Is a offer of -20 percent on an OBO ad insulting?

It doesn't take alot to be polite. OBO is just that. Your offer may not be his best, but if you're a serious buyer, if he wasn't willing to accept an offer then he should have put firm or courteously declined and counter offered. Many times I've bought and sold equipment right here for +/- 20% off OBO and in the end both of us were happy to have been able to put together a deal. This guy is just too proud, too stupid, or just a putz!!!

As a frequent seller and buyer here I agree with the posters that asking 20% off a OBO is probably low but with in reason. I always acknowledge all offers as a courtesy and if the price is lower than I will accept I ask for a counter offer or give them my bottom line selling price. I avoid ads that state low ballers will be ignored(what is a low offer to the seller may not be one to the buyer) and ads that say don't ask me again about condition ect. If the seller states the price is firm and I want to purchase this item I pay the asking price, if the price is a little on the high side I may ask to include the shipping or even split it.

To Moto: Sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience with your offer. As mentioned, the seller may have a thin skin or he may have his item fairly priced and is looking to get an offer close to his asking price. As with many of the others Audiogon members in this thread, I've bought and sold a number of items here and had few problems. When I get a really low offer, I usually just send a simple "Thanks but no thanks - your offer is WAY too low to consider" and move on. Hope this bad experience does not change your opinions about Audiogon. There are some really great people who both buy and sell on this site - and as noted, unlike E-Bay by exchanging e-mails and phone calls you get to know the folks you are dealing with. Good listening! Dave

Whenever you place an ad to sell an item you should not be suprised when you receive low offers. A simple courtesy e-mail is all the response that is required. I have sold a couple of houses thru realators as well as one on my own and received offers that I considered low. These offers required formal responses by me which took significantly more time than an e-mail. The people making the offer maybe doing so for various reason. However, as one person above stated; this is business and as such we need to understand that and not take it personnel.

What is OBO except an invitation for low offers? An offer of 80% of full price does not deserve rudeness. The buyer may well have gone to 90% or even 100% with a little bargaining.