striking a deal

[shin3wbie]

Sorry new guy here and i am still learning the ropes. I posted my first trade about a week back and was suddenly swamped with offers. One stood out in particular because he was offering more then what i was asking for. I've since worked out a deal, and life is good but I'm not sure i handeled the situation correctly.

if you get multiple offers, but someone offers you more then what you are asking more ( more figures, or more cash) and they are a reputable trader, is it fair to let the other people who have made contact know why you didnt accept their offer? On one hand, i want to get as much as i can for what I'm sending out, but on the other I dont want to cause a bidding war between people ( that is what ebay is for).

i realize this situation migh tnot come up too often but when it does what is the proper way of handeling it?

[porkuslime]

It depends on how your phrased things to your respondants..

There is NO commitment to taking the first offer you get *IF* you are upfront, or have in your ad words that indicate a time frame..

Say, you have something that you want to trade, worth say, $20.. someone offers you $15 in stuff for it. You can certainly say "Thanks for the offer, but I want to wait a day or so to see if other offers come in" and then having someone offer $30 in stuff would make the first offer less attractive.

You could then, with clean concience let person #1 know you are taking another deal.

HOWEVER.. If you told person #1 "Sure, I can do that" or some commitment phrasing, and THEN had offer #2 come in, taking that offer might not be polite and earn you a backout.

If you post something, and (say, overnight) get a dozen PMs about it, from a dozen people, feel FREE to take which of the bunch is best for you.. there is no need for a "first person to respond gets it" mentality, unless your ad indicated that the first person to respond WOULD get it..

-Porkuslime

[shin3wbie]

I'm following you there, but lets say the situation falls out like this

i post an ad asking for 30 dollars

within the next 2 hours i get 3 pms
person 1 says i can do 30
person 2 says i can do 35
person 3 says i can do 30

is it wrong to tell person 1 and person 3 " look i've got a guy will to give me 35, so i'm going to go with him" or is that part of the deal making process?

[porkuslime]

I'm following you there, but lets say the situation falls out like this

i post an ad asking for 30 dollars

within the next 2 hours i get 3 pms
person 1 says i can do 30
person 2 says i can do 35
person 3 says i can do 30

is it wrong to tell person 1 and person 3 " look i've got a guy will to give me 35, so i'm going to go with him" or is that part of the deal making process?

Not wrong at all, exactly part of the process. UNLESS you already responded to person 1 saying "OK fine".

[shin3wbie]

Not wrong at all, exactly part of the process. UNLESS you already responded to person 1 saying "OK fine".

ok thats what i thought, and thats what made the most sense.

Thanks for helping me clear my head.

[Norseman]

Offering a few dollars more than a person is asking is a tactic that I employ sometimes if it is a model that I REALLY want. I have lost a few items that rarely come up that I STILL kick myself about. I was being cheap and tried to lowball a guy a few dollars for something that I would have paid double what he was asking, and then got scooped by someone that offered what he wanted. So do not be scared of a guy that offers a few dollars more than you were asking. He proabably really wants what you are offering.

[shin3wbie]

someone even commented that what i was offering was a hot item. With my low expectations, and the number of offers that popped up, and now knowing that offering more then what was asked can be common around here. i'm a bit more relaxed.

thanks again folks.

[Dakkar98]

I'm still kicking myself for losing out on a deal.
I was offering the guy what he was asking.
But I wanted him to ship first because his rating was like an 18 compared to my 400+ and he up and took another offer.
I have since learned to be a little more flexible.

[MagickalMemories]

(IMO)

Better to stick with your guns on "lower rating ships first" and miss out on a great deal than to put yourself on the line for a scam.
Although 18 is a great start, IMO, it's nowhere near good enough for me to change my stance.

Eric

[Dakkar98]

Well, it was a "Sale"
$60.00 cash for a good number of oop figs, several of which I needed.
I followed the lot to the next guy who gave him a reference, and have been going back and forth with the new guy to try and get what I needed. It is not looking like I am going to get anything for my efforts though.

[Adunaphel]

Dakkar, I feel your pain. I have missed out on a couple of really good deals from new traders. But, I agree with Eric that you just have to take a deep breath and let it go.

I have had several awesome deals where a trader with under 5 references wouldn't ship first. I felt bad about it, but I just can't do that anymore. Once burned...

As for the OP, I think he did fine. I almost ALWAYS do my trades and sales in chronological order, but as long as you haven't told a trader that you have a deal then it would be fine to go to another trader who is offering more or something that is higher up on your list of wants.

Karl

[Norseman]

Better to stick with your guns on "lower rating ships first" and miss out on a great deal than to put yourself on the line for a scam.
Although 18 is a great start, IMO, it's nowhere near good enough for me to change my stance.

*nods in agreement*

It is not worth it. I got scammed once for being stupid, and told myself I would never do it again, then did it again because it was a good deal, got nailed again. The words "Never again" have different meaning for me.

[JohnHwangBT]

Personally, I'd stick to "lower rating ships first" - it's the only real trade protection you earn on the site, so giving it away is hard to justify.

If you ever consider shipping first, spend an hour reading BTRs from guys who lost their money and stuff because they were "flexible" on shipping first to newbies.

If you're still hot to ship first, go for it!

[MagickalMemories]

I'm with John and Norseman, there.

Don't get me wrong. I *am* flexible on shipping order.... but only to a degree.
Take a look at John, for example. My rating is currently more than double his. He's got a high enough rep, though, and has been around the site enough that I'd be willing to not make him ship first.
If, for example, he was having car problems & knew he couldn't get to the USPS for a week? I'd still go ahead and ship his stuff.

Heck, not long ago, I paid first with another regular member. His rating was only 58 or so (not that 58's low, mind you. It's just lower than mine).

It's okay to flex on your own rules *within reason.* Just make sure you know who it is that you're trusting.


Eric

[fathead]

when i used to work a 12 graveyard shift, alone at a TV station, with access to 5 computers what were all on like T3 cable.. yeah.. i miss it too.. i used to see 10 great deals a day, online... but it was a time, when our family income was dicey and we didn't know how long we, as a family were going to last in that town.. points is, 18 monthes later, i'm seeing even better deals and i'm getting the things I need... not just the things i wish i could have. As for trading ratings, i'm new here, my self, (wish i had a rating of 18) and to be honest, with having been burned in trades, "in-person" I'm doing my best to only trade with ppl that have ratings over 100, and NO bad dealings reported. In fact, I prefer to deal with other traders that have been burned before. i know that sounds evil and wrong...Plus if it sounds too good to be true...