Your thoughts on "I am having a sale, please make an offer" approach

[JadeGiant]

I am curious to hear if there is a consensus on everyone's perspective on art being sold in the manner above. I guess I don't really expect consensus but I am interested to hear opinions.

 

Please note, I am not trying to discredit this approach in any way as I believe everyone has the right to sell as they deem best for their preference.

 

When I see these types of sales, I am often discouraged and just move along as it seems that someone looking to sell has to have an idea what they want on the artwork they are willing to sell.

 

Curious to see how you respond to these sales. Do you start making offers? Do you move along?

 

If you sell this way, why don't you put prices? Is it easier to not have to list prices? Are the prices so high you don't want to list? Are you waiting for offers above what you want?

 

I often wonder how much of your potential audience this might cut off who doesn't prefer to engage in a negotiation (this approach seem to me to desire back and forth) and would just like to see a price and make a decision.

 

I have bought some art this way but more than often I don't go further if an active seller won't put a price on something.

 

Once again, I have no problem with the approach ... just curious how others perceive it. I have run across it 3 times recently and it has my curiosity level surging a bit.

 

 

[otherworldsj33]

I generally don't like it.

[SquareChaos]

I'm not a fan of anything being sold in this manner personally, but I've seen it be very (apparently) successful so I think many are fine with it.

[comix4fun]

The OA market moves so fast and in so many different directions, by artist, by title, by era, by inker, etc. that I think some people get scared at underselling the market by too large a margin.

 

Heck there are big time dealers who are absolutely terrified of underselling today's market....or 2027's market for that matter.

 

I think "Make an Offer" works on truly A-list pieces as long as you know who you are dealing with, that they are responsible in their management of bids, and that they aren't simply using you and your bid to drive other bidders and vice versa.

 

On more run of the mill pieces it's a bad idea for everyone.

 

Whenever I see "make an offer" without a buy it now price I give a time and date specific deadline for acceptance or rejection of my offer. No waiting two weeks, no letting all the bids come in. They can either say yes or no, but I won't be used as leverage against someone else.

 

If it's someone I know well or have dealt with it's easier, of course.

[Eltanin]

When I see this kind of sale, I don't bother making an offer and just move along.

 

There are more pages I like than I can buy, so I can move along without regret.

[jaybuck43]

The OA market moves so fast and in so many different directions, by artist, by title, by era, by inker, etc. that I think some people get scared at underselling the market by too large a margin.

 

Heck there are big time dealers who are absolutely terrified of underselling today's market....or 2027's market for that matter.

 

I think "Make an Offer" works on truly A-list pieces as long as you know who you are dealing with, that they are responsible in their management of bids, and that they aren't simply using you and your bid to drive other bidders and vice versa.

 

On more run of the mill pieces it's a bad idea for everyone.

 

Whenever I see "make an offer" without a buy it now price I give a time and date specific deadline for acceptance or rejection of my offer. No waiting two weeks, no letting all the bids come in. They can either say yes or no, but I won't be used as leverage against someone else.

 

If it's someone I know well or have dealt with it's easier, of course.

 

Chris, here's my thing. If you are afraid of missing the market then don't sell it, put it up for auction. If you decide to go the sell it yourself route, then you obviously have a price in mind (i.e. if you own the Daredevil #1 cover and say "make me an offer" you have to have a number in mind of what you're willing to take if I send you an offer) then just price it at that number. Heck if you are afraid of missing out, price it 20% over that number and say $xxx,xxx or Best Offer. But the "Make me an offer" people just me off.

[vodou]

I hate "offer?" and almost never do. Similarly I don't like "FS" but no price (same as "offer?" in my book).

 

And then there was one guy with a couple of pieces I liked, three figures no matter what, and I instead asked for a ballpark. I did that because the art was not comp-heavy and I had not dealt with the seller before but also had no reason to think anything bad either (a low key sort, but always got good comments around the hobby). The reply was, (I paraphrase) "please just make an offer". So I did and one (very much what I thought fmv was or even 10% under) was accepted and went very smooth. The other was a nicer piece, contextually versus other similar pieces, and the counter-offer was higher but not silly high, and still well within fmv range (upper end for an upper end example). 100% completely a fine experience with this seller and their system. So who knows? I still don't like it as a buyer but I can see it's value to a seller (let's the prospects come up and buy you drinks, ya know?), though I don't think I'd ever do it myself (I'm a firm believer in "ease of doing business" marketing).

[Meeley Man]

If you are afraid of missing the market then don't sell it, put it up for auction. If you decide to go the sell it yourself route, then you obviously have a price in mind (i.e. if you own the Daredevil #1 cover and say "make me an offer" you have to have a number in mind of what you're willing to take if I send you an offer) then just price it at that number. Heck if you are afraid of missing out, price it 20% over that number and say $xxx,xxx or Best Offer. But the "Make me an offer" people just me off.

 

This right here is the

 

[comix4fun]

The OA market moves so fast and in so many different directions, by artist, by title, by era, by inker, etc. that I think some people get scared at underselling the market by too large a margin.

 

Heck there are big time dealers who are absolutely terrified of underselling today's market....or 2027's market for that matter.

 

I think "Make an Offer" works on truly A-list pieces as long as you know who you are dealing with, that they are responsible in their management of bids, and that they aren't simply using you and your bid to drive other bidders and vice versa.

 

On more run of the mill pieces it's a bad idea for everyone.

 

Whenever I see "make an offer" without a buy it now price I give a time and date specific deadline for acceptance or rejection of my offer. No waiting two weeks, no letting all the bids come in. They can either say yes or no, but I won't be used as leverage against someone else.

 

If it's someone I know well or have dealt with it's easier, of course.

 

Chris, here's my thing. If you are afraid of missing the market then don't sell it, put it up for auction. If you decide to go the sell it yourself route, then you obviously have a price in mind (i.e. if you own the Daredevil #1 cover and say "make me an offer" you have to have a number in mind of what you're willing to take if I send you an offer) then just price it at that number. Heck if you are afraid of missing out, price it 20% over that number and say $xxx,xxx or Best Offer. But the "Make me an offer" people just me off.

 

I don't disagree. I was more or less giving the psych profile on people that tend to try and sell this way.

 

I usually just pass right on by "sales" like that. If it's something I've been looking for forever or really want I may try but I also attempt to narrow it down and ask what his BIN is and give an offer that requires a relatively immediate yes or no. No dangling my offer in front of others for leverage.

[Will_K]

I think the same comments apply to the "trade only" approach.

 

The main twist is that art may come out of the woodwork, i.e. art not known to be in anyone's possession or thought to be off the market.

 

"make an offer" and "trade only" usually scare me off.

 

 

[NinjaSealed]

Garbage, and in general I don't bother inquiring unless it is something at the top of my want list.

People using this style are usually looking for way above FMV anyways. It is especially funny when people are doing it for low 3 figure pieces.

It also seems to be becoming more and more popular.

 

Whoever is soliciting, whether to buy or sell, needs to come up with a price.

I will say in very select instances I am okay with it if a piece is truly unique special to a point where there is no real way to get any sort of meaningful comp.

[Bird]

I sold my Mazz Daredevil page like this about 15 months ago. The details are sketchy and have been traumatically repressed (although I appreciate and thank the gentleman who bought it and the other who made the first offer) but taking offers for a specific time worked well for me. I am looking at the Buscema Kang page that hangs in its' place right now...never warmed to it as it was a poor replacement for that Mazz! BLAM BLAM BLAM!

[JadeGiant]

Responses are as I suspected. Most buyers don't like this approach and many will keep on moving even when a piece of art in the sale might get their attention.

 

I'll buy the notion that some sellers may be fearful of under-pricing their art but only to a degree. If you want to sell you can do the legwork and get a price.

 

I think another reason might be that a seller might know that what they are asking for a piece is above market and don't want to list it publicly, preferring to keep the number behind the curtain.

 

Whatever the motivation, one thing seems clear: that this approach will shrink your buying audience considerably. To that end, it still puzzles me to see it as often as I do.

 

Thanks for the responses.

[Madman1138]

Like most, I am not a big fan of "make an offer" type sales. I always prefer a price tag so I even know if I can afford chase it. So if I don't just move on, I will email asking for a ballpark range on it from the seller. In a couple cases I did just make an offer and it was accepted so we were both happy. Other times I was accused of "lowballing" and apparently "offended" them, to which I reply that you can't get offended by an offer you solicit, whether you feel it's low or not.

 

I personally will price out anything I sell unless I cannot find enough comps to determine a price. In those instances, I have seen success myself using a "Best Offer over $$$" method so everyone knows the minimum to offer, and it has a due date of like a week or 2. In this way, it still goes to the high bidder, and they know how high to offer so neither of us waster our time.

[AKA Rick]

I think the "Make An Offer" approach by a SELLER is tough and discouraging, in that it feels as a buyer that the seller is trying to get the most profits and are pitting the marketplace against each other, even to the degree of taking a legitimate offer and counter-offering the customer with a higher price for the sake of trying to juice it up a bit.

 

I don't disagree with participating, but from the seat I sit in, I don't like playing the negotiation game of tennis, back and forth. I'll make my best offer, if it's countered, I'd decline to participate and move on. I don't low-ball hoping to get a deal, I just offer what I can afford to pay in terms of what it's worth to me.

 

Once you deal with certain incompatible personality or style, you learn to stop making offers, as it becomes frustrating. As a seller, the "Inquire" route runs the risk of a negative reputation, as the "Cool Lines" folks have.

 

To me, if you have an intention to make selling a business, you should take a customer centric approach to it, and price things out. You don't go into a supermarket or department store and see their merchandise with a "Please Inquire" price tag. You'll find that system at some jewelers, a few electronics and camera street vendors and in Tijuana, Mexico - - but most don't like it. Some sellers price their items high with the intention of being able to negotiate, others price to move and sell merchandise quickly. To me, just put a price tag on it. As a seller, you know you're overpricing if you don't move merchandise, and that's okay to initially do, so long as you don't make it an overall rule and pattern, like the "Cool Lines" guys have, otherwise you'll end up with diminished inquiries and sales.

 

As a collector/buyer, non-seller, when another collector/buyer approaches me, on a piece I have that they want, but I don't have it up for sale, nor am interested in selling it per se, yet the other person really wants it, I'd entertain pitching them with a "make me an offer" to see if they offer some pie in the sky price that is an offer I can't refuse, but I'd not string them along if they made an offer I don't want to accept, and just say "no thanks, I'd rather just keep the piece in my collection" - - and I'd preface having the person make the offer with a statement telling them to make a legitimate offer, I'll either say yes to, or no to, but there will be no counteroffers on my part to try to get more money, at the same time if a low-ball offer is made, there will be no more discussions, as I personally dislike the "games"

[vodou]

Slightly OT to the OP question, I've been asked if a NFS piece was for sale and answered "no, but feel free to make an offer if you'd like." This has occasionally resulted in an offer that's close to a number that's tempting and I've countered back and generally closed a deal. So I think there is a pool of buyers that's just fine with this "offers" business as I've had it happen several times, just not sure how big that pool is?

[AKA Rick]

Slightly OT to the OP question, I've been asked if a NFS piece was for sale and answered "no, but feel free to make an offer if you'd like." This has occasionally resulted in an offer that's close to a number that's tempting and I've countered back and generally closed a deal. So I think there is a pool of buyers that's just fine with this "offers" business as I've had it happen several times, just not sure how big that pool is?

 

I think in the case you're discussing where you're minding your own business and someone happens upon a piece you have, but are not soliciting for sale, and proactively approaches you, your answer is very polite and appropriate.

 

You never know, as everything has a price, even earmarked NFS. So, it doesn't hurt for an interested party to ask nor the owner of a piece to consider a sales offer that overwhelms their expectations to the point that a NFS is now FS.

 

Usually, to me "No Means No" in most aspects of life, so if I see NFS, I move along, so whenever I see NFS it's like a woman with a ring on, in my mind, it's unapproachable.

[eewwnuk]

I usually let a seller know that I'm not good at doing these (ie I hate them) and to give me a ball park on what they are looking for. If the ball park is in the realm of reasonable I move forward. If the ball park is insane I pass.

[mister_not_so_nice]

I pass on all "make offer/inquire/enquire/FS" listings if there is no dollar amount attached.

 

I have collecting goals that i like to stick with, however I'm not opposed to making the random impulse purchase on a new (to me) artist. If I see a piece I like with a price i can live with I may make that impulse buy. But if i see a piece I like and the price can be between $500 - $5000 I'll just keep on window shopping.

 

And when I sell it's the same thing. I post a price. If you don't like it you can make an offer, but you know where I stand from the outset. It's not really that difficult

[Mr. Machismo]

I don't mind either way. Have purchased most my pieces by making offers. Only reason I tend to attach prices to all my FS listings is because the forum marketplace dictates it. Surprised how much it irks people when prices aren't listed. Will definitely keep that in mind.