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“What’s the lowest you can go?”
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116 posts in this topic

10 hours ago, Junkdrawer said:

It’s a perfectly expected question for a customer to ask if the dealer has no prices on his books. You guys are out there. Those that do have prices have automatically begun the art of negotiation. I insist that the next number comes from the buyer. I don’t price a book at $1000 and upon ask reduce it to my “best price”. You will have to work for it. Do you even know a good price I often ask. I only ask because there are those if you say $12 they assume $10 will work. A knee jerk instinctual reaction to any price they encounter just because. Because they just don’t know a good deal when they see or hear it. An educated consumer is our best customer. Qualifying a buyer takes seconds for a good salesman. Knowing the difference between a shopper and a buyer involves listening. Turning shoppers into buyers is a skill set most dealers lack. Anyone can sell a key for under GPS and then be unable to replace it. A recipe for disaster. Your wall books should do their job of luring prospects to your booth. It’s the bin books you want and need to sell. Furthermore a crowd at your booth is the best thing that can possibly happen at a show. Having knowledge of your inventory goes a long way. The best deals that you are looking for are in the bins, let me show you.

You hit the nail right on the head with every point!

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I must be in the minority as far as buyers go listening to all you sellers.

I personally feel its insulting to ask for less than what they are offering,  there are  exceptions to  the rule. If theres no price I'll throw out a price that I feel is a good price for the both of us.

If there is a set price and I dont like it , I dont negotiate,  I just look elsewhere. 

I will find my price somewhere else that fits me.

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My personal favorite is something like this. 

GPA says $100

I have it priced at $115

Offer comes in at $40 with the message.  If you do $40 with free shipping, I will pay you tonight so you have the money immediately. 

I will either ignore it or if I am feeling cheeky*, I will respond with, "That is acceptable, but who will be paying the other $65 and when will they be paying?"

* It's nice to make the British here on the boards feel as if we understand them. 

Edited by Buzzetta
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19 minutes ago, oakman29 said:

I must be in the minority as far as buyers go listening to all you sellers.

I personally feel its insulting to ask for less than what they are offering,  there are  exceptions to  the rule. If theres no price I'll throw out a price that I feel is a good price for the both of us.

If there is a set price and I dont like it , I dont negotiate,  I just look elsewhere. 

I will find my price somewhere else that fits me.

You are in the minority since I'm in the camp that "Everybody wants a deal" whether the book is priced fairly or not.

The guess on my part is what type of "shopper" am I dealing with.  Dollar Store, TJ Maxx, Walmart, Target or Nordstrom.

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1 hour ago, oakman29 said:

I must be in the minority as far as buyers go listening to all you sellers.

I personally feel its insulting to ask for less than what they are offering,  there are  exceptions to  the rule. If theres no price I'll throw out a price that I feel is a good price for the both of us.

If there is a set price and I dont like it , I dont negotiate,  I just look elsewhere. 

I will find my price somewhere else that fits me.

The problem with this is that most sellers have their initial prices above market knowing that most people will negotiate.  It’s like paying sticker at the car dealership.  If you pay full price, you are probably overpaying.

Some dealers have their best prices out initially and don’t negotiate, but they seem to be the exception to the rule.

I much prefer a set price model, but for whatever reason this is what has developed.

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38 minutes ago, Hamlet said:

The problem with this is that most sellers have their initial prices above market knowing that most people will negotiate.  It’s like paying sticker at the car dealership.  If you pay full price, you are probably overpaying.

Some dealers have their best prices out initially and don’t negotiate, but they seem to be the exception to the rule.

I much prefer a set price model, but for whatever reason this is what has developed.

Once again if I dont like the price I will go elsewhere.  Just my way .

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2 minutes ago, oakman29 said:

Once again if I dont like the price I will go elsewhere.  Just my way .

Its his way or the highway folks. :sumo:

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if someone has a comic that i really want at a decent price i will do the math and  ask if he can let it go for a price that is 10% lower , and if he says no then i will buy it anyways...

this is for more expensive books ,... if its under $10 and i want it i pay full price without dickering 

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If someone has a book for$100 I like to say is there any way you can let it go for $110?  Just to blow their mind a bit.

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i went to a garage sale a few years ago and i needed an exercise bike which are a dime a dozen at garage sales (just like vacuums and bicycles are)

well there was an old exercise bike that looked good enough and i said "how much" and they said 25 ,.....i said that's kinda high ... and then they replied 25 cents !!

that blew me away and i gave them $5 anyways lol 

 

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4 hours ago, kav said:

If someone has a book for$100 I like to say is there any way you can let it go for $110?  Just to blow their mind a bit.

That actually happened to a board member here once.  I don't want to say who unless he wants to jump in.

He had a book for say $500 and someone offered $550.  He shrugged and accepted and the person paid.  There was no conversation about it or anything between buyer and seller. 

He couldn't believe this happened so he called me up and asked if I could make an offer on one of his items that was higher than the list price just to see if it was a one off thing or if it could happen again.  My over the asking price offer was successfully submitted. 

So... it can happen and I know of one case where I was woken up to see if it was for real. 

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2 minutes ago, Buzzetta said:

That actually happened to a board member here once.  I don't want to say who unless he wants to jump in.

He had a book for say $500 and someone offered $550.  He shrugged and accepted and the person paid.  There was no conversation about it or anything between buyer and seller. 

He couldn't believe this happened so he called me up and asked if I could make an offer on one of his items that was higher than the list price just to see if it was a one off thing or if it could happen again.  My over the asking price offer was successfully submitted. 

So... it can happen and I know of one case where I was woken up to see if it was for real. 

Another thing I have done is leave pos feedback right after purchasing something.

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2 minutes ago, kav said:

Another thing I have done is leave pos feedback right after purchasing something.

As a seller I leave positive feedback almost immediately once a buyer pays for something. 

As a buyer I leave positive feedback once I receive. 

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1 minute ago, Buzzetta said:

As a seller I leave positive feedback almost immediately once a buyer pays for something. 

As a buyer I leave positive feedback once I receive. 

Buzz I'm talking about buying something, then seconds later leaving pos feedback.  Just to blow their mind a bit.

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6 minutes ago, kav said:

Buzz I'm talking about buying something, then seconds later leaving pos feedback.  Just to blow their mind a bit.

I misread that.  Sorry. 

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7 hours ago, blazingbob said:

You are in the minority since I'm in the camp that "Everybody wants a deal" whether the book is priced fairly or not.

The guess on my part is what type of "shopper" am I dealing with.  Dollar Store, TJ Maxx, Walmart, Target or Nordstrom.

I've never made an offer on your site that you've turned down, which suggests to me that I'm not terribly good at bargaining.

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This thread is why it's usually better to say something like "the best I could offer is $X"...

But I find myself saying it sometimes. Usually it's something that is already in my price range, I'm gonna buy it at whatever price they say and I'm just looking for a nibble. 

When I set up at a large flea market with my brother I often get the pros and early birds asking after stuff that isn't priced yet or I'm not fully knowledgeable...

Pro: What's your best price?

Me: What's your offer (me wanting the pro to state price first)?

Pro: I can't buy it and sell it

Me: Aha, but that's precisely what you do. 

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6 hours ago, oldmilwaukee6er said:

This thread is why it's usually better to say something like "the best I could offer is $X"...

But I find myself saying it sometimes. Usually it's something that is already in my price range, I'm gonna buy it at whatever price they say and I'm just looking for a nibble. 

When I set up at a large flea market with my brother I often get the pros and early birds asking after stuff that isn't priced yet or I'm not fully knowledgeable...

Pro: What's your best price?

Me: What's your offer (me wanting the pro to state price first)?

Pro: I can't buy it and sell it

Me: Aha, but that's precisely what you do. 

You left off 

Me:  I'm kind of looking for an appraisal in case I priced it too low which is why I'm asking what your offer is.  

Pro:  It is your item,  if it were mine I would be the one pricing it.  

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