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It happens here, it happens everywhere and it irks me. Anyone else have this same peeve? Someone lists a bunch of stuff for sale...they have piles of this and alot of that. So you message them and say how much do you want for X? Their response, "make me an offer I cant refuse"....this really gets me and I dont know why....look if you are trying to sell your stuff (not talking trades here, although you should still know the value your looking for anyway) KNOW HOW MUCH YOU WANT FOR IT AND STOP PLAYING GAMES....

sorry had to rant before I took my Warhound outside and put an M-80 in his crew compartment

quickfuze wrote:

sorry had to rant before I took my Warhound outside and put an M-80 in his crew compartment

Video please.

Maybe they don't know exactly how much they want for it. Maybe they're hoping to get some cash and they're testing the waters.

They're within their rights to ask people to make them an offer. It might be a more successful sales approach for them to just name a price and let people decide if they want it at that price or not. But it's not some moral offense for them to ask people to make an offer.

weird coincidence, right before I was writing this the host of cash cab said "make me an offer I cant refuse"

huh....

anyways, whenever I sell stuff I'd much prefer offers, and if you dont like making offers I'll just say I want retail so we can have a barter back and forth.... much rather have that so we both feel like we have a good deal :/

quickfuze wrote:It happens here, it happens everywhere and it irks me. Anyone else have this same peeve? Someone lists a bunch of stuff for sale...they have piles of this and alot of that. So you message them and say how much do you want for X? Their response, "make me an offer I cant refuse"....this really gets me and I dont know why....look if you are trying to sell your stuff (not talking trades here, although you should still know the value your looking for anyway) KNOW HOW MUCH YOU WANT FOR IT AND STOP PLAYING GAMES....

Offer them $1. When they say it is to low, let them know you will continue to make offers increasing by $1 until you reach your limit, but it would be a lot faster if they just offered a starting point as well.

A buyer asking the other person to make an offer first is an attempt to get the person to offer more than the buyer thinks they can sell for. A good rule of thumb is to offer less than you think it is worth, wait for a counter offer, and haggle from there. I hate haggling though, so I tend to make offers I believe is fair to start with if asked and refuse to haggle because I hate haggling. Apparently the majority of people feel better about a purchase that they haggled for though, even if it was more than they wanted to spend, because they feel like they got it for less than the other person wanted to sell it for.

Yeah,it's a bit annoying. Another story is when You offer decent amount X and in response you get "ok, how about that X x 2"? Last time I wished good luck him on e-bay and all sales ended lower than the amount I offered him

Conversely, many times I have set a price only to have a buyer say "Will you take "something less than what you said you wanted."

No. I posted what I was willing to sell it for.

Sellers don't list what they want because buyers might offer more and if they list it, buyers will lowball the listed price.

Shotgun wrote:Conversely, many times I have set a price only to have a buyer say "Will you take "something less than what you said you wanted."

No. I posted what I was willing to sell it for.

Sellers don't list what they want because buyers might offer more and if they list it, buyers will lowball the listed price.

Since most of the secondary market uses haggling as the standard, most people will except to do so even if you clearly state that the prices are firm. That is to be expected because the majority operates that way, we are in the minority.

yeah, unless you post "prices are firm", people are bound to assume they can haggle

It does depend a lot on who's selling what. Sometimes you just have to say 'offers' and when you get one that offsets the 'loss' of the item you go for it.

When buying what annoys me are people who charge internet retail for stuff... I mean if I want it I can just buy it on the internet... make it worth my while!

@OP: The reason people do this everywhere, not just here, is simply because generally if you ask what a person is willing to pay for something a lot of the time it will be somewhat higher than the price you put up for it. It's simple economics.

I have a different experience Grimtuff, and I have lots of experience with buying.

Most people have some sentimental attachment to their belongings and therefore way over value them. Say how much you want and then you are far less likely to be disappointed with the sale.

When asked to make an offer I tend to look on ebay at the lowest I can buy it now for and then take 15 - 20% off and that's my offer.

I once had a guy on ebay make me an offer on something, I accepted then didn't hear anything from him so let the auction run. It finished higher than his offer with him not winning and within minutes I get a message asking when he could collect it at the price he'd offered.

I set a price that is entirely reasonable (hint - a little lower than what it'd sell for on ebay) and always sell.

I occasionally get responses that add "What about a discount?", "Can we make a deal?", usually wanting the listed price reduced by half, and usually originating from someone with a power seller account on ebay who never types using capital letters.. I can usually ignore these 9 out of 10 times and wait for someone more serious to come along (in my experience, discount-seekers are also the worst to deal with, demanding free shipping or pulling out, when the shipping is gonna cost me £9 or so, that sort of thing) and buy it at my listed price instead.

Agree that guide prices should be set, there's nothing stopping you from pricing high initially, then coming back a few days later and lowering it. I recently sold over 200 Dwarves for £40 since there was no interest at £50.

I got an email from someone trying to strong-arm me and buy them for £20 using the usual "well if no-one else wants them then I am your best deal, you'll make nothing otherwise" line after seeing that I'd lowered the price. I ignored them, and someone else bought them at the listed price 12 hours later.

I agree it is annoying when they reply in a vague and snarky way like that, but at least you get a chance to be affirmative in the transaction. I usually follow up those kinds of replies with something like:
"What condition are the models in? Are there any missing or broken pieces?
I'm willing to pay up to X% for this and that, but since this other thing is such an old model I am only willing to pay Y%. I am open to a little haggling, but I don't expect to stray far from those values unless the models are built very well (pinned, mold lines files, etc.)"

What bugs me the most is when I make a fair offer and they don't even reply. Suddenly my money is no good?

^ Don't take it personally, if they're offering a good deal it is not unusual to receive a dozen or so PMs about it, and if it's something offer-based then their attention will be on the person with the highest offer.

I always try to make sure I give an "Already sold, but thanks anyway!" response to everyone, but might have missed a few.

scarletsquig wrote:^ Don't take it personally, if they're offering a good deal it is not unusual to receive a dozen or so PMs about it.

I always try to make sure I give an "Already sold, but thanks anyway!" response to everyone, but might have missed a few.

I am always content to get those "sorry, it was already sold" messages, and I know a few slip through the cracks; but when I get 2/9 replies in a week I get kind of upset.

The reason for the question is simple, the people making the request are looking to rip off the seller.

I do sometimes get the urge to make a silly offer, like £1 and 3 midget gems.

Too much deal or no deal

How can a seller ever be ripped off?

People can be jerks and will take advantage of those not being cautious.
It works as a seller and as a buyer. I just try to treat people the way I'd want to be treated.
I've had people wanting to pay way more than something is valued at. I can't rake someone
like that.

@OP
It's just one of those things we have to just learn to deal with, or stay away from the forum style trades/sales.

I can't stand the ebay sellers who put on the option for "best offer" and you offer them a reasonable amount, and they completely ignore you. Counter-offer if you don't like it, but if you plan to ignore offers, then don't give the option for counter-offers. People like that are jackasses.

I also dislike sellers who try to get more than models are worth-if I can get a complete box of models for $5 more than what you are offering for a single 28mm infantry model BEFORE your shipping charges, why in the hell would I accept your offer (offer being $20 for one model, or 25 for a complete box on MM)? I don't hate these people like the people on ebay, but I dislike working with people who are trying to scam a quick buck off of you.

I have never had ANY luck with eBay's "Best Offer". Even offering $23 for something selling for $25 failed.

I think most of the people who use it just want to "get me in the store" so to speak, and that they aren't really interested in haggling.

If anything I've always hated sellers using the phrase "my loss is you're gain". It always just screamed "I'M TRYING TO SCAM YOU"

2 things here:

1. Often sellers ask for offers as it can lead to them getting a higher price. If I'm willing to sell X for $100, but someone offers $120, then good on me.
2. Sellers may gauge interest in a lot in order to determine a price they feel is fair. Condition of models matters here, as well as relative retail prices.

I've got an Orc lot that I've been trying to sell for over a year now, at well below 50% of retail value. I feel the price I've set is fair given the condition and contents. Clearly, I've not yet found a buyer who is on the same page. Soon I'll resort to eBay and will let the auction style determine the price I get for it. It may end up being higher than I want, it may be much lower. At any rate, it will be sold and out of my hands finally.

My issue as a seller is when I say that I'll sell X for $Y but to make offers, and then some asshat offers 50% of Y which was already steeply discounted. Or people who want to part out the lot after you advertised that you have no desire to part it out. That happens a lot.

Another issue is sellers who think X is worth more than it's equation. On average the equation for selling models second hand is something along the lines of:
1.Is the model OOP or still being made?
2. Is the model super rare if OOP?
If no to both, the following:
Retail minus 30% for NiB
Retail minus 40-50% for assembled on average
Retail minus 50-70% for bad paint that has to be stripped
Retail plus 10-100% for a quality paint job that won't be done over.

Many people feel that their NiB stuff is worth retail value. That is ONLY ever true if it is OOP, or when trading(most people trade 1:1 at retail values).

If you want cash for your models, you need to realize that EVERY current production model can be bought brand spanking new online at 25-30% off. It's like buying a brand new car, once it's in your name, it is not worth sticker price even if you haven't driven it off the lot.

So really, much of the fault lies with sellers who have unrealistic views of the value of their models, some fault lies with idiots who make lowball offers that often offend sellers who are asking reasonable rates.

I rarely buy from third parties according to what THEY listed for sale. Most of my buys are from me putting up a post about what I want and what I'll pay for it, then they contact me to sell.
Most of my time spent browsing swap shop and bartertown is looking at what people want, and figuring out if I have that item for sale. This saves me tons of time from trying to scour adds for that one model I'm trying to track down.

I don't sell often but when I or others are selling and asking me how much to sell for I will normally say sell at 2/3rds of the rrp. You have an assembled primed £30 model sell it for so or say somethign along the lines of £22.50 and if they haggle go down to £20 maybe £18. It all depends on quality. Band paint on it that will most likley get striped or if your lazy simply re-primed and has had several coats on it and if its possibly thick paint half the price. if its ok and can easily be sprayed over with primer go inbetween the 2/3rds mark and the 1/2 mark. Say start at !8.50 and go down to £17 or so. It all depends on quality.

But also many people dont like listing prices as people will try to haggle and will lowball the asking price. A simple fix say you want higher than you really do. but this can make you come off arrogant so they may not offer at all incase they offend you. Or like others have also said maybe they don't know how much they want/ how much another person would be willing to go especially if its a rare/expensive kit/model.

quickfuze wrote:It happens here, it happens everywhere and it irks me. Anyone else have this same peeve? Someone lists a bunch of stuff for sale...they have piles of this and alot of that. So you message them and say how much do you want for X? Their response, "make me an offer I cant refuse"....this really gets me and I dont know why....look if you are trying to sell your stuff (not talking trades here, although you should still know the value your looking for anyway) KNOW HOW MUCH YOU WANT FOR IT AND STOP PLAYING GAMES....

sorry had to rant before I took my Warhound outside and put an M-80 in his crew compartment

How about they don't even respond to a PM about what they are trading/selling?

This is actually an important skill in bartering, here in Kentucky, where you barter (or "dicker" as some people like to say) You NEVER have a set price of something your selling. You always have the buyer make an offer first. You'd be surprised how many times they'll offer higher than you were planning on selling it. Also, by having them make an offer, it lets the other party feel more in control of the deal, making them more likely to haggle and come to an agreement on price.

Also, if the guy has it listed on a place like the bartering page we have here on Dakka, he's probably getting multiple people talking to him interested in it. By saying "make me an offer" he can see who the most serious buyers are without just blatantly putting on the add "WHOEVER OFFERS MOST MONEEH WINZ!". Once he's seen what each person is offering, he'll know which ones he wants to negotiate with.

Honestly, he's not doing a thing wrong, he's just being smart and more than likely trying to be polite. If he was running a store or something, yeah that would be annoying, but when you're negotiating a private sale, this is pretty par for the course. Go lurk craigslist for a while or flea markets or yardsales sometime, this is a lot more common than you think.

^^Moustaffa brings up a good point. Just because you're replying to a post doesn't mean you're the only one replying to the post. It's not just a "First!!, you're selling to me!" deal. A seller has to test the waters over a period of time and see how many buyers are in his market.

BewareOfTom wrote:yeah, unless you post "prices are firm", people are bound to assume they can haggle

Hate to tell you, not even firm prices are not that firm. Been dealing with the secondary market for almost 15 years. If no one has taken them up on the firm price, they usually will start haggling.

I really dont mind no prices. It gives me flexibility. What I hate is in the middle of negociations they stop responding.....People if you had a better offer or no longer interested please for the love of the emperor, PM THEM BACK AND SAY NO LONGER INTERESTED!