"What's the lowest you will accept for this item?"

RFW

red_boots2 said:

I just block them

You block potential customers?
They're a pain in the bum but they can still end up paying your asking price. 
Back when I did real auctions you'd get people asking before the sale what you'd accept for items. More often than not they were no reserve auctions sold to the highest bidder so there was no price other than what the hammer fell for. The ones asking varied from those who wanted a new TV for a fiver to those who would pay over the odds because it was something they really wanted. You never know who's asking so treat everyone as if they are good potential customers, you'll either not hear from them again or they'll be a happy customer.

Momogeew

I;m a buyer, only.

From a buyers perspective of making an offer as an option ......

I will try low offers, the whole aim with haggling is you meet each other at a mutually agreeable price.

We're not idiots.
We're not chancers.
We're not troublemakers.
We realise a seller is running a business.
We're very aware you need to make a profit.

Insulting our intelligence.
Blocking us.
Taking a hostile stance towards us.
It all means we'll take our business elsewhere.

Where there isn't the Offers option ......
If we contact a seller asking about a reduction on it - instead of taking the aforementioned stance, take 2 or 3 seconds to type a polite message explaining your position - we'll understand and we'll probably buy it as that price.
Stop being on the offensive and assuming we're all bad buyers 😠

soolin

RFW said:

red_boots2 said:

I just block them

You block potential customers?
They're a pain in the bum but they can still end up paying your asking price. 
Back when I did real auctions you'd get people asking before the sale what you'd accept for items. More often than not they were no reserve auctions sold to the highest bidder so there was no price other than what the hammer fell for. The ones asking varied from those who wanted a new TV for a fiver to those who would pay over the odds because it was something they really wanted. You never know who's asking so treat everyone as if they are good potential customers, you'll either not hear from them again or they'll be a happy customer.

I wonder if it is a professional thing? I know you were involved in bricks and mortar auction houses, and I've been trading for decades. It is a standard dealer/professional seller question ' what's your best' or 'what's your lowest' and I would expect to ask that of any seller, and as a seller myself would accept it is part of the process.

That's why I have no objections to people asking me, everyone is a potential buyer after all and if they have an interest in an item they should be encouraged.

It's the same on Vinted, although perhaps even worse as I think the demographic of sellers there is much younger and less experienced with the nuances of trading. On the various groups all you get are sellers moaning that people keep sending offers - or want to know what the lowest is - and them being blocked- only to see that same seller moaning a few weeks later that they can't seem to sell anything. On Vinted though all these questions and offers 'bump' the items, so taking a few seconds to respond often means that another buyer comes along and buys the item. This is the same for sellers who are genuinely selling their own unwanted items or those trading as a small business- if it's stuff you don't want then get rid of it, if it's business stuff that sells well a simple 'i'm sorry this is already priced at a fair price to sell' is a sufficient answer- or for dead stock take what's offered to make room for better stock.

last Christmas I followed a thread where someone was complaining that people were making silly offers on their Christmas stock and frankly some of the comments being made were un necessarily rude. It was a Vinted thread so people tended to side with the seller urging her to hold her nerve on the pricing - after Christmas the same seller was complaining that her Christmas had been ruined as she'd spent the Christmas money on all this stock and was left with the vast majority of it in January. She  spent the next few months desperately trying to flog it to other members 'at cost' with no takers. 

knightstyle

What I don't get as a buyer is why put 'or best offer' if you don't accept a reasonable offer and block the buyer?
In my case I asked a reasonable question and then put in reasonable offers.
Item is still not sold after being listed and relisted for over 3 months.

Murphybear

I buy quite a lot of things but rarely  put in an offer.  On one occasion the asking price was £40 and the seller said they would accept offers.  I made an offer of £35.  I got a reply saying he would accept £40.  😹

sonearandyetsofa

Really depends on the buyer and what the item is!

In my experience the problematic buyers don't do this, it's the ones who don't ask. Conversations where someone tells you that their too-low offer is all the item is worth and especially if they then go on to justify this by telling you that they know the market, generally indicate you're going to have a bad time. But then again, the things I'm selling aren't seasonal and don't go out of date or lose value if they take a few months to sell. Just because "it's only worth what someone is prepared to pay" doesn't mean I can't wait until I get a customer who's prepared to pay more!

On the flip side we do sell a fair bit to car sales people, and it's always fun haggling with them because they'll start with "what's the lowest price you'd accept" and then come up with a bunch of reasons why the price should in fact be lower than that, yet it always eventually ends in a sale. I usually give them a figure that's higher than what I would like to get for the item, allow them to beat me down on the price, and win the sale by throwing in something that has a high perceived value but low cost to me. Salespeople are the most susceptible to sales tactics.

magicmoneyportaloo

I got a message like this with a preposterously low offer (10 euros for an Apple Watch). I replied with "No thanks".

PocketWatchMan

RFW said:

red_boots2 said:

I just block them

You block potential customers?
They're a pain in the bum but they can still end up paying your asking price. 
......

Actually I don't believe this is true at all. having been on ebay on off since the 1990's, having a first contact with a potential buyer who immediately starts with "what's your lowest price" or alternatively, makes a pathetic low offer, I have never ever had anyone in these situations who will come close to paying anything near the asking price. If that is their best approach then they are absolutely welcome to try it on elsewhere.

RFW

PocketWatchMan said:

RFW said:

red_boots2 said:

I just block them

You block potential customers?
They're a pain in the bum but they can still end up paying your asking price. 
......

Actually I don't believe this is true at all. having been on ebay on off since the 1990's, having a first contact with a potential buyer who immediately starts with "what's your lowest price" or alternatively, makes a pathetic low offer, I have never ever had anyone in these situations who will come close to paying anything near the asking price. If that is their best approach then they are absolutely welcome to try it on elsewhere.

I had one in the last day, so maybe it depends what you're selling (although I've pretty much sold everything over the years). The most recent one offered 10% of the selling price and settled for the selling price less 10%. There are some sellers who will sell for a lot less than the asking price so it's understandable some buyers will try it.
In the bricks & mortar auction house some of those who tried to start at a ridiculously low price (£1 for something worth £200) would often still be bidding at £100. Obviously if you're experience is that they never turn into decent buyers then your expectations will be low. I actually tend to have low expectations but I'm never going to shut off potential buyers, blocking seems crazy.
One thing I've had over the years is the question "can you do a discount for quantity". More often than not that's someone asking if they can buy 2 of an item and get them at half price. Rarely that's someone who'll really want a few hundred and be willing to pay a good price. I don't mind treating them all with the same respect and see what plays out. 

red_boots2

RFW said:

red_boots2 said:

I just block them

You block potential customers?
They're a pain in the bum but they can still end up paying your asking price. 
Back when I did real auctions you'd get people asking before the sale what you'd accept for items. More often than not they were no reserve auctions sold to the highest bidder so there was no price other than what the hammer fell for. The ones asking varied from those who wanted a new TV for a fiver to those who would pay over the odds because it was something they really wanted. You never know who's asking so treat everyone as if they are good potential customers, you'll either not hear from them again or they'll be a happy customer.

Yes, couple of reasons as to why:

1. I only sell at fixed price and always ensure I have the offers enabled. I offer free P&P and set my price at what I would like ideally, but normally will make people an offer at between 15-25% off.

2. Whenever someone has messaged saying "what's the lowest you can do" I used to make an offer with the lowest I could do. They never fail to then come back with a low ball offer.

The other day someone offered me £47 for an item worth £125. Messaged saying "It's the best I can do" so I declined and then had messages complaining.

Is it petty I just block them, probably. But I have found it just saves so much hassle; I have never had a positive experience when dealing with any "lowest offer" buyers.