly prevent it in the future......

Some may even go as far to say there should be a specific area on this site for situations like this...

I was in no way calling out Calibration, I was simply sharing my similar experience with Lenny and the other posters on this thread, as everyone else has done before and after my post...

Maybe we should all take a page out of Lenny's book, then there would be no threads like this if everyone kept their word......

Kevin
Corner Pocket Billiards

 

[mortuarymike-nv]

i trader rules

i suggest everyone look up the rules on giving a i trader rating.

MMike

 

[Hidy Ho]

John, why do you have to be such a smart person?

I'm surprised with kvinbrwr's position. I wonder if he feels the same way if someone put a winning bid on his eBay auction and then not follow through with the payment.

I think Lenny made a right call here .. without any malice or name calling. He did what he felt was right .. to inform the public and reflect the non-payment in iTrader.

Just the facts ma'am - Stan Freberg, often attributed to Joe Friday

 

[jwe711]

...Now, I didn't read every single post...so please excuse me if any of my thoughts are out of line...

My thought is that, you should let the punishment fit the crime.

We all know that it's in bad form, to balk on a sale, once a commitment has been made.

And it didn't help anything when you add, a lack of communication.

And, it didn't help anything when the other potential buyer was dissuaded, because it was then thought to have been sold.

But, I also think that people always want something that is just out of their reach, and they might try really hard to get there...but sometimes they come up short...sounds familiar...huh...?

Anyhow, I'm sure Cal's not such a bad person, buyer or AZer!

 

[kvinbrwr]

I'm surprised with kvinbrwr's position. I wonder if he feels the same way if someone put a winning bid on his eBay auction and then not follow through with the payment.

I think Lenny made a right call here .. without any malice or name calling. He did what he felt was right .. to inform the public and reflect the non-payment in iTrader.

Just the facts ma'am - Stan Freberg, often attributed to Joe Friday

Ho

Yeah I feel that way when it happens to me, and it happens to me lots. I sell for a living. I've just found its better (for me)to let it roll off my back rather than having it affect my attitude and makes it far easier (again for me) to maintain a happy attitude as a sales guy. To each his own. Sorry if it seemed like I was telling anyone that I knew the only way to think about these types of situations. I was trying (perhaps poorly) to illuminate an alternative way of thinking, and one that works for me.

In my experience, we never alter the way people think. Messing with a non-paying "buyer" just puts one in a negative place and really rarely makes them pay, and when they do, quite often as a seller I end up regretting doing business with them at all. Its the buyers that do buy that I'm far more interested in expending my time and energy on.

But again, that's just what works for me. Plus there's always the possibility that if I'm haranguing some guy for not paying me for some transitory item, he's going to tell me some tragic life story and make me feel like a boob, so, me? I move on to the next. Myself, I sell name-brand stuff, and nothing is so rare that there's not another interested party right around the corner.

Thanks

Kevin

 

[cuemaker.mi]

Cal is a good friend of mine and NOT someone who rips people off EVER. He has more money than most people when it comes to buying and selling cues. He has bought hundreds of cues from people all over the world with most of them being over 2500 dollars. I'm sorry that you had a bad deal with him as I have never heard of anything like this before. He is a good and honest guy to deal with. Keep trying to get ahold of him and I'm sure he will answer eventually, especially if you keep bugging him.

As far as sales goes, welcome to reality. I have been a senior sales rep for almost 20 years in an array of items. If I had a penny for everytime someone said that they would buy something and didn't, i would be a trillionair. Try selling cars and you will see what I mean. It is still crappy for someone to do that but it happens everyday all over the world. Be happy that you did not lose out on any money, just time.

Be persistant, he is a good guy and will respond eventually. I'm sorry to hear for your mess and wish you the best. Good Luck.

 

[Kickin' Chicken]

Cal is a good friend of mine and NOT someone who rips people off EVER. He has more money than most people when it comes to buying and selling cues. He has bought hundreds of cues from people all over the world with most of them being over 2500 dollars. I'm sorry that you had a bad deal with him as I have never heard of anything like this before. He is a good and honest guy to deal with. Keep trying to get ahold of him and I'm sure he will answer eventually, especially if you keep bugging him.

As far as sales goes, welcome to reality. I have been a senior sales rep for almost 20 years in an array of items. If I had a penny for everytime someone said that they would buy something and didn't, i would be a trillionair. Try selling cars and you will see what I mean. It is still crappy for someone to do that but it happens everyday all over the world. Be happy that you did not lose out on any money, just time.

Be persistant, he is a good guy and will respond eventually. I'm sorry to hear for your mess and wish you the best. Good Luck.

I must have told you a million times not to exaggerate.

Best,
Brian kc

 

[calibration]

Enough is enough

Guys, this has gone on way to far and its pissing me off. I made a sincere statement earlier in this thread of an apology. But still the crap keeps going and going.... So to show this community of my fellow billiards friends that I am a stand up guy I'll offer this. Fast lenny if you still have the cue i'll take it, heck I'll even give you $25 dollars more than we initially agreed on to aid you in the tremendous suffering and pain that I have caused you. So, balls in your court... Put up or shut up......

I'm pissed....

Cal

 

[ykndoit]

Guys, this has gone on way to far and its pissing me off. I made a sincere statement earlier in this thread of an apology. But still the crap keeps going and going.... So to show this community of my fellow billiards friends that I am a stand up guy I'll offer this. Fast Lenny if you still have the cue i'll take it, heck I'll even give you $25 dollars more than we initially agreed on to aid you in the tremendous suffering and pain that I have caused you. So, balls in your court... Put up or shut up......

I'm pissed....

Cal

No need to be pissed, apologize again and be done with it.

I'm sure this was all due to a lack of communication and the lack of the buyers on your items BUT why did it take this thread to have you come out and apologize for your lack of communication?

That's what this thread is all about, isn't it? Communication? If Lenny said he was gonna ship something to you and you paid for it and didn't contact you for over 2 weeks, I'm guessing there would be a thread about him........

As for people continuing to talk about it, what else are they gonna talk about? AIMING????ROFLMAO!!!!!!

 

[yally]

Guys, this has gone on way to far and its pissing me off. I made a sincere statement earlier in this thread of an apology. But still the crap keeps going and going.... So to show this community of my fellow billiards friends that I am a stand up guy I'll offer this. Fast lenny if you still have the cue i'll take it, heck I'll even give you $25 dollars more than we initially agreed on to aid you in the tremendous suffering and pain that I have caused you. So, balls in your court... Put up or shut up......

I'm pissed....

Cal

I understand both parties. However, I do not agree with this. No one should be pressured by the board into a purchase.

I have had buyers back out multiple times. Sh$t happens, and it sucks. However, I hope that buyer will remember how easy I was to deal with, and do purchases with me in the future.

 

[Goose1972]

this cue is starting to sound awesome, ill give you 50 more then the initil price!!!! J.K. (that means just kidding) angry mob please dont come after me next...

 

[Fast Lenny]

I just read this post about me and am both astonished and saddened. In all my deals on here at AZ with cues over 5k and never a single issue. But here, I have a delay with payment on a $600 Replica Philipino cue and I am trashed to no end.

What is really making me mad is that CPB614 (a guy I have never, ever made any contact with) is making statements that are completely false.

I have never met Fast Lenny in person so I will not comment on his personality. I apologize for delaying on the deal and hope we can meet sometime and make friends over this issue.

Guys, this has gone on way to far and its pissing me off. I made a sincere statement earlier in this thread of an apology. But still the crap keeps going and going.... So to show this community of my fellow billiards friends that I am a stand up guy I'll offer this. Fast lenny if you still have the cue i'll take it, heck I'll even give you $25 dollars more than we initially agreed on to aid you in the tremendous suffering and pain that I have caused you. So, balls in your court... Put up or shut up......

I'm pissed....

Cal

Cal, its not the end of the world, I just thought you handled the transaction poorly. I thought I gave you ample time even after you said you were sending the check out that afternoon and did not. I did not like being left hanging for 2 weeks waiting for you to make payment and then to be told that funds are what they are and not to wait on you if I have another buyer along with you saying that it did not make you jump on the cue because I lowered the price of my other cue drastically, I lowered that cue a drastic $100 due to the shafts on it. Basically you were telling me how 2 of your cue deals fell through so its no big deal that you were doing the same to me that others did to you.

As a seller I do not see where I did anything wrong, I offered a good product at a fair price. You asked for a free DVD after you said you would take the cue and I said sure no problem, I packaged it up ready to go so it would ship quickly. I patiently waited on payment after you said it was going in the mail, I only found out there was a problem when I sent you a PM a week later when it had not arrived. Don't you think when you did not send it out as stated that you should have been the one contacting me?

You say there was a delay, it was a no payment on a cue you said you were buying and sending payment for, big difference. The cue is still in its tube, bubble wrapped and addressed to you, you have my address so the ball is in your court, I will mark it sold when payment is received and trust your word on it. I leave for California the 24th to do a FREE live pool broadcast for 5 days so if payment is not here before that date then I cannot ship until my return a week later. Like I said I did not think you were a bad guy, you just made a mistake in this transaction and frankly I am tired of the people who do stuff like this on here. I had other buyers, one who no longer has the funds to purchase the item and another who bought another cue because he thought this had sold, most cues on here truly have a handful of people who will buy them so I lost on the potential sale to other buyers.

I had to contact a guy on here that his item did not go out like I said it would on Monday, I messaged him on Tuesday and that item will go out today, simple communication because my word is all I have followed up by action. I simply stated the situation in black and white here without any potshots, low blows or childish name calling, I mark something sold and package it up and trust someones word as being good. I dealt with you based on your iTrader which was good, and several reputable people on here also said good things about you too. I am a good guy and probably have made many more mistakes then you have so I will just chalk this all up as one. No hard feelings, first beer is on you.

 

[Fast Lenny]

this cue is starting to sound awesome, ill give you 50 more then the initil price!!!! J.K. (that means just kidding) angry mob please dont come after me next...

It is very nice.