Big-G
So, as most of you will know, I am in the process of selling several pieces of kit, mostly om Gumtree, but also here and elsewhere....
I find myself getting increasingly frustrated with people who just chance it!
What do I mean by this? Well, everyone likes to feel they have gotten a bargain, and often offer lower than the asking price the seller is requesting... In itself, this is ok, and to be expected, and I myself often do this, but within reason!
Lately, I've gotten a spate of chancing emails offering prices WELL below what I'm asking! One example happened a few moments ago, when i was offered R2500 for something I'm asking R3500 for! If I sold it at that price, I'd be taking a 30% hit on my asking price! I generally price my items at their market value anyway, so to take that much of a hit is not an option, but still people insist on offering such rediculous offers!
And thats not the worst! I was offered R1k for an item I was asking R2k for at one point, and have had many more offers like this!
It drives me insane, and I just needed to vent, so thanks for listening to my rantings!
Regards
G!
flatfourfan
Hey BigG I hear you and I hate to say it, but I am guilty of the odd lowball offer from time to time. Either way, don't let it phase you, I had a few threads a while ago on gumtree and junkmail buyers, you'd think that they are doing you a MASSIVE favour by buying your gear.
From a buyers point of view, I reckon that you get a few different types.
Time waster/ tire kicker - This is the guy who wants it, doesn't have any money and generally just wants to waste your time and see how low you will go or how badly you need the money.
The friendly Haggler - Someone who's trying to get a little off, (you know what I meen???) but is usually prepared to pay full price anyway as he really wants it.
The Tosser Haggler - This guy comes in and tells you that you're asking too much, he saw it elsewhere for cheaper and yours looks like poo and he has this, take it or leave it kinda deal.
The occasional lowballer (this is me) - I'm always up for a bit of bartering, be it buying or selling something, sometimes I see something that is good and open my wallet (much to my dismay) add up all the coins and put down a stupid offer thinking that I'm going to get shot down.......(my speedster replica is a case in point, a R70 000 car that I got for R37 000). I have been known to take advantage of a situation when someone is REALLY hard up for cash and to throw out a stupid offer....however I rarely haggle when I see something that is just a plain bargain any day of the week.
The deadbeat lowballer - this is a guy who's just a cheapskate and wants everything for nothing, or only feels better once you have no shirt on your back..........word of caution, this guy will usually make contact with an sms or worse yet, a please call me.
#1 and #5 are the two that don't even get a reply on email from me.
Sean
The reason why low ball offers are made is because occasionally they get excepted.
Not sure why it bugs folk though, I've received these offers which I've just politely turned them down and moved on.
flatfourfan
Sean wrote
The reason why low ball offers are made is because occasionally they get excepted.
Not sure why it bugs folk though, I've received these offers which I've just politely turned them down and moved on.
Presto
I used to take lowball offers personally, nowadays I don't bother, it's not worth the aggro.
But as my dad used to say, "what's the worst that they can say??"
Big-G
Sean wrote
Not sure why it bugs folk though, I've received these offers which I've just politely turned them down and moved on.
Normally it wouldn't bug me as much, but I think with the stress of this past week, and the fact that its happened to the point of excess this past week or two, I'm just not in the normal passive frame of mind I normally am, especially since I'm really in need of freeing up some funding for a special piece of kit, before it gets snapped up.
This fellow was one of the 'I'm doing you a real favour offering you this much' kind.... Anyway, I politely replied to him telling him my minimum, so lets see whether he responds?
Regards
G!
flatfourfan
I'd just like to know when making a call to the seller when buying stuff ended?
I embrace emails and sms's and the rest like everyone else, but you can guage a lot more about a person with how they talk to you.
Ray
Maybe you can look at it like this. If a guy is selling a guitar he either doesnt want it or he needs money bad. Why doesnt he want it? Maybe it's a piece of junk - so make a junk offer. OK, so what if he needs the money? Make a junk offer, he may be so desperate he'll take it if he isnt getting other offers.
flatfourfan
Ray wrote
Maybe you can look at it like this. If a guy is selling a guitar he either doesnt want it or he needs money bad. Why doesnt he want it? Maybe it's a piece of junk - so make a junk offer. OK, so what if he needs the money? Make a junk offer, he may be so desperate he'll take it if he isnt getting other offers.
erm.........ok.
But we're not talking about selling *junk* here.......
Keira-WitherKay
Flatfourfan .... Your father and my mother musta had the same bussiness lecturer .... My mom always says .... " never be afraid to ask or make an offer in bussiness.... The worst that can happen is they say no! "
and as a fellow active buyer and seller of gear , we must realise its a buyers market .... So if you wanna sell and have 5 offers to buy , don't budge on your price ....but often we try sell something that sits for months with little if no offers and if you wanna sell , sometimes one needs to take a knock to recoup the investment and then make up that loss on other deals where you buy cheap and sell at a nice profit ....
As for low offers .... If you the buyer .... Often its the way to gauge what the seller really wants or will settle for ..... Cos in all my years of buying and selling , 2nd hand and even new i NEVER pay ticket/asking price as everyone , stores and pvt inflate asking prices ... So that lowball offer sets the bargaining in motion
so yeah its nothing personal just bussiness .... So no need to stress
and on a personal note if someone offers a great price i often buy what i don't need but can't refuse at that price ....so if price was not really attractive the seller would have lost the deal
studmissile
IMHO that comes standard when it advertising on classifieds. You can rant and rave but you can't fight the machine! That's been there since the git go.
flatfourfan
studmissile wrote
IMHO that comes standard when it advertising on classifieds. You can rant and rave but you can't fight the machine! That's been there since the git go.
wait till someone offers you the loan of their sister while they show the guitar to the mother.......honest to true story.
Chabenda
Stop it Big G, you're making me feel bad, I offered a couple of thousand the other day on a R35,000 Law suit, collector's item Ibanez (I hope it that wasn't yours!)
?
Big-G
Hahaha! Thanks Chabs! Needed a good laugh! If I rmember correctly I was the one who suggested putting in an offer of R2500?
I could understand these rediculous offers if I was asking rediculous prices, but I'm not. Anyway I guess its just human nature!
Regards
G!
Ray
flatfourfan wrote
Ray wrote
Maybe you can look at it like this. If a guy is selling a guitar he either doesnt want it or he needs money bad. Why doesnt he want it? Maybe it's a piece of junk - so make a junk offer. OK, so what if he needs the money? Make a junk offer, he may be so desperate he'll take it if he isnt getting other offers.
erm.........ok.
But we're not talking about selling *junk* here.......
OK - second option.
vic
Chabenda wrote
Stop it Big G, you're making me feel bad, I offered a couple of thousand the other day on a R35,000 Law suit, collector's item Ibanez (I hope it that wasn't yours!)
?
Don't feel bad Chabs....no law suit is worth
that much ?
Chabenda
I hate selling things too. I'm happier giving guitars away to good homes. It's a better feeling than the one you get left with after dealing with and being squeezed out of a fair price by some tight sphincter. Most of the prices being asked for gear by forum members seem to be very reasonable. I couldn't be bothered negotiating - just pay and both be happy. Having said that I generally only buy second hand. One day though, I'm going to buy a brand spanking new Aztec Gold Strat with matching headstock and to hell with the price. Next though is a custom made amp from Craigsamps!! Roll on the end of the month!!!
StefStoep
BigG, i feel your pain! Some one offered me R1000 for my MIM Strat witb a hard case! By the time the guy made the offer the guitar was all ready sold for my asking price, which i thought was good and probably was good since i had 3 other buyers willing to pay the asking price.
joel
Sean wrote
The reason why low ball offers are made is because occasionally they get excepted.
Not sure why it bugs folk though, I've received these offers which I've just politely turned them down and moved on.
:-\ , I move on too ,..... but , what the said low-baller doesn't realise is , is that they have shown me how they play their game of poker. I have a fairly good memory.
DaFiz
I advertised my bike for R45k... one of the responses asked if I'd accept R25k cash... I began the reply with F... then stopped myself and just left it there.
Spoke to a chap in the pub today and he mentioned a friend who makes a decent living from gumtree... offers you a pathetic price and the re-sells it again on gumtree for a good profit.
He sponges off the "needy". I've learned to just leave the ad running until someone comes along and appreciates what you're selling.
vic
But unfortunately there are sellers who take chances OR they have n't got a clue of the market. I mean trying to sell a US std Strat for 20K is not gonna happen soon on the tree.
