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When in the Swap Shop, how do you prefer a transaction be conducted? Every time I ask someone how much they want for a model, the answer is almost always 'Make me an offer.' It also seems like whenever I am selling something, I'm expected to name the price there, too. It seems like some people think that etiquette dictates it be done one way, and some folks think it should be done the other way. What do YOU think?

Im lazy, if you don't list a price in a sale post in the swap shop, I am less likely to contact the seller.

My own personal preference - I won't deal with people that ask me to make an offer - I can't be bothered with all the tedious back and forth. My view on it; if you are selling something, you state a price that is acceptable to you and if I as the buyer find that price acceptable, then I will pay it. What I don't want to do is spend hours in PM back and forth haggling over it.

I'm much more likely to contact a seller if there's a fixed price stated, as above I can't be bothered spending ages discussing prices or realising that the buy price and sell price are in different leagues.

For 90% of things I'd look for the seller to indicate a price he's looking for (I'd also expect him to indicate at the upper end and be prepared to move a bit). The only time I'd be happy with saying they wanted offers was on particularly unusual/ unique items like original art work or very old collector's models.

Well, this explains why I've been struggling to sell some of Epic Squats and ABOR Orks. I always just get the other guy to suggest the price.

Lesson learned.

The seller should set a realistic price that they are happy with, and be prepared to sell for that

In general no negotiation, although if it's a big lot the buyer could make an offer for part of it, or ask the seller for a price

I definitely prefer that the seller provide an asking price. That's not to say that I won't do some haggling, but if you want to sell something put a freaking price on it. It gives us some ground to work from, and shows that they're a serious seller and not someone who just put their stuff up on a whim. The exception of course is those looking for a trade, but that's a whole other issue. I'm far more likely to actually contact a seller if they at least have a selling price. Unless you're offering something rather special/rare , no price = no sale.

As nice as it is to have the other person always offer first, I give the same treatment to my buyers as I prefer from others. I always put an asking price, and nearly always have a picture of every item for sale.

Interestingly, I have a real life example of priced vs unpriced:
This weekend I visited a flea market at a nice FLGS out near my folks place. There were quite alot of deals to be had and a couple different dealers who had things I would be interested in. As soon as the first guy (with unmarked items) said " Make me an offer" I said, "I'll think about it" and continued to browse. I would have come back and made an offer later, but just down a few tables was a dude with some good deals and marked prices. I dropped 70 bucks (not alot for some folks, but quite a bit for my budget) on the spot and didn't go back to the first guy.

The poll is pretty clear! And I feel exactly the same way. It is best for the seller to list a price they are comfortable with, imo... this is what I always do, and the vast majority of the things I buy are from sellers who list a price.

I only will offer a price if it's something I've been really searching for, personally.

I think most people dislike haggling, and so enjoy seeing fixed prices. Even when they do haggle, it's often frustrating. Example: I list a bunch of IG I want to sell, priced per model. The potential buyer asks if I could do a package deal, and I give him a decent bulk discount. His response is simply "can you go lower?" No counteroffer, nothing. I never responded, because I'm not interested in negotiating against myself.

Couple that with the natural bias to only want to buy "deals" and only sell for "a good price," and a lot of folks can be a pain to deal with.

That said, I love when people say to "make an offer." They rarely like my offers, but I've gotten some good deals by simply putting a number on the table. (My rule of thumb for initial offers when buying is to offer the highest price that I feel I couldn't walk away from. Meaning I would almost never not buy the items at that price. I can often be haggled up from there, but I'd need to really want the items)

Typically, in negotiations the first one to name a price "loses". However, in a swap shop transaction, the "loss" really won't be that large and the seller really needs to understand what he wants to get out of the transaction. Do you want the figures gone? State the price. Do you have all the time in the world and want the best price? Get the potential buyer to name a price but be prepared to bump the thread and invest some time in keeping it alive.

To build in Polonius' point, if you want to counter an offer, name a counter offer. If you are just fishing with "can't you go lower?", then you're just wasting people's time. That would be the equivalent of negotiating salary, you're boss offers something, and then you whine, "can't you offer me more?"

Another point of ettiquette, don't make a statement like, "Car got wrecked, need cash" and then be put off when people give you low ball bids. That irritates me to no end.

 Ifurita wrote:
Typically, in negotiations the first one to name a price "loses".

I don't think that's necessarily true. In most negotiations, the person that can more easily walk away from the deal will always have the advantage. In the swap shop, that's usually buyers unless the seller has a rare or in demand item.

Stating the price first does "tip the hand" to show what one party feels the goods are worth, but it also sets the parameters for what offers will be seriously considered. If I ask $300 for a lot, I'm letting people know I'm not entertaining offers of $150.

However, in a swap shop transaction, the "loss" really won't be that large and the seller really needs to understand what he wants to get out of the transaction. Do you want the figures gone? State the price. Do you have all the time in the world and want the best price? Get the potential buyer to name a price but be prepared to bump the thread and invest some time in keeping it alive.

This is a great point. Value is not intrinsic. 2000 pounts of painted ultramarines aren't worth anything in a vacuum. They are worth whatever somebody is willing to pay. You can wait six months for somebody that wnats exactly the mix of units you have and is willing to pay your price, or you can drop the price to sell quickly. Nearly anything will move for the right price.

This is why you often get the worst prices (but often the better buying experience) from people with high trade counts, pros, and semi-pros. They have the time and energy to get a good price. As a rule, people that rely on reselling for income will aways want more than somebody looking to clear cupboard space.

If a price or % off MSRP isn't listed the seller wants to keep the item more than I want to buy it IMO from go. If I do offer on an ad that doesn't have any prices listed and get ignored, welcome to the "blocked" list.

Price and "willing to negotiate" in a post will almost make me want to buy your loot. Make me want it.

 Ifurita wrote:
To build in Polonius' point, if you want to counter an offer, name a counter offer. If you are just fishing with "can't you go lower?", then you're just wasting people's time. That would be the equivalent of negotiating salary, you're boss offers something, and then you whine, "can't you offer me more?"

I did a great trade a few weeks ago where the seller vaguely indicated that he had some things I was interested in for sale. I contacted him, got a list, and immediately made an offer. I didn't low-ball, but it was my "too good to pass up" price.

He responded by pointing out what he could get for various items, and what he felt the lot was worth, and shot back with a number about 25% higher. We ended up about 10% above my initial offer, minus a few items that I valued very little that had had good resale. It was quick and painless, and we both felt like we got a decent deal.

Another point of ettiquette, don't make a statement like, "Car got wrecked, need cash" and then be put off when people give you low ball bids. That irritates me to no end.

I generally dont' respond at all to insultingly low bids (which is a bit of a subjective judgment, to be fair), but when somebody is in a hurry, I know I can get a good price. When I'm building an army, I may not want to buy more for a few months, so to "buy ahead" requires me to get a nice discount.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Byte wrote:
If a price or % off MSRP isn't listed the seller wants to keep the item more than I want to buy it IMO from go. If I do offer on an ad that doesn't have any prices listed and get ignored, welcome to the "blocked" list.

Price and "willing to negotiate" in a post will almost make me want to buy your loot. Make me want it.

The one problem I have with listing prices is that I need to work in the haggle factor. Almost nobody contacts me and orders off the menu, they will usually list a few things, and ask for a small but significant discount. So I can't just list my prices and hope stuff flies out, I need to hedge a bit high.

OTOH, and this applies both to me and other sellers, if I really wanted the best price, I'd sell on eBay.

I don't mind when a seller does not list a price, I will make an offer if I am interested, if someone says they are looking for a model and I contact them letting them know that I do have one I don't mind letting them know what the going rate is for the item so we can work out a price from there. What I don't like is people who don't set a price and then get offended when you make an offer then proceed with nasty comments. Plain and simple if you don't have a starting price listed then expect people to offer little or charge a lot. Some peoples nastiness about this is why I have really slowed down on trying to use the swap n shop.

Also, if you're selling stuff, you absolutely must provide a detailed description of what you are selling with pictures if they are not NOS or NIB.

Yeah, if you don't set a price, you shouldn't be offended if someone makes a low offer...

That said, that whole process is usually too much for me. If I sell something, it's usually of the "want it gone" variety, and I price it to move- usually just a bit below what they could get it for elsewhere.

Time is an issue and the idea of continually having to up my thread and engage in lots of PM haggling is something I guess I feel like I'm getting too old for

In the context of Swap Shop and similar venues, I like to be the person with the price, buying or selling. If you don't like my offer I know there's no way either of us will be happy so the whole thing is settled and over with, no fuss. If you don't like the price I'm selling something for, either its way over your idea of value and we don't have to bother each other, or you can make a counteroffer and we can roll.

It differs a bit when buying in person, but generally I like to just put up numbers either way and see what happens. I'm rarely a "motivated" buyer or seller in the sense that I work for a living and have enough self-reflection to recognize unrealistic emotional attachment to plastic, so I may differ from some in that I see it as part of the larger game.

I prefer the seller or buyer, whoever makes the post. If you don't add prices, you're just asking to waste other's time and your own.

 filbert wrote:
My own personal preference - I won't deal with people that ask me to make an offer - I can't be bothered with all the tedious back and forth. My view on it; if you are selling something, you state a price that is acceptable to you and if I as the buyer find that price acceptable, then I will pay it. What I don't want to do is spend hours in PM back and forth haggling over it.

So much this it isn't even funny. It's just not worth it to me. Funny thing is that I'm more likely to slightly over pay if I don't have to haggle than if someone tells me to make an offer.

I post prices for most things, but for some things I ask for offers (old D&D books, for example).

I have to also agree with earlier posts. "Make me an offer" is fine on seriously OOP, rare, or pretty random items. Outside of that I want to see a price next to it. It's what I do so I expect others to do the same.

 Hulksmash wrote:
I have to also agree with earlier posts. "Make me an offer" is fine on seriously OOP, rare, or pretty random items. Outside of that I want to see a price next to it. It's what I do so I expect others to do the same.

It's not hard to get an idea of what the eBay market price for an item is, and then apply whatever discount from that you want.

My Rule of thumb is to ask for 80% of what I can get on eBay.

 Polonius wrote:

 Hulksmash wrote:
I have to also agree with earlier posts. "Make me an offer" is fine on seriously OOP, rare, or pretty random items. Outside of that I want to see a price next to it. It's what I do so I expect others to do the same.

It's not hard to get an idea of what the eBay market price for an item is, and then apply whatever discount from that you want.

My Rule of thumb is to ask for 80% of what I can get on eBay.

Very true, but for some random crap I don't know that it is worth it to set prices. I did just sell 28 pounds of D&D books for $40 shipped after asking the guy to make an offer. I accepted it.

But, just because of this thread, I've set random prices on my random crap.

I gauge so much on a sellers asking price when browsing the swap shop. For my slate I give a price that I find acceptable, I can usually be negotiated off of it for bulk orders and if you're making a trade, but it gives everyone a reference point. I'd guess if you're willing to accept money that you've got a price in your mind as well, even if it's not the absolute least you would take, giving a price opens up that conversation.

 Hulksmash wrote:
I have to also agree with earlier posts. "Make me an offer" is fine on seriously OOP, rare, or pretty random items.

Agreed, although your adding prices on the "random" stuff is appreciated anyway, pretre

 Polonius wrote:
It's not hard to get an idea of what the eBay market price for an item is, and then apply whatever discount from that you want.

My Rule of thumb is to ask for 80% of what I can get on eBay.

In my case, if the item is common enough for me to snag off ebay for a decent discount, I'd likely do that rather than go back and forth on the price with a seller who doesn't list what they're asking for it.

As noted several times, though, that's for normal items... something that is rare is another matter. I still appreciate a price, but I'm much more likely to make an offer as it's something I can't easily get elsewhere (and so is basically worth the effort).

The seller should always put a price. Haggle from there if you want, but never expect people to put in an offer with no starting price. All it means is the seller can't be botherd to do the research or work out what they want for the stuff, so will be a pain to deal with.

 filbert wrote:
My own personal preference - I won't deal with people that ask me to make an offer - I can't be bothered with all the tedious back and forth. My view on it; if you are selling something, you state a price that is acceptable to you and if I as the buyer find that price acceptable, then I will pay it. What I don't want to do is spend hours in PM back and forth haggling over it.

basically this, if you dont know how much you want to sell something for then I cant be bothered to buy something from you

 RiTides wrote:

 Hulksmash wrote:
I have to also agree with earlier posts. "Make me an offer" is fine on seriously OOP, rare, or pretty random items.

Agreed, although your adding prices on the "random" stuff is appreciated anyway, pretre

I aim to please. Now buy that crap!

 RiTides wrote:

 Hulksmash wrote:
I have to also agree with earlier posts. "Make me an offer" is fine on seriously OOP, rare, or pretty random items.

Agreed, although your adding prices on the "random" stuff is appreciated anyway, pretre

 Polonius wrote:
It's not hard to get an idea of what the eBay market price for an item is, and then apply whatever discount from that you want.

My Rule of thumb is to ask for 80% of what I can get on eBay.

In my case, if the item is common enough for me to snag off ebay for a decent discount, I'd likely do that rather than go back and forth on the price with a seller who doesn't list what they're asking for it.

As noted several times, though, that's for normal items... something that is rare is another matter. I still appreciate a price, but I'm much more likely to make an offer as it's something I can't easily get elsewhere (and so is basically worth the effort).

Well, the major advantage swap shops have over eBay is the ability to make a package deal. I still expect to pay less than I would on eBay (less protection, generally less info), but I like being able to discuss what I do and don't want. Ther'es nothing worse than placing multiple bids with one seller on eBay, and then only winning the thing you want the least...