What is it with potential buyers lately?

Wagondriver

Line Up and Wait
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Mar 7, 2020
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375Taylor
I've had a plane for sale for a while now, I have had several offers. One that I wanted to pursue, a couple of low balls, and a full price.

The one I wanted to do was a trade, we exchanged logbooks, I researched his plane's history, spent a considerable amount of time working on logistics of how to trades planes on opposite sides of the country. Then silence, he was supposed to come look at it, but had gone silent, I called and left a message. A day later he calls back and says he didn't want to part with his plane.

The full price agreement was a 6 month goat roping. First he said he'd buy it full price, I said great, when are you going to come look at it? He replied that he wasn't going to, but wanted me to fly it 1000 miles to deliver it. I agreed to deliver it for no cost, that we'll get the transaction done, and for him to make sure his insurance would cover me while I flew it there. He said he doesn't insure planes and would buy it when the plane got to him, and "if its what you say it is, i'll give you full price. I didn't like that idea, but agreed to do it if he sent me a 10% non-refundable deposit. He refused. Deal was off, until he called me a couple weeks later and said he'd buy it for full price if I'd fly it to SoCal, about a 3 hour flight away. He was difficult with the scheduling, demanding it be there on a certain day when his guy could look at it. But, then I call his guy and he can't do it that day, but could on a Sunday. We made a tentative plan, I called the buyer and said that I could get it there, I asked for a $1000 deposit to cover my costs should he decide he didn't want it. ( I live 800 miles from both locations). I gave him wire instructions and told him that I needed to see the deposit by end of day thursday next week or I wouldn't leave home on Friday. I had a 3 hour drive to an airport, then two flights, then a $250 uber to get to the plane. Wire never showed up and I didn't hear from him. Fast forward 4 months, and his guy calls me saying that they want the airplane, I send photos of the log books, he says he wants to come look at it in about 3 weeks. 2.5 weeks goes by and I call to see if he's going to look at it. He says he is, but suggests that I pay for his expenses to come look at it, a 1.75 hour flight in a friends 172. He says its a done deal, they will pay me my listing price, which is now $15k lower than 4 month earlier. He says he has an escrow account set up, that I need to contact them and give them my information. I call the escrow company, there is nothing more than an account pending, all they have is the tail number. All they need from me is my phone number and email. Escrow company needs a deposit before they will do anything, and have to have all the buyers information, which I do not have. And a signed purchase agreement. I call the buyer's guy and we discuss the transaction, he suggests that the payment will not happen until I deliver the airplane for free to Socal. I shut that down, I will not deliver it to california until AFTER they own it, and at $15k under starting price, I will not do it for free, my cost would likely be about $2000. It takes 3 days and I finally get a purchase agreement, they want me to pay half of the fees, delivery is mentioned in 4 places in the contract, and there is a clause that I guarantee the airplane to be airworthy, current airworthiness certificate, current condition inspection, that the log books are complete and accurate, and that all service bulletins are complied with. I call him up and ask why he put that I have to pay half the fees, we had agreed that if they wanted an escrow company that they would pay for it, we discussed once again that I would NOT deliver it, and that I will not sign a guarantee for logbooks and everything else. They had already verified that it had an airworthiness certificate, he had seen every log entry including the most recent annual. After a less than friendly conversation he agreed to make the changes to represent our discussion, and professed that the deposit was already wired. Toward the end of the day I get an email with the revised purchase agreement, it still has me paying for half the fees, still says delivery in every spot except one, and still has the clause about log books and airworthiness. I sent him a text and ask why he sent me another purchase agreement that did not represent what we had discussed. I got a reply text that they will now only give me $115k, another $5k less, and will take possession on Monday, when he came to look at it. We then had a heated phone conversation and I very unprofessionally told him I would not sell it to them. There had never been a deposit wired to the escrow company, and it was now after hours on Friday, there was no money in the escrow account.

Another offer was a Piper Aztec trade. Through email, I told the Aztec owner that I would only trade if I could readily sell his plane for at least $120k. He called me frantically excited, proceeded to tell me that he had his Aztec listed for $140, and wouldn't take less than $130. In describing his plane he left the best for last, one engine was past TBO, but "still runs great".

Had one straight up cash offer of $80k. He admitted it was really low, but that's all he had.

One offer to trade a J-3 and a breezy and cash. But when I inquired about how much cash, I never got an answer. And I sure don't want a breezy.


There is one super low ball offer yesterday, that I declined, but then hours later the guy said he wanted to look at it anyway. Then blew up my phone with insults and inuendos to the tune of probably 20 texts, when I said he couldn't pull it out of the hangar and run it. I am not at the airplane, there is another airplane in front of mine that would have to be moved as well. I didn't feel comfortable letting someone I have never met, and don't like (from the arrogant condescending phone calls and texts), move two planes in and out and run mine without me or someone I know there to observe. The only person there is a neighbor that will open up the hangar, he knows nothing about my plane.
 
Brokers earn every cent of their fee in sifting through these yahoos. There are a shocking number of them. The amount of people who just want to talk about airplanes instead of buy airplanes will ruin anyone's day, week, and month.

I used to be a "no deposits, ever" seller, but anymore I think there needs to be a cover charge. The ditherers and time-wasters are legion.
 
Wow, sorry for your crappy experiences. I've only sold one and that was about as smooth as possible. I did have a bad experience when attempting a purchase for my first airplane, a 182. My broker located one in Colorado and the owner agreed to fly it down to Louisiana at my cost for the prebuy, tentative contract signed, money in escrow. Two days prior to that anticipated flight, the seller goes dark. On the day prior to the expected delivery date, my brokers calls me and tells me to look at FlightAware. The airplane was over Kansas and later landed in MO, and launched to the east 45 minutes later. Ultimately it ended up in NC. We had a very fair deal agreed upon but obviously, some one came in with a better offer after we signed an agreement. My broker wanted to jump in his Baron and go have a face to face with the seller; I told him "Let's move on, there is a better one out there". A few weeks later, we found the much nicer plane I ended up buying. The broker said he has seen more flaky $hi+ like that and what you experienced since 2020.
 
Selling private-party is for the birds. Letting a broker take a fair cut is well worth not having to deal with yahoos.

I tried to sell my bass boat before moving from Texas to Arizona. My attitude was "it's available as-is, where-is". If you want to come take a look before buying, you're more than welcome, but I'm not towing it from DFW to Houston/Austin/OKC/Shreveport/etc until your money hits my account.

I ended up taking it to a well-known local boat dealership, and they were more than happy to sell it on consignment for me. Since I kept it meticulously maintained, they offered it to buyers with the dealership's in-house "certified pre owned" warranty. In no time, they had it sold, and I had a check in hand.
 
When I sold my Citabria, I had guys offering guns, a classic mustang, boats, and strong opinions on how foolishly high I had priced the aircraft and how they would offer me a much more realistic price. I had a guy who seemed like a good prospect and I took him up on a test flight. Then he balked at a 5% deposit to hold the aircraft while he figured out a bank loan, and stated that I should pay for the pre-buy inspection. I had three other potential buyers lined up and no time for that kind of foolishness, so I sold it the next day to a couple of guys who paid full price, used Aerospace Reports as escrow, and arranged their own pre-buy and ferry flight. Easy and smooth when we were all professional.

It's not limited to airplanes though. When I sold my motorcycle, every crazy person on the internet reached out to offer me stupid trades and scold me about my pricing.
 
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I guess I've been lucky; I've bought six airplanes, sold 5 for cash, and traded #6 for #7. But maybe the antique & experimental world is just more reasonable.
 
I've sold a few. I had a couple of those "I'll give you full price if you fly it to me" kinda guys. Nope. Come take a look and bring the cash. If you want a mechanic to look it over bring them with you or send them to see me. I was taught to qualify the buyer i.e. you gotta be serious and have the funds. I ain't got time for tire kickers. I get it that you many come look and decide not to buy and that's fine, but I'm not taking it halfway across the country on a maybe.
 
On the flip side, we tried to buy from a private seller. We sent a fairly boilerplate purchase agreement, funded escrow, and had scheduled an annual. Seller called us the day before it was supposed to go to annual and wanted to renegotiate the price.

We passed. Fast forward two months and that plane showed up with a very reputable broker. Had a purchase agreement in plane same day at 20% below what was originally being asked and closed in a couple of weeks, primarily to issues on the buyer’s end.
 
OP - if the chronology is correct in your recounting of the "full priced, goat-roping buyer" experience, then I hate to say it, but you invited disaster.
Sorry it happened to you, of course! But you really should not be accommodating to someone who very, very clearly has put no skin in the game to make the deal happen.

If your buyer can't scrounge up the coins for a deposit and commit to a written agreement, but definitely still wants you to come a long way to them so they can see the plane, they're not serious people. They're just clowns dicking you around.
At best they're going to make some **** up and low-ball you when they see it in person, at worst they'll be a no-call, no-deposit, no-show.

The last guy -- the one who hurled insults because he can't start up the plane... Yeah F that guy. You're not there. You can't even confirm he's actually a pilot or knows anything about airplanes, much less that he's a person who will treat the property with respect. I'd tell him in no uncertain terms to go **** himself.

Then I'd send him this, he earned it:
1765924507670.png
 
iu
 
Sad to hear of your tribulations.. there are some whack jobs out there with delusions of grandeur...
 
I’m surprised you haven’t had any potential buyers wanting test flights, who then decide the plane isn’t for them.
 
I've had a plane for sale for a while now, I have had several offers. One that I wanted to pursue, a couple of low balls, and a full price.

The one I wanted to do was a trade, we exchanged logbooks, I researched his plane's history, spent a considerable amount of time working on logistics of how to trades planes on opposite sides of the country. Then silence, he was supposed to come look at it, but had gone silent, I called and left a message. A day later he calls back and says he didn't want to part with his plane.

The full price agreement was a 6 month goat roping. First he said he'd buy it full price, I said great, when are you going to come look at it? He replied that he wasn't going to, but wanted me to fly it 1000 miles to deliver it. I agreed to deliver it for no cost, that we'll get the transaction done, and for him to make sure his insurance would cover me while I flew it there. He said he doesn't insure planes and would buy it when the plane got to him, and "if its what you say it is, i'll give you full price. I didn't like that idea, but agreed to do it if he sent me a 10% non-refundable deposit. He refused. Deal was off, until he called me a couple weeks later and said he'd buy it for full price if I'd fly it to SoCal, about a 3 hour flight away. He was difficult with the scheduling, demanding it be there on a certain day when his guy could look at it. But, then I call his guy and he can't do it that day, but could on a Sunday. We made a tentative plan, I called the buyer and said that I could get it there, I asked for a $1000 deposit to cover my costs should he decide he didn't want it. ( I live 800 miles from both locations). I gave him wire instructions and told him that I needed to see the deposit by end of day thursday next week or I wouldn't leave home on Friday. I had a 3 hour drive to an airport, then two flights, then a $250 uber to get to the plane. Wire never showed up and I didn't hear from him. Fast forward 4 months, and his guy calls me saying that they want the airplane, I send photos of the log books, he says he wants to come look at it in about 3 weeks. 2.5 weeks goes by and I call to see if he's going to look at it. He says he is, but suggests that I pay for his expenses to come look at it, a 1.75 hour flight in a friends 172. He says its a done deal, they will pay me my listing price, which is now $15k lower than 4 month earlier. He says he has an escrow account set up, that I need to contact them and give them my information. I call the escrow company, there is nothing more than an account pending, all they have is the tail number. All they need from me is my phone number and email. Escrow company needs a deposit before they will do anything, and have to have all the buyers information, which I do not have. And a signed purchase agreement. I call the buyer's guy and we discuss the transaction, he suggests that the payment will not happen until I deliver the airplane for free to Socal. I shut that down, I will not deliver it to california until AFTER they own it, and at $15k under starting price, I will not do it for free, my cost would likely be about $2000. It takes 3 days and I finally get a purchase agreement, they want me to pay half of the fees, delivery is mentioned in 4 places in the contract, and there is a clause that I guarantee the airplane to be airworthy, current airworthiness certificate, current condition inspection, that the log books are complete and accurate, and that all service bulletins are complied with. I call him up and ask why he put that I have to pay half the fees, we had agreed that if they wanted an escrow company that they would pay for it, we discussed once again that I would NOT deliver it, and that I will not sign a guarantee for logbooks and everything else. They had already verified that it had an airworthiness certificate, he had seen every log entry including the most recent annual. After a less than friendly conversation he agreed to make the changes to represent our discussion, and professed that the deposit was already wired. Toward the end of the day I get an email with the revised purchase agreement, it still has me paying for half the fees, still says delivery in every spot except one, and still has the clause about log books and airworthiness. I sent him a text and ask why he sent me another purchase agreement that did not represent what we had discussed. I got a reply text that they will now only give me $115k, another $5k less, and will take possession on Monday, when he came to look at it. We then had a heated phone conversation and I very unprofessionally told him I would not sell it to them. There had never been a deposit wired to the escrow company, and it was now after hours on Friday, there was no money in the escrow account.

Another offer was a Piper Aztec trade. Through email, I told the Aztec owner that I would only trade if I could readily sell his plane for at least $120k. He called me frantically excited, proceeded to tell me that he had his Aztec listed for $140, and wouldn't take less than $130. In describing his plane he left the best for last, one engine was past TBO, but "still runs great".

Had one straight up cash offer of $80k. He admitted it was really low, but that's all he had.

One offer to trade a J-3 and a breezy and cash. But when I inquired about how much cash, I never got an answer. And I sure don't want a breezy.


There is one super low ball offer yesterday, that I declined, but then hours later the guy said he wanted to look at it anyway. Then blew up my phone with insults and inuendos to the tune of probably 20 texts, when I said he couldn't pull it out of the hangar and run it. I am not at the airplane, there is another airplane in front of mine that would have to be moved as well. I didn't feel comfortable letting someone I have never met, and don't like (from the arrogant condescending phone calls and texts), move two planes in and out and run mine without me or someone I know there to observe. The only person there is a neighbor that will open up the hangar, he knows nothing about my plane.
This could be an advertisement for an airplane broker. It is the very reason I used one on all but my first acquisition, and THAT was a mistake.
 
I've only purchased one plane, but after hearing so many horror stories I think I had (and gave the seller) a unicorn experience. Traveled to the plane with my mechanic to give it a once-over. Plane was as-advertised, at a fair price, with logbooks showing no red flags. We settled on a price and signed a contract that day. I put the money in escrow and when the weather cleared, the seller had the plane ferried to me on his nickel and I paid the ferry pilot's way home on mine. Only the "normal surprises" that occur the first time a new mechanic does an annual on a new-to-them plane. About as painless as it gets, I think.
 
I bought my plane from a guy who did brokering as a hobby. His terms were simple and clear. The airplane is located here. You can come see it any time. First buyer with a check gets it. No holding, no trades.

We negotiated a price, I paid a deposit of a few thousand dollars, then he delivered the plane to a shop I selected about 30 minutes away for a pre-buy. After the inspection, we could complete the sale, negotiate a price adjustment for squawks, or cancel the deal. If I cancelled, he kept my deposit.

He told me the forfeitable deposit did a good job filtering out unserious buyers. It wasn't a lot of money, just enough to cover his effort and expense to support the pre-buy.
 
I've bought one plane.

When my partner told the seller we were interested, the seller flew the plane to us to check out. We agreed on a price in the next few days, and I flew my mechanic down for a prebuy.

The seller took me for a ride since an impeding storm had cut short his initial visit. He loved the plane and loved flying it so none of this was a PITA for him. I gave him a cashier's check and flew it home. I don't think I overpaid, since we made money when we sold it, but maybe I did.

I may be off base, but frankly, this plane seems like an albatross around your neck, and if you don't want to use a broker, you might have to settle for an as-is, where-is deal. Otherwise there may be too much friction for you to find a good buyer.
 
As of late, I have gotten some letters asking if I want to sell my plane.. Sound like either a.) a broker looking to build a business; b.) someone buying up my particular model plane. I note the latter as I had a friend sell his 152 sight unseen for his "I really don't want to sell it price" and there were a few more shekels in it if he got the plane to KOAK from a similar situation. But that was 10 years ago..
 
This is my 3rd airplane to sell, I've sold many pieces of heavy equipment, classic cars, and houses. I've never dealt with so many people willing to make unreasonable demands, then insult me to no end because I wouldn't jump through their hoops. I am willing to deal, and will do what I can to make a sale happen, but I won't take 60 cents on the dollar, and I won't sign ******** contracts.

Buying an airplane, or anything for that matter doesn't need to be hard. Look at it, make an offer, settle on a price, get paid, hand over bill of sale, call it a day.
 
Buying an airplane, or anything for that matter doesn't need to be hard. Look at it, make an offer, settle on a price, get paid, hand over bill of sale, call it a day.
How can that happen in this case when you live 800 miles from the plane and won't let a prospective buyer even start the engine?
 
How can that happen in this case when you live 800 miles from the plane and won't let a prospective buyer even start the engine?
He offered me 60 cents on the dollar via text, has never asked for log books. I texted that I wasn't interested. He replied that he'd pay cash. I said I wasn't interested. He asked what I would take, I told him $105k if it was a painless transaction. He again said he'd pay cash, after the 3rd text I texted that I AM NOT INTERESTED.

A couple hours later he texts asking if he can look at the plane, tomorrow, its now about 7:pm. I get in touch with the guy that can open up the hangar, its a neighbor to the hangar, a guy I've never actually met. I confirm that he can look at the plane tomorrow, a few minutes later he asks if he can start the engines. I said no, he asks if the guy that opened the hangar door can run the engines, I said no.
I don't want two guys I've never met moving two airplanes out and back into a hangar, and running engines. The potential buyer had already been a jerk, I already did not like him. In the next couple hours he blows up my phone with probably 20 texts telling me that I'm a liar, the broker I bought the plane from is a liar, that the plane is junk, that its been wrecked, that I have an obligation to disclose that its been wrecked, that I wrecked the airplane. Just a f'ing ahole.
I texted him that if he bought the plane and flew it around the pattern and there was a problem with either engine, that I would give him his money back. A money back guarantee? He never even acknowledged that offer. The plane has not been wrecked, it flies straight and true hands off. He made it sound like it wasn't even safe to fly. I flew the plane about 100 hours, there is nothing wrong with it other than a few small cosmetic issues. I spoke with the broker who knows the plane and its previous owners, I spoke with mechanics that had done annuals on it that also knew the owners. If it was ever wrecked and rebuilt, either they all are telling the same lie, or it was never wrecked. Log books do not show anything that would indicate so much as a hard landing.

If I thought the guy was actually going to buy it at my the price I told him I would take, I would be happy to meet him in a couple days to run it and make a deal. But, with his behavior, I am pretty certain that would be a waste of time. To me its an unreasonable demand to look at it and run the engines on less than 24 hour notice, and then to go ape **** if I say no.
 
He offered me 60 cents on the dollar via text, has never asked for log books. I texted that I wasn't interested. He replied that he'd pay cash. I said I wasn't interested. He asked what I would take, I told him $105k if it was a painless transaction. He again said he'd pay cash, after the 3rd text I texted that I AM NOT INTERESTED.

A couple hours later he texts asking if he can look at the plane, tomorrow, its now about 7:pm. I get in touch with the guy that can open up the hangar, its a neighbor to the hangar, a guy I've never actually met. I confirm that he can look at the plane tomorrow, a few minutes later he asks if he can start the engines. I said no, he asks if the guy that opened the hangar door can run the engines, I said no.
I don't want two guys I've never met moving two airplanes out and back into a hangar, and running engines. The potential buyer had already been a jerk, I already did not like him. In the next couple hours he blows up my phone with probably 20 texts telling me that I'm a liar, the broker I bought the plane from is a liar, that the plane is junk, that its been wrecked, that I have an obligation to disclose that its been wrecked, that I wrecked the airplane. Just a f'ing ahole.
I texted him that if he bought the plane and flew it around the pattern and there was a problem with either engine, that I would give him his money back. A money back guarantee? He never even acknowledged that offer. The plane has not been wrecked, it flies straight and true hands off. He made it sound like it wasn't even safe to fly. I flew the plane about 100 hours, there is nothing wrong with it other than a few small cosmetic issues. I spoke with the broker who knows the plane and its previous owners, I spoke with mechanics that had done annuals on it that also knew the owners. If it was ever wrecked and rebuilt, either they all are telling the same lie, or it was never wrecked. Log books do not show anything that would indicate so much as a hard landing.

If I thought the guy was actually going to buy it at my the price I told him I would take, I would be happy to meet him in a couple days to run it and make a deal. But, with his behavior, I am pretty certain that would be a waste of time. To me its an unreasonable demand to look at it and run the engines on less than 24 hour notice, and then to go ape **** if I say no.

This guy was never a serious buyer. People use this same technique to entertain themselves. Once you agree to any one of their conditions, they immediately pivot to something else. It's a game to them.

After the third text you should have call blocked him. Once they start blowing up your text as described, BLOCK THEM and end it.
 
The craigslist-grade Larry Lowballers are maddening. I had one sale where I had to just declare that NO offers would be entertained from anyone who had not visited the aircraft.
 
Years ago I thought I had a deal on a plane the seller and I agreed on a price. A title search had a lean on the plane from someone who filed a contract and deposit to buy the plane before me but never showed up to buy it. The seller said the buyer wanted all the deposit plus expense he spent before he decided not to buy the plane and thought he had gone away, he had no idea that could happen and nether did I.
 
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how much was the deposit
I used $2500 as a reasonable way to filter out the serious buyers, payable upon signing a sales contract that allows three situations: good pre-buy (full sale price) or pre-buy with findings (negotiate price, fix items, and/or walk away). If the person signs the contact and just changes their mind, I keep the deposit as a fee for taking my aircraft off the market temporarily and potentially missing other buyer. I make it very clear that the plane will go to the first person to send me a signed copy of the contract and that all funds will go through an escrow service.

Life is too short to entertain tire-kickers. Sounds like you really need to stop allowing these guys to jerk you around.
 
I purchased my Bonanza through an auction service. Transaction was relatively smooth. Once I registered as a bidder (key point here), I was able to see the plane and take a test flight.

I know the seller personally. The cool thing about the auction process is that pricing between friends becomes a non-issue. There were multiple bidders and I paid a bit more than any other bidder was willing to pay, so we both know the price was relatively fair.

The auction broker covered all paperwork and the title transfer. Simple.

It's an option, and it greatly simplifies the process for both parties. It also sets out well-defined boundaries and procedures that aren't a point of conflict between buyer and seller.
 
When I bought my Navion, I thought I'd waited too long to follow up. I called the broker and he said that someone else had put a deposit on it. Bummed, I continued to look at others, including flying out to Michigan to look at one. Seller was nice enough but the plane once I got there wasn't what I was looking for. Finally, I was working from home one day and the first broker calls and says the guy never came out to even look at the plane and he was sending his deposit back. I left a message for my wife at her job that by the time she got that I'd be on my way to Wisconsin to look at the blue Navion. I walked up to the United ticket counter and bought my ticket and hopped on the flight to ORD. Booked a rental car on the layover waiting for the flight to MKE and was at the airport in Waterton when they opened the next morning.
 
The craigslist-grade Larry Lowballers are maddening. I had one sale where I had to just declare that NO offers would be entertained from anyone who had not visited the aircraft.
Not with an airplane, but my experience with Craigslist has been quite the opposite of low-ball. As in, "I'll buy it for above your asking. I'll also give you a certified check for even more than that. Just give the difference in cash to my mule proxy. "

It's been a while since I've sold anything there of moderate value or greater so I don't know if that's still a thing or not.
 
As others have suggested, a broker earns his fee. I for one am happy to pay it as it's worth every penny to me.
 
But, with his behavior, I am pretty certain that would be a waste of time.
I don't understand why you engage with people you have no expectation of selling your plane to and then complain when your time is wasted.

I tried to buy one plane that I missed out on. After discussing price, I had to fly a partner out to look at it, which I told the seller would take a few days.

He sold it the next day for less than I would have paid if it was as advertised. My loss, I guess, for not agreeing to a contract sight unseen. For that seller a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush, time was money, he who hesitated was lost, etc. I guess some sellers are very motivated and some are not.
 
Earnest money with escrow company and a signed contract stating the contingencies and under what termination conditions Buyer or Seller get the deposit. Anyone can see the pics and logs without, but not wasting my time in person, meeting, letting anyone climb into, on, or prebuy inspection without. Same thing whether I’m a Buyer or Seller. Ain’t got the time nor patience for “soft skills” with this simple one-time business transaction. Save that stuff for work.
 
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