- Jurisdiction
- Indiana
I am an artist, and it's not unusual for me to peruse Facebook Marketplace for supplies. In this particular case, it was a large collection of beads. I contact the seller to ask a price, and he stated that he did not know the value of the beads, as they belonged to his father. He said he was initially asking $25 per case. I told him that I would get back to him when I could make time to travel to him to see the collection.
Over the next month or so, he would contact me every once in a while to see if I was still interested. I told him I was very interested, but had to gather some money together and make time to come see the beads. We had a few conversations via text during this time about the beads and a few other things. It was friendly.
Then he contacted me by text, saying that he was tired of storing the beads, knocking over, and stepping on the beads, having to pick up and deal with the beads, and he would like to have that room free for other projects. He then told me that if I would be willing to make the 3 1/2 hour trip to pick up the beads, I could have them for free. He says this was no big deal, as his father was previously planning to donate them, and I'd be doing him a great favor by taking them away. I thanked him profusely several times for this generous offer and told him I could make the trip in a week.
My days before making the trip were spent preparing my studio for the huge influx (about 80 storage cases) of beads. I didn't buy any storage items, but did a great deal of cleaning and organizing. I wanted to go through the collection before I purchased items to organize and store it. I was super excited about getting the beads, which I decided to make into curtains to sell on my website. He was equally excited about having that particular room free for a "special project" he was planning.
Finally, the day came where I was to travel to Indiana from Ohio to pick up my new beads. I left early in the morning, and texted him about 15 minutes before arriving at his home.
I rang the bell, and he sent me a text, saying that he was not decent, and asked me to wait until he came to the door. I told him no problem, and went back to my car. An hour later, I knocked on the door again, and texted him, and got no answers. I didn't quite understand what was happening, but told him I was going to head home. As I got on the freeway, he texted me, saying he was so sorry, that he had passed out, and wasn't feeling well. I told him I understood and asked him if I should come back, and he said yes. I turned my car around and returned back to his home.
Once I got back to his place, I texted and called him again, and rang the doorbell. He texted back and said he was still not decent. I told him that just so long as he had a pair of shorts on, I was fine. I told him I'd be happy to load the beads myself if he still wasn't feeling well. Then he asked if I would come into his house and watch him "practice a little self-care." I told him I didn't think that was a good idea or a safe situation for me to put myself in. He said I could come in, watch him "do his thing and cheer him on" then we could load the beads together. I told him no, I said I was no longer comfortable coming into his home. I asked if he could please move the beads outside on the porch so I could load them myself. His response was, "I am in the shower right now." I told him what he did was really mean and I didn't understand what I did to deserve that, then I started the 3 1/2 hour trip back home, confused and crying most of the way.
I was counting on these beads for my business, so I'm wondering about a small claims case for a specific performance, or at least getting compensation for my time and gas money. I still have all the text conversations on my phone. Any advice would be appreciated.
Over the next month or so, he would contact me every once in a while to see if I was still interested. I told him I was very interested, but had to gather some money together and make time to come see the beads. We had a few conversations via text during this time about the beads and a few other things. It was friendly.
Then he contacted me by text, saying that he was tired of storing the beads, knocking over, and stepping on the beads, having to pick up and deal with the beads, and he would like to have that room free for other projects. He then told me that if I would be willing to make the 3 1/2 hour trip to pick up the beads, I could have them for free. He says this was no big deal, as his father was previously planning to donate them, and I'd be doing him a great favor by taking them away. I thanked him profusely several times for this generous offer and told him I could make the trip in a week.
My days before making the trip were spent preparing my studio for the huge influx (about 80 storage cases) of beads. I didn't buy any storage items, but did a great deal of cleaning and organizing. I wanted to go through the collection before I purchased items to organize and store it. I was super excited about getting the beads, which I decided to make into curtains to sell on my website. He was equally excited about having that particular room free for a "special project" he was planning.
Finally, the day came where I was to travel to Indiana from Ohio to pick up my new beads. I left early in the morning, and texted him about 15 minutes before arriving at his home.
I rang the bell, and he sent me a text, saying that he was not decent, and asked me to wait until he came to the door. I told him no problem, and went back to my car. An hour later, I knocked on the door again, and texted him, and got no answers. I didn't quite understand what was happening, but told him I was going to head home. As I got on the freeway, he texted me, saying he was so sorry, that he had passed out, and wasn't feeling well. I told him I understood and asked him if I should come back, and he said yes. I turned my car around and returned back to his home.
Once I got back to his place, I texted and called him again, and rang the doorbell. He texted back and said he was still not decent. I told him that just so long as he had a pair of shorts on, I was fine. I told him I'd be happy to load the beads myself if he still wasn't feeling well. Then he asked if I would come into his house and watch him "practice a little self-care." I told him I didn't think that was a good idea or a safe situation for me to put myself in. He said I could come in, watch him "do his thing and cheer him on" then we could load the beads together. I told him no, I said I was no longer comfortable coming into his home. I asked if he could please move the beads outside on the porch so I could load them myself. His response was, "I am in the shower right now." I told him what he did was really mean and I didn't understand what I did to deserve that, then I started the 3 1/2 hour trip back home, confused and crying most of the way.
I was counting on these beads for my business, so I'm wondering about a small claims case for a specific performance, or at least getting compensation for my time and gas money. I still have all the text conversations on my phone. Any advice would be appreciated.
