The Art of the Deal: Is it dead?

So every time I put something in the classifieds that's "or best offer," I get at least one bonehead (usually more) who takes the lazy approach and ask me "what's your lowest price?" No effort is made to haggle or actually, you know, make an offer. Just straight to "tell me the least amount of money you'll take for it."

Is this the new low-ball? Rather than offend you with a ridiculously low offer, they now try to make you show your entire hand right off the bat? I've been buying and selling online for over two decades, and two things have always been understood:

1) a seller's goal is to get as much money as they can from their item's sale

2) a buyer's goal is to spend as little as they can

Notice those two goals are in opposition to each other. As a seller, why would I want to just tell you what my bottom dollar is? If I wanted that to be public knowledge, don't you think I would just put it in the ad? "Or best offer" means the first offer I find acceptable, so if three people PM at the same time, I'll take the highest. It's not an auction, but it is an attempt to negotiate into a happy middle ground that both parties find agreeable. This whole "what's your lowest" is the lazy way out, and serves to benefit only the buyer. I find when I call people on it, I get crickets because any resistance to getting the cheapest deal possible means they move on hoping to find another easy deal instead.

Just curious if this is something others are experiencing. IMO, if someone wants a good deal, they should be willing to engage with a seller and negotiate some. Am I wrong in thinking this? What sayest LRH?

Agreed, but I think a lot of people worry about hurting feelings of the seller. That is a problem with all the thin-skinned people looking to get their feelings hurt these days. I always enjoyed the offer- counter offer way of doing business.

My perspective is that if I really want to sell something, I'll tell a prospective buyer what my bottom dollar is. Why not? If I'm satisfied with the price I should be willing to disclose it. The 'haggling' aspect does not trip my trigger.

wyosteve said:

My perspective is that if I really want to sell something, I'll tell a prospective buyer what my bottom dollar is. Why not? If I'm satisfied with the price I should be willing to disclose it. The 'haggling' aspect does not trip my trigger.

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See, I usually do list items at the price I want, but in this economy I realize that even some reasonably priced items may not sell as quickly as I'd like so I put an OBO on there to see what someone will offer me. I still *want* my asking price, but I'll consider less to make the sale even if my current price is already fair based on other sales of the same or similar item. But it's the buyer's job to make an offer and see if I'll accept a sale at less than the price I want.

I'd always prefer not to haggle and just sell, but when that doesn't happen for whatever reason (poor economy, market changes, new products reduce the value of mine since the last similar item sold, I'm just flat being unreasonable lol, etc.) then I have to do something else. I can either drop the price incrementally and bump the ad until it sells, or I can put OBO and I may get a quick offer and void all the ad bumping. But again, it's the buyer's job to convince me to take less, far as I'm concerned.

I like to get to the point! why play games? 15 messages to save or gain 10 bucks is a waste of time.

Generally, I have never been very artful at selling things I own. Some are wired differently and enjoy the haggle. When I decide to let something go, it is not to make a profit or recover all my costs. It is to move on.

Badger, I understand what you mean.
When I offer an item for sale, it's below my purchase price 99% of the time. Take a barrel blank, for instance.
If it costs me 500$, yet I offer to sell it for 450$ without any additional shipping or tax added, plus basically zero wait time to the buyer, it's hard to understand how I can be asked the "lowest price" or entertain offers for less. The offering is a good deal to the buyer from any angle.!
I don't post a price that adds fluff for Me to negotiate with. It's to sell a product I don't have a use for, and hopefully help a fellow member.
There are plenty on this site that don't post here except to sell.
Their motive is profit. I HOPE they get haggled relentlessly.

I think k it is because most people(not you in particular) thinks they won the golden ticket with their item. The bottom dollar may be the most realistic price.

Jester560 said:

I think k it is because most people(not you in particular) thinks they won the golden ticket with their item. The bottom dollar may be the most realistic price.

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While I very much try not to be that out of touch, I've probably been guilty of it before. Sometimes I do start a bit higher because I expect lowballs and the price I eventually sell for will likely be market or just below anyway. But generally I'd rather just move the item and be done.

I see both sides of it - personally I NEVER write OBO in an add. Borderline superstitious, but I 'think' it cuts down on tire kickers and low ballers.

Sometimes I go the other way and put 'firm' after the price - letting prospective buyers know that the price is the price.

Generally when I want to sell something, I'll price it to move. Yes, I'm leaving money on the table, but how much time am I saving when the first respondent says 'ill take it, ship to this address'

When I post on Canadian sites like AO or Gunnutz, I do not put in OBO. I list what I sell, for the price I want out of it. I list for a "fair" price and am prepared not to sell the item. I will give some stuff to folks I know or someone in need like a young guy just starting out, rather than take a price that is too low.

I have been known not to bother responding to real low ball offers and my stock response to what is the lowest price you will take is, "The price I posted, why would I want to bid against myself". Kind of like the car auctions where they charge you an even higher fee to sell a car for you with a reserve and then beat you like a cheap carpet to get you to release the reserve, even though bids are no where close. They still charge you the reserve rate commission.

I might throw in shipping, and I might take a reasonable offer close to my ask, but won't haggle back and forth on price. My time is worth way more than the dollars they want to haggle over. When I find something I want to buy, I offer what I am prepared to pay, sometimes it is the asking price, sometimes it is below. Seller can take the offer or not, but it is a one time offer. Haggling like you are in a Turkish Bazaar never much interested me.

Guys are different, just my take on it.

Trust me there's plenty that like to haggle on the price. Almost every time I list a item without saying obo I will get low ball offers. I'm not offended by this at all. My price is normally as low as I can go but if the offer is close enough it's sold. I don't care for the back and forth haggling but I know many take pride in their efforts.

Remember ,...never haggle with a women , dicker instead !

I can see both sides. I come from very humble background growing up living with my grandparents both of whom lived through the great depression and my other grand parents living through WW2 in Germany I think it was just a away of life to haggle over a sellers price. In this day and age it seems people get insulted if you want to haggle over price. My grandmother would go to garage sales in the 70s and 80s when the economy sucked to buy things just so she could resale them at her garage sale to make a few extra dollars. It just seems like that's what people did was haggle over a price. Lately it seems people do just ask what's your lowest offer. I know my father gets very agitated when asked that question when selling items. Maybe it's just a generation thing?