"Make an offer" Etiquette?

[WerrWaaa]

When someone posts models they want to sell, but don't give the price they are looking for, what do you generally offer? When they say "Make an offer" should I low-ball 'em? 40%? 50%?

[BCI]

When someone posts models they want to sell, but don't give the price they are looking for, what do you generally offer? When they say "Make an offer" should I low-ball 'em? 40%? 50%?

That's not really an etiquette question, it's a "do you want it or not?" question.

If you want the thing, offer what you would want for it yourself in the condition it's in. If that's not good enough for them (after you say "that's all I am willing to do"), pass on it.

[MagickalMemories]

Lowballing is BAD ETIQUETTE.
It's rude.

Offer them what you want to give for it minus about 10%. This gives room for them to come down and you to come up.

I've gotten to the point that I make an offer of the max I'm willing to pay. It's easier in the long run and less hassle for both involved.

Eric

[peacemystic]

Hey
Please don't make a low ball offer,its a waste of your time,and the person who's selling the item,and if you don't like the price they want,have the good manners(all too lacking in most) to PM them back and say "thanks but i'll pass"
I had a guy the other day offer me $40 for 2 new on spure Bassilisk's ...total waste of my time.
As the others have said,offer what you would want for it yourself

Cheers
Peace

[MagickalMemories]

OK.
It was kind of late last night... and I was tired... let's see if I can give a little more info for you...

I can't tell you what you SHOULD offer.
I can tell you what you will see most often.

When people are TRADING, models tend to go IN THE RANGE of what I have below (please, note that there CAN be exceptions... this is in general):

FOR TRADE VALUE:

1) NIB/MIB/ On Sprue = 100% retail value
2) Assembled well (no paint/primer) = 75% to 90% of retail
3) Assembled well (primer only) = 75% to 80% of retail
4) Assembled well (ANY PAINT) = 50% to 75% of retail
5) Assembled well, painted well = 50% to 150% of retail

Number 5, above, is the broadest spectrum. It depends on the color scheme of what you're looking at and if it matches the buyers needs, as well as the quality of your paint job. Another big factor is timing. You have to find the right person at the right time for the best price.
Well painted models do best on ebay. Skip BTown with them unless you're trading for another complete army.

Please, note that the above is for ASSEMBLED WELL. Poor assembly can reduce the value of a model by as much as another 25% of retail cost, easily. Incomplete will reduce it even more.

For strictly SALE VALUE:
(again, remember that these seem to be the most common)

1) NIB/MIB/ On Sprue = 65% to 80% retail value
2) Assembled well (no paint/primer) = 50% to 75% of retail
3) Assembled well (primer only) = 50% to 75% of retail
4) Assembled well (ANY PAINT) = 50% to 60% of retail
5) Assembled well, painted well = 50% to 150% of retail

Keep in mind that the above info can vary WILDLY based on a number of factors, such as:

Buyer desire to have the model
Sellers motivation to get rid of it
NEED of the buyer
QUALITY (on items 1 - 4) of assembly and/or paint (see above re: painted armies)
Attitude the buyer approaches the seller with
Relationship between the buyer & seller (I'm going to give someone I "know" on BTown really well a better deal than someone I don't). The better the relationship between the 2 traders, the better the goodwill they have for each other, the better deal they're typically willing to give to each other.
Edition of model (most traders give less for non-current edition models).
Current retail of model (I will NOT pay 75% retail for a $25 Obliterator because, IMO, an Obliterator isn't worth the $25 to begin with).

That's about all I can think of, off hand.
Anyone have anything they can add to that?

Eric

[MEDEVL]

I don't think low ball offers are bad form or rude. The only reason people don't just list a price for an item (i.e. they say "make offer") is that they want to get as much as you'll pay for it. That is no more or less rude than you wanting to get it for the least amount of money. You look out for you and let somebody else look out for them. No offense but if you don't want to be offended by low offers or have your precious time wasted with lowball offers then LIST A SALE PRICE. It's just not that hard. If you have any kind of rudimentary search skills you can get a decent idea of the market value of just about anything, be it retail from the manufacturers website or a general value from Ebay or somewhere similar.
If sellers ask people to "make offer" then they need to check their feelings at the door because they asked for it. Why would I offer high when I'm hoping I could get it for less?? That's just dumb. If you think it's rude then call me rude but it's not my job to play Daddy Warbucks to you. A buyer wanting something for next to nothing is no worse than a seller wanting to get the most possible so if you want to avoid all of the ensuing entanglements and haggling simply man up and list a price that is acceptable to you and see how many responses you get. If you don't like what you hear, don't sell it and list it again in a week. Simple as that.

PS I'm not trying to offend ANYONE and this is certainly NOT directed at any specific person so please don't take it that way.

[GrimDog]

i trade pretty much retail for retail on things.

[MEDEVL]

sorry, double post glitch...

[MagickalMemories]

Well, Med.... I don't disagree with you... but I only partially agree.
(and I wasn't offended LOL)

You are 100% right. If you post "make me an offer," then you should expect lowball offers. Same thing with "best offer gets it" posts.

I'll offer you a buck and see if you take it. LOL

Actually, I wouldn't... I don't respond to those ads... I just think the idea is funny.

Anyway... I agree that it's a bit rude not to post an idea, at least, of the neighborhood you're thinking of... but it's still rude to lowball.

Just because it is not RUDER doesn't mean it isn't RUDE. KWIM?


Eric

[vesrian]

The only reason people don't just list a price for an item (i.e. they say "make offer") is that they want to get as much as you'll pay for it.

I'm going to partially disagree with this. I have a whole bunch of stuff to list. Saying "make an offer" is appealing to me because:
a) i'm not entirely sure what i want for things and i don't want to come up with prices on 100+ individual things. Perhaps a bit lazy i admit, but then again, the buyer is just as capable of researching a reasonable price as i am.
b) i'm flexible on prices if you want a bunch of my stuff. The convience of getting rid of a lot of things at once is definately worth cutting a deal. I've tried listing prices and saying i'm flexible, but IME it rarely ever works well.
c) I've found that, in general, people who've make offers have been more reliable (i.e. far less likely to back out of deals, dont lie to me about delays, leave references, and stay in touch as needed)
d) for whatever reason, a lot of people don't get that there is a difference between sale price and trade value when i list prices.

No offense but if you don't want to be offended by low offers or have your precious time wasted with lowball offers then LIST A SALE PRICE.
...
If sellers ask people to "make offer" then they need to check their feelings at the door because they asked for it. Why would I offer high when I'm hoping I could get it for less?? That's just dumb. If you think it's rude then call me rude but it's not my job to play Daddy Warbucks to you. A buyer wanting something for next to nothing is no worse than a seller wanting to get the most possible so if you want to avoid all of the ensuing entanglements and haggling simply man up and list a price that is acceptable to you and see how many responses you get.

Fair enough. I do want to add that, again IME, people who make unreasonably low offers often aren't interested in haggling to a reasonable compromise. That's irritating. It's one thing to make an offer as a starting point for negotiating. But someone who offers me $15 for a $55 NIB land raider and is unwilling to negotiate the price (yes, seriously) is saying: "i think you're an idiot". That's rude.

As to what to offer, i think MM's suggestion of what you'll pay minus 10% is a reasonable idea. If they go for it, congrats - you've saved over what you wanted to pay. If not, you've at least said that you're serious by making a realistic offer. If you do go lowballing, i think you waive the right to get offended if they ignore you.

[BCI]

That's about all I can think of, off hand.
Anyone have anything they can add to that?
Eric

Politely or not politely that is the question...

1: Metals are always easier to deal with than used plastics.
2: never trade for used plastics unless you're willing to use them in the condition they come in.
3: if the pieces aren't there that wouldn't come with the item new, it's not complete.

Your system needs work.

[BCI]

Fair enough. I do want to add that, again IME, people who make unreasonably low offers often aren't interested in haggling to a reasonable compromise. That's irritating. It's one thing to make an offer as a starting point for negotiating. But someone who offers me $15 for a $55 NIB land raider and is unwilling to negotiate the price (yes, seriously) is saying: "i think you're an idiot". That's rude.

As to what to offer, i think MM's suggestion of what you'll pay minus 10% is a reasonable idea. If they go for it, congrats - you've saved over what you wanted to pay. If not, you've at least said that you're serious by making a realistic offer. If you do go lowballing, i think you waive the right to get offended if they ignore you.

If a person is saying "make an offer" on things that are brand new, they need to rethink the strategy.

1: stop posting new items and asking for people to make offers, it's pretty clear they have a range of acceptable prices.

They need to stop wasting people's time.

2: see #1.

3: As for "10% under", take a class in negotiations, or speak to a profession who specializes in that area of psychology and you'll get a better idea as to why that isn't really "concrete."

[vesrian]

If a person is saying "make an offer" on things that are brand new, they need to rethink the strategy.

Yeah, you may be right.
In a bunch of stuff that didn't have prices, it seemed odd to put prices on some things. And see above re: cutting deals on buying a bunch of stuff.

3: As for "10% under", take a class in negotiations, or speak to a profession who specializes in that area of psychology and you'll get a better idea as to why that isn't really "concrete."

Feel free to enlighten me on why this might be a bad policy. Like i said, it seems a reasonable start to me. But then i don't claim to be an expert in either negotiation or psychology.

[specs.esd]

If a person is saying "make an offer" on things that are brand new, they need to rethink the strategy.

1: stop posting new items and asking for people to make offers, it's pretty clear they have a range of acceptable prices.

They need to stop wasting people's time.

That is silly.

If I post up a NOS Rhino MMAO-style and get replies offering $10, $20, (a buck from MagickalMemories), and another for $25, why is it again that this strategy so offensive to you? Is it because I'm making more money than the equivalent product set at -35% retail, or is it that you would have to compete with someone else in order to get a good deal? Would you be of the same opinion if it was MMAO for brand new Forge World products?

MMAOs are no different from, and no less a waste of time than, Best Offers on eBay. Just because you can't make that particular selling strategy work for you doesn't give you the expertise to tell people on how not to sell items.

[carmachu]

Lowballing is BAD ETIQUETTE.
It's rude.

Offer them what you want to give for it minus about 10%. This gives room for them to come down and you to come up.

I've gotten to the point that I make an offer of the max I'm willing to pay. It's easier in the long run and less hassle for both involved.

Eric

No, its not.

Make an offer means just that. The prospective buyer makes an offer. It can be low, it can be close, it could be in the middle.

Depends on if you think you can get it for the price your thinking of. Maybe you can. maybe you cant.

There's nothing wrong with it. The other person doesnt have to take it.