We are looking for a new (to us) inflatable dinghy. We found one online, but it was 10 years old, and I thought it was overpriced for what it was. Rather than pass it by, I sent a message that I thought it was overpriced. It had been listed for 10 weeks, and it was pretty obvious. It was made of Hypalon, which is more durable, but it has a life expectancy of 10 to 20 years.
Almost immediately, I received a response that they had never heard of the environmental deterioration of Hypalon. Their listing suggests that they kept it indoors when not with the boat. Protecting it from the environment was a selling point. Why did they keep it indoors? Anyway, to the point: It was then that I noticed mutual friends. There were two mutual friends. Was it possible that it was xxxx that we met a couple of times? Jeezuz, it was.
I contacted a mutual friend and asked if they knew xxxx. They at first said they did not, then their tune changed to maybe, hell yeah. I apologized for offending them and their (overpriced) boat and moved on. The lesson, check out potential sellers on your social media, cross referencing ‘friends’.