Classifieds WAAY overpriced...

[FourT6and2]

I guess I don't see why lowballers force people to ask for more? Asking for too much eliminates some potential buyers from the jump. From my perspective, if someone asks too much I don't even consider it. They can put OBO but I feel if I then offer market value that's lowballing relative to what they were asking, so I just move on. When I sell something I expect lowball offers, it's just part of selling. I politely thank them for the offer and decline it. I typically counter-offer any decent offer but lowballers are just declined, but I'm always polite about it.

If I list something—anything—for $1,000 the offers I get are like $500-$800. So I'll list it for $1400 and then haggle down to my target price of $1,000. That's how negotiating works. Always has. Since the beginning of time. Maybe next time I'll list something for $500 and when I get an "I'll take it" I'll then haggle the price UP to $1,000 haha!

 

[SpiderWars]

I guess I don't see why lowballers force people to ask for more? Asking for too much eliminates some potential buyers from the jump. From my perspective, if someone asks too much I don't even consider it. They can put OBO but I feel if I then offer market value that's lowballing relative to what they were asking, so I just move on. When I sell something I expect lowball offers, it's just part of selling. I politely thank them for the offer and decline it. I typically counter-offer any decent offer but lowballers are just declined, but I'm always polite about it.

If I list something—anything—for $1,000 the offers I get are like $500-$800. So I'll list it for $1400 and then haggle down to my target price of $1,000. That's how negotiating works. Always has. Since the beginning of time. Maybe next time I'll list something for $500 and when I get an "I'll take it" I'll then haggle the price UP to $1,000 haha!

I see your point but just realize that you drive off many potential buyers (the ones that would actually pay $1k) by asking 40% over market. They'll assume you're the dreamer that wants too much and they don't want the hassle. Also ,since the beginning of time.

And FWIW, I don't think listing it higher actually scares off the lowballers. They're lowballers, it's what they do. All it does is scare off the guys that might pay market.

This thread is almost like a tipping thread in a restaurant forum. Almost guaranteed to get people going. But today is Friday. Fluffy Friday.

 

[Rick Lee]

High prices don't scare me off. I may not make an offer as soon as it's posted. But if it sits for a while without a price adjustment, I might make an offer and explain my reasoning. Plenty of folks don't know what they have, may have no personal skin in the deal and could respond to reasoning. There was a real dummy on eBay a few weeks ago selling a very clean DSL 100 for $550, which is a good price. But she (turned out to be a woman who knew nothing about it) wanted $150 for shipping from MN. I said I'd take it if she'd let me just use my FedEx account, knowing it would run about $58 to get to my house. She hemmed and hawed and asked me what weight and dimensions I was using, blah blah. I told her I had shipped a Marshall of same weight and dimensions a week earlier for $58 and that was all she needed to know. Auction ended with no bids.

I had a guy walk up and offer me two 4th row and center tix for a Rush concert for $300 each. I said that was about twice what I was willing to spend. He caved immediately and I got them for $300 for the pair. Never hurts to ask as long as you're not desperate.

 

[Anonymous]

I guess I don't see why lowballers force people to ask for more? Asking for too much eliminates some potential buyers from the jump. From my perspective, if someone asks too much I don't even consider it. They can put OBO but I feel if I then offer market value that's lowballing relative to what they were asking, so I just move on. When I sell something I expect lowball offers, it's just part of selling. I politely thank them for the offer and decline it. I typically counter-offer any decent offer but lowballers are just declined, but I'm always polite about it.

If I list something—anything—for $1,000 the offers I get are like $500-$800. So I'll list it for $1400 and then haggle down to my target price of $1,000. That's how negotiating works. Always has. Since the beginning of time. Maybe next time I'll list something for $500 and when I get an "I'll take it" I'll then haggle the price UP to $1,000 haha!

Lowballers don't force anyone to do anything, that's ridiculous. It's fairly easy to ignore a low ball offer. Ummm... lets see... oh yeah..... you just do NOTHING!

In my experience, it doesn't matter WHAT you price something for (higher or lower than market value), you still get lowball offers. Who cares? As I said, they are easy to ignore.

What really happens is most gear sellers get OFFENDED by lowball offers on the precious gear they have graced the market with - which is also ridiculous. Once again, who cares and easy to ignore. Why be offended?

Regardless of how people price, there is market reality that many of them ignore. As I said, the guy with the $2500 Pointy on Reverb, I sent an offer for $1950. With it, I sent a page from the Vintage Guitar guide that showed market for an excellent condition pointy was $1700-1900. I was rudely denied and told I didn't know what I was talking about, which is delusional. Now, it's no big deal, I actually found it kinda funny, but I brought it up because it jibed with what the OP was talking about. As the OP says, people can price their gear for whatever they want and hope for an uneducated buyer to fall in love and overpay, but when something is sitting there forever and someone offers you above market and you are rude about declining, it's a bit strange. I ended up getting a very similar guitar for $1799 the same week...

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

The lowballers force people to ask for more. And honestly if you think the gear in the forum is overpriced then just don't buy it. Some people have an entitled attitude about used gear. Like the world owes you a killer deal because you are gods gift to gear flipping. It hilarious on both sides. But if you don't like the price you can either move on or feel the need to be the town crier and call the gear police on sellers. I'm personally too busy playing my gear to give a rats ass what someone's Marshall is ( or isn't ) selling for.

OK, superstar... but... shouldn't you be playing your gear rather than weighing in on this trivial nonsense?

The OP wanted to talk about delusional pricing. What's the big deal? We talk about stuff here. I don't think the OP was fixated on any particular overpriced piece of gear that he couldn't move on from. He didn't call the gear police on anyone as he didn't call anyone out by name...

Lowballers don't force anyone to do anything. Lowball offers come on market priced gear as well... It's unavoidable and requires zero effort to ignore.

Steve

 

[sg guy]

-the "trade guy" .....he offers to trade-(+ cash from me, or gold bullion, high grade plutonium or maybe, if she's in like new condition, rated 9.6 at the lowest, on a professionaly calibrated... "MAN-O-METER" you take car of delivery, mail order bride, no older than 18, all shots, certified, documented & medically verified to be "3V- VIRGIN"-(all 3 orifices)-and must have TNGFS-(That New Girl Friend Smell)-for his MINTY, NEVER SMOKED IN, PET FREE, ORIGINAL OWNER, only out of the box for pics, then put back in the ORIGINAL BOX, CASE CANDY, HANG TAGS & RE-CALLS, 1973 FORD PINTO!!! the color is the lovely, 70's kitchen wall paper matched, PUMPKIN ORANGE!, with 70's trailer park GREEN pin stripes!!!! I know!! Right!! and get ready!! You sitting down!!! FAUX WOOD SIDE PANELS!!! yes sir!! the side panels aren't those ugly plastic panels, there DECALS!! oh the grain of the FAUX WOOD JUST JUMPS OUT IN VIVID DETAIL!! Well maybe,... Still unsure of this, I'm getting the short end of the stick here, and got to tell ya, she's part of the family, don't see these rare classic's around anymore, , THIS MY FRIEND, IS "THE" PRINCE!!,... the 1973!!!! Fully loaded, and yes!! it is, not only the coolest of the cool!! Special option, #666 -FACTORY INSTALLED & EQUIPPED, with the most sensitive rear impact sensor-(.02 inch pounds of pressure)-if a fly shits on the rear bumper, BANG!!-BISCUIT!! ADIOS AMIGO!!! like I said you lucky man!! Fully loaded, every option, there's even a hole for a radio!! an for your your fully restored, big block 396, 1966 Chevelle SS, you reply with a polite -no thank yo-then he's offended, says his pinto is newer than your chevelle, needs a Lil tinkering, only 198,000 highway miles!! got to be careful thou, she's very, very powerful. when you floor it, well she don't go any faster, but it makes a lot more noise!!!!.. add and she gets great gas mileage!!!.. you,... again say -no thanx- now he's really pissed, tells you about all of the many chevelle's he's owned, and that he went to HARVARD, majored in CHEVELLE, deans list, has been awarded best chevelle master tech since graduating,... Now its time for all of major issues & there's more messages that you no longer respond to, and it still goes on.

-(angry Craigslist guy)-offers you dirt & 6 cent's, you reply -no thanx-(drop your asking price)-he then post's a post, almost identical to yours, full of lies, and his reason for doing this to? I don't know,.... Vent?, so you'll see his mock ad of yours and come to your sense's & take less than his 6 cent's??? or more likely, he's a fucked up piece of shit , and his motive is sabotage, his life sucks, zero social skills means zero friends, spends every second of the day on the puta, its home, free of fear,rejection, awkward & extremly uncomfortable interactions with people, his irrational fears of an interaction, prevents him from buying a coke, or anything...he hurries "home" in powered-(HIS REALITY IS THE INTERNET, his endless lies he tells his inner self, his AVATAR, he's told these delusional lies so many times, that believes them, in his reality, his AVATAR IS GOD....

 

[glip22]

Price however you want. Just don't bitch about the economy, market, etc. , unless you have it priced right and it's normally desirable. I don't care what anybody lists their gear as as long as they don't complain when it sits forever.
I hate waiting to sell something so I list it right, take my lumps, bitch to myself about why am I doing this and then do it another 100 times. It's the game. I have probably lost 20K in the last 5 years in gear flips. I think close to 10K last year and a half alone. Hey, my brother in law races cars. Guess what he lost...

 

[NeubyWanKaneuby]

I sold a local guy one of my guitars for $250 that usually goes for $350-400 on ebay. He's trying to sell it for $600 on CL. Don't see him getting that, but more power to him if he manages to pull it off.