Does anyone else simply ignore "What's your bottom dollar?" PMs?

[DoggyDaddy]

There is an old saying in sales; "He who mentions price first, loses."

I want the buyer to make me an offer. If they don't have enough Chutzpah to make offers, what are they doing owning firearms? Just kidding, but really, if you are happy with the listed price, pay it and move on. If you really are interested in the item but the price is a little outside what you had in mind, make an offer.

Also, I would never list a price as firm. You automatically eliminate the buyers who don't want to negotiate. Sales is a numbers game, why restrict your customer pool by saying the price is firm.

You can be firm on the price, but don't say it. Just say; "I appreciate the interest, but my price is "x".

I agree. I think it's just rude to totally ignore someone when it takes all of 10 seconds to type "No thanks" and post a reply.

 

[Gluemanz28]

Only happened to me once here, after I'd agreed to drive an hour further than I had posted I would. He claimed the gun was dirty (I'd cleaned it before the meeting) and so tried to get me to knock 10% off then didn't honor his commitment to buy when I refused. Ironically enough a couple years later he contacted me about another gun and I replied that he was in my "won't do business list."

Nothing more satisfying than letting someone on your won't do business with know you won't do business with them.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

If the item is priced way higher than I want to pay I just let it go. If close, I make what I think is a fair offer. If I'm the seller, as stated above I'm not going to counter my own price. If you want it, make a reasonable offer. If I don't like it, I'll counter if we're in the same neighborhood. If you make a stupid offer, you'll either get "No thanks." or ignored, as my mood dictates.

 

[Expat]

Are you putting $xxx FIRM? If not, I'm going to ask what's your bottom dollar. I'm going to assume there's some wiggle room, and it never hurts to ask. If you say there's no wiggle room, I'm probably going to buy it anyway (just did the same thing a week ago. I asked, he said no, I paid his asking). If you choose to ignore, I'll move onto the next one.

Ditto. I don't ask unless I want to buy it. But I will always ask even if it says firm. I think I have always still bought it.

 

[Clay]

There is an old saying in sales; "He who mentions price first, loses."

I want the buyer to make me an offer. If they don't have enough Chutzpah to make offers, what are they doing owning firearms? Just kidding, but really, if you are happy with the listed price, pay it and move on. If you really are interested in the item but the price is a little outside what you had in mind, make an offer.

Also, I would never list a price as firm. You automatically eliminate the buyers who don't want to negotiate. Sales is a numbers game, why restrict your customer pool by saying the price is firm.

You can be firm on the price, but don't say it. Just say; "I appreciate the interest, but my price is "x".

I won't ever make the initial offer on anything. It's your item, you need to set a price. If I have to offer a price I'll low ball the hell out of it.

so back to the OPs post, I do ask for lower prices OR make offers on virtually everything I buy or am interested in, except when it has "firm" in the ad. Even if I'm ready to buy at the initial price I will always try to get it lower. I feel it's my duty as a buyer (and to my wallet) to get the best deal I can get.

 

[gregkl]

I won't ever make the initial offer on anything. It's your item, you need to set a price. If I have to offer a price I'll low ball the hell out of it.

so back to the OPs post, I do ask for lower prices OR make offers on virtually everything I buy or am interested in, except when it has "firm" in the ad. Even if I'm ready to buy at the initial price I will always try to get it lower. I feel it's my duty as a buyer (and to my wallet) to get the best deal I can get.

We may have a misunderstanding here. I will always set a price. But I am at times willing to negotiate and I fully expect a potential buyer to respond to my price with a price of their own. I may accept it. I may turn it down. I may counter. But I will do something.

 

[churchmouse]

We may have a misunderstanding here. I will always set a price. But I am at times willing to negotiate and I fully expect a potential buyer to respond to my price with a price of their own. I may accept it. I may turn it down. I may counter. But I will do something.

I tend to put "Will consider reasonable offers" in my ads.
Reasonable is a matter of perception I am sure.

 

[bocefus78]

Iirc, that's only happened to me once here, and I ignored it. I set my prices fair to low, so crap moves. I'm not looking to bump an ad 697 times, to make an additional $20.

Some ads I put firm on, and each has sold at ask price. Others may have an obo on it, which requires exactly that....an offer to start at and counter.

Now craigslist.....yea, I get those emails all the time. I make cl buyers call me. If you can't call, you are kicking tires.

 

[Clay]

We may have a misunderstanding here. I will always set a price. But I am at times willing to negotiate and I fully expect a potential buyer to respond to my price with a price of their own. I may accept it. I may turn it down. I may counter. But I will do something.

yup, your right!! I completely misunderstood your post! sorry about that!!

my response is because I've got a friend that loves to try and sell stuff but never wants to price it...... it's become a pet peeve of mine

 

[Cameramonkey]

I'm with the OP. If you want a lower price, tell me what its worth to you. Dont make me pull a number out of my butt. I already did that. Its your turn to make up a number. That is how big boys play the game.

I dont like haggling either. I'm willing to entertain an offer, but be prepared for one of two things: I accept your counter, or I counter yours with a firm number because yours was just too low. I dont have time for a back and forth beyond that. But trying to skip the negotiation and have me go straight to the cheapest I would accept is just plain lazy. (and rude)

And if its offensively low, you wil be lucky if I simply ignore your offer.

 

[gregkl]

yup, your right!! I completely misunderstood your post! sorry about that!!

my response is because I've got a friend that loves to try and sell stuff but never wants to price it...... it's become a pet peeve of mine

That's when you take the Charlie Brown Lucy response. $2.00.

 

[Gluemanz28]

I negotiate for a living on a daily basis.
Yes I am in sales. The term in the industry is a slimy sales guy. I prefer professional but kisser.

What seems to happen way too often is people get too emotionally involved during a negotiation.
A negotiation is just that, I'm not kicking your dog or putting down your family. Don't take negotiation too serious.

I do ask potential customers what it would take to get their business. Some will tell me and if I can get to a mutual agreement where we both make money than it's a win.

Some will say "Just send me a quote". It's a dance at that point. I do my homework and know what my competitors are selling their widgets for, so I can quote fairly close but won't leave money on the table. More times than not a buyer throws out a ridiculous price because they are just fishing for a lower price so they can beat up their current supplier. The term in the industry is the buyer is a liar. They prefer "Professional Negotiator"

So in summary and to get back on topic. I will always ask for a better price even if it says firm. I'm not try to offend you, it's just negotiations 101. If you want me to make an offer then I'm going to go back low so we can meet in the middle.

When somebody gets ticked off or rude in the process of a negotiation I take that as my cue to exit. They are way more attached to an item or the negotiation than I am. They then go on my "Do not deal with" list. I tend to see a pattern of this behavior from the flippers and people running a business in the Classifieds.

 

[Dirtebiker]

its happened to me at least twice on here that I remember.

The only excuse for such behavior is if you didn't have good pics/description, and the item is not what was expected. Otherwise, I'd say move on, no sale!

 

[seedubs1]

My rules for myself (and I'm sure people who have dealt with me can back these up)

1) Be professional, polite, and nice
2) Be direct

Worst case, I'll reply with a polite "thank you for your offer, but I can't sell for that."

Pricing, well, it depends on what the item is, what my financial input is, and whether I have dealt with the buyer before and consider them a friend. Some items, I really don't care if it sells or sits in my safe, so they may be in the classifieds longer. Some items, I list pretty low and they move in a couple days.

 

[seedubs1]

I got in my truck and left with the buyer mid-sentence due to this.

"Well.....I didn't know that's all a stripped receiver was.....I thought it came with a trigger and LPK.....I can only give you $10.....I hope you're not mad and think I'm wasting your time....."

Some people are jack wagons. That dude's on my never deal with list (and he's the only one).

Yep.

Ive had some jerks try to haggle with me at the meetup. Now THAT does **** me off.

 

[churchmouse]

If you price it right it will sell fast.

 

[bwframe]

Clear communication is key to good transactions.

If I'm the seller and don't know the buyer, setup to the meeting is;
"Just so we're clear, if the item is the same as the posted pics, you are saying I'll take it?"
"You are bringing the correct change of cash to our meeting, right?"

I don't have any problem with "bottom dollar" requests. I'll reply if the potential buyer checks out legit in iTrader and a cursory posting check. "Bottom dollar" varies according to how long the add has been listed. Of course, anyone using "trader talk" draws extra scrutiny.

My stuff normally sells very quickly or not at all. There isn't much in between. Very few problems.

 

[Trigger Time]

My "no deal list" is also my ignore list.
because I can't remember what I ate for breakfast. Worthless info is purged. So I always forget ass holes and scammers. The ones I might have to deal with again go in the ignore list. It works on. Classifieds too the same as in threads!!
also the people I know are running businesses in the classifieds (mostly knife people, or people sellIng mags) and as such never have good deals anyways, they are placed in there too. So if you ever try to pm me and it won't let you, then you know why lol.

 

[chocktaw2]

This is all new to me, this talk, "of selling guns". A problem I have, I guess. Once it's here, it's home. And 1 time I bought a gun, couldn't get down to pick it up because of bad weather, and the dude bought it back. Now believe that

 

[Trigger Time]

This is all new to me, this talk, "of selling guns". A problem I have, I guess. Once it's here, it's home. And 1 time I bought a gun, couldn't get down to pick it up because of bad weather, and the dude bought it back. Now believe that

I've pretty much got rid of most of my "collectible" guns or pretty guns that some people collect for value or whatever. All my collection is now is functional and modern. Which I enjoy because it's what I know best with both eyes closed and spun in circles.
Ive kept afew sentimental things but mostly anything I have now can be used to aquire other things if I needor want them