The Rumple
New in Town
- Messages
- 36
I often end up selling things through various on-line forums like Craigslist, FB Marketplace, Fedora (usually: Camera Gear, Clothing, Guitars, Tools) . Over the last few years I have noticed a trend towards a rather coarse style of negotiating wherein the buyer makes first contact with something like: "Nice guitar, what's your lowest price?" or sometimes "What's your bottom price?".
I'm in the fortunate position of not really needing the money from these sales, I'm usually just clearing out space in my closet/studio/bookshelf. So often I ignore these contacts. My temptation is to reply with "I'm not sure, what's your highest price?" but if I do reply I usually say "I'm happy to entertain reasonable offers, but I don't have a 'bottom price' in mind."
A few suggestions for would-be-buyers:
1. Be polite. I can't speak for all sellers, but someone who seems enthusiastic about the item for sale and who takes the time to write in complete sentences will end up getting a better response and probably a lower price from me (the seller).
2. Don't start with "what's your lowest price?". It makes you sound like a cheapskate. Name a price you're willing to pay if you're interested in buying something. So you think $300 is too much for the used jeans, offer $200 or something specific that you're willing to pay and let the buyer respond.
3. Never be a low-baller. It's dumb and insulting, it doesn't work, and again - it makes you look like a cheapskate. Of course if the seller is misinformed about their goods and their price is high based on faulty information, offer them a reasonable price and explain (politely) why your offer is significantly lower.
4. I suspect that some buyers believe acting like they can take it or leave it puts them in a stronger negotiating position. I don't think it usually works that way, at least not with me. So if someone says "Hey those jeans are awesome and I've been waiting for a pair to come up for sale in my size..." will have an easier time getting pricing concessions from me.
To my thinking there are two kinds of negotiators: Type A) can't feel like they won unless somebody else loses - so as buyers they need the agreed price to hurt you just a little; Type B) This type believes there's such a thing as win-win where everybody walks away from a transaction happy. Try to be Type B - approach any deal with the mindset that you can both walk away happy. Be polite, even if you don't reach an agreement.
Most of points above boil down to the same principle - be nice and make people like you if you want to get further in a negotiation. Also it just makes the world a nicer place. I have the same issues with buyers in France and in the US; I often end up just giving (yes, for free) a lot of my clothing to the young guys who work at the local shop that sells high-end denim and good shoes. They're young and can't afford the stuff in the store and they're always so excited and appreciative about the things I bring in; their reactions make me happier than a couple of bucks in my pocket ever could.
I'm in the fortunate position of not really needing the money from these sales, I'm usually just clearing out space in my closet/studio/bookshelf. So often I ignore these contacts. My temptation is to reply with "I'm not sure, what's your highest price?" but if I do reply I usually say "I'm happy to entertain reasonable offers, but I don't have a 'bottom price' in mind."
A few suggestions for would-be-buyers:
1. Be polite. I can't speak for all sellers, but someone who seems enthusiastic about the item for sale and who takes the time to write in complete sentences will end up getting a better response and probably a lower price from me (the seller).
2. Don't start with "what's your lowest price?". It makes you sound like a cheapskate. Name a price you're willing to pay if you're interested in buying something. So you think $300 is too much for the used jeans, offer $200 or something specific that you're willing to pay and let the buyer respond.
3. Never be a low-baller. It's dumb and insulting, it doesn't work, and again - it makes you look like a cheapskate. Of course if the seller is misinformed about their goods and their price is high based on faulty information, offer them a reasonable price and explain (politely) why your offer is significantly lower.
4. I suspect that some buyers believe acting like they can take it or leave it puts them in a stronger negotiating position. I don't think it usually works that way, at least not with me. So if someone says "Hey those jeans are awesome and I've been waiting for a pair to come up for sale in my size..." will have an easier time getting pricing concessions from me.
To my thinking there are two kinds of negotiators: Type A) can't feel like they won unless somebody else loses - so as buyers they need the agreed price to hurt you just a little; Type B) This type believes there's such a thing as win-win where everybody walks away from a transaction happy. Try to be Type B - approach any deal with the mindset that you can both walk away happy. Be polite, even if you don't reach an agreement.
Most of points above boil down to the same principle - be nice and make people like you if you want to get further in a negotiation. Also it just makes the world a nicer place. I have the same issues with buyers in France and in the US; I often end up just giving (yes, for free) a lot of my clothing to the young guys who work at the local shop that sells high-end denim and good shoes. They're young and can't afford the stuff in the store and they're always so excited and appreciative about the things I bring in; their reactions make me happier than a couple of bucks in my pocket ever could.
