If you knew how the offer system worked when you made the offer and agreed to the conditions, why whine about it? The seller is in the driver's seat, not you.
I made an offer today for an item, at the seller's asking price. They declined it. No reason was given, and none was expected. Maybe someone offered more. Maybe somebody offered full price before I did. Who knows? I knew I might get it and I knew I might not. If you don't like the way the offer system works, don't participate. |
I understand exactly where you are coming from. Despite what some of the jaded members might say, common courtesy shouldn't be dismissed as you being too "emotionally invested". If the seller is providing "wiggle room" in either the selling price or the offers he will respond to, then he is also obligated to presume that not every responder is 100% aligned to his particular parameters. Based on this premise, to not respond is both rude and counterproductive. Even if the buyer's initial offer is offering significantly less than asking price, I would still expect a response. How polite that response is, is up to the seller, but many successful negotiations are the result of offers and counteroffers. That being said, every person has their own way of doing business and that will never change. |
I tried to buy a McIntosh amp on Audiogon back in February. The ad said make an offer so I did and never got a response. I think the price was $6,500 and I offered $6,000. I then asked what did they want for the amp. Never got a response. Gave up and bought from a dealer. FWIW the amp is still for sale. |
As a buyer, I will almost always ask a question or two regarding a 'classified' style ad. This gets a conversation going, where I can get a feel for the seller. Love the ads I reply to, and months later the item is still for sale. Makes you wonder about the seller. And yes, by the time I ask a question I am serious. Sorry, ebm, not all of us are like that. Courteous is as courteous does.
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I've had the same experience trying to buy here. I offered 95% of asking price with a "make offer". I waited. Offered again. No response. Next I messaged the seller to tell him I paid a higher price elsewhere.
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“Is Not Responding To An Offer Just Plain Rude?”
Meh. People are strange..... |
The OP is only telling part of the story. What happens if you are selling something and the potential buyer offers you 1/2 of what its worth? 40% off? Do you respond to requests like that? I don't. 10% off, sure I will respond, not sure if I will take it.
You don't say anything about the buyers that lead you on for a bit, you both work out a deal, then the buyer vanishes? There are many times you know not to get involved with a certain buyer based on the questions they ask.
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I always put out a low offer just to check the waters. I am sure some are offended but I would rather get something for a good price if possibe( unless I really want it). I think a seller that really wants to sell something should atleast couter offer (takes no time). You never know if the person will step up. Good commuication goes a long way. If you counter you may be increasing your chances of selling. But to each there own:) I agree that the seller should atleast decline( or not have 48 hours as stated above to do nothing) so if you are also looking at other items you can move on to the next one. (You may only be working with so much money and if one accepts you may not have enough or want to spend more for the other item or items)
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@genesis777 That’s my beef with the system, exactly. It would work ok if people were responsive, but it doesn’t work so well with the way some people are. Were it the only time this has happened I wouldn’t have made a fuss, but it isn’t. I think some people use the fact that they’re holding us hostage for 48hrs as a ‘virtual middle-finger’.
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I wish there was an option to choose the amount of time the seller has to respond. 48 hours is too long in my opinion. Ebay changed their format from 48 hours to 12 hours and 24 hours. Sometimes the sellers don't respond at all which means you waste 48 hours waiting when you could have bought something else. |
@stereo5
I have always sold here with buy now only and I never had a problem. As long as I get paid using paypal. If a buyer wants to pay less than my asking price I will get an Email from the buyer.
If I want to sell it for less then I will change the listing price to what we both agree on. It has always worked out good for me!
BTW, many buyers check HIFI shark looking for an item that they are interested in and join Audiogon the same day just to purchase a certain piece of gear and they have no feedback! |
Thank the higher powers for starting AudioMart. |
@yogiboy, "
If the seller will only take the asking price he/she should have listed as buy now only"
I never list it as buy it now because you can end up with someone with zero feedback or bad feedback that you are obligated to sell to. I like being able to sell to someone I am comfortable with and has positive feedback. |
If the ad states, "Lowball offers will be politely ignored", and he doesn't respond to your offer, you've been politely ignored. |
I think it’s plain rude not to respond. If you have COVID - don’t place an in Agon - wait until
you’re better. Same applies if you have other issues. If you want to sell in a public forum, you should play by the rules. Agon should automatically accept offers if not responded in 48 hrs. |
Anybody that asks a question is just kicking tires and will never buy. |
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@rooze
Maybe they are waiting to see if they get a full price offer or one higher than your offer. They may end up accepting your offer if they don’t get a better offer. |
I just put my very first item up for sale on Agon. There are now 6 "watchers". What is a watcher? What does a watcher want? What is the right way to go, Auction or Classified? |
If the seller will only take the asking price he/she should have listed as buy now only. If you submitted an offer of 10% less that is more than fair on your part. It is sure not a low ball! |
Rooze when they don’t respond, I assume they are just busy working. Don’t take it personally, I always just to ignore it as well. |
In the last year Audiogon buyers and sells have gone down hill big time.I have friend with 100% great feedback for almost 20 years the seller told him he was waiting for more offers after he offered him his asking price.These people are on a different planet then the rest of us this is a very sad state of affairs. |
@tablejockey - I was actually kidding about the Kenny G thing...lol
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@millercarbon Thanks for that perspective. I tend to buy and sell fairly often so I'm not really that invested at the initial offer stage, and I've dealt with my fair share of whackjobs over the years, both buying and selling. (nothing much surprises me).
Think of it this way and see if it gets you closer to where I'm at - The seller pays money to list an ad. They take the time to post pictures and write a description. The seller is really the one who is "invested" at this point, not the potential buyer. Someone comes along and submits an offer on an ad which is inviting people to submit an offer. To my mind, that's step 1 of a negotiation. I don't mind if the person comes back and tells me to sling my hook. That would be part of the negotiation process, step 2, if you like. At that point (and not before), I decide how badly I want this thing and either continue the negotiation or walk away. That's how it's supposed to work, I think, and not....submit an offer....then....silence.
In this particular case, had the seller responded and said something like "Look, I really want my asking price". I would have paid it, in full. But paying full price up-front without starting a negotiation when someone is inviting an offer, makes no sense to me.
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@tablejockey +1, you beat me to the punch about the Kenny G thing. Enjoy the music
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A "lowball" offer is an what the seller determines to be "lowball". I've ignored such warnings in an ad, submitted what I want to pay. The offer always includes a detailed explanation as to why I feel my offer is justified. It worked on one occasion. The other times the seller whines about how it's "unique,flawless, blah, blah, blah-whatever. As a buyer, I just cast a wide net to find the deal I want.Submit an offer, don't hold your breath. Move on and look for another listing. There's always something better that pops up eventually. "now I’m back to square one and without the means to play my favorite Kenny G Christmas albums." That may be a blessing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPPCPqDINEk |
First, don't take any non-response personally!
It is not necessarily about you, or the details of any
potential transaction.
You don't know anything about the seller, their
personality or communication style, or their
pandemic-related challenges.
Audio sales and purchases are not exactly like arranging for
a rental car at the airport, correct?
Did you ever look in the mirror and wonder
why everyone is not like you, or think the way you
think? (Didn't accomplish much, did it?) |
When I’m selling, I respond to all offers. That doesn’t mean I counter or accept them. Some, I just say, "No, thanks."
I think it’s better business practice to respond promptly to anyone who bothers to send an offer. I’ll go further, I find it rude not to respond. But we are living in a time when rudeness is common, even celebrated in some circles.
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You've got way too much emotionally invested. Its a business transaction. Its a negotiation in a business transaction. There's a lot of lessons learned over the years. The one applies here is, "He who wants it most never gets the best price." The mistake you made is not knowing ahead of time just how much you want it.
If you know you want it a lot then you would just pay full price and be happy to get it. If not then you offer whatever price makes you indifferent. What that means is, if you get it at that price you'll be okay with it. But if not you will be okay with that too.
How fast a seller responds has no bearing on any of this. Where it comes into play is later on. Because if the seller is lax responding he may well be lax in shipping, packaging, questions, returns, everything.
Please note this is completely 180 degrees opposite to the way you are looking at things now. Your way you are helplessly asking what are you supposed to do. My way you only do what you want anyway and don't even really care what the seller does. My way if he replies and sells its a pleasant surprise. But if not? That's fine too.
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