Haggling / aka Lowballing???

[pdxsam]

If the item is used I will offer my reasoning behind my offer and I only make offers on items I am serious about buying.

And that's really the key. Respecting the seller by offering the reasons for your bid. They can either say "that works, let's deal" or "that doesn't work for me. Thanks for the offer".

There's no reason to be disrespectful to anyone. The seller priced for their reasons, the buyer is offering what they believe is a fair price. If it doesn't work, no harm no foul.

 

[pdrake]

Joe13, you get a prize for a great thread: Look at all the comments.

I didn't read everything here (no time for that), but I have to disagree with a few posts. IMO, there is no such thing as "price gouging" or "low balling." Those of us with experience in buying & selling for a living (or, those who have purchased in open markets) will understand what I mean.

This is my approach to buying used items, such as on this website. (I fully accept that some of you will mark up the item by 10% to 20%, just because you expect the offers to be below asking price.) I usually don't ask for a price reduction when I put in an offer for a used item. Why? Because I never make an offer on something that I don't want! If I see something that I like, and if I am willing to pay the asking price, then I will offer to purchase, usually at the asking price.

The consequences of this buying policy should be clear to potential sellers. It doesn't matter a wink to me if your asking price is 50% or 100% over current market prices. If I want the item---and I am willing to accept the asking price---then I will make an offer to purchase. On the other hand, if you have marked up your item by even 5%, and this is above what I am willing to pay, then I won't bother contacting you. Do you see what I am saying? By marking up your item, you risk loosing even a call from me.

Others might play the haggle game, but I am far to busy to be bothered.

 

[natef]

Joe13, you get a prize for a great thread: Look at all the comments.

and to think it all started with a upset seller....lol

 

[Martini_Up]

"FIRM" means no haggling.

"OBO" means Moroccan flea market is now open

If neither of these two terms are listed with the price then I would say the price is open for negotiation.

If you try negotiating on price when the seller has listed the price as FIRM, no surprise that they're irritated. Otherwise, I would agree that they should expect some tire kickers, lowballers, cheap MF's to slither into the fray.

 

[Joe13]

Thanks everyone for your honesty and opinions.

I can see where I may have upset someone in the past by offers I've made, but that's just how I learned to buy.

Sometimes I don't even take the time to find out what market value is and just offer what it's worth to me, but I have never sent an offer with the intent to offend anyone - ever. What would the point be? I certainly won't get the item if they take offense and do not counter offer.

This has been an outstanding thread for good information and it's all of you that shared your thoughts that made it happen!

 

[slimmer13]

I haven't read this thread so sorry if this has been covered, but how low can I expect them to go as I get older?

Thanks in advance

 

[Joe13]

I haven't read this thread so sorry if this has been covered, but how low can I expect them to go as I get older?

Thanks in advance

You need to answer the question, boxers or briefs.?

 

[natef]

You need to answer the question, boxers or briefs.?

there is a simple solution.....Boxer Briefs..... done and done

 

[Riot]

FYI I've been low-balled before. Put up a car for $2K, got an offer for $1K...no feelings hurt, just told him that was half the price I was asking and to "try again".

 

[U201494]

In my experience the last person you want to call stupid is someone who is in fact stupid. Often a trait shared with incompetence is violent outbursts and fits of unreasonable behavior. I try not to poke armed imbeciles for personal enjoyment. If I am feeling frisky and like living on the edge I can always go out back and pester the badger with a spoon. They put up a pretty good fight but are unlikely to be packin

Golly, that's just swell, PITA will be all over your nastyass.

 

[Sstrand]

If you think pestering a badger with a spoon is living on the edge
don't ever start an argument with your wife!!

Sheldon

 

[NoFlinch]

Low ballers are "resellers", in my opinion.

I don't price anything so someone can put it back on the market.

I discount a fair amt. from "todays" value, and will come off that price a few bucks (5%), but not usually more than that.

But I usually try to sell at a fair price to the end user.

There is one guy that offers me 20% less on everything I have for sale on gun boards.

I really don't like people who take advantage of others.


What was that gun show with the Wyatts.

All that guy did was brag about how he bought this or that at way below value.............I watched the show only a few times, so maybe that's not ALL he bragged about.

But, I think he may have gotten a good deal on wife/daughter implants, maybe 4 for the price of 3 ?????

 

[Joe13]

I've only sold one thing I've bought. I buy stuff I want and then I keep it.

There are flippers in all markets but some of us are just poor and looking for someone who needs the cash more then tbe item. Or some people have more money then time so they are willing to take less to just get it sold.

It shouldn't hurt to at least ask. If your not that guy then no harm no foul, just say no.

 

[Riot]

I really don't like people who take advantage of others.

Me neither...which is why I loathe anyone that paid $14.99 for P-Mags and sold them at $50 each.

 

[IronMonster]

What about it makes them bastards? The buyer is the one who created the transaction. Its the buyer seeking out unavailable goods that causes those with them to cut loose. The seller might be taking advantage of the situation but he is not taking advantage of the buyer, the buyer is a willing participant, heck a demanding frantic irrational participant.

I think its funny personally that folks get so bent out of shape at scalpers, gougers or what ever you want to call them.
If you bought a house in 1999 for $95,000 and sold at the top of the market in 07 for $450,000 are you a scalper?

If you bought silver in 1964 for $1.25/oz and sold in 1980 for $50/oz are you a gouger?

How about if you bought General Motors stock in 09 when it was $1.66/share and sold in 2013 for $41/share?

Kind of makes a $60 brick of ammo sound cheap doesn't it?

If you bought $1000 worth of ammo in early 09 $ 15/ brick and sold them this year for $60/brick you would have made a profit of $2960 dollars.

If you would have bought $1000 worth of GM stock in 09 and sold it at the end of 2013 you would have made $23,500 profit.

Or better yet how about Bitcoin? If you would have bought $1000 worth of bitcoins in 09 at $.07 each then sold in November of 2013 at the peak of over $1100 you would have made a profit of around $1.5 million dollars

So yeah, hate those evil bastards who bought some .22LR before the bubble and cashed in, Obviously they are the problem...

I held on to my AR's when the price was sky high.... I held on to my ammo when it went to the moon... But honestly I feel like more of an idiot than a hero for not cashing out when the market peaked.

Im sitting on a big pile of.22LR ( enough I could shoot a hundred rounds a day and not run out till sometime in early 2016) and I haven't sold a single round.

I helped out a junior shooting league when they needed some but it was a trade deal. I should have sold some when the price peaked, but I didn't.

My personal feeling is the supply is going to catch up and the price crash, I wouldn't be surprised at all if in a year or two a brick is cheaper than it was 5 years ago.

Bubbles are a well understood phenomenon and are driven by panic buyers, not unscrupulous sellers. If you want to be mad at someone at least be mad at the right people which is the people who forked out the $60, $80 or even $100 a brick. Without them none of this would have happened.

 

[NoFlinch]

.

 

[Mikej]

Bubbles are a well understood phenomenon and are driven by panic buyers, not unscrupulous sellers. If you want to be mad at someone at least be mad at the right people which is the people who forked out the $60, $80 or even $100 a brick. Without them none of this would have happened.

Them's the ones.

Oh, you forgot to mention "Starbuck's"

 

[IronMonster]

I often use Starbucks as an example of my own lack of business acumen. I remember seeing my first Starbucks in the Seatac mall (now called "The Commons") in about 1983. At that point I lived in Idaho and had never seen any coffee shop, let alone one with the dark cozy bar like atmosphere of that particular Starbucks. I remember very clearly thinking "A coffee bar? That is the dumbest thing I have ever seen. Who in there right mind would come to a place like this just to sit and drink coffee? That place will be broke in a year" Of course unknown to me they had already been around a decade. At that point though there was only a small handful of stores around Seattle. Pretty sure they did not go public until the early 90's, you could have bought shares for less than a buck then, today its around $80/share

So Yeah.... It turned out a bit different than I thought.

 

[NoFlinch]

This morning I saw a gun I wanted on "another site".

It had been there for a few weeks, so I emailed and made an offer 8% less than he was asking, which would have made it a FAIR deal (to me anyway).

I picked up the gun about noon..............

I was happy, he was happy.

Now my question is; Could I have gotten it for 9% less?????????????

OHMYGOD!

Maybe I could have saved another $6.25!

 

[IronMonster]

So you paid $625, he was asking $675? I would hardly consider that a lowball offer. Now if you would have offered him $350 we'd have something to talk about.