Welcome to our second edition of Battle of Buyer Sob Stories, where we rank Sob Stories sent to online Sellers in hopes of getting a discount. 

If you're not familiar with "Sob Stories" its when a buyer reaches out to a seller to try to get a discount beyond what the listing is priced at.  

THE POINT SYSTEM

We judge each Sob Story based on only two criteria: Creativity and Believability. The buyer will earn a score of 1 through 5 points, based on how creative and unique their Sob Story is. 5 points equals the most creative sob story. 1 point is equivalent to a run-of-the-mill, common Sob Story that every seller hears.

Believability score is awarded as an additional 1 - 5 points based on how likely it is that the seller will believe their story AND give them a discount (or freebie of some kind) after hearing the story.

The maximum amount of points a buyer Sob Story can get is 10, meaning it’s super believable and creative. The least amount of points a Sob Story can earn is 2.

The majority of these sob stories were received by Mercari sellers and posted on Reddit.

Enjoy ~

SOB STORY #1: Item Price Unknown

Featuring:

• Fixed Income
• Stolen Debit Card
• No Money for Many Days
• Moving Homes
• Child Passed Away

POINT TOTAL: 3/10  I know, it is seriously awful for someone to lose a child. I can’t even imagine the pain. However the stolen debit card is so common that most sellers have heard this at least once per year of selling. Additionally, if you are in the middle of moving, how are you going to receive this parcel? Not to mention, if you don’t have money until Thursday, why are you buying this today?

SOB STORY #2: Item Price $45

Featuring

• Dad
• Retired
• He worked for the Company
• Trying to Be Nice

POINT TOTAL: 5/10. Ok, so your dad retired from the company and you want to do something nice; I do believe this, so we have to score this high in the Believability category.  However, its not very creative and you’re still a jerk for expecting the seller to cut their price by OVER 50% to help you be a good son.

SOB STORY #3: Price Unknown, Item is a Dog Cage

Featuring:

• Medical Problems
• Covid
• Dead Uncle
• Legal Drama
• A Dog
• Low Income (ODSP Recipient)
• Needs Seller to Hand-Deliver Item

POINT TOTAL: 2/10. The seller was beyond accommodating. The buyer clearly isn’t serious whatsoever and seemingly just wants a free dog crate.

SOB STORY #4: $17 Necklace

Featuring:

• Leukemia
• Hospice
• Extreme Pain
• 28+ Pills a Day
• Son
• Son Loves His Mom
• Son Takes Care of His Mom
• More Pain
• ….And More

POINT TOTAL: I didn’t even know how to rate this. Buyers like this make me wonder “WHY?”; why are you shopping for a $17 necklace from Hospice?????? At this point wouldn’t you rather get something for your son? Or save the $17 for your son? Maybe I will get hate for this but I gotta say, this just doesn’t feel “real” at all. Seriously, the last thing I would be doing in hospice is jewelry shopping… right?? With that being said, I have to give this sob story 3/10.

AND THE WINNER IS…. *drum roll!* … Budweiser Beer Stein for Dad! With a whopping 5/10 score this son dominated the Buyer Sob Stories list. Congrats, good son surfing for a 60+% discount! 

Love Sob Stories?  Check out 14 Hilarious & Absurd eBay & Poshmark Buyer SOB STORES or read all of our Buyer Sob Story blog posts!