"What's Your Best Price?"

"OBO" means just that. Make an offer--A specific price with a clear statement of what it covers or does not cover (shipping, PayPal, etc.).

OBO is NOT a request for a buyer to respond with "what is your best price". The seller has already made an opening offer and it is incumbent upon a potential buyer to make a specific bid.

Classified buying and selling (especially OBO sales) is very similar to an auction, just not as formal and the price frequently goes in the opposite direction from an auction. In an OBO classified the seller asks for the best price they think they can get and then, if there are multiple potential buyers, they secretly bid against each other with specific offers.

Many Audiogon auctions don't start out at the sellers best price because there is a hidden reserve. If a buyer wants to buy they are forced to make a specific offer.

So buyers, if you are serious make an offer already otherwise don't waste the sellers time.

I believe most here, including myself, who won't acknowledge a "what is your best price" buyer (particularly as an opening statement) do so from prior experience. I am sure there are just a small hand full that might actually be buyers, but most are not. I think they are in hopes that the seller might be desperate and perhaps the buyer thinking he might get this "deal of a lifetime". I say this from experience of selling a fair amount of audio here on Agon. I get this occasionally in my business as well (not audio related). Never, ever had a buyer.

I realize that my position here, which I am restating, is in the minority, but I've bought more than a fair amount of equipment here. More often than not, I've requested the seller's best price. And, more often than that, I would say the seller, thinking I would use that as the beginning of the price negotiation (instead of his initial asking price, which I actually do) probably got a lot more out of the deal than he expected. I think the statement which has been suggested, "I know your optimal price but let's cut to the chase, what will you sell it to me for?" sums up my intent perfectly.

In no way do I suggest someone is not justified for feeling the way they do, but taking things the absolute wrong way or ignoring my e-mails would have been to most probably leave money on the table by losing a good sale.

I think some of you sellers would like to turn OBO in to an auction?

Ok, whats your reserve? (aka......whats your bottom dollar shipped to my zip, and paying with paypal?

I don't have a problem asking this as a buyer, and I don't have a problem with it as a seller.

I got it, you want it........you got it, I want it, lets get er done.

Dave