There are a number of things that could be said about the way both buyers and sellers should conduct themselves in the negotiation process. I've considered posting here what I think might be a number of helpful guidelines to make the process of buying and selling more efficient and effective for all. Perhaps I will one day. I had been more of a buyer for the longest time, but a growing stack up unused equipment has turned me in a seller of late. I've suddenly found myself much more sympathetic to the sellers out there. A qualified buyer should step up to the plate and make it known from jump that he's serious. "I'm prepared to pay your asking price in full and split the cost of shipping. First, I'd like to know the answers to the following questions:..." That tells the seller volumes about your level of commitment, and he can adjust the attention he gives to your email accordingly. I've spend up to 30 minutes researching and answering very detailed questions from buyers with my own equally detailed responses only to have the buyer turn around with a lowball offer that proves he was merely troll fishing all along. And sometimes, the buyer never even responds. I sympathize with Luc to an extent. Serious offers deserve at least a "No thanks" or "Sorry, already sold" out of courtesy. But some of the ridiculous offers I see don't deserve even that. Also, don't waste a seller's time with questions like, "Is this piece still available?" "Are you still taking offers?" "Would you consider an offer for less?" etc. Just state your best offer. Whether the piece is sold, or whether the seller is no longer taking offers, or whether the seller won't consider an offer for less are all things you'll find out just as quickly if you, the buyer, just state your offer. It's not a secret, so spit it out. The worst a seller can say is "No." In the process, you'll save time and bandwidth that could be better spent elsewhere. 75% of the responses to my ads are from people looking to get the component for a bargain if not a song. As a seller, your patience starts to wear thin after awhile.
Sellers Obligation To Respond
For the second time in a week, I have had sellers not respond to my offers. Listing items for sale is a right that comes with obligations. By the very nature of this forum, and others, there will be more lookers than buyers. That's how it is in the real world as well. At a minimum sellers need to respond to e-mail inquiries. They don't need to answerer at length. But common courtesy dictates that, at a minimum, an acknowledgement of some kind be provided; a "yes", "no", "sold”,” if after I answer all your questions, are you prepared to buy". This is an e-mail based forum, so responding in e-mail is the correct method. If people are not prepared to respond to e-mails (buyers too) don't use this forum. Harsh but frustrating.