a short rant about trying to sell stuff...

[seanc]

I have been actively trying to downsize. Over the past few years, I have sold off a TON of gear. Mostly guitar related. But also, i have swapped, traded and sold a few concertinas. Most all has been sold on various sites with a face to face sell/ pick up. Buyer looks, knows what they are getting. No surprises. No hurt  feelings, etc.

 

Generally, there is some degree of haggling. I have come to appreciate that this is an almost mandatory process in the selling ecosystem.  There are those people that almost compusively will offer half of whatever your asking price is..

Example: I am selling $20 bill for $18.50 (as they are used) 

Potenial buyer "I will give you $10"

 Many will get upset at you NOT taking their offer. "That $20 is only worth $10!"

 

These people I generally say, no thanks to and move on. Then there are those that engage, and if I get a good vibe from, I will counter, if I think it is too low. And go from there. 

 

Recently, I put my 57b Wheatstone Maccan up for @ $2800 (less than what I paid from the Cornell estate) it is absolutely new condition and looks like it could be on the shelf at a store as new. After quizzing me about function and condition. And having mutilpe pics posted. A guy offered $700.  I quickly said, thanks not interested and ended that conversation..

 

I think getting offered 25% of asking is a new low. is there some point where an "offer" is it just an insult?

 

rant ended...

 

[Joe G.]

Bargaining is an art, if it's done right—that is, if both the seller and the buyer know what's going on, and if neither of them insults the other. I lived in Marrakech in 2012/13, where bargaining seemed to be a full-immersion sport. Vendors in the market stalls were fond of saying they were seeking "a democratic price." They always opened high; I always countered low.  I never doubted that, in the end, "democracy" favored the vendor over the non-Moroccan shopper, but I don't think anyone was ever offended in those exchanges. I even made some friends in the process. I sometimes miss that part of Morocco, but not enough to get jerked around by low-ballers. You were right to move on.

[Don Taylor]

 

[seanc]

I have been selling music gear since the 80s. Selling used guitars in a music store..

so, I always post it with a reasonable asking price, but with the expectation of haggling and  buyer feeling like they walked away they haggled and got a discount.

 

but I just do not understand this mindset of whatever is posted. Offer half. This is not a Moroccan marketplace. And haggling is not generally regarded as the premier sport it is elswhere.

I have had people agree to buy something at the posted price. Come to my house to look at it and make a final decision. And THEN after showing up and hour late, fondling it and asking a ton of questions for an extended time  to then offer half.. I have got quite a bit of satisfaction of saying thanks for coming have a nice day.. and them getting all butt hurt and driving off offended and empty handed when I would not take their deal.

 

 

 

[Don Taylor]

I agree with Sean but, as a buyer, I have had the inverse experience a couple of times.

 

Something for sale a decent distance away is advertised at a certain price so I phone the seller and agree to see the item.  When I get there, the seller ups his price figuring that since I spent a day driving to see his stuff then he can get me to pay more than the original asking price!

 

I just turn around and leave.

 

At least Sean did not to have drive 6 hours for a buyer to low-ball him.

 

 

[alex_holden]

5 hours ago, Don Taylor said:

I agree with Sean but, as a buyer, I have had the inverse experience a couple of times.

 

Something for sale a decent distance away is advertised at a certain price so I phone the seller and agree to see the item.  When I get there, the seller ups his price figuring that since I spent a day driving to see his stuff then he can get me to pay more than the original asking price!

 

I just turn around and leave.

 

At least Sean did not to have drive 6 hours for a buyer to low-ball him.

 

 

 

That's really bad behaviour.

 

I had a situation once where I saw a used tool on Facebook Marketplace, messaged the seller, agreed to buy it at the advertised price (I don't like haggling), and arranged to collect it at a particular time the next morning. When I got there on time, cash in hand, he told me he'd already sold it ten minutes earlier. It seems that he was fed up with Marketplace buyers not turning up when they said they would, so when two (or maybe more?) buyers said they wanted it, he agreed to sell it to both of us, and the first to arrive got it. He didn't seem to understand how rude that was.

[seanc]

16 hours ago, alex_holden said:

 

That's really bad behaviour.

 

I had a situation once where I saw a used tool on Facebook Marketplace, messaged the seller, agreed to buy it at the advertised price (I don't like haggling), and arranged to collect it at a particular time the next morning. When I got there on time, cash in hand, he told me he'd already sold it ten minutes earlier. It seems that he was fed up with Marketplace buyers not turning up when they said they would, so when two (or maybe more?) buyers said they wanted it, he agreed to sell it to both of us, and the first to arrive got it. He didn't seem to understand how rude that was.

I have never done anything like that?

 

several times, I had multiple interested buyers. And it was always first come first served. First one with the cash takes it. Many of these times buyer one would come. Make an offer, or low ball. I would then say that I have multiple people lined up. If they fall through. I will consider your offer and let you know.  Many times they leave, then call back saying they want it. But., they go to the end of the line as others are lined up with appointments.

 

i had one guy, selling a very desirable vintage synth.  A guy came, asking price $1000. Guy makes an appt. Shows up an hour late (he did call). Came, played for an hour, badly. Fiddling every knob, every key multiple times trying to find a fault. Turned on his flashlight on his camera. Looking for any small blemish.. it’s a 30 year old synth, dude.. finally. He says. Ya, it has some issues, but I’ll take it for 250..

I asked… what issues? He got all righteous.. well this pot is kind of scratchy. Then, how did you come up with 250? Well there was one for sale a few months ago. Oh, you mean that one being sold as parts as it was not in working condition? Oh, well they are all over the place for short money! Cool, you should buy one of those… and I have 3 other people lined up.

 

he drove away upset. About 20 minutes later.. he calls.. ok, I will give you 300. I’ll turn around right now and come back. No thanks. You’re never going to sell it for that obscene price.. ok thanks, ill consider it…

 

next guy, looks at iit, spends 5 minutes. Hands me the money. As he’s walking away. You know, you could have gotten quite a bit more for this, in this kind of condition.. yes, I know that, enjoy it.

 

another guy, similar situation.. but, really pissed me off. Calls the next day. I’ll come back and pay your asking. Me: you don’t deserve this. I will not sell it to you..

[Theo]

Selling things is not as easy as it might appear!   That's why so may people have paying jobs selling things.  It's bit of a game really, Sometimes the hardest part is treating people politely when they are rude.  There is an art to negotiating prices without demeaning the other party, or the object being sold.  In the UK there is a TV series called Salvage Hunters where the dealer at the centre of things is an absolute master of the being hard-nosed but keeping things polite and friendly.  I've pinched a few of his nice phrases that smooth the process.

[Clive Thorne]

The problem I have with salvage hunters, bargain hunt, antiques road trip etc. is that the people all know that they are on the telly, which I am sure affects the negotiation process and the final agreed price. After all, no one want to look like a pratt on the telly.

 

[seanc]

7 hours ago, Clive Thorne said:

The problem I have with salvage hunters, bargain hunt, antiques road trip etc. is that the people all know that they are on the telly, which I am sure affects the negotiation process and the final agreed price. After all, no one want to look like a pratt on the telly.

 

The little inside info I have is that at least antiques road show is mostly staged… at least in the us.

 

meaning the items are all vetted/ assessed/ valued by staffers. the intersting story pieces and pushed on to the celebrities with the camera crews. Much of the expert’s script is written out  And any sale has been agreed to well before the cameras are running.

[Theo]

13 hours ago, seanc said:

The little inside info I have is that at least antiques road show is mostly staged… at least in the us.

 

meaning the items are all vetted/ assessed/ valued by staffers. the intersting story pieces and pushed on to the celebrities with the camera crews. Much of the expert’s script is written out  And any sale has been agreed to well before the cameras are running.

 

Well of course they are TV shows and as such have various degrees of scripting/editing/production. Nonetheless they can give you an insight into a the process of polite hard bargaining.  Real life may not be so pleasant, I'm sure we've all had interactions with our fellow humans where things didn't go as smoothly as we would have liked.  Example:  I once experienced an unprovoked verbal assault from a complete stranger, eventually they huffed off.  When I described the incident to a wise friend he consoled me with the thought that although I would probably never see the person again, they would have to continue living with their own anger.  So if people get worked up and appear angry because you prefer not to accept their offer, don't take it personally, just let them go.

[seanc]

5 hours ago, Theo said:

 

Well of course they are TV shows and as such have various degrees of scripting/editing/production. Nonetheless they can give you an insight into a the process of polite hard bargaining.  Real life may not be so pleasant, I'm sure we've all had interactions with our fellow humans where things didn't go as smoothly as we would have liked.  Example:  I once experienced an unprovoked verbal assault from a complete stranger, eventually they huffed off.  When I described the incident to a wise friend he consoled me with the thought that although I would probably never see the person again, they would have to continue living with their own anger.  So if people get worked up and appear angry because you prefer not to accept their offer, don't take it personally, just let them go.

Ha. That’s nothing! I was threatened with a baseball bat because I refused to give a guy more free batteries then we were supposed to at a radio shack.. he won . 2 extra AA batteries.. and then held at gunpoint and robbed while making the night deposit at a bank..

 

The joys of working retail!

 

[Doug Anderson]

I did have one pleasant experience working retail many years ago. I had a temp job in a Macy's men's wear department over the Christmas holidays. I was putting dress shirts that customers had moved back into their proper places on the shelves. I was struggling with one shirt that had been completely opened, including the cardboard ring inside the collar and all the pins. Seeing my discomfort, an older lady walked over and said "here, let me do that for you." As she worked on it she explained that she had worked in a high end haberdashery for a number of years and was pretty sure she could reassemble the shirt with her eyes closed. Her kindness more than made up for the rudeness of some other customers that day.