Marketplace shopper pretends they don't have enough cash to pay full price, but the seller cleverly parries their bluff: ‘Can you just let go for $50?… Absolutely not’

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Jun 3, 2026 4:00 PM EDT

Negotiation is a fine art, but when someone catches you trying to swindle them, they might just turn that fine art into a Jackson Pollock painting: aka, total chaos. 

A man was recently trying to sell a heavy wooden dresser on a marketplace app. Hoping to sell for $100, he struck a deal with a buyer and scheduled the pickup. Mere moments after the furniture was loaded, the buyer backed out of their original deal, lying to try and get themselves a 50% discount. After the ensuing altercation, the seller dashed online to Reddit to see where the communication unraveled, revealing a not-so-uncommon swindler's technique that he was able to cleverly avoid. 

Turns out, being skeptical of the random strangers flocking to your door to get some used furniture was a good idea. 

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  • Cheezburger Image 10635670784
    via Getty Images (ftwitty)

    Two models depicting what it's like to move heavy furniture into a moving truck. 

  • AITBF for refusing to sell my dresser to a guy who "forgot" half the cash?
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  • I listed an old solid wood dresser on Facebook Marketplace for $100. It is a fair price, and I had quite a few messages, but this one guy (let's call him. Kevin) was the first to
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  • commit to picking it up on Saturday morning. We agreed on the price explicitly in chat. He arrived in a pickup truck with his friend. They spent about ten minutes inspecting the dresser,
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  • pulling out every drawer, and checking for scratches. Once he was satisfied, they hauled it down three flights of stairs from my apartment and loaded it into the back of his truck.
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  • Cheezburger Image 10635671040
    via Getty Images (ftwitty)

    Two models depicting what it's like to move heavy furniture into a moving truck. 

  • At first, this seems like an honest mistake, but then when you peel back the layers of this interaction, it’s clear this is an attempt at “negotiation.” Weaponizing the load-in and trying to force a seller to choose convenience over money, this buyer embarrassed himself in front of his friend and ultimately was made the fool. 

    Now, I’m a terrible negotiator. Most likely, if I were plopped into this situation, I would have let the swindler leave with a 50% off deal, a window wash, and a kiss on the forehead. No matter how furious about an injustice, it’s nearly impossible for me to strike a deal in my own favor. Now, my husband, on the other hand, is a gifted negotiator. He will always stay true to our goal price and will ward away any bad business without batting an eye. All I’m saying is, if he were in this arena, he might have even ended up with a $150 sale. 

    Regardless, nobody wants to be burned at the point of sale when they’re selling used furniture. Just follow through on your promises, buddy, and next time you won’t have such a hard time finding a quality dresser for a good price. Maybe your lumbar and lower back will thank you for the saved heavy lifting, too. 

  • Then came the payment part. Kevin hands me a of cash. I count it, and it is exactly $50.
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  • I told him he was short. He looked into his wallet, clapped his hand to his forehead, and said, "Oh man, I am so sorry! I stopped at the ATM but I
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  • totally forgot I already spent the other fifty on gas and breakfast. Look, I really want the dresser, can you just let it go for $50? I already drove forty minutes to get here."
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  • I told him absolutely not. I told him there is an ATM literally two blocks away at the gas station and I could wait ten minutes. He then started whining that
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  • his bank charges huge out-of-network fees and that $50 is all the dresser is worth anyway since it's used. His friend just stood there looking embarrassed.
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  • I got annoyed, told him the deal was $100, and said if he doesn't have the money, they need to unload it. Kevin claimed I was being ridiculous and greedy over fifty bucks.
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  • He refused to unload it, saying they already did the heavy lifting. So, I walked over to the truck bed myself, grabbed one end of the dresser, and started pulling it out.
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  • Seeing that I was serious, his friend sighed and helped me carry it all the way back up to my third- floor apartment. Kevin just stood by his truck,
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  • shouting that I was an elitist j and a terrible businessman. They drove off, and I blocked him. I ended up selling it to a lovely student that afternoon for
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  • the full asking price. But my roommate says I was a bit of a buttface for making them carry a heavy piece of furniture up and down three flights of stairs over a minor miscommunication.
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  • I feel like it wasn't a miscommunication, but a classic Marketplace lowball tactic to force a discount once the item is already loaded. AITBF?
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  • ShadowDragon6660. NTB. Yeah imo he took a gamble and was hoping you'd be too lazy to wait or take it back after it was loaded. Buddy thought he could swindle you, so good on ya for
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  • making him look like a fool for the attempt. No one 'forgets' to bring half the money, it just doesn't work like that.
    via ShadowDragon6660
  • Chronza ⚫ Cash in hand first next time. And no you absolutely are not a j for stopping someone from scamming you.
    via Chronza
  • 100cpm ⚫ It was his strategy. Get it in the truck and then try to force a big discount.
    via 100cpm

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