My pet peeve

[cardsnstuff]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

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".

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.