"What's Your Best Price?"

It seems negotiation may be a bit of a stretch for some of those responding. You want to buy or sell with no effort.

"best offer" and "best price" simply gets things started. If you don't respond to either positively nothing happening is usually the result. Try not to take it as personal affront when someone starts a negotiation.

When you buy you want the lowest price possible and when you sell you want the highest. Getting to either place is part of the fun for many of us.

Sidebar:

Is an auction really a negotiation? Once a price is established it always goes up not down.

Why do some feel rubbed wrong with asking what is lowest price, best offer, and so on......I bet none of these complainers ever negociated over a new or used car, or haggled over a business contract, or even with maybe a carpenter? But oh no! not over my amp that I owned for 6 months and just had to get a new one...thats just wrong.

i had no idea my post would generate such strong emotions! in fact, i have a very strong position on "what's your best offer" buyers -- i was just looking to see what others thought. i am decidedly in the camp that any buyer whose first question is "what's your best price" is not worth responding to. to me, this kind of an opening communication suggests a very strong likelihood that the buyer is not serious, or is simply interested in "window shopping." In fact, I find this approach rude. When I list an item "OBO" it quite plainly is AN INVITATION TO MAKE AN OFFER -- either at my asking price, or AT THE BUYER'S BEST OFFER. It is NOT an invitiation to ask me to negotiate against myself. True, listing something "OBO" indicates that the seller is willing to negotiate -- but not against himself!

Goatwuss, Our complaints (well at least mine)are because, for the most part, WYBP buyers are not really interested and just waste our time. If they were serious about purchasing the item they would make an offer.

Of course the buyer wants to pay the least possible but WYBP offers ignore the other half of the equation. The seller also wants the best price they can get. When selling, I would like a little appreciation that I need to be treated fairly as well. That is why I appreciate a reasonable offer. That respects me as a seller (person) and lets me know the buyer is serious. Frequently my asking price is the price I expect to get. I have done my homework and know what the market is.

I suppose the only reason i'd send a question like that is if I think the ad is about to expire and I want to top whatever might get it when i really want it. Length of ad and such could be a negotiating point. But they don't have to agree with it.
What bugs the heck out of me, maybe my own ignorance cropping up again is the $1 start on a $12k item and "reserve not met". It makes me feel like the seller is more interested in either a marketting survey or interested in making people jump through hoops. I think it is true that many of the folks do not read thoroughly and we may see something that excites us to respond without catching something that is odd about an ad so we may send an odd question.
To this one specifically I don't use the "obo" I'll just lower my price to the next lwest need plateau so my needs are net.
But in some cultures a big part of the game is dickering.