flatfourfan
I may have posted something similar a while back, but I thought that I'd ask again, if I didn't the first time.......lol.
I've put up 2 guitars of mine for sale, I had interest in 1 from here and from both through gumtree. I organised that people come and view tonight so that I can move on ASAP. I just got a call from 1 guy who's interested in my ARX, now bear in mind he hasn't seen the guitar in person. He promply pipes up and says am I negotiable on the price, I say no, he says that he can get one cheaper elsewhere, I say knock yourself out and go buy that one. He hangs up and calls me back about 30 minutes later saying that he really wants the guitar, but will offer me R1000 less for it as clearly there is no other interest in it and I should cut him some slack.
I said sorry and hung up on him. He calls back 20 minutes later saying that he'll up his offer of R800 off my asking price. I say sorry and that I'm firm on my price and that maybe he should actually view the guitar before trying to get discount. He replies to that saying that he doesn't want to come all the way to my place if he knows that he can't get something off the asking price and that I should make it worth his while.
I have to admit, that I like barganing a bit when I'm buying stuff, but I never outright insult the guy and try to knock off 50% off the asking price without even viewing it. I shop around and see what the going rate is and then go in a tad cheaper, if I really want the item, I pay full price, no quibble.
Makes me freaking gatvol to even try and sell something nowadays.
Wish me luck as tonight I have 2 guys coming to look at my warlock.............will report on that one tomorrow.
MikeM
I used to troll these guys.. But I have actually got so sick of it, that I really don't bother.
I sold a cellphone the other day. I priced it to go. R3k. In the first day, not even 24h, I had just under 30 replies. I was shocked that a couple of them were offering as low as R1800 ?
I just don't have patience for people looking to rip me off.
vic
Flatfourfan did the right thing to stick to his price, especially if it's realistic. The "trick" of course is to set a price at say 20% higher and give that as discount...why ?.....the average buyer feels a sense of "achievement" if he/she can get something at a lower price than advertised.
However it is VERY difficult selling almost anything at decent prices these days...check out Junkmail and Gumtree...most of those instruments are just not selling, and there are bargains to be had.
Good luck with your sale.
Keira-WitherKay
Ok this is coming from me , i'm a bargain hunter deluxe ? , and i think any offer however low is never insulting cos lets face it gear can be hard to sell and most people me included always up the price on the ad , so most people expect some room for negotiation and often if you call and offer cash right here today on a deal some people selling would prefer lowering price and moving it today than risk having it only sell in 3 months . And we all know most people sell gear to finance other gear , that they want yesterday or to deal with a cash flow problem that arose and those too call for quick sales . So let someone try their luck cos end of the day it's you the seller who accepts or rejects an offer . So from my respective no offer is insulting but the seller has right to reject it
AlanRatcliffe
Ah, Gumtreeitis...?
I don't make or accept offers, lowball or otherwise. If it's at a fair price and I have the money, I buy it, if it's not I don't and I wait for another to pop up at a better price or when I have some cash. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the same from those I sell to. Sometimes a low price can make me buy something I wouldn't have considered otherwise, but I'll never try bargain someone down below what I know it is worth. I can understand someone on a tight budget who really can't quite stretch to the price and might even make a plan, but if they start out by offering me a ridiculous figure, I probably won't even bother responding.
I do try to price my own stuff fairly - especially if I picked the item up for a good price in the first place (which is often the case). I usually state that the items are priced to sell and that I won't consider offers - and y'know what? The lowballers generally stay away... ?
I don't actually like doing business with those individuals who will chance it and push as far as they can - I got to know more than a few while working in music stores. They are usually the kind that will come in and brag at how much their gear is worth (usually overinflated) and how little they paid for it. Once again, it's a relatively small industry and chances are good that you will do business with the same person again at some point. And if faced with two responses to an ad - me and someone who tried lowballing them before, who are they going to contact first? ?
I think there is also less of that kind of behaviour going on here - both buyers and sellers are better educated on the value of items. In fact, I don't think I've even had to list a single item on Gumtree for over a year now. Keepin' it in the family... ?
AlanRatcliffe
The problem with listing higher than you want for the item is that a lot of those who know what it is worth will pass it on by without making an offer (I know I do).
I was recently looking for a Boss GT-Pro and a search came up with two listings, one for R4K and another for R3.5K, guess which person I contacted first and bought from? The other guy might have been willing to haggle, but I wasn't...
Gearhead
So I was selling this Epi LP Special that I picked up at a pawn shop. Used it for experimenting, wanted rid of it, don't recall but think I actually advertised on the forum. Anyway, one of the members PMs, I give him the price, which is R100 less than what I bought it for, he says he wants pictures. I am quite busy, take a while, he PMs me again and says he's quite keen. I get around to taking the pictures, send them, he calls up and says he's got three other ones lined up and if I don't lower the price, he'll take one of the others. I left it at that.
Oh, now I remember, guy's avatar is Flatfourfan...
Moral of the story: please don't complain. Please.
deefstes
Hey FlatFour, I might be able to persuade my mom to buy me that guitar but she wants to see me play it first. Only problem is she won't come through to your place. You don't suppose I could bring my sister over and then leave her with you while I borrow the guitar and take it to my mom where I can slay away on your twanger? That way we both have something of each other that's of value.
vic
deefstes wrote
Hey FlatFour, I might be able to persuade my mom to buy me that guitar but she wants to see me play it first. Only problem is she won't come through to your place. You don't suppose I could bring my sister over and then leave her with you while I borrow the guitar and take it to my mom where I can slay away on your twanger? That way we both have something of each other that's of value.
...I 've read this one before...lol ?
BluJu
Keira WitherKay wrote
Ok this is coming from me , i'm a bargain hunter deluxe ? , and i think any offer however low is never insulting cos lets face it gear can be hard to sell and most people me included always up the price on the ad , so most people expect some room for negotiation and often if you call and offer cash right here today on a deal some people selling would prefer lowering price and moving it today than risk having it only sell in 3 months . And we all know most people sell gear to finance other gear , that they want yesterday or to deal with a cash flow problem that arose and those too call for quick sales . So let someone try their luck cos end of the day it's you the seller who accepts or rejects an offer . So from my respective no offer is insulting but the seller has right to reject it
I totally agree with you on this one.
I find that people are way to sensitive when it comes to these matters.
I have no problem with low ball offers. I don't accept them but at least it opens the lines up for negotiation.
flatfourfan
deefstes wrote
Hey FlatFour, I might be able to persuade my mom to buy me that guitar but she wants to see me play it first. Only problem is she won't come through to your place. You don't suppose I could bring my sister over and then leave her with you while I borrow the guitar and take it to my mom where I can slay away on your twanger? That way we both have something of each other that's of value.
Gawd I remember that one (I was selling Ibanez Gio and my 15w fender frontman, I'd like to think it was all a joke.........
Gearhead wrote
So I was selling this Epi LP Special that I picked up at a pawn shop. Used it for experimenting, wanted rid of it, don't recall but think I actually advertised on the forum. Anyway, one of the members PMs, I give him the price, which is R100 less than what I bought it for, he says he wants pictures. I am quite busy, take a while, he PMs me again and says he's quite keen. I get around to taking the pictures, send them, he calls up and says he's got three other ones lined up and if I don't lower the price, he'll take one of the others. I left it at that.
Oh, now I remember, guy's avatar is Flatfourfan...
Moral of the story: please don't complain. Please.
Seeing that you brought that one up, I thought that I'd add my side. I was looking for an LP, you contacted me saying that you had an LP special stripped down in parts, I ask for pictures, a few days later you send me some and I can clearly see that it's in parts (I seem to recall that the neck was off, wiring was gutted, fretwear was pretty bad and the asking price was a tad too rich for something that was stripped down, (I think that you wanted R1200). I get another offer from a forum member of one in near mint condition for R300 more than you were trying to sell me yours. There were 2 others, but they were too far gone to even consider.
I asked for some advice from the forum
http://www.guitarforum.co.za/guitar-gear/opinions-on-epiphone-special-ii-lp/msg94648/#msg94648 and when you saw the thread, you flipped out on me saying that I was wasting your time and you're a busy guy etc etc. I even recall sending you a PM actually saying sorry as I did not intend to insult you in any way.
flatfourfan
Well the warlock is pending. I was hoping that the ibby would go first.......
Guy played it and made me an offer R100 less than the asking price to which I said okay, he's given a deposit and will pay the rest by pay day. This one did not want to leave a family member as a deposit.....
deefstes
flatfourfan wrote
deefstes wrote
Hey FlatFour, I might be able to persuade my mom to buy me that guitar but she wants to see me play it first. Only problem is she won't come through to your place. You don't suppose I could bring my sister over and then leave her with you while I borrow the guitar and take it to my mom where I can slay away on your twanger? That way we both have something of each other that's of value.
Gawd I remember that one (I was selling Ibanez Gio and my 15w fender frontman, I'd like to think it was all a joke.........
Dude, are you kidding me? That was the funniest thread this forum has ever seen. No really, with our recent REAPER get together we actually reminisced a little and had to agree on that being the funniest GFSA thread ever. Maybe I should link it here just for posterity. It started out reasonably funny but then, at the bottom of page 3 it caught fire and turned into stuff of legend!
http://www.guitarforum.co.za/general-discussion/having-a-fun-time-on-gumtree-selling-a-guitar/msg105460/#msg105460
vic
flatfourfan wrote
Well the warlock is pending. I was hoping that the ibby would go first.......
Guy played it and made me an offer R100 less than the asking price to which I said okay, he's given a deposit and will pay the rest by pay day. This one did not want to leave a family member as a deposit.....
aaah congrats !
IceCreamMan
i make some offers which are refused , i make some that are accepted, its part of life. i do a lot of research into the item and have a figure in mind which i am prepared to pay, the seller has a figure in mind which he is prepared to accept..if there is concensus there is a deal...and same when i sell items although i normally offer items at good prices anyway.
There is a major issue with the way stores price items as i have seen guys sell items second hand for more money than i can get the item new for ..so in a cae like that i would offer what i think is a fair price however for the original purchaser this may seem like i am lowballing him (an i guess could be insulted by this). And seriously i see this a LOT. Pricing is very disjointed in ZA.
but then i have to confess, i negotiate a lot in my professional life so its going to spill into my private life too i guess....so much so i make my family cringe sometimes ? but i always get a better deal than they do
Warren
I recently had some very interesting offers on my Strat.
I put it up for sale here on GFSA and on Gumtree for R6000, which in retrospect is a bit low as a starting number (but I was trying to "price it to go").
I had one guy telling me he could buy a new one for R5k from some music store or another, so I should accept his R4.5k offer. I told him to buy the new one.
I had a collector in Cape Town interested, but only if the guitar was absolutely spotless (unfortunately with the finish on the HW1 Strat I don't see how it's possible to actually play it and then keep it spotless) so that didn't go off. Nice guy though, amazing collection, doesn't play a note. ?
I had a guy contact me to tell me that he'll sell it to his mate for R10k, but then I need to give him his R4k. ???
I had another guy tell me he was organising finances about 3 or 4 times, only to never hear from him again.
I even had a forum member (I'm looking at you Donovan) unwittingly send me a link to my own ad with the words "cheap MIA Strat on gumtree, shit colour though" in the mail. ? P.S. I rather like the colour you Phillistine!
And a pile of once-off shows of interest that went nowhere at all.
I can't say I get insulted, you need some thick skin when selling second-hand. However the guy who was talking kak about buying a new HW1 Strat for R5k was pissing me off because of his crappy attitude, and his obvious ignorance of the product on offer. But I was surprised there was only one like him, to be honest.
vic
There is nothing wrong with negotiating and most sellers don't mind healthy negotiation. But making a ridiculous offer on something which is fairly priced is another story...and that's what the OP is saying.
Personally I never quible if I want something which is fairly priced, but then I'm well informed about the "going rates" of the stuff I'm interested in.
vic
I once advertised a Gibson SG Standard on Gumtree (must be about 3 years ago) for RXXX. Got this reply..."What ! RXXX for such an ugly piece of c@#p !" LOL .
?
Must confess I was the moerin at first..
Keira-WitherKay
Warren wrote
I even had a forum member (I'm looking at you Donovan) unwittingly send me a link to my own ad with the words "cheap MIA Strat on gumtree, shit colour though" in the mail. ? P.S. I rather like the colour you Phillistine!
sorry to slightly side track the thread............ but @ warren i saw your ad......and i 2nd your opinion ..........i like that colour too......in fact it struck me immeadiately when i opened the ad.........thought it looked way cool .... 8)
Vic wrote
But making a ridiculous offer on something which is fairly priced is another story...
well isn't that how we do bussiness in all sphere's ........ start at a low offer and work up ??? till the deal is either broken or made
i recently sold my 40 yr old aria jazz box on gumtree, i asked my price plus a hint and a dude emailed me a low offer about R800 lower than i would take........ i emailed back ...... and said i can't accept the 1st offer but if you can find an extra R800 it's yours .he did and came to fetch it same day ............. so yeah don't get your back up or insulted.it's just bussiness NOT personal ...... and in this economic enviroment who can blame everyone for trying to get best price.......... but hey never get insulted ...just say NO Deal... but least pop a counter offer back at the buyers low price.......
Wizard
Only time I got annoyed was when I agreed on a price over the phone ... chap arrives to collect and pay ... then starts with:
"So - is that really your best price?"
... and I realize, with horror, that he is starting the price negotiation all over again ... presumably under the auspices of me being ready to buckle with the sight of actual ZAR 10 ront notes.
Somehow my resolve to become non-negotiable becomes much, much stronger in the presence of these tactics.
