A new low in net54 lowball offers

[jhs5120]

I had a 1963 Topps Reprint signed by Pete Rose PSA/DNA 10. If the card were real, it would go for $600-800, I had a BIN/BO for $75 I think.

A guy offered $45, then quickly cancelled the offer with a message. "Sorry, I thought the card was real."

If I had seen a real Rose rookie signed and slabbed for $75, I wouldn't have wasted time with an offer. I would have bought that sucker in a heart beat! It was an honest mistake, but still made me laugh.

[drcy]

Not quite an offer story, but I've experience the curiosity of buyers and collecting psychology. One of my favorites was years back I had a mint condition 1950 R423 13-card strip including the cards of Ruth, Gehrig and Ty Cobb-- tiny gumball machine cards with perorations. I put the strip on eBay twice with min bid of $100 with no takers, then a third time with a min bid of $75 with no bids. I finally relented, took apart the cards at the perforations and put them up as single card lots. The Ruth, Gehrig and Cobb singles sold for well over $100 each, and the rest of the singles totaled over $150.

I also once had a Cal Ripken rookie that got no bids, so I relisted the same day with lower minimum bid and it ended up selling a week later for more than the first minimum bid.

So eBay can be a psychology experiment.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by drcy

Not quite an offer story, but I've experience the curiosity of buyers and collecting psychology. One of my favorites was years back I had a mint condition 1950 R423 13-card strip including the cards of Ruth, Gehrig and Ty Cobb-- tiny gumball machine cards with perorations. I put the strip on eBay twice with min bid of $100 with no takers, then a third time with a min bid of $75 with no bids. I finally relented, took apart the cards at the perforations and put them up as single card lots. The Ruth, Gehrig and Cobb singles sold for well over $100 each, and the rest of the singles totaled over $150.

I also once had a Cal Ripken rookie that got no bids, so I relisted the same day with lower minimum bid and it ended up selling a week later for more than the first minimum bid.

So eBay can be a psychology experiment.

right when bidders see someone already bidding it 'validates' the value for some reason.. BIN's some people never look at assuming its always way to high

I've had BINs listed with no takers and at auction on same it goes for more...also I said on another post..the last PWCC auction..many 1954 topps psa 8 cards went for higher in the auction then the same card with same eye appeal was for sale in a BIN.....would of been cheaper just to buy the BIN...

[packs]

My point was that I was ready to hand him $115 but he balked over $12 and instead made $0. You don't have to defend him, I understand economics. All I was trying to say was it was weird to me that you'd prefer not to sell over $12.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by packs

My point was that I was ready to hand him $115 but he balked over $12 and instead made $0. You don't have to defend him or talk down to me, I understand economics. All I was trying to say was it was weird to me that you'd prefer not to sell over $12.

I'm not defending him or talking down to you, but maybe the $12 was the difference between making a profit and taking a loss.

[packs]

I'm sure he'd have no problem selling on the internet. Just like I'd have no trouble buying on the internet. But the point of a show is that you're there then and now with the money in your hand.

[JasonD08]

I had 3 rare M101-5 blank backs in poor sec 10s with damage. 2 of them were only known examples if I recall. I had all 3 listed on ebay for $8K BIN OBO. I had a guy hammer me because I wouldn't take $2500 for the three. After about 4 years I decided to send to REA with my victory back McGraw. The McGraw was also a new discovery only known. The victory I broke even on and the 3 blank backs went for $35K before juice. You never know.

Jason

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I'm not defending him or talking down to you, but maybe the $12 was the difference between making a profit and taking a loss.

eventually a line is drawn...heck auctions are won by a dollar....a dollar the difference of buying or walking away....... if a dollar didn't matter than there would be bidding forever with a dollar increase till infinity eventually a line is drawn

[Donscards]

It is easy to refuse offers no matter if the buyer thinks he is making a good offer---I was at the White Plains show this past weekend---I had 2 52 Mantles--sold a sgc 35 and have a sgc 10 52 Mantle---$6700---a customer looked at it sat and we talked---He came back sunday and threw down a bank envelope with 5 K cash in it---I just looked at him and said, I paid more for it than your offer---that ended the cash offer---just because he had 5 cash doesnt mean he will get his deal-----my one buddy said, if you accepted all the offers you receive, you would make a bundle---(I also would most likely lose a few bucks)----just another story on low offers.

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

eventually a line is drawn...heck auctions are won by a dollar....a dollar the difference of buying or walking away....... if a dollar didn't matter than there would be bidding forever with a dollar increase till infinity eventually a line is drawn

Huh? In what auctions are the bidding increments a dollar?

[rats60]

Originally Posted by packs

My point was that I was ready to hand him $115 but he balked over $12 and instead made $0. You don't have to defend him, I understand economics. All I was trying to say was it was weird to me that you'd prefer not to sell over $12.

Maybe he prefers to sell them for more to someone else. Wanting more than 10% discount on wax is lowballing unless it's overpriced. In this case you were expecting a deep discount on a hot product. It's no suprised he declined.

[Mikehealer]

Originally Posted by packs

My point was that I was ready to hand him $115 but he balked over $12 and instead made $0. You don't have to defend him, I understand economics. All I was trying to say was it was weird to me that you'd prefer not to sell over $12.

Another point of view is that you also balked over $12.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by Mikehealer

Another point of view is that you also balked over $12.

+1

[Luke]

Originally Posted by Mikehealer

Another point of view is that you also balked over $12.

Yeah, I don't think this example really fits the discussion. The seller offered you a 2% ($3 off his $130 price) discount, and you countered asking for a 11.5% discount ($15 off his $130 price).

Your weren't lowballing him, but you are asking for a pretty big discount. If his margin is something like 8%, he obviously can't accept your offer.

I often price things as low as I can in order to sell quickly. In those cases, I would turn down a request for a 11.5% discount and it wouldn't have anything to do with me "preferring not to make a sale".

[ullmandds]

dunno? 10% discount is pretty standard...what's another 1.5%?

[RichardSimon]

It is not a question of the people being cheap.
Many people just have to "win" when they make a deal, that is part of their enjoyment of the hunt. If they cannot "win" a deal they will let the buyer/seller walk away.
Their ego needs to be boosted more then their bottom line.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

It is not a question of the people being cheap.
Many people just have to "win" when they make a deal, that is part of their enjoyment of the hunt. If they cannot "win" a deal they will let the buyer/seller walk away.
Their ego needs to be boosted more then their bottom line.

agree. I made a post on this...the sports collector is by nature into the sport of collecting....about 'winning'....I have had dealers email me 7 months later on ebay to say they sold a card for 10 more dollars then I offered (was like 60 dollar card)....I never seen that in any regular business transaction

people like to keep score ...

[Sean]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

Many people just have to "win" when they make a deal, that is part of their enjoyment of the hunt. If they cannot "win" a deal they will let the buyer/seller walk away.

I don't take this approach, but my girlfriend certainly does. It makes for some very tense moments between us when I'm making a big purchase.