Haggling v. Lowballing
Mar 23, 2006 at 2:33 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 70

ilovesocks

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I've noticed that many people here consider what I believe to be haggling "lowballing." What's the difference, and why do some people get upset when they recieve offers lower than their asking prices, or ignore those offers altogether? I guess I may just be used to haggling most person-to-person (privately-owned stores, individuals, etc. - not chain stores or supermarkets) transactions, but I don't see anything wrong with a little PM to see if a seller will go below their asking price, since it's just an offer. Or does the "OBO" clause carry more weight than I thought? Should lower prices only be offered to sellers who state "OBO" in their ads?
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 2:45 PM Post #2 of 70
I have received lower then 100$ offers for a recabled mint grado sr-225 pair lately .
No big deal .. they've been quite all very short question-and-offer with the a quite irreasonable (imo) low price .

It's not nice to receive them in fact , I dunno what or why - but there's people who do reasonable offers ( still lower of the price you have in mind ) and they do not upset at all , and they're usually polite and gentle when asking if a discount is possible ; while probably lowballs do upset because it's a waste of time and energy that no one would chuck wood if a houldchuck .. ehm .. sorry .. no one would want.
many lowballs pms look like trash
which is not nice on a sale even if they're from serious lowballers
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 2:58 PM Post #3 of 70
Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi
I have received lower then 100$ offers for a recabled mint grado sr-225 pair lately .
No big deal .. they've been quite all very short question-and-offer with the a quite irreasonable (imo) low price .

It's not nice to receive them in fact , I dunno what or why - but there's people who do reasonable offer ( still lower of the price you have in mind ) and they do not upset at all , and they're usually kind of gentle when asking if a discount is possible ; while probably lowballs do upset because it's a waste of time and energy that no one would chuck wood if a houldchuck .. ehm .. sorry .. no one would want.
many lowballs pms look like trash
which is not nice on a sale even if they're from serious lowballers



Heh, it seems to be a thing with kids. I've personally tried selling my stuff to kids, and to say the least, they will say $50 for something such as a psp even if they have the least idea in thier mind of buying it. I have some stuff up for sale now, and I'm looking for decent prices, something that I and the buyer see is fair. I hate to put a set price up and not sure if it's fair or not, and bump it down, so I prefer offers. I'm not the type of guy to be offered let's say $100 for something, and then say $110 and it's a deal. I don't know about you guys, but I like people to come in with the highest amount they are willing to pay, or be comfertable with and that they believe is fair to me (the seller). The starting low and bidding up crap is not for this forum I think, maybe ebay, but not here. I think the best thing to do is think of yourself when your the buyer as the seller, and think about what you would see fair if you were selling the item.
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 3:12 PM Post #4 of 70
In my mind alot of it has to deal with the price disparity/difference from your asking price and how you ask it. For example, if you list a product at $200, but someone comes with an offer lets say $150 or even $100, that to me is a low ball offer. For the same item, if an offer was made at $190, that to me is haggling. Of course the numeric difference does vary based on the product being sold. It also comes with the attitude of the poster, as sometimes I've dealt with people who are quite offended that you didn't accept their "offer". I'm sorry but if I'm selling something at $200 and you offer me $100, that's not going to happen. Of course, OBO is a bit different, however if a seller has a price in mind and states it, IMO a serious buyer would have a minimal difference from it. And yes you should offer the highest price you'd be willing to pay. But it must be reasonable IMO...
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 3:13 PM Post #5 of 70
I have had it happen quite a fwe times. People sned you a PM and offer you $100 on a item that if you had said "FS: "This Item" only $300" it would have sold in about 2 seconds. Idk why people bother
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 3:21 PM Post #6 of 70
Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23
In my mind alot of it has to deal with the price disparity/difference from your asking price and how you ask it. For example, if you list a product at $200, but someone comes with an offer lets say $150 or even $100, that to me is a low ball offer. For the same item, if an offer was made at $190, that to me is haggling. Of course the numeric difference does vary based on the product being sold. It also comes with the attitude of the poster, as sometimes I've dealt with people who are quite offended that you didn't accept their "offer". I'm sorry but if I'm selling something at $200 and you offer me $100, that's not going to happen. Of course, OBO is a bit different, however if a seller has a price in mind and states it, IMO a serious buyer would have a minimal difference from it. And yes you should offer the highest price you'd be willing to pay. But it must be reasonable IMO...


Yeah, by most you'de be willing to pay, I mean the most you can pay and still have money for whatever else you need (college food), or whatever. Just don't come in and make an offer like $150 if you know that you'de be willing to go up to $200 as you know that would be fair, and instead you are just trying to save yourself whatever X amount of dollars to rip off the seller.
I think I hate haggling more then lowballing, because lowballing just means ignore it, haggling on the other hand can be considered a real sale, but can also be frusterating and may leave one ripped off if he does decide to get pressured into buying or selling something (he shouldn't though.)
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 3:36 PM Post #7 of 70
I don't see what the big deal is with either. You can just ignore it. I just laugh it off. When i was selling my bike which i priced around $600-$700, someone offered me $35...lol.... told the person, that would even cover the saddle.
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 3:47 PM Post #8 of 70
Honestly, I would categorize a $100 offer for a item listed as $300 to be low ball by default. I mean heh, as a seller if I have a price in mind (Or even some kind of estimate) and I list it as such, to me, serious offers are the ones that deviate the lowest from that, if at all. Of course as a buyer you're trying to minimize what you ned to pay, but heh, if the disparity as that big, I would shelve it anyways. To me offering the highest amount you'd be willing to pay is a no brainer.

One-third of an asking price to me is a no brainer low ball, regardless of whether the buyer was trying to haggle. But yes I do laugh off/ignore offers that I find too low.

As far as financial priority goes, of coruse you shouldn't even be considering buying if this diverts funds from necessary items but that's another discussion.
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 3:54 PM Post #9 of 70
Quote:

Originally Posted by nabwong
I don't see what the big deal is with either. You can just ignore it. I just laugh it off. When i was selling my bike which i priced around $600-$700, someone offered me $35...lol.... told the person, that would even cover the saddle.


I do the very same....just ignore the really low-ball offers. Yesterday I sold my Senn HD580 at the price I posted, but I received an offer previous to the buyer's pm asking if I would take $35 and a pair of KSC75's for it. As long as you sell and buy here, You're bound to get some crazy offers.

Recently though the low-ball offers have become more frequent and bothersome and there's nothing more aggravating than getting several pm's with someone asking a dozen questions which were already addressed in the ad.
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 3:58 PM Post #10 of 70
I guess it's just a part of doing business on a for sale forum like ours or audiogon.

I will say because I find responding to lowballs annoying, I haven't sold much of my lower priced gear (less than $500, such as the SA5k, portable amps, etc.) Stuff just sits around in my closet, unused, which is a bit of a shame. When I do sell these items, I generally price low enough that I can expect someone to snatch them and I don't have to bother haggling.

For the more valuable items, I respond politely to low offers. I find most people are genuine and either can't afford more or haven't done enough research on market conditions. But for the most part, I've always been able to sell gear at the prices I expect. I guess that's just having a realistic understanding of market prices.

So I guess my thought on lowballs/haggling is that it's a part of doing business, and as such, I can't be bothered to sell lower value items and while I respond politely to them, they don't affect my sales of higher value goods.

Best regards,

-Jason
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 4:05 PM Post #11 of 70
Quote:

Originally Posted by tattoou2
I do the very same....just ignore the really low-ball offers. Yesterday I sold my Senn HD580 at the price I posted, but I received an offer previous to the buyer's pm asking if I would take $35 and a pair of KSC75's for it. As long as you sell and buy here, You're bound to get some crazy offers.

Recently though the low-ball offers have become more frequent and bothersome and there's nothing more aggravating than getting several pm's with someone asking a dozen questions which were already addressed in the ad.



Tattoou2 gives the best prices man...anyone who lowballs you should be shot. That said, i still owe you one. I have not forgotten!
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 4:07 PM Post #12 of 70
Quote:

Originally Posted by ScubaSteve87
I have had it happen quite a fwe times. People sned you a PM and offer you $100 on a item that if you had said "FS: "This Item" only $300" it would have sold in about 2 seconds. Idk why people bother


People do it because every once in a blue moon, you get lucky... Also, sometimes by throwing out a seriously lower price you can convince the person that they're thinking too high. The first offer should always be at least a little ridiculous. It's like the first offer at a car lot which is always ridiculously too high (the price they offer to sell you the car for which is usually 2nd sticker and above MSRP). The idea is to bring you off the number you had in your head and get you thinking something lower or higher (depending upon what side of the deal you're on). Don't get mad, just counter offer. If your price is set, say so in your post, then feel free to ignore any offers below your price.
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 5:04 PM Post #13 of 70
Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper994
People do it because every once in a blue moon, you get lucky... Also, sometimes by throwing out a seriously lower price you can convince the person that they're thinking too high. The first offer should always be at least a little ridiculous....... The idea is to bring you off the number you had in your head and get you thinking something lower or higher (depending upon what side of the deal you're on). Don't get mad, just counter offer. If your price is set, say so in your post, then feel free to ignore any offers below your price.


I can see some of your points and yet I don't agree with others (but I have no idea if that's the overall mentality at all). While it may be true that you can so called "get lucky", I would venture to guess that if it's that low of an offer, that it would more likely be ignored. But I suppose that a lottery mentiality is possible, ie: send out a bunch of lowballs, then maybe one will actually work... Of course from a buyers standpont, I can see that logic to possibly get the seller out of his price. That being said, I do not agree with the statement that a first offer should always be atleast a little ridiculous. In my mind, that's just a insincere offer. My mindset is that if a price is listed, that it is more or less impled, that it is set and if haggling is to be done it should be not so deviant from that price.
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 5:11 PM Post #14 of 70
I think that the [increasing] use of ICs invites absurd and lowball offers. 'Interest Checks' leave it to the prospective buyer to guesstimate what a reasonable offer would be. Indeed, the current trend of erasing the final price of items that have been SOLD in the 'For Sale' forums again makes it difficult for buyers to intuit what going prices are.
 
Mar 23, 2006 at 5:26 PM Post #15 of 70
Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23
I can see some of your points and yet I don't agree with others (but I have no idea if that's the overall mentality at all). While it may be true that you can so called "get lucky" I would venture to guess that if it's that low of an offer, that it would more likely be iugnored. But I guess that a lottery mentiality is possible, ie: send out a bunch of lowballs, then maybe one will actually work... Of course from a buyers standpont, I can see that lgoic to possibly get the seller out of his price. That being said, I do not agree with the statement that a first offer should always be atleasta little ridiculous. In my mind, that's just a insincere offer. My mindset is that if a price is listed, that it is more or less impled, that it is set and if haggling is to be done it should be not so deviant from that price.


But then again sellers often set a price that is unrealistically high. Either because they are fishing for a higher price, or because the value they place on the item includes sentiment or some misplace ideal that they shouldn't lose much of what they paid (some even try to make a profit). This is no better than the buyer giving a low price.

By a little ridiculous what I mean to say is that you'd give a price you feel is the lowest possible price it might sell for. Remember, there are many times where someone will let something go for below market value simply because then need or want to make a quick transaction. If you offer market value, you may be cutting yourself short and paying more then you need to.

Consider this conversation for an item that the seller is asking $300 for.

Buyer: I'll give you $100
Seller: No way! That's way t0o low, but maybe I could do $250 (that's a $50 price drop right there)
Buyer: I don't know... I think I've seen those go for around $150-175...
Seller: Well maybe, but mine is in excellent condition, I still have the original box... Tell you what, if I don't find another buyer by tonight, I'll sell it to you for $225.
Buyer: I think you might still be a little high, but take some pics for me, and let me know if you don't sell it by tonight.
Seller: Okay...

Later...

Seller: Well, I never sold it... Here's some pics... <thinking ugh, I just want this done> Tell you what, I'll let it go for $200.
Buyer: Great, that sounds good to me.

VS.

Buyer: How about $250
Seller: I'll do it at $275
Buyer: Okay...

<In the first scenario, even if the buyer had taken it at the first price drop he'd save himself $25 over the second scenario. Remember, too, the first scenario is not entirely unrealistic, many times people will drop the price significantly from their original asking price before it sells.>

Of course they won't always be able to meet in the middle, and maybe the guy does find another buyer... That's part of the risk you'd take by holding out for a lower price. Obviously, if the buyer really wants it, and is worried that he might lose out on the deal, he'll come up faster and maybe pay a higher price. If the seller holds out with his inflated price, he may never sell the item...
 

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