"What's Your Best Price?"

Jb2K - Based on your logic the seller is also worse off because they missed a chance to have a successful negotiation because his feelings got in the way.

The approach is insulting only if you take it so. If you assume that the person has no skill at negotiation to use such an insulting approach and put your feelings aside it puts you in a position to convince them your price is fair.

Convincing people that your offer or asking price is acceptable despite any etiquette or personality defects they may have how to get the price you want on either side of the equation. Do you care if you sell to a jerk if he pays your price?

I've only been around A'gon in recent years. When the economy was good years ago did all this haggling and occasional low-balling occur? Part of me thinks audiophiles here are pushing harder for deals because of the economy and also to see what they can get away with.

I know for myself when I list something I try to keep it within market value. I'll do some pricing research here and on other sites to see what an item sold for or was listed at as well as condition and price accordingly. To my surprise even if I was around what seemed like fair market value to me I still got 30% or 50% offers below my list price. I still have not gotten the "what's your best price" bit at least not yet.

I must say though if a buyer worded the what's your best price question like how Jeffreybowman2k said it in his post earlier I wouldn't be so put off. Some buyers are very rude with their low-ball offers. No explanation or anything. I've learned to just play the game and counter or blow them off.

Happy selling everyone.

To those who have argued that sellers shouldn't let their feelings get in the way of a deal, consider this: the way the buyer negotiates (especially his choice of words) may indicate that the sale could run into trouble in other respects than agreeing on price. Someone who is overly aggressive on price may also be more likely to change his mind and not send a payment or quibble about the condition of the equipment he receives. Of course, buyers who do not ask "what is your best price" can do the same thing, but when doing business with strangers, impressions are important.

Personally, a low-ball price is easy to deal with. Just say "no". However, "what's your best price" is insulting, as many have stated, because it assumes you're stupid enough to bid against yourself. The low ball offer may be low, but at least it's an offer.

There's a special circle in Hell for people who ask that question. I can't imagine the amount of self-loathing and insecurity a person must have in order to ask that question. They must be petty pathetic people not living, but only existing if they ask that question. That question is something a terrorist would ask when buying explosive to shove up his anus. And yes, I would support waterboarding people who ask that question. It's an affront to common sense and the social order that people who ask that question have the right to vote and own guns! There ought to be a law banning that question, a constitutional amendment even. It would pass with unanimous bi-partisan support.

Thank you very much. I feel better now.

When you post an ad, you provide a price. If you also indicate "OBO" you are stating that you will accept less. We would all like to believe that we are immersed in a gentleman's pastime and therefore are above smarmy, crass concerns such as money - or, at the very least, put those financial matters in their proper place, well behind our sanctimonious pursuit of the absolute sound. So, the objections here seem to be mostly procedural.

What turns me off most is the impression that some jerk is just sending out 300 emails per day fishing for someone dumb or desperate enough to sell him product well below its current street value so that he can turn around and sell it at a profit. What nerve!!

I've stopped trying to sell my stuff. I have lots of spares and it looks like I will eventually die owning them. In a way, it has been good in that it makes me think twice about acquiring more.

Many of you are getting way to huffy about this topic. If schmucko has nothing better to do than send out mindless solicitations, have fun with him. There are many ways to do this. Let's turn this thread toward creative suggestions for wasting the time of these guys. Engage them, tempt them, mislead them and ultimately give them a taste of their own medicine. Drop tem on their pointy little heads.

What's your favorite technique?