Why not make an offer

hkgar

Active member
I have run into this a couple times when I have offered something for sale and list the asking price. People will express interest and then rather than making an offer, they ask what I will take.


If you are interested, why don't you make an offer? I don't understand? People ask what I'll take, when I have posted what I'll take. That may not be the lowest I'll take, so that is why the normal way is to then make an offer. Please help me understand the logic.

If there is a better forum for this than move it. I thought about the lounge but that says non reef discussion, and this could be or could not be.
 
I guess it's the tactic of someone who is bad at negotiating? Yes, proper negotiations as a buyer you offer something lower than you think they would take.. and move from there... Tell them they are bad at negotiating and should feel bad :)
 
Sometimes if the price is already good on a cheap item I'll just ask for a frag or something to be thrown in.

But I agree. Always make an offer on stuff. Especially the more expensive items.


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I'm with you. That drives me crazy. Obviously I am not going to tell you the lowest that I would take so that you will get the absolute best deal you could get. Then I would be the bad negotiator. I'm going to try to get what I WANT out of it, and most times I don't even know what I would take until I hear a number and say, "yeah I can live with that." To me, it seems like not only bad negotiating that only works against equally bad or worse, but bad manners to ask that.
 
Plain and simple..

You ask $100..
I might say.. "well would you take $75?"
and you say "sure"... (because you would have taken $60 so $15 more is great and that benefits you)
and now I'm thinking.. "crap.. what if I said $60"...

So by asking what is the lowest you'd take I assume I'm going to get the lowest price and not risk offering more than you would have taken as a bottom..
 
Sometimes if the price is already good on a cheap item I'll just ask for a frag or something to be thrown in.

But I agree. Always make an offer on stuff. Especially the more expensive items.


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And if the price is already good, and lower then what others sold for with equal quality, then I pay it. Especially if its a newly posted, popular item. That means the price is fair. If I'm selling something, I expect a fair price to be paid on a good item. If it doesn't move at that price, that's a different story.
 
Plain and simple..

You ask $100..
I might say.. "well would you take $75?"
and you say "sure"... (because you would have taken $60 so $15 more is great and that benefits you)
and now I'm thinking.. "crap.. what if I said $60"...

So by asking what is the lowest you'd take I assume I'm going to get the lowest price and not risk offering more than you would have taken as a bottom..

Why would I give you the lowest number I would take, just because you asked? Chances are, id give you something higher, because that's how negotiations are supposed to work. I post what I want to get, and what I already think is a fair price, based on what it costs new, how old, what others sold for around same quality. You offer less but more then my minimum, we agree, we both get a decent deal. I get a little more then the worst I would take, and you get it for a little cheaper then average. Good negotiating leaves both parties happy.
 
Plain and simple..

You ask $100..
I might say.. "well would I'll take $60?"
and you say "sure"... (because you would have taken $70 so $15 more is great and that benefits you)
and now I'm thinking.. "crap.. what if I said $70"...


Don"T you think that my thought process would be:
I might say.. "well I'll take $70?"
and you say "sure"...
and now I'm thinking.. "crap.. what if I said $80"...

So you are NOT going to get my lowest acceptable offer. How ever you figure it at what ever price, you have gotten the product you wanted and I have gotten the price I wanted (willing to accept). Therefore the price is fair - whatever it is. It is called the free market and it works.
 
Guessing this is craigslist or similar..where noone knows how to negotiate.

As a buyer, I've knowingly low balled with an initial offer because I want to work to an agreeable middle. As mcgyvr says, if it's offered for $100 and I say, how about 50, i expect a counter offer and we end up at 75. As a seller, I expect the initial offer to be a top anchor, and a seller, the first offer is a bottom anchor. They establish the range that the final price will settle at.
So, yeah buyers expect bottom dollar and sellers expect top dollar. This is frustrating because I've had the other party stop communicating after I give my initial sell/buy price. Maybe it offends you, but if you want to make the deal, the other party has to counter and negotiate.

Also, others don't realize that time spent listing, reponding to offers, and negotiating costs money. the offer is $10 too high or too low? just give up your ego and make the deal because the time spent haggling costs more to me than arriving at a higher sale price.
/rant
 
Negotiation is an inherently antagonistic practice. Its something for third world countries.

Tell me what the price is and I'll pay it. If you expect negotiation, that means the price youve asked is more than you really expect to get. That makes you a scammer, and I'm not longer interested in dealing with you at any price. Its an inherently antagonistic move: "lets see how much I can fleece this guy for!"

I refuse to haggle over price because I'd like to pretend we're civilized human beings. I may just ask for your price to sidestep the entire dishonest thing and cut to the chase.
 
Plain and simple..

You ask $100..
I might say.. "well would you take $75?"
and you say "sure"... (because you would have taken $60 so $15 more is great and that benefits you)
and now I'm thinking.. "crap.. what if I said $60"...

So by asking what is the lowest you'd take I assume I'm going to get the lowest price and not risk offering more than you would have taken as a bottom..

But that is like the seller saying, "What is the most you would pay?"
In your example above you ask if I would take $75, and I say "Sure", but you might have been willing to pay $90.

Negotiations find a point where the price is agreeable to both the seller and buyer. Or they are too far apart and no deal is struck. The buyer doesn't get it for the lowest price, just because he asks, just like the seller doesn't get the most that the buyer would be willing to pay.
 
Don"T you think that my thought process would be:
I might say.. "well I'll take $70?"
and you say "sure"...
and now I'm thinking.. "crap.. what if I said $80"...

No.. I don't..
Someone asked what your lowest price is.. If you wanted to sell it you would give an acceptable answer..

You wouldn't ask for lower than you were comfortable selling it for..
It doesn't work the same from a sellers and buyers perspective..
 
Negotiation is an inherently antagonistic practice. Its something for third world countries.

Tell me what the price is and I'll pay it. If you expect negotiation, that means the price youve asked is more than you really expect to get. That makes you a scammer, and I'm not longer interested in dealing with you at any price. Its an inherently antagonistic move: "lets see how much I can fleece this guy for!"

I refuse to haggle over price because I'd like to pretend we're civilized human beings. I may just ask for your price to sidestep the entire dishonest thing and cut to the chase.

But once you ask for my lowest price you have become a negotiator and entered into the antagonistic practice, and from what you said you ask the lowest price question and if I answer at a price lower than I listed you will not do business with me because I am a scammer. Your logic leaves me confused.
 
Guessing this is craigslist or similar..where noone knows how to negotiate.

As a buyer, I've knowingly low balled with an initial offer because I want to work to an agreeable middle. As mcgyvr says, if it's offered for $100 and I say, how about 50, i expect a counter offer and we end up at 75. As a seller, I expect the initial offer to be a top anchor, and a seller, the first offer is a bottom anchor. They establish the range that the final price will settle at.
So, yeah buyers expect bottom dollar and sellers expect top dollar. This is frustrating because I've had the party stop communicating after I give my initial sell/buy price. Maybe it offends you, but if you want to make the deal, the other party has to counter.
/rant

It offends some people because they probably put what they felt was a fair price on the item. When you take their fair price and cut it in half, that is offensive as you are seen as someone who is not a serious buyer and just wants it at a phenomenal deal. This is how I would personally view such an offer, as I try to post an already fair price. If you come back at me with a fair price, there is a good chance I will accept. If you are willing to risk not getting the item because you offended the seller, then that is your own prerogative.
 
Negotiation is an inherently antagonistic practice. Its something for third world countries.

Tell me what the price is and I'll pay it. If you expect negotiation, that means the price youve asked is more than you really expect to get. That makes you a scammer, and I'm not longer interested in dealing with you at any price. Its an inherently antagonistic move: "lets see how much I can fleece this guy for!"

I refuse to haggle over price because I'd like to pretend we're civilized human beings. I may just ask for your price to sidestep the entire dishonest thing and cut to the chase.

Just my opinion, but that is a really odd way to look at it. So if I come to your house and we are looking at your tank, and you have just fragged a coral and I want to buy the frag. It is your initial price or nothing? What is a "Fair" price in that case? What if your initial price is $5 more than I am willing to pay? Are you a scammer if you initially ask for $50, and I say, well I would give you $45, and you accept? Or do you stand on principal and not sell it to me, or even say, give me $50, and I will throw in some Macro Algee?

How do you buy cars? houses? Etc?
 
Negotiation is an inherently antagonistic practice. Its something for third world countries.

Tell me what the price is and I'll pay it. If you expect negotiation, that means the price youve asked is more than you really expect to get. That makes you a scammer, and I'm not longer interested in dealing with you at any price. Its an inherently antagonistic move: "lets see how much I can fleece this guy for!"

I refuse to haggle over price because I'd like to pretend we're civilized human beings. I may just ask for your price to sidestep the entire dishonest thing and cut to the chase.

Negotiation is just a tool to find market value. Firm prices are inefficient in second hand markets because the market value is unstable and possibly unknowable ahead of time.
 
As a buyer...
I want to pay the lowest price..
If I don't want to offend you and just totally low ball you I will ask what is the lowest you are comfortable taking..
Any offer I make that I don't believe is a low ball... I will always second guess myself "did I get his lowest price"..
I take a chance that the seller will give me his lowest offer if I ask..or that the offer he gives is lower than I would have asked because I didn't want to low ball/offend..


As a seller..
I want the highest price..
I also don't want to be offended by low ballers over and over..
If someone asks me whats the lowest I will take I will give a price that I'm comfortable with..
 
It offends some people because they probably put what they felt was a fair price on the item. When you take their fair price and cut it in half, that is offensive as you are seen as someone who is not a serious buyer and just wants it at a phenomenal deal. This is how I would personally view such an offer, as I try to post an already fair price. If you come back at me with a fair price, there is a good chance I will accept. If you are willing to risk not getting the item because you offended the seller, then that is your own prerogative.

asking prices can be perceived as not fair by one or both parties as can be initial offer prices. If someone rejects a deal from the pool of potential buyers/sellers, they're only shooting themselves in the foot by ignoring market value.
And that's life. If I don't think it's fair that I cannot find a house I want in my town because the prices are "too high", in my opinion, that's fine but I won't find a seller that is 'fair' to me. It may not be fair to me in my eyes but objectively the market value is the fairest because it is agreeable to a majority of buyers and sellers (who effectively create the market value)
 
Negotiation is an inherently antagonistic practice. Its something for third world countries.

Tell me what the price is and I'll pay it. If you expect negotiation, that means the price youve asked is more than you really expect to get. That makes you a scammer, and I'm not longer interested in dealing with you at any price. Its an inherently antagonistic move: "lets see how much I can fleece this guy for!"

I refuse to haggle over price because I'd like to pretend we're civilized human beings. I may just ask for your price to sidestep the entire dishonest thing and cut to the chase.

I partially agree with this. I'm fine with negotiating, but the seller should start at a fair price, and any negotiations should happen within a fair limit. Just because I would take 160 for something that was $300 brand new and is selling for around $200 doesn't mean I should ask $160. It also doesn't mean that because someone was willing to buy it for $200 yesterday, that makes it worth that today. The item is worth what someone will pay for it, and I want to get a fair price that is decided upon between me and the buyer through negotiation. This is why auctions exist, and even the stock market... Tell me you don't have stocks/bonds at least in a 401k or IRA?

But, like I said before, a good negotiation should leave both parties pleased, not someone feeling like they got ripped off, and the other person smiling because they did it.
 
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