Lowballers

[guy n. cognito]

Just business you say. Don't get emotional you say.



When you lowball me I hear you saying "This guy's either a total freaking moron who has no concept of what his gear is worth or he's so desperately strapped for cash that I'll be able to bend him over and screw him raw."



Know what? Neither is true.



But after that you expect me to give you a polite "No thank you sir"?



Sorry. I'm a nice guy. Pretty easygoing. But the next to last thing you're going to get is polite. You are going to get evil, ugly, profane advice about what you can do with that offer and your smug condescending attitude.



The last thing you'd ever get would be the gear. Not even if you met my original asking price. I'll give it to somebody else before I sell to you.



Hell I'll chop it into tiny pieces before I'd sell to you. I've done it

Wow

 

[Rapisme]

What about lowballers that answer you with a "is all I can afford, I had been saving for six months"
being sympathetic, is accepted, then they offer you even less. Then I feel offended.

I had one pretty annoying one a while back. I was selling a CD burner for $100. Said in the ad price was firm, the guy agreed to it on the phone, then tried to talk me down to $75 when he came to pick it up. When I refused he paid me... With a $100 bill.

I honestly don't understand what is so hard about just seeing low ball offers as any other kind of spam that gets shoveled into your inbox. If its especially ridiculous I might send a simple "f*** off" response to get a point across, but really, its not worth getting all huffy about.

That sounds self defeating. And people wonder why our kids shoot each other over being "disrespected." The guy is just there to buy gear, not form a relationship. Problem today with buying and selling is that everyone thinks they're on an episode of Pawn Stars.

Or how about the idiot that shows up late, doesn't apologize, then wants to know if you have change of $100 bill for a $30 item. Then you save their butt from getting a parking ticket cause they just parked in front of the hydrant thinking you were just gonna give them the item. Then you get a Quote like "good looking out" Forget spam, thats just plain rude!

 

[Joe Nerve]

I too struggled for a while with lowballers. I've learned to completely ignore them also. I won't block anybody on talkbass though. Most of my lowball offers come from craigslist, but I realize there are people that are doing business from there. They spend time, probably lots of it, looking for insane deals. If they score 1 out of 50, I guess it's a good day for them. I can't fault them anymore.

Something I thought of the other day though, as I've been selling a lot of stuff on craigslist again. Why do people sell here on talkbass? It seems people here can be as creepy (even creepier) than the people on craigslist, plus there are a whole bunch of hoops that have to be jumped through. Lots of reasons I prefer selling on craigslist.

• I don't have to pay a paypal fee, which adds to the price I have to offer a bass for here.
• People on talkbass are looking for great deals as much as anyone else, and I'm not getting any more money by selling here. Getting less, including the paypal stuff.
• Selling on craigslist, people come to my house and pick up the gear. I'm very careful about safety with that, it's not difficult to take a couple of simple precautions.
• People get to check out their gear before taking it. No complaints.
• No returns, arguments, hassles (not that I ever had any here, but have seen enough of it to know I'm not immune)
• I don't have to pack anything up.
• No trek to UPS or FedEd.
• No worring about a check clearing, a dispute w paypal, or other issuess.

There are more reasons, but yeah... for now, craigslist works much better for me. Not saying I won't ever sell anything here, as there are things people will absolutely be more interested in here, but for the most part, I don't get it. Seems like a lot more work, for a lot less money.

 

[GlennW]

There are more reasons, but yeah... for now, craigslist works much better for me.

I'm glad selling on cl works for somebody. I've bought a couple of things there, but I only sell online. It's much easier ime. You do have the extra work of packing and shipping, but that's AFTER the sale and AFTER you have your money.

Before the internet the best option to sell around here was a paper called the Trading Post, it was like a little newspaper with stuff for sale by private owners. You'd call them up, place an ad, and people would call on the phone.

It was hell, 90% of the time they'd never show up, and if they did show up they'd go into haggle mode and just be a PITA.

Once I had a Chevy 4-bolt 400 block and crank for sale. The ad said to call between 6PM and 8PM. I got a call at 11:30 one night (I was in bed) and the conversation went like this:
Me: Hello
Dude: I'm callin' about that 400 block you have for sale. Have you still got it?
Me: Is this the 400 4-bolt block?
Dude: Yeah, that's it.
Me: The 400 4-bolt block with the crankshaft?
Dude: Yeah, that's the one.
Me: The one that says to call between 6 and 8 PM?
Dude: That's right.
Me: You don't need to buy a block, you need to buy a watch.
And I hung up.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Headed towards a derail here...

We used to use a paper called the buy lines. We used to use it more for prank phone calls though, than ever actually buying anything . A friend of mine had a good one.

He'd call for above ground pools for sale. He'd ask about the condition, he'd ask some specifics about the age of the pool, the liner, the ladder, etc., then he'd try some haggling on the price. After he was done with it all, he'd agree on a price, and then say... oh yeah, one thing. Would it be OK if I bought the pool, and left it in your backyard? I live in an apartment house, and I don't really have any place to put it. We could bring cookies and milk over if you like....

Was great. Even the people selling the stuff would laugh.

 

[Helaskold]

I almost ALWAYS haggle but never to the point of it being insulting. Had a guy tell me my trumpet (same model previously used by Maynard) was only worth "like $100" because he was a broke-ass. Hadn't even played a note on it yet but was willing to give his expert opinion. The trumpet was easily worth exponentially more even considering its "relic'd" condition and it was all I could do to not tell the guy where to shove his offer. He said this right after telling me he hadn't played since high school. Told him he was completely wrong, got in my truck, and drove away before I snapped.

Long story short, there's a difference between making a fair offer and lowballing... people who do the latter are total losers.

 

[aborgman]

I have never gotten something for more then 10-15% off the listed price and I am cool with that.

I've gotten a few things 100% off the listed price, and dozens of things more than 50% off.

I lowball because it works. I have no moral obligation to make sure the seller turns a profit.

 

[Joe Nerve]

I've gotten a few things 100% off the listed price

Some of us don't believe in stealing.

In another attempt to derail , I'd like to share an experience I had yesterday. Being one of the few and dedicated AOL people left on the planet, I'm sometimes rewarded with articles the rest of the world doesn't get to read. Read one the other day if the huff post about never paying the asking price, for anything. Went mall shopping yesterday to buy myself a b'day gift, and thought I'd have a go at it. Needed boots.

Saw an awesome pair in this store called Palladium. Most of the boots were the same price, and it was one of thos seemingly written in stone places. Was all their brand of shoes/boots, and I heard it's the only Palladium store in all of NY. Boots were $115. Liked em enough to buy at that price which wasn't bad, but just wanted to practice what I read....

I was friendly with the girl. After deciding for myself I was going to get them no matter what, I hesitated with her and then asked if she could go down to $100. She was startled by my request, and actually laughed. She paused, smiled at me, and then said, "Let me check". She came back and said she could give me 10% off. Saved $20.

Immediately after I bought 2 sweaters that were already half price in JC Penny. When I got to checkout I said "How do I get a coupon for this stuff?" He said, you were mailed one online... I wasn't but I started checking. He said, forget it, asked the other cashier for a coupon, scanned it, and I saved another $7. The sweaters were only $15 each.

I'm gonna start haggling with everyone, just for fun now.

 

[GlennW]

Boots were $115.

Liked em enough to buy at that price which wasn't bad, She came back and said she could give me 10% off. Saved $20.

Isn't 10% of $115 $11.50?

She must of liked you.

Or maybe that included the break on the sweaters.

 

[MJ5150]

I don't mind asking for a discount when appropriate.

I was getting the oil changed on our Edge yesterday, and had a few other services done as well. The guy told me the total, so I started laughing and said I came in expecting to spend $40 and now I'm up over $100. He laughed, then took off $20 for me. His kind gesture worked as this is now the spot we will go for our Edge and my Ram.

-Mike

 

[aborgman]

Some of us don't believe in stealing.

Nah - I've had people literally GIVE me things they were trying to sell on Craigslist.

 

[MJ5150]

Anything I have for sale in CL, I would give away free if the person asked me to.

-Mike

 

[Joe Nerve]

Isn't 10% of $115 $11.50?

She must of liked you.

Or maybe that included the break on the sweaters.

I may have misunderstood her discount, but she rang up the original price with tax, and then plugged the discount in and it was $20 less.

 

[BboogieXVII]

Anything I have for sale in CL, I would give away free if the person asked me to.

-Mike

Wow, not me.

10% to 15% discount is all I'd ever give.

 

[Root 5]

How about the idiot who dings/damages your instrument when checking it out! It may knock three figures off the value of your instrument. But wotta you gonna do?

If a person is a "lowballer" who genuinely cannot afford the item, then they have no business considering the particular gear in question.

I personally never believe the argument; I think they're just cheap.

Another thing that annoys me is when people see you have several items listed - they make the errant ( but hopeful! ) assumption that you're desperate for cash & make ridiculously low offers.

It also bugs me when sellers don't research the value of their instruments and offer them significantly under market value.

 

[blue4]

How about the idiot who dings/damages your instrument when checking it out! It may knock three figures off the value of your instrument. But wotta you gonna do?

If a person is a "lowballer" who genuinely cannot afford the item, then they have no business considering the particular gear in question.

I personally never believe the argument; I think they're just cheap.

Another thing that annoys me is when people see you have several items listed - they make the errant ( but hopeful! ) assumption that you're desperate for cash & make ridiculously low offers.

It also bugs me when sellers don't research the value of their instruments and offer them significantly under market value.

That doesnt bug me, it just means I buy something I don't need

 

[Dug2]

These guys used to get on my nerves, but I've learned how to deal with them. Now I stay cool, delete their offers without responding, and block them from bidding. One, two, three, gone.

It's fast, stress free, and fun.

So I'll use the time I saved wisely, and start a thread about it on TB.

I have an item for auction. Payment by USPS MO or certified funds only, flat shipping fee, will ship in CONUS only.

Dude emails an offer less than the starting price, wants free shipping, wants to use PayPal (which means I'd pay their fee, and likely lose 100% of the payment due to the nature of the item), wants me to ship to an address not specified on his account, wants me to reply to different email address (out of the auction site).

One, two, three, gone.

And this morning I have a bid from a solid buyer.

It's just that easy, bag the bozos and move forward.

you know dats right!

 

[mellowinman]

I'm going to buy a used vehicle next month, and I am going to offer $500-$1,000 less than the asking price every single time. If no one drops as much as I want, I am moving on.

And there's a reason I do it:

I'M CHEAP.

 

[BioWeapon]

I'm going to buy a used vehicle next month, and I am going to offer $500-$1,000 less than the asking price every single time. If no one drops as much as I want, I am moving on.

And there's a reason I do it:

I'M CHEAP.

That's fine...
As long as the car isn't originally listed at $500-$1000

 

[gflowers]

I just need to say that I can appreciate someone's financial situation and trying to get a quality piece of bass or bass related gear at an unbelievably astounding price, but realize that most of us on TB are not rock stars nor are we charitable organizations. We work hard and sacrifice to obtain the gear we have.

If you want to low-ball me, then give it a shot but don't wax on about your rent or tuition being due or your car breaking down. I DON"T CARE. I don't meant to sound insensitve but I don't personally know most of you and I have no idea whether or not that is all true or not. If you are so financially destitute, then perhaps you should also try to low-ball your school or your landlord or your mechanic and see where that gets you.