At what point is it lowballing. A poll.

[gln1955]

I see what you are saying but would you consider asking someone what their best price is lowballing ?

You might do better to simply ask them if they can move on the price. They might respond with a lower price and then let the negotiation begin. If they say no, then you know where they stand.

 

[Doner Designs]

To me there's no such thing as a lowball offer. It sounds like a thing to just needlessly be pissed off about. There are offers. Take it, leave it or counteroffer.

I understood the concept and agree it doesn’t exist.

 

[lowplaces]

Me, personally... I'd rather you made an offer, even a low one, as opposed to having you ask me what my best price is. The actual best price is a moving target that depends on the present circumstances and also the credibility of the buyer.

Again, it's just a bit annoying that you wanna know my best price... without revealing how much you are willing to pay. You're obviously afraid that my best price might be less than your best price and you're hoping to eek every penny out of the deal. In my for sale ads, I've made my assessment and listed the starting price for the haggling to begin... I almost always invite offers. If you are interested in buying... have the nerve to actually make the next move it ought to include your own offer.

That said, I would never freak out or get bent out of shape at all... I would just throw it back on you.

I know... I know... if you make your own personal low end offer you may run the risk fo getting run off by a seller who thinks you're lowballing... this wouldn't really matter to me though. If I've made an honest offer and it was rejected or taken as some kind of insult, no big deal. Everyone will get over it and life will go on.

I hear you about the part where as a seller you wouldn't want to state a price too low, risking going lower than the buyer would actually offer. But a seller wanting to get all he/she can is not so different than a buyer wanting to save all he/she can.

Anyhow I just don't like to haggle much and with the exception of one effect I bought here on TB, all my used gear has been purchased via Craigslist. And of all the times of checked out the gear in person, I only walked away one time and that was because of an old Guild Thunderstar combo being ridiculously heavy.

I just never go check out gear unless I'm willing to pay the asking price. But I will ask if the ad says "asking" or "OBO". Never noticed anyone seem irritated, but maybe they were and just didn't show it. Still, they all made the sale except the guy with the Guild.

Whether they told me a lower price or not when I asked, I still pulled the money out.

 

[lowplaces]

You might do better to simply ask them if they can move on the price. They might respond with a lower price and then let the negotiation begin. If they say no, then you know where they stand.

I've often asked if the price is firm rather than what is their best price.

As I explained in my post above this one, I've already made my mind up to buy if I'm going to go check it out because I've already determined it's a no-brainer price to start with.

 

[Double E]

I hear you about the part where as a seller you wouldn't want to state a price too low, risking going lower than the buyer would actually offer. But a seller wanting to get all he/she can is not so different than a buyer wanting to save all he/she can.

Correct... but the seller has already established their "get all they can" price in the original listing. To be fair, in my opinion, an interested buyer should just state their "save all they can" price to open the discussion on final price. On topic for this thread, it should be their realistic opinion of what the item is worth.

I am just sharing how I perceive the "what's your best price" approach. I don't like it... but just like a lowball offer, I wll not let it be an issue. No reason to freak out or shut down the discussion. I'll just either ask you for an offer or hey, maybe I will throw out a lower price... but it probably won't really be my bottom line. Nobody really wants to leave anything on the table, the "just give me your best price" approach is the epitome of this concept.

This is all merely my silly opinion on how this should go, and how I operate when I am shopping classified ads for gear. There are no hard rules, do what works for you.

 

[Gwyn ap Nudd]

I see what you are saying but would you consider asking someone what their best price is lowballing ?

Nah. If someone asks me what my best price is, I say, "It's actually $500 over what I have it listed for, but I'll settle for what's in the ad."

 

[lowplaces]

Nah. If someone asks me what my best price is, I say, "It's actually $500 over what I have it listed for, but I'll settle for what's in the ad."

There ya go. /thread

 

[Eilif]

It's lowballing as soon as the seller decides to be offended by an offer, climbs on their high horse and calls it lowballing.

If you sell something and don't want to deal with lowballs either state "price is firm" or find another venue or person to sell it for you.

I just wanted to amend the above to say that it's ALSO lowballing....

As soon as the buyer disregards the "Price is Firm" note in the ad and makes an offer anyway.

I admit that I have occasionally made an offer even when the ad indicates that "price is firm" but I completely understand that any such offer is a lowball if the ad says price is firm.