My pet peeve
 

OK; if you do this; can you just give me your reasoning behind it; it drives me crazy.

Say, I have any card on ebay; you make an offer; I counter and than silence; two days later offer expires. If you don't like my counter why not just decline rather than go into silence mode? Or why not counter, with your reasoning as to why I should accept your price {quote past sales etc} in the messages? I just don't get it.

One reason: are you going to negotiate the next time the same member sends a different offer? Or are you going to understand that it's the only offer you're likely to get from the member and therefore are more likely to accept it outright rather than countering? Some people don't really like haggling, but will toss a line in the water since you offer Best Offers. Nobody likes to pay full price when a seller considers offers, right?

This is what I do because I hate negotiating and completely ignore those that like to do it. If someone has an item I want and it is more than I will pay I will make my absolute best offer. If the seller does not accept it I move on and feel no need to communicate anymore.

As far as quoting recent sales it is the best way to get me to ignore that person no matter if I am the seller or buyer. We all do stuff different and I am not saying my way is perfect, it is just how I do it.:)

Avoid my wife, if you don't want to haggle.

She haggled for two hours on our last car purchase, had both the salesman and the owner of the dealership in a cold sweat and saved us $7000 off their first offer. Finally they accepted our offer when I tossed in $100 at the end, because she refused to budge, when we were $200 apart.

And guess what...........she was mad at me for doing so.:D

(Fact checker confirms this is a true story;))

Frank my wife is the same way. We are still on the new customer special with our internet provider and have had the same one for over 10 years. When she bought the Jeep she is driving now I had to go walk around the lot because I couldn't take her haggling anymore. I will say she paid exactly what she wanted to though.:)

How do you do this? I have FIOS and everytime I call they basically shut me down and say sorry, these offers don't apply to existing customers. I have even threatened to switch to xfinity to no avail.

I usually try to decline, but sometimes I'll get the notification of the counteroffer and it's just not in the same ballpark as I'm willing to pay, so I forget to go into the app to decline it

I also love when you make an offer and the seller counters with $1 less than their buy it now price. I usually respond with $1, they don't like it. Why have a best offer option if you're only willing to take 99% of your price?

I had this exact thing happen to me for the first time the other day. Seller didnt discount much more on the next counteroffer. Had to have it though:D

I am guilty of this; but usually after I have reduced my price several times and I am at my low point. Unfortunately, ebay doesn't provide a price history {good idea here} so a potential buyer would never know that.

I thought this was 'bout leaving that 1 sheet of paper on the roll and putting the lid down.

If you are relisting the same item on eBay at lower prices they do have a price history of your previous prices. Go to the advanced search and use completed listings and you can find the previous listings/prices. Because I rarely use eBay anymore I always check to see if or how many times the seller has relisted an item I might want.

This works both ways, I hate when a seller lets my offer sit for the whole 48 hours.

I made an offer a couple weeks back on an item, I was trying to take advantage of 8% eBay Bucks and asked the seller if he could please respond within 24 hours when the 8% expired, I rescinded the offer when I didn't hear from him and he sent me a nasty message, which I forwarded to eBay. :)

I would hate that too.

The only thing I could think of is maybe he's was waiting to see if other offers would come in; but regardless I would think 24 hrs is plenty of time to evaluate an offer if you really want to sell a card. I get offers all the time, I always respond, just sometimes the answer is no.

That's funny ::D

I've had that happen. Hell I offered 95% of the BIN price and asked if he could possibly ship that day. Told him I needed it by a certain day which gave him an extra day's leeway. Never got a reply at all. Later sent a message asking if I offended him or if he just chose to ignore my offer. He ignored that message too.

Personally, I prefer to end any potential transaction in a positive way because you never know when you may want to deal with that person again, whether here or on Ebay. I've had a few good deals with people on here and a few where the deal just did not happen because we were too far apart. I hope they left the deal okay with me even though I didn't meet their price or vice versa. Every situation is different. It's not personal, so I don't see the problem with at least a final message saying "No, thanks", if nothing else.

I can understand this; but why not just decline the counter and than move on.

Maybe it's just me; I frequently adjust my pricing to try and find a buyer and if I have offers outstanding I don't want to drop the price on that particular item because I don't want to offend the potential buyer. It seems that card prices can change daily based on the previous sales method. Sometimes higher, Sometimes lower. I personally would rather negotiate than just wait for a buyer at my fixed price, I guess that's why I list everything at best offer.

I do this sometimes, but it's not on purpose. Sometimes I'll be out running errands and get the email that my offer was countered. If it's not close to a price I would pay, I might completely forget about it, even though I always intend to click decline later when I'm not busy.

Because for me the the entire deal is over when the seller rejects my offer. I do my absolute best to make transactions smooth and easy. Haggling is not smooth or easy and I consider it a complete waste of time. To me it is simply take my money or not, if the seller wants to try to add to that it is their problem.

That seems reasonable. I was not trying to offend you; I wish more people were like that.

My pet peeve is when you offer above VCP and get ignored. In your case, I would question how realistic your price is. If you are wanting a record price for an obtainable card, I can understand the buyer not thinking you are serious about selling and deciding not to reply. If your counter is around the average sale and they ignore you, then they are probably just fishing for bargains and not very interested in buying.

I could see this; although every card is different based on eye appeal, but you make a very valid point.


[/QUOTE]

I'm sure this happens often.

It is interesting how people think and see things differently. I am enjoying this thread; thx for responding.

The Case For Haggling
 

As a seller I might add a bit of wiggle room in my pricing.

As a buyer my first offer is not necessarily (and rarely is) my max, call it negative wiggle room if you will.

Sellers should be motivated to make a sale and unless the price is listed as "firm", I would assume that their asking price probably is not so firm.

I would maintain that the assumption that the buyer's first offer represents the max he is willing to pay is fallacious much of the time. A non-negotiable buy-it-now coupled with a non-negotiable sell-it-now with two different numbers is a waste of time, like looking at all those outrageous BINs on eBay.

To walk away from a deal at this point without counters virtually eliminates a deal that both parties would gladly accept. If that happy medium is not reached, either party may walk away at any time, but that party should notify the other that that is their intent.

Haggling is not a disease or a waste of time, but a tool of free market economics.

That said I realize there are many who prefer to eschew negotiation, which is their right, but unfortunate in my opinion, unless of course as a buyer they simply say "I'll take it".;):D

I also let my wife negotiate for cars. She is better at it than me.

I sent a seller an offer the other day and stated in the offer that it is the only offer I am going to make. it was above market but I was willing to pay a bit more to check the card off my list. he responded with a counter halfway between my offer and his ask. I let it expire. People need to believe what you say.

ebay offers
 

doesn't bother me either way

whats the rush ? ..low ball high ball, offer expire, quick response. I don't see an issue..its just baseball card bartering/bargaining/ negotiating

Frank the next time you are selling a card I want you will receive a email(more like many) from my wife.:D

I'm sure this happens often.

It is interesting how people think and see things differently. I am enjoying this thread; thx for responding.[/QUOTE]

If your price is fair, I wouldn't worry about. I had a card for sale at the high end of sales, looking for offers. A guy low balled me. I countered at the lowest sale price. He countered at his first offer. I passed. A little while later I got an offer at the lowest sale price and I accepted. If you are patient, you will get a fair price.

I agree if your card is perfectly centered, you should ask more. Price it against centered examples only. If your card is rare, price it at the high end. I have paid record or close to record prices for rare cards that I really wanted. It is worth it to pay a little more than spend years searching.

If I submit a best offer, the number represents a starting point to negotiations. Unfortunately very few sellers see it that way. I rarely receive counteroffers, usually just the radio silence described at the beginning of this thread.
As a seller I've received offers for items (not cards) that were so low and represented too big a gap to even start negotiations. Unless I forgot after the email notification, I would actually decline officials. I believe some sellers simply forget to officially decline after seeing the email. Maybe.

I agree, this is kinda my thinking too; I do understand how some people don't like haggling, but in today's world it's a necessary evil. It's done in everything from cell phones to groceries. {price shopping is a form of haggling, isn't it?} As Ben stated earlier, his wife negotiates with their cable company; Maybe not actually but "per se"

It's like going to a show and making an offer on a card; than the dealer says X; and you just walk away, without uttering a word. I think most people would just say no thanks and than walk away.

As a seller and buyer I accept it and sometimes the answer is no; goes both ways, sometimes they say no to me too. I was really curious as to why the negotiations end there. I think there has been a lot of great answers.

I can't speak for others; I know sometimes myself I put a high {aka crazy #} on {mostly low # modern stuff, and high grade stuff to - occasionally} because there is really no true comparison as prices fluctuate daily and honestly I have no idea what it's worth; so I'm really just testing the marketplace so to speak.

Look at some of the recent prices for 1972 PSA 9 commons for example.

offers
 

In all of my years selling on eBay, I have NEVER had a buyer respond with another offer after I have countered their original offer. I always try to build a little wiggle room into my pricing, and I normally accept offers that are 20-30% off of my original price. When I receive an offer from someone who makes an offer that is 40-50% of my asking price, I send a counter offer that is 20-30% of my asking price, but no one ever responds. It is usually someone who is looking to buy something to flip, or someone new to eBay who thinks the sellers get their cards for free and everything is profit.

Hey Rick!

eBay has more jerks than BST, ...............I think???

pet peeve
 

Pet peeve - Use your turn signals when driving. I don't know how many times I wait to turn when the other car is coming, and wait safely and patiently, with my turn signal on, then all of a sudden out of the blue the other car turns without turn signal. It is a new age in driving, a new age of privileged drivers that have no clue and think they are too good to use turn signals. Jeez, people, Ugh! Its maddening. And very unsafe. Look how many times other drivers should have their turn signal on, and don't. It will surprise you. Its an epidemic.

The first time a thread has been hijacked by turn signals.:cool:

eBay - When the seller runs an auction. Bids are placed. Someone contacts the seller to buy the item off eBay/on the side. The auction then is suddenly ended...while numerous bids were placed.Item is then sold to whoever contacted the seller.

In life -- People pulling an item out of the microwave with less than 3 secs on the timer...then they don't clear it.

At least he put his signal light on before he actually turned this thread.

I hate this too. We have a seller on this forum that has done this to me.:(

I try to be very fair on best offers, especially if it's an item I really want. If the seller comes back at "$1 less" then I realize he/she is not interested in a best offer....I write "Thank you for your time" and I decline the counteroffer.

I'd say I'm successful on 90% of my Best Offers on the first offer because I realize that Best offer means "reasonable" and not "low ball".

I agree

That's odd, because while it's not the rule, it definitely happens for me on occasion. Of course the punchline is I always counter with my best offer the first time and I explain that, so it's pretty irrelevant. maybe some people like to think of it as a challenge. I always re-respond with the same exact number.

Agree, accept, decline or counter.

Silence isnt cool

I agree, nothing chaps me more than not to get a reply on my best offer.
For what its worth I don't haggle either, thats not me.

Well your title got me. I was expecting a picture of your pet dog named Peeve. :D

Just wondering if vendors, other bidders, or disinterested parties consider it a "lowball offer" if fair market value is offered
for an item when the item is at auction in BIN/BO format at literally ten or twenty times its established, easily researched
fair market value... ?

Every item has a different strategy based, e.g., on the difference between the seller's listing price and the apparent market value based on recent comparable sales. Some items warrant a line in the water at or near FMV to see how serious the seller is about his outrageous demand; some warrant a meaningful and respectful back and forth. I have remained silent, both out of spite, and also hoping the seller would pursue me offline for a cheaper sale for both of us. It really all depends on circumstance.

Having said that, I sold a ton of T206s on eBay from May-August this year. I hadn't done much ebay selling before that in four or five years. The tone and candor of the buyers this year has been way worse than ever in my 20 years on eBay. I had winners cancel after winning, I had buyers not pay until I complained to eBay about them, and I had a buyer try to scam me out of my card and money by filing a false PayPal "counterfeit card" report, and then send me an empty envelope to trigger an automatic refund by PayPal. So the level of professionalism and respect of those collecting T206 cards has gone way down in my estimation. A failure to respond to a counter would be the least of my worries!

Could you please...
 

" "filing a false PayPal "counterfeit card" report, and then send me an empty envelope to trigger an automatic refund by PayPal. So the level of professionalism and respect of those collecting T206 cards has gone way down in my estimation. A failure to respond to a counter would be the least of my worries! "


...could you please share with us the E-Bay name of the empty-envelope-return person.....that is every seller's nightmare...thanks

..

I spoke about this issue here:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=244010