Low ball offers

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Before overt contentions derail the topic, I'd just like to say that I appreciate everyone's comments and perspectives. I am generally intolerant of lowball offers but I know it's sometimes me who is the unreasonable one. I'll try to keep that in mind and remain civil when I get offers I am not willing to accept.
 
The worst is when an item has been 4 sale for days even weeks and you offer a little less and they call you a lowballer and get butthurt. Then the item festers even longer only to be withdrawn or "sold on another sight."
 
Something is worth what someone is willing to pay. 😉 Why would a low offer hurt someone's feelings. 😱

Ignore, delete and wait patiently until someone pays your " happy " price (or not).
 
I think that if I'm selling anything anywhere, someone will come up/ IM/Email and say " Will you take this ?". Either I think about it and accept, think about it and counter, or flat out tell them no. It's part of selling things. If buying, I generally take into consideration what the item is,how much it was new ( if I can still get it at all ) and what the condition is. I see stuff all the time that was new when they got it , and the seller wants a good portion of that back, but the item has been used and sometimes abused. These are the same guys who get bent out of shape when offered less because of the condition.
 
I haven't sold anything here yet but have sold a few items elsewhere. I have had people negotiate on price and even try their luck ("would you take $70?" on a $110 item). That was simply someone trying their luck; we had a laugh about it and he paid a price we were both happy with.

I have had one offer I would call low ball. I was selling two knives together for about $100. I had one guy say "I will give you $50 for both including shipping today". That was a disrespectful and clumsy attempt at a hard sell approach so I sent him on his way.
 
If the offer is lower than I'll take, but close, I usually counter-offer. If it's a lowball I just politely pass. The only time I get annoyed is if the person keeps on. I had one guy send me some ridiculous comps to justify his offer, including one the was listed 2 years prior and some in under a minute, and another from 2007. In that case I just called out his choice of comps, then stopped responding.
 
The aspect of true low balling(not just offering a slightly lower price you feel is reasonable) that I find a bit dis-tasteful is that it preys on the desperate and needy seller. The rest of us are just going to decline such an offer or not respond at all and it amounts to a waste of time.Those in need (such as loosing their job and having to pay rent & buy food) may not have the option to decline. They need money now.The result being that on top of their(the seller) other troubles the low baller rips off what little of value they might have. This just doesn't sit right with me.
 
Simply don't respond, problem solved. On the other hand I have watched knives on the exchange that no one was interested in buying so I offered a low ball price. Some have accepted my offer others have not. Obviously some sellers would rather sell at a lower price than not sell at all. The seller is in control so your complaint is really moot.
 
Just say, no thanks.
The last time I told a guy he low-balled me, he said he'd never buy a knife from me again. What?? lol!
rolf
 
Peter Hartwig said:
The aspect of true low balling(not just offering a slightly lower price you feel is reasonable) that I find a bit dis-tasteful is that it preys on the desperate and needy seller. The rest of us are just going to decline such an offer or not respond at all and it amounts to a waste of time.Those in need (such as loosing their job and having to pay rent & buy food) may not have the option to decline. They need money now.The result being that on top of their(the seller) other troubles the low baller rips off what little of value they might have. This just doesn't sit right with me.
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Cash now has a value on its own.
If I really really need cash now I might give you my watch for $10 and be happy about it.

My grandma was "low balled" on a gold ring after the war. She got one bread for it. Her choice and the seller's choice and I guess filling ones tummy is worth more than some gold.

If nobody offers more then how is it preying on the seller?

I once felt sorry for a guy and bought stuff 40percent lower than what he wanted for it. I really didn't need it and knew while the market value might be higher it'll be hard to find a buyer. I also told him I only take it if he really wants to sell it for that price and asked him to wait a bit to see if he doesn't get any higher offers. He didn't want to.
He got the money which he probably needed fast or he simply avoided the effort of obtaining a higher offer. I got something I didn't need or want for the higher price but appreciate it since I got it for a price which equalled my personal value of the item.

Stuff happens and what's right in one case might be totally wrong in another.

If I got tons of water in a desert and a guy is about to die I wouldn't charge him a million for a cup even if some people think it's legal, capitalism and such...
 
Jens Schuetz said:
Cash now has a value on its own.
If I really really need cash now I might give you my watch for $10 and be happy about it.

My grandma was "low balled" on a gold ring after the war. She got one bread for it. Her choice and the seller's choice and I guess filling ones tummy is worth more than some gold.

If nobody offers more then how is it preying on the seller?

I once felt sorry for a guy and bought stuff 40percent lower than what he wanted for it. I really didn't need it and knew while the market value might be higher it'll be hard to find a buyer. I also told him I only take it if he really wants to sell it for that price and asked him to wait a bit to see if he doesn't get any higher offers. He didn't want to.
He got the money which he probably needed fast or he simply avoided the effort of obtaining a higher offer. I got something I didn't need or want for the higher price but appreciate it since I got it for a price which equalled my personal value of the item.

Stuff happens and what's right in one case might be totally wrong in another.

If I got tons of water in a desert and a guy is about to die I wouldn't charge him a million for a cup even if some people think it's legal, capitalism and such...
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^^^
You really took some time to think this one out. :greedy_dollars:

As for your "about to die of thirst in the desert analogy": I would hope that you'd have the human decency, to want to help a fellow human being out, if he were in this type of life or death situation, Jens. :concern:

If you don't mind me entering your fantasy world & taking this scenario a step further: if this were me, & this setting took place back in the 1800's (back in the Wild West era), & I came upon your tons of water (not far from death), had no money...& you refused to share your water with me? Most likely, I'd have some type survival knife that I trade some Indian's for. I'd use that knife to slit your damn throat & drink all of the water I wanted...& then I'd ride way on my Arabian stallion; in the direction of the setting sun over Californ-i-a. :hororr:

As for this whole low-ball issue: anyone whose spent any time on this forum, knows that this is just part of the territory; it's going to happen. For me, the demeanor, & the BF history, of the person whom I'm dealing with, has everything to do with how I will respond to a lowball offer. Once you've been here for awhile, you start to get a sense of what best works for you, & more importantly, who you want to do business with.
 
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Peter Hartwig said:
The aspect of true low balling(not just offering a slightly lower price you feel is reasonable) that I find a bit dis-tasteful is that it preys on the desperate and needy seller. The rest of us are just going to decline such an offer or not respond at all and it amounts to a waste of time.Those in need (such as loosing their job and having to pay rent & buy food) may not have the option to decline. They need money now.The result being that on top of their(the seller) other troubles the low baller rips off what little of value they might have. This just doesn't sit right with me.
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I understand your view very well. My wife is of the same thought process as you. I know I drive her nuts. Because pretty often, but not always, I try to haggle. As she says, hassle, over price on just about everything we buy. I will give you the response she hears often.

If you feel bad for them *possibly* selling it cheap, wouldn't it be fair you feel bad for me having to work 60 plus hours a week to have the money to *possibly* buy it? Of course if you are married, you know that if you buy it, this usually results in a trip to the womens shoe store. I also tell her, if I didn't haggle so well, I wouldn't be able to give in to her marital financial extortion guilt schemes.

I guess in the end:
I am not responsible for the sellers poor financial decisions, but I am for mine. What if they are down on luck or having health or family issues? I view it that if the item has been available for sale for a while, and it hasn't sold, my low ball offer, may actually be a blessing.

Lastly, I hear that the Progressive Name Your Price Tool may be for sale on Ebay?? :pirate:
 
The one I'm not a fan of is when the sales thread reads all the usual stuff about shipping and terms and then at the bottom lists all offers are welcome, no lowball offers.:confused: Technically speaking some could consider any offer below your listed price as lowball? A well established member just the other day was selling a used knife for near the same price as a new one, the knife was discontinued by the manufacturer as it didn't do very well. Would me offering $15 less be lowball? Not in my opinion as I can buy a new one for only a few dollars more.

I actually have to agree with KELAMA here it's part of the community whether we like it or not, now if the person throws a fit, blows things out of proportion, and just generally refuses to let it go then it becomes a little ridiculous. Make an offer, if it is accepted, great, if not thank them for their time and move on.
KELAMA said:
As for this whole low-ball issue: anyone who's spent any time on this forum, knows that this is just part of the territory; it's going to happen. For me, the demeanor, & the BF history, of the person whom I'm dealing with, has everything to do with how I will respond to a lowball offer. Once you've been here for awhile, you start to get a sense of what best works for you, & more importantly, who you want to do business with.
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KELAMA said:
^^^
You really took some time to think this one out...

As for your "about to die of thirst in the desert analogy": I would hope that you'd have the human decency, to want to help a fellow human being out, if he were in this type of life or death situation, Jens. [emoji106]

If you don't mind me entering your fantasy world & taking this scenario a step further: if this were me, & this setting took place back in the 1800's (back in the Wild West era), & I came upon your tons of water (not far from death), had no money...& you refused to share your water with me? Most likely, I'd have some type survival knife that I trade some Indian's for. I'd use that knife to slit your damn throat & drink all of the water I wanted...& then I'd ride way on my Arabian stallion; in the direction of the setting sun over Californ-i-a. ;)

As for this whole low-ball issue: anyone whose spent any time on this forum, knows that this is just part of the territory; it's going to happen. For me, the demeanor, & the BF history, of the person whom I'm dealing with, has everything to do with how I will respond to a lowball offer. Once you've been here for awhile, you start to get a sense of what best works for you, & more importantly, who you want to do business with.
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Uhm. Yes. I said I wouldn't as in -would not- , charge a million dollars for a cup of water, even if some die hard capitalists think it would be legal in that kind of situation. It's just the decent thing to do when being a member of human society.
If however you are seriously the "throat slitting" kind I just might refuse you any water, just to protect myself. ;-)

In my home country they even go so far to put it into law. If you see somebody in danger but don't help them (without putting yourself in danger of course), you could be put on trial. Price gouging as in abusing an emergency to make crazy amounts of money is also not allowed.
Now here in America most people help anyways, even if there is no law that tries to make them to. I heard NY might be an exception but haven't been there myself.
 
Jens Schuetz said:
Uhm. Yes. I said I wouldn't as in -would not- , charge a million dollars for a cup of water, even if some die hard capitalists think it would be legal in that kind of situation. It's just the decent thing to do when being a member of human society.
If however you are seriously the "throat slitting" kind I just might refuse you any water, just to protect myself. ;-)

In my home country they even go so far to put it into law. If you see somebody in danger but don't help them (without putting yourself in danger of course), you could be put on trial. Price gouging as in abusing an emergency to make crazy amounts of money is also not allowed.
Now here in America most people help anyways, even if there is no law that tries to make them to. I heard NY might be an exception but haven't been there myself.
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Thank, Jens- of course I was just trying to have a little fun at the expense of your analogy. ;) FWIW- I just watched the movie: The Hateful Eight, on Sunday. Hopefully this information helps explain why I chose the Wild West setting to add to your analogy, & for the gruesome violence that I inserted into your storyline. ;)

This fun hobby that we enjoy, is something that most of the struggling world, will never have the ability, or resources to fathom. Having the luxury to spend $$$ on firearms/knives, is something that most people who are struggling to feed their families, can't possibly understand.

And speaking of lowballing: I lived in the Philippines for just about a year and a half. Being an American, if I was in a market area & was shopping, as you can imagine the price would often be sextupled. You literally could spend an hour or two negotiating. You may start out at 2000 pesos (lets say for a balisong I bought in Batangas). When it's all said & done, & a couple of San Miguel beers later, maybe I get that bali for 500 pesos. Had I been Filipino, I probably could've purchased that same bali for 200 pesos or less. Practically everything I did over there, involoved negotiation. Once I learned their system, it actually became quite fun, & I became thee consummate low baller. :D

We are blessed, to be able to come on this forum, & buy knives. First World problems, without a doubt! :angel:

Being low-balled is the least of my worries/problems!!!
 
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