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Is Not Responding To An Offer Just Plain Rude?

Think about it in the context of a BUYER using the Audiogon system - 

1 - “Lowballers will be politely ignored.

What constitutes a lowball offer? Is there a percentage of the asking price below which the offer becomes a “lowball”? If so, what is it? 90%? 75%? ….Is it connected to or disconnected from the length of time the ad has been running?

2 - When the only option is “Make an Offer”.

What am I supposed to do here? Am I supposed to offer more than the asking price? Less than the asking price? If less is OK, then refer to point 1 above.

3 - When the only option is “Make an Offer” and the ad says “price is firm”

What the heck am I supposed to do with that one?

If you’re listing an item with the option of “Make an Offer”, wouldn’t it just be courteous to give the benefit of the doubt to the person submitting the offer, assume he or she is a serious buyer and not a tire-kicker, and just reply one way or the other, in a timely fashion? I mean, there’s nothing lost, right? Just say “NO”. Or make a counteroffer….what’s so difficult?

I just sold a nice preamp to a gentleman who made an offer on it, it arrived with the buyer safely and he’s thrilled with it. So now I have wires hanging loose in my system where a preamp used to be, and it’s almost the Holidays. I found a suitable replacement on Audiogon in the $7K range, made an offer within 10% +/- of the asking price, and…drum roll….….nothing. 

I sat around all weekend waiting for the seller to respond, but they didn’t have the decency to just message me and say no. So I was stuck with the “Seller has 48hrs to review your offer” BS, now I’m back to square one and without the means to play my favorite Kenny G Christmas albums. 

One bandaid fix would be for Audiogon to adopt the ebay system and allow sellers to automatically decline offers below a certain amount. Then they wouldn’t even have to interact with us lowballers and their delicate sensibilities wouldn’t get hurt…..heck, I’d even take a photo of me wearing a mask as I press the ’Submit Offer’ button, if this is a Covid thang…

Whinge over…

Merry Christmas :)



rooze
rooze's avatar
rooze OP
645 posts
 
@dchang05 - "I wish there is an automatic reject option to offers that are lower than seller's desired asking price" - that would go some way to fixing the problem. As I've said, a big part of the issue is being in limbo for 48hrs wondering whether the hole in your equipment rack has been filled, or not.

"In this particular case, the seller stated low offers will be politely ignored." - actually that wasn't the case. The ad had the 'Make an Offer' button and there was nothing in the text that said anything about (low) offers being ignored. 
Cheers
Rooze
unsound
7,344 posts
 
Yes, I think it’s rude. But, not as much as so many other indignities that we suffer through out each day. I don’t sell often. I price by what I believe is fair value. I always get my asking price, with little wait. If I get an offer below asking, I simply reply:” Thank you for your offer, no.”.
Only once did I have problem with a buyer. I was selling an amp, that was not frequently available. Strangely enough, there were two others offered for sale at the same time . All three were listed within $25 of each other. This buyer actually started a thread suggesting we were all rip off artists trying to take advantage of the public, and tried to shame us into lowering our asking prices. Mine sold within two days at full asking price, and the other two sold in less than five days. BTW, my buyer told me it was not the first sample of this amp that he had purchased. He knew full well what he was buying, and was happy to do so. That thread was taken down by the moderators shortly there after.
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,535 posts
 
The Audiogon rules are the seller has 48 hours to respond and if they don’t, then you don’t get the item. It is pretty simple. When you put your offer in, you are agreeing to Audiogon terms. You shouldn’t whine afterwards that you didn’t get a response.

Once I posted an amp for sale and I got over a dozen offers and none met my price range. I was not about to write to all those people to say “no”. The poster who offered 6K on an item that was going for $6500. I would never be willing to drop the price $500.00 on something I was selling unless it was a fire sale. That is insulting to the seller and I wouldn’t reply either. Had you offered a couple of hundred less, if I was the seller, I may have gone for it.

What about the person who lowballs the item and then wants free shipping and insurance too? I have come across that many times. I won’t sell to them because I am pretty sure they will be trouble even after the sale. Bottom line, if you don’t like the Audiogon rules, buy elsewhere.
raysmtb1's avatar
raysmtb1
808 posts
 
You never know who you’re talking to, the safest bet is to use proper manners no matter how goofy the other person on the other hand acts. If you were rude to them it would give them reason to post some thing and your profile. I just as soon be nice, you sleep better at night.
unsound
7,344 posts
 
12  “no” return e-mails would take about a minute.
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