"What's Your Best Price?"

based on the weight of the evidence, i will concede that "moronic" is not the best way to describe the WYBP inquiry. "!neffective", "annoying," or just "lame" are better.

So it seems the appropriate response would be "I have stated a starting price in my ad so what is your best offer?"

They either offer or they don't & you either accept or refuse. Seems pretty painless to me.

Maybe I'm just out in left field...

I ALWAYS ask the seller, "What is your best price?" I don't see it as tire kicking, trying to push a seller into negotiating with himself, or whatever. I don't waste a seller's time with a lot of back and forth. I just see that one with an "OBO" is willing to consider a price lower than what he's listed. I don't respond to an ad in the first place unless it's a piece I want to buy (and, will buy if the seller doesn't come across as a total you know what), I have the money, and the seller's Audiogon feedback indicates he's someone I can feel comfortable with.

I simply want to know what the bottom line is, and then I can either buy it, or move on.

In the end, I'm left feeling confused - not that it's rare for me. Put forth an offer which may be construed as a "low ball", which will offend. Or, ask the seller what their best price is, which will also offend. So, which is the lesser of the two evils?

Simply put -- If a person is only interested in the price without any regard for the product being offered, I do not regard him as serious. There are two sides to any purchase negotiation. Seller has a product or service and buyer has money. Presumably someone will be concerned enough to find out what is being offered before he asks about price. There is always a relationship between the two and anyone who ignores one side to focus on the other is not properly motivated.....in my opinion.
I don't need the business of someone who doesn't even say hello.

I've never had a single sale to anyone making those kinds of queries. One or two have turned out to be real jerks as far as dealing with the their subsequent emails. A few have initiated transactions only to back out later. Many have been a tremendous waste of my time, and have led only to frustration, so I've simply just stopped responding to such queries. My experiences from doing online trading since 97' via eBay, and later through Audiogon, do not reflect a single exception in my recollection. YMMV.

OBO = Or best offer. "What's your best price?" is neither an offer, nor an agreement to buy at the asking price. I agree with Entrope - clearly you have set a starting price. If you are also opening the sale up to offers then if the interested buyer really wants the item they should make an offer. Why would I list an item at a price that is significantly higher than the one he/she would accept? Is there anyone participating in this thread who's had great results in approaching a seller with that kind of question?

Marco