"What's Your Best Price?"

i had no idea my post would generate such strong emotions! in fact, i have a very strong position on "what's your best offer" buyers -- i was just looking to see what others thought. i am decidedly in the camp that any buyer whose first question is "what's your best price" is not worth responding to. to me, this kind of an opening communication suggests a very strong likelihood that the buyer is not serious, or is simply interested in "window shopping." In fact, I find this approach rude. When I list an item "OBO" it quite plainly is AN INVITATION TO MAKE AN OFFER -- either at my asking price, or AT THE BUYER'S BEST OFFER. It is NOT an invitiation to ask me to negotiate against myself. True, listing something "OBO" indicates that the seller is willing to negotiate -- but not against himself!

based on the weight of the evidence, i will concede that "moronic" is not the best way to describe the WYBP inquiry. "!neffective", "annoying," or just "lame" are better.

Bobgates:
So far, not one person in this thread has reported an instance of actually closing a deal with a buyer who began the negotiation with "WYBP?" I would conclude, therefore, that any SERIOUS buyer would either accept the seller's ask, or accept the invitation to make an offer (however low) implied in the specification "OBO."

As a seller, when i specify OBO, I mean YOUR best offer, not mine.

Some think that OBO means Or Best Offer, period. Irregardless of asking price. I know I've read previous threads on AudiogoN from those complaining about a seller selling an item for more than his asking price. If he clearly states 'OBO', and receives an offer better than his asking price, why not? It is just business, right?

So let me get this straight: if the seller says "OBO," he is free to sell for a price higher than his ask; but if the seller indicates his price is "firm," it would not be right for him to take above his ask -- if someone is crazy enough to offer it.

Nah, you must be joking.

From the website www.howstuffworks.com:

Car Selling Ad Terms*

OBO - This means "or best offer," which tells the buyer that you are willing to consider offers below the price you listed.

Source: Edmunds.com

Come on guys, I don't care if you are from Neptune, "OBO" means an offer LOWER than the asking price. A seller doesn't need to say "OBO" for a buyer to assume he will take a HIGHER offer than the ask -- every seller is willing to do that.

But let's not lose sight of the point that we all seem to agree on: a buyer whose first and only communication with a seller is "WYBP" has a high likelihood of being ignored -- as well he should be, b/c this response indicates a lack of seriousness and a single-minded focus in disadvantaging the seller. At the very least, a "WYBP" message might be accompanied by something like "I am really interested and would be ready to pay quickly if your best price is in my range." At least then there seems to be a point to the negotiating tactic.

A member on another forum site asked an honest question, check out his question and some of the responses. Is it because of the moderators here on Audiogon, or is it because the members here would not put up with it?
Was I justified in giving my response? I have no idea what the follow up response will be.

Jea48 (Threads | Answers)

Responses (1-47 of 47)

07-24-05: Jeff_jones
Threads on both forums are prone to take off on sarcastic tangents now and then. Sometimes they are a lot of fun to read.
The key is to remember that it is not worthwhile to get upset when a jest strikes you wrong. IMHO.

Simple Response to You Jea48:

Lightin up, read things in context, and pay attention to responses to your earlier threads. You don't need to personalize things, and you are not a self-appointed moderator.

Asking a seller "what's your best price" as your first communication -- without expressing any independent interest or making a counter offer to the seller's asking price -- is ALWAYS an a-hole move. Period. It should be ignored or responded to in-kind. The question is an insult to the seller b/c it suggests that you think the seller stupid enough to negotiate against himself. The fact that the seller might be willing to take less than the asking price is no defense to this strategy and doesn't relieve the buyer from making a counter-offer to find that out.

As a buyer you ask if the price can be lower than the asking price and the buyer decides. If the answer is "no" then neither buyer nor seller is in any worse position than when they started.

If the buyer's first question is something like "I don't think I can get to your asking price, would you be open to a somewhat lower offer," I imagine that most sellers would not take offense. I know I wouldn't.

The offensive opener, IMO, is asking a seller "what's your best/lowest price." That is insulting to the seller's intelligence because it presumes that the only issue that matters to the buyer is price, and it presumes that the seller is stupid enough to negotiate against himself under those circumstances. In fact, because this is such an insulting approach, it probably works very infrequently -- so the buyer is worse off b/c he likely has missed a chance to have a successful negotation.