Worst lowball you've ever been dealt?

[michael_atw]

I put this in the bass humor only because there isn't a "d-bag corner" and someone might have a good story. If you hate lowballs as much as me, you probably have a pretty ridiculous or funny quip. What's the worst lowball you've ever been hit with when selling something, either on TB or somewhere else?

For me, I once had a guy offer me $15 for a $150 item I was selling on Ebay. I subsequently made fun of him and he came back angrily chastising me because I told off a "disabled military veteran" who builds guitars for less-fortunate kids. I wasn't sure whether to laugh at the lie or cry because someone would try it. :scowl:

 

[Floyd Eye]

What if he was telling the truth?

 

[snyderz]

I have a friend that makes an art of lowballing. His credo is to make an offer so low, you piss off the seller. He has made some AMAZING buys over the years.

 

[Lowactnsatsfctn]

I had a text a while back for an Audio Interface I posted on craigslist. Original price of it is around 200, I listed it for 80 and got a few text from a guy saying stuff like

"I'll buy it if there price is more reasonable"
"Dude, its only worth 30 bucks"

I told him my freind has the same one for sale and gave him Guitar Centers number

 

[michael_atw]

What if he was telling the truth?

When you sell for a couple years, you quickly realize people don't tell the truth when money is involved.

I've literally heard the same incarnation of the story about 10 different times. No kid.

 

[michael_atw]

I have a friend that makes an art of lowballing. His credo is to make an offer so low, you piss off the seller. He has made some AMAZING buys over the years.

HAHA! I'll usually jokingly tell them to buzz off, and some will come back swinging. It leaves me laughing - I literally don't stop smiling from beginning to end. As if they expected some other outcome from offering 30-40% of the asking price than a bop on the head.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

I've been offered from pretty insane lowballs. Don't want to say too much since most of them were from other TB members...

For fun, enter your gear into Musician's Friend's trade center. The underlying company came back with $400 on a EBMM SR5 I sold for $1,300 on eBay and $350 for a Fender Am Dlx Strat that GC gave me $1k as a trade.

 

[DeadGoonz]

Had a guy offer me $600. For my Lacewood pre Gibson Tobias, it was less than a year old I and I paid $2500. I may be dumb, but I am not Stupid!

 

[Al T.]

I learned a long time ago to never sell out of need or desperation so I don't generally have to deal with lowballers. If I can't get my price or reasonably close I have no problem putting it back in the storage closet. Take it or leave it,it's all good.

 

[BookMDanelectro]

I put this in the bass humor only because there isn't a "d-bag corner" and someone might have a good story. If you hate lowballs as much as me, you probably have a pretty ridiculous or funny quip. What's the worst lowball you've ever been hit with when selling something, either on TB or somewhere else?

For me, I once had a guy offer me $15 for a $150 item I was selling on Ebay. I subsequently made fun of him and he came back angrily chastising me because I told off a "disabled military veteran" who builds guitars for less-fortunate kids. I wasn't sure whether to laugh at the lie or cry because someone would try it. :scowl:

Just sold a bass on CL. A guy gave me a ridiculously lowball offer stating that he bought instruments for underpriviledged kids. I told him I'd consider his offer if he could give me the taxpayer ID number of the non-profit he works with. Never heard from him again.

 

[groooooove]

i was selling a carvin 6 string that someone kept offering me in poor english $300 for. it sold that week for $550.

i've been known to give not so much "low ball" offers but definitely low prices. i wouldent offer $15 for an instrument, but a K ride cymbal listed on craigslist for $220 i offered $170 and he went for it. usually they talk me up a bit more. thats kinda how it works.

 

[kcole4001]

I had some stuff on Kijiji (similar to CL), and this dork emails me an offer of "5 dollars CASH!"
Then when I ignore him, he emails me back "Ha ha, obviously your item isn't selling, you should have taken my $5".

What a total moron, '$5 CASH'?
Like I'd be expecting to recieve traveller's cheques or some kind of installment plan for that whopping 5 bucks...

Some people are just peckerheads!

 

[lfmn16]

i was selling a carvin 6 string that someone kept offering me in poor english $300 for. it sold that week for $550.

i've been known to give not so much "low ball" offers but definitely low prices. i wouldent offer $15 for an instrument, but a K ride cymbal listed on craigslist for $220 i offered $170 and he went for it. usually they talk me up a bit more. thats kinda how it works.

I think it's also how you approach the seller. Whenever I offer a low price I let them know that it's not a reflection on them or the item, but it has everything to do with my financial situation. I'm not trying to drum up sympathy, but I want to make sure people know I'm not saying, "You suck and your price is too high."

I have no problem with low offers (making, or receiving) as long as they are done in a civil manner.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

I recently "low balled" a guy off my local kijiji (like craigslist) he was asking $450 for an 8 year old Barracuda P bass knock off and a Squier 10W amp, I offered him $80.

Now, was I low-balling him or making a completely fair offer on something that cost $300 new 8 years ago.... you be the judge. Needless to say he declined the deal.

 

[michael_atw]

I had some stuff on Kijiji (similar to CL), and this dork emails me an offer of "5 dollars CASH!"
Then when I ignore him, he emails me back "Ha ha, obviously your item isn't selling, you should have taken my $5".

What a total moron, '$5 CASH'?
Like I'd be expecting to recieve traveller's cheques or some kind of installment plan for that whopping 5 bucks...

Some people are just peckerheads!

I've had that happen a bunch. Like they're making a statement. I love it on Ebay when I get that and I say, "watch my friend, I'll sell it in 3 days". And sure enough, a good amount of the time within a week I'll sell it at my price or close to it and I might go back and give a little wink

 

[Joe Nerve]

Just 2 days ago i had some craigslist fun. I was selling a boss drum machine ($500 new), for $175. I get a response that says only, "$20?". I wrote back, "sure. Where ya wanna meet. He responded " south bronx. 120th st and 8th ave. 11pm." I told him i could only do 1am and he said hed be too cracked out at 1am. We bantered back and forth for 2 days. Actually got a few good laughs outta something that initially really pissed me off. The guy was a douche, but he had a good sense of humor.

 

[matti777]

Some kid offered my $1500 for a NYC Sadowsky I was asking $2900 for. I might have been annoyed but I could tell he really wanted it bad and just didn't have the money.

 

[papercuthemos]

I was offered $200 for a 68' Fender Bass V. The shop told me it had no resale value because it had been refined. Also got offered $550 for a 54' P bass. The potential buyer kept saying that he could get a brand new one for $900, and since mine was used $550 was the best he could do.

 

[s_mcsleazy]

well i think this is a kinda lowball. i was at my fave guitar shop just hanging about. guy walks in with a squier affinity p-bass.

guy: ok, i would like to sell this bass
assistant: ok lets see..... ok how much were you looking to get?
guy: oh ill settle for £350 but i know its worth £400
assistant: erm if you dont mind me saying but thats way too high
guy: well ive not gigged it so that adds some value, right?
assistant: not really, sir
guy: oh, ill go down to £300
assistant: im sorry but they dont even go for that much new let alone used
guy: ok, how do you judge the price then?
assistant: we go by the prices on ebay and gumtree and lately they've been going for £80 on there so the best we can do is give you £50
guy: but its worth £400
assistant: since when?
guy: since my american precision bass got stolen
assistant: well we're not going to give you £350 for a bass we can only sell for £75
guy: well i'll see if the pawn shop across the road can give me more

10 mins later the guy walks back in the door.

guy: ok, £280 then

 

[LothrtheTerribl]

well i think this is a kinda lowball. i was at my fave guitar shop just hanging about. guy walks in with a squier affinity p-bass.

guy: ok, i would like to sell this bass
assistant: ok lets see..... ok how much were you looking to get?
guy: oh ill settle for £350 but i know its worth £400
assistant: erm if you dont mind me saying but thats way too high
guy: well ive not gigged it so that adds some value, right?
assistant: not really, sir
guy: oh, ill go down to £300
assistant: im sorry but they dont even go for that much new let alone used
guy: ok, how do you judge the price then?
assistant: we go by the prices on ebay and gumtree and lately they've been going for £80 on there so the best we can do is give you £50
guy: but its worth £400
assistant: since when?
guy: since my american precision bass got stolen
assistant: well we're not going to give you £350 for a bass we can only sell for £75
guy: well i'll see if the pawn shop across the road can give me more

10 mins later the guy walks back in the door.

guy: ok, £280 then

This reminds me of a guy who came in to Guitar Center when I worked there back in the '90s with a late 1980's Japanese Squier P-Bass signed by Rex Brown (Pantera). Book trade was US $75; when we told him this he about defecated a whole pickle and loudly proclaimed that the autograph alone made the bass "worth a grand". My associate (using words I only wish I had thought of first) retorted with something along the lines of, "If Jaco Pastorius came back from the dead and autographed it, then maybe it would be worth a grand. Until then, it's just a Squier."

Dude stormed out.