I sold a furniture unit to a woman after already cutting the listing price in half. She negotiated it down even further, but seemed keen to buy it, so we agreed on a collection time.

The pickup did not go as planned. She was two hours late, and I was left waiting without a clear explanation. About an hour and a half after she had said she was nearly finished, she sent a message saying that shopping had taken longer than she expected. I had already messaged twice to ask when she would arrive.

By the time she got there, I was too tired to deal with moving furniture. I was nine months pregnant and lying on the sofa, while my husband brought the pieces down to her car. I had made clear before the pickup that he would handle that part.

She took the item and left. The next day, she contacted me to say that some fixings and pieces were missing.

A problem with the fixings

I apologized for the missing fixings. They had fallen out before my husband took the furniture pieces to her car. I offered to post them to her, and she agreed.

A few hours later, though, she said she was upset about having to wait for the fixings because the unit was intended for her daughter’s birthday. She also said the condition was not as described and asked to return it for a refund.

From my point of view, the missing items were a small number of screws. The manufacturer’s website includes pictures and instructions for the fixings, and the shop gives away spare screws for its products if needed. Still, I had offered to mail the original fixings to her so she would not need to make another drive back to my home.

I explained that her late arrival was why I was not there to make sure every piece went into the car. It was not deliberate, and I was trying to put it right by posting the missing parts.

Disagreement over scratches

The buyer also raised the issue of scratches. There were minor marks from taking the furniture apart, including marks in places that I believed would not show once the unit was put back together.

I told her that she had been able to inspect the furniture before accepting it, so I would not be offering a refund. I had not described it as brand new, perfect, or free of marks. It had been sold at a heavily reduced price, and she had negotiated it down again before collection.

I suggested that if she did not want to keep it, she could sell it on herself, as I had done. That did not settle the matter.

She said I had made her feel unwelcome and guilty for arriving late. She also said she had not inspected the furniture because she wanted to leave quickly after feeling that I needed to go out. She appeared to believe that I had left rather than waited for her.

That was not what happened. I had not told her I was going out. I was indoors, exhausted and unable to lift the furniture because of my pregnancy. My husband was the one bringing the pieces down, as I had said he would.

I had only asked for a more accurate arrival time after waiting from the agreed time onward. I felt I had been patient and polite throughout the delay, so the suggestion that I had pressured her to rush away was confusing.

The messages continued

After that, she sent more messages. One included pictures of what I saw as minor wear and scratches. Another included a screenshot of my listing with part of the description circled and a claim that it was untrue.

I did not agree with that claim. The listing was for a used item, not a new one, and I had not said it was faultless. The buyer had the chance to look at it before she paid and took it away.

Her request for a refund also struck me as unreasonable in the circumstances. She wrote, “I think I’ll return it and have my money back,” as though the return was entirely her decision after she had collected the item. I had already apologized for the missing screws and offered a practical way to send them to her.

I chose not to keep arguing. I posted the fixings and stopped replying.

What I took from the sale

The situation was stressful, especially so late in my pregnancy. The buyer had arrived well after the agreed time, negotiated a lower price on an item that was already cheap, and then wanted a refund after taking it home without checking it properly.

I understand that she may have been under pressure because of her daughter’s upcoming birthday. But that did not change the fact that she could have inspected the furniture before buying it. She also could have decided not to take it if the missing screws or visible condition were a concern.

For me, the clearest lesson was to watch for warning signs during a sale. A buyer who pushes hard on price, gives vague updates about a late pickup, and does not inspect an item may be more likely to dispute the purchase afterward. I did what I could to fix the missing-parts issue, but I did not believe a full refund was fair.