Why would owner not make official announcement that business closed?

[Anonymous]

i had worked part time at this small business , it did online auctions and had one maybe every month or so. the last one i did there was in August and owner told me she was closing business and not doing any more.

well there has not been any auctions since as she said and building that used to house business as dormant and no sign of activity.

but website and facebook page still up and nothing has been posted since August , never been anything telling the customers she retired and business closed. which seems really odd by now

all i could think of was there was some reason she was claiming it was still open , perhaps related to income tax or something on paper as to why she doesn't want to yet officially close it.

people around here wonder what happened to it and i don't know what to say

Updates

3 mo

she still hasn't made an official announcement , despite business being closed and year almost over

[AI Opinion]

The owner might have several reasons for not announcing the business closure officially. It could be due to ongoing legal, financial, or personal matters that need resolution. She might be considering reopening in the future or still handling outstanding obligations. Another possibility is a lack of time or resources to update online platforms. Without her explicit communication, speculating on reasons is challenging. Sharing what you experienced directly with those curious might help, but avoid spreading assumptions. It's often best to respect the owner's decisions and wait for an official announcement if any.

[Asker]

i don't think she is planning to re open in the future , the last couple days i was there , i helped clean out the building and seemed to be nothing left to sell

she claimed to be selling some left over items on facebook marketplace instead of doing 1 last auction but i never saw anything posted there

its possible there is some legal or financial reason but not sure what it would be

whats also odd as somedays i'd still see her vehicle parked at the building despite there being nothing left there , she had a small office in it and some reason she was still going in it

[Oliverlogan263]

Dude, that's super weird that the owner hasn't made an official announcement about the business closing down. It seems really sketchy that the website and social media are still up, even though you know she told you she was shutting it down back in August.

My guess is that there's probably some kind of shady reason she doesn't want to officially close the business yet - maybe to do with taxes or finances or something. She might be trying to keep up the appearance that it's still operating for some illicit purpose.

That's just speculation on my part, but it definitely doesn't seem above board. The fact that she hasn't communicated anything to the customers is super messed up too. Those people probably have no idea what's going on and are wondering why there haven't been any more auctions.

If I were you, I'd be really careful about getting too involved or asking too many questions. This owner seems like she's trying to cover something up, and you don't want to get caught up in any potential legal issues or shady business.

My advice would be to just distance yourself from the whole situation. Don't feel like you need to explain anything to the customers or the community - it's really not your responsibility. Just focus on finding a new, legitimate job and moving on. Hopefully the truth will come out eventually, but in the meantime, it's best to stay out of it.

Does that make sense, dude? Let me know if you have any other thoughts or questions. I'm here to help however I can.

[Asker]

definitely not interested in working there again if she were to try and re open the business ( which seems unlikey )

i'd agree there is some reason she doesn't want to officially close it down yet , and likely has something to do with money , income tax or paper work etc. whatever it is we have no idea and not likely she'd say why if i asked

note i also have not had any contact with her since the last day i was there in August , no longer an employee , just in a small town some people here will remember i worked there and might wonder why there has never been any more auctions and no announcement she retired and closed business

it is very weird though , i know for a fact she has everyone email and could easily send out an email saying business closed as when they did auctions had an email list they'd send everyone on an email saying there was one online open for bidding , so she could easily clear everything up but has choose not to

[Oliverlogan263]

I totally get why you wouldn't want to work there again, even if she tried to reopen the business. The way she's handled everything is just shady and sketchy - it's not worth getting involved with that mess again.

You're probably right that there's some kind of money or tax issue going on that's making her reluctant to officially close up shop. If she's not even willing to send out an email to all the customers, then there's definitely something she's trying to hide.

It sucks that you're left in this awkward position where people in town are wondering about the business, and you can't really give them a straight answer. The fact that she has everyone's email and could easily clear things up, but hasn't, just makes the whole thing even more suspicious.

I wouldn't push too hard to try and get answers from her, though. If she's willing to be this shady about it, she's probably not gonna be upfront with you, even if you used to work there. Best to just distance yourself from the whole situation, you know?

Hopefully, she'll eventually have to come clean about what's going on, whether it's for legal reasons or just to stop the rumors from spreading. But until then, it's probably best to just let it ride and not get dragged into the drama. Sucks that it all went down like this, but that's business I guess.

[Asker]

i don't really think she has any plans to re open the business anyways , it seems like its finished.

but very weird situation , i suppose there is stores in small towns that just disappear at the end of summer season never to be seen again and no one really asks why. perhaps this was her plan but her business had been around for a while and when you have so many ways to reach out to the customers very strange to not even say good bye and explain why its closed

its creating a bizarre sense of false hope , some of the former customers might still be checking her page wondering when the next auction is and why she has taken such a long break?

[Abbycado]

Why do you care?

[Asker]

cause i had worked there , and people here who used to buy from business wonder what happened to it

all i can think of as there is some on paper /legal reason she's delaying closing it officially

or her plan was to disappear which is weird and leaves more questions than answers

[Abbycado]

Jfc, you’re still dwelling on this? Get a life ffs.