Why do so many sellers take offense to offers on their listings?

What I’ve learned in sales / management long ago is how to read people quickly, and that same technic is applied when purchasing, even online. Having said, you have (some) legitimate questions. My best advice, sure you feel it’s a two-way street though clearly not always the case from others perspective. But to many variables at play here for a burned out dude like myself to explain. People have their reasons :-)

Had someone call me zealot once in my lifetime … I likely deserved it. And yes, related to audio purchase that worked out in my favor.

I’ve thought of getting into audio sales just because the salesmen seem so deficient. If the price is firm don’t leave the offer option available. I have bought quite a bit of audio gear in the last 10 years. I bought from the sellers because they were ready to make a deal. They gave a quick response and didn’t play games. I’m sure It’s a frustrating business with the high price of the items but negotiations have to start somewhere.

I can understand their point of view somewhat. Unlike occasional private sellers, they probably get bombarded with lowball offers frequently; and I know from being a casual seller that it's pretty annoying to list a piece for $1800.00 and get an offer for $900.00.

Just like women. You don't know what you might miss out on unless you ask. I've punched way above my weight if you get my drift. Equate it to audio gear and see what you can end up with! All they can do is say no as long as you play nice.

just like women

Sometimes sellers so over value their stuff that a reasonable offer would probably be seen as lowball. I don't even both with an offer in those cases.

I guess unless you've sold for a long period of time you don't get it...but offers of 25 30 or even 40% of the sellers asking is bullsheet...it's like making an offer on a home...if it's 100k you don't offer 35k..well maybe you do but I'm guessing you get the big screw off dude comment......imo if making an offer be realistic and if the asking price is too high to start  keep looking .

I’m not gonna offer someone 35% of their ask but I will offer 30% off their ask sometimes. I think that’s an ok place to start but some of these guys act like you insulted their Mom. Not to mention if your item has been for sale for months nothi g is an insult. Half the dealers on here won’t answer you. 

Who hasn't watched "Pawn Stars"? People come in asking the moon for their stuff, and then Rick brings them back to earth. It's not uncommon for someone to ask $25K for a vehicle or some collectable, then settle for $12K after the smoke clears. I'm no cheapskate, and I'm happy to pay up for the right item, but you never know until you ask. How do you feel when you offer 10 or 20% off, and the seller snaps it up? Don't you wonder if you could have gotten it for less? An offer is just the beginning of negotiation.

@bubba12

not so, sir! They do walk among us… and yes, there ARE some selective very insulting offers.

This forum used to have an embedded honor code for members, that’s regrettably long gone now. Some older members (me included) don’t share in any positive manner of “throw all the lowball shite against the wall, and WTF…let’s see what sticks”.

Capriciously throwing around nickels like they are manhole covers can ( and frequently will…) be received by Seller as very insulting to Seller’s knowledge of market price, sense of mutual fair play, and trashing of respect for a fellow hobbyist. These events can degrade it to a big insulting time waster. With the massive gap between parties, it’s a big clash that is largely insurmountable, and I have yet to see either party walking it back.[ Note: I’m assuming that the unit is fairly priced supported by empirical market precedent and excludes any dufus Seller stunt who grossly inflates his asking price out of greed or ignorance)

I sell mostly on CAM, and the occasional insulting offers from perceived bottom feeders are getting more common .

PROBLEM SOLVED ON CAM. (Practice not just me ….)

After getting them simply blocked out of the listing and also from all future communication with Seller, it may also be stapled with an implied pejorative slang profanity derived from GENESIS 9:7.

Ok, let’s look at it from the seller’s side. For example say we have a popular unit, used, great condition, priced right among the comps.

Why do you think, as an interested buyer, deserve a discount?

eBay has an option to allow the seller to automatically reject an offer below a dollar amount the seller selects, and to automatically accept offers above a certain point, as well. Nice option, cuts the wasted time down considerably.

Ok, let’s look at it from the seller’s side. For example say we have a popular unit, used, great condition, priced right among the comps.

Why do you think, as an interested buyer, deserve a discount?

Of course it's not always about a buyer thinking they deserve a discount. Sometimes it's just about having limited means. For example, knocking a few hundred dollars off a $5k amp might make a big difference to some people. It goes without saying that the seller doesn't have to sell.

99% of all posts are by a know it all or deep walled listening to a salesman whit his thumb up a caramel apple and big grin in his mug to pass the time away

a few hundred off a $5k item isn’t insulting…… in my book anyway… but I am not well versed in Genesis…. 30% would have me looking in the hotel drawer…

The only time it's a problem is when a seller thinks his stuff is worth 95% of retail and a buyer that thinks 50% of retail is a good starting point. Anybody that starts off with NO LOWBALLS is just wasting my time. If you get a low offer, just say it's too low, you don't have to make a big deal out of it.

99% of your first post proves you will fit right in @vivivisrth8 

So correct, i would never sell my 1961 MC240 at 95% of retail ( $199 )…. i will let Dad know he overpaid….

Unrealistic expectations are the domain of both buyers and sellers….

The things that some people consider "negotiating"... aren't. 

I just think some of these dealers don’t know sales. Many times I’ve felt deals could have been made had the dealer ‘sold’ me a little better. Don’t be offended when someone offers half of retail on a 3 year old amp. 

I expected many different opinions on this. Well done.

Sometimes people who put up the largest walls only do so because

they know they will fold like a cheap suit if anyone pushes.

i’m the GM of a large Honda Automobile Dealership. over 48 years in the car business i’ve managed the sale of around 150,000 cars......one at a time.

i don’t take low offers personally. OTOH many of my customers take everything personally. so when civilians can’t deal with a low offer when they are selling things, that is normal human nature to me.

buyers simply need to be the adult in the room, give sellers space, and time to react and calm down. games of chicken can develop stopping logical communications. buyers need to find common ground with the seller to somehow move things along. but there does need to be good faith on both sides for progress to happen. sometimes good faith is missing. and so failure to launch.

if a low offer is made that is just a trial balloon that is not in good faith, that is an insult. so the seller will see it as just a ruse to get a lower starting figure. in the car business we just tell that game player that we are close but we ’just can’t quite stretch to it’. the ball is back in the buyer’s court to see if they get ’real’ or go bother someone else.

good faith is good faith. if your offer is not realistic then you are the problem.

@mikelavigne You probably nailed it.  Most audio dealers couldn’t use their ‘sales’ technique in any other vocation. They certainly wouldn’t sell many cars.

I have made plenty of easy deals as well. I’m just surprised at how many put something for sale and nobody buys it yet they get bent out of shape at a lower offer.

If I see an ad and I feel the asking price is out of line, I disregard it.

I have "low balled" auctions on ebay, "not tested" "not working" "sold for parts". Even if they do not state "open to offers", I send them a message. I state the possible problems it may have and cost to repair. Hopefully justifying my low offered gamble. I low balled one Mark Levinson power amp. It was the Seller father’s amplifier, and he knew nothing about it. A gamble purchase for me. I suggested for he to take the unit to a reputable "highend" stereo shop to have it checked out. Limo connections. He might get more money and faster sale if the position or disposition is known. "Who knows. They may give you an offer for it right then and there for it."

I try to price an item low enough to my willing to sell for price so that I attract a buyer. I think 30% over that may keep people from bidding. So I guess a 30% lower than my willing to sell for price offer would be too low a starting point.

I guess it’s a balancing act of close enough to my price without turning away a serious potential buyer, but close enough to my price so an actual deal can be struck.

My 2¢

I price my items according to what others have sold for. If I get an offer that is ridiculous to me, I don’t respond. I’ve gotten ridiculous offers hours after I posted things for sale which I would never accept. It’s not like going to a swap meet! I don’t mind sitting on things for sale for months.
If you go into a car dealer to buy a Porsche, are you going to offer them 50% off? Of course not if the car is in good shape and its price is within kbb limits. Why would buying audio items be any different? It’s not. 

Since this is a used gear site, the art of bargaining and negotiating is in full swing. If I list a unit for, say, $2K, and someone offers $1100. I'm not insulted; I just counter with $1950. That either silences them or they climb the steep hill and offer something closer to the asking price. 

But if I want $2K for my unit, then I'm not going to list it for $2K.

I can’t remember ever “taking offense” to a low offer or being inundated by low offers to the point of irritation.  You list something for sale, you should expect responses.  At least they are looking at the ad.  I might not take an offer on day 2 that I would take after 3 weeks.  It is a simple yes or no, and “thanks for your offer.” I am usually more interested in the quality of the buyer so as to avoid the risk of problems after the sale, which is a practice that has served me well here for over 20 years.

Because they think its fun to be nasty.

I don’t get offended by any offers, instead I respond by stating the lowest price acceptable to me. I am usually in no hurry to sell so i don’t get discouraged by not getting any digs on my sale items, sometimes for months.

This is a great thread. I'm considering making an offer on a pair of speakers. It's good to know how people think.

When I sell a used item, I mark the price as FIRM. My prices are almost always lower than others being currently offered. When somebody lowballs after that, I find it very annoying. It’s hard not to be rude to the low-ballers given those facts.

@secretguy 

I would insist on freight shipping if you are dealing with floor standing speakers with cardboard packaging. Unless they are in wooden crates, they are unlikely to survive FedEx / UPS delivery. 

I've been shocked a bunch of times, at the low price an item I was watching, sold for (relative to asking price). Would have bought it if I knew how low price would go. I'm never offended by low offers, except the few that then argue why I should accept their low offer. Most of us here are not professional sellers.

Value is in the Eye of the owner. And sometimes we get emotionally attached as human beings. 

I’ve seen on USAM that there are people who seem to just low-ball everything. Occasionally they get a taker, and then the re-sell it here. Supplemental income, I suppose. Depressing. I guess you could call it arbitrage or market clearing.

As an old dude on a fixed income I look for value in quality used audio gear. I do my due dilegence and know within reason what the product offered is worth. I also will only purchase used gear close to home that is in excellent working condition. By purchasing used local  should any isue occur it can be resolved face to face and I don't have to pay shipping. My initial offer may be 10% or 20% lower then the asking price if the initial posting is in the fairly priced range.Since I look for used as a buyer I must be flexable based on who the manufactorer is and my desire to own that product. I was fortunate in purchasing newer gear with excellent reviews at a very good price.  The components may not be an ideal match but hey I'm buying used so compromises are expected. I might also add that the audiogon sellers were beyond reproach.

My trip to the Honda dealer for service reveals a $40 k Civic with $10% ADM tacked on as the starting point…… I think Mike makes good points, good faith is essential…on both sides….

The ADM on a G wagon at the local Benz dealer was 40%. Glad i got ours when buyers had more sway……

agree this is a nice thread, speaks to the psychology and mindset of various buyers and sellers in our hobby, where used gear is a lifeblood for many who seek to experience different equipment at an acceptable cost

i personally don’t attach ego to selling any gear... you are a seller looking for a buyer, and thus welcome all interest - different folks approaching with different methods and tone of communication get different responses, some more friendly, some more terse than others - i do try to remember buyers are also audiophiles and we come in all different ages, backgrounds, experience levels, some have more money than others, some have more fear than others in buying used

i have also lived in cultures where haggling is pretty much a ritual on any meaningful purchase... so while i personally don’t care for it, i accept it as a necessary evil, if you want to sell something, you gotta play the game, even if you don’t have ego wrapped up in the sale, maybe the buyer does in his purchase, so maybe you give a little try make him/her happy?

but in general, i do as @lalitk says, on any lower or 'lowball' offer, i state what i am willing to do, and then wait for a response

I agree with @lalitk ​​​​@jjss49 , In general you will get buyers that want to see how far they can push limits on an offer. I just did this buying a car for one of my children and got most of what I asked for, I also would have respected them declining the offer and countering. When I get a low ball offer I respectfully decline and make a counter offer. Why get mad on either side?

@lalitk Good point. Although you'd think factory packaging would be sufficient.

I am usually more interested in the quality of the buyer so as to avoid the risk of problems after the sale, which is a practice that has served me well here for over 20 years.

A very good point. I've always been a value shopper, not a price shopper. 

The difference is when you purchase directly from the manufacturer/factory shipping damage is taken care of by having them ship out another new speaker but when buying used both the buyer and the seller are often SOL in the case of shipping damage.  Better to be safe.

@mitch2

Exactly! My first shipment of Tannoy’s got damaged. I was quite shocked to see the inadequacies in the packaging on a $30K speaker. The dealer end up replacing the damaged pair.

OK...you guys have talked me into passing on these speakers. Anyway, another pair is about the last thing i need.

IMO it's to avoid the buyer that wants something for next to nothing. Not all sellers are destitute, maybe they don't want the audio room or storage area looking like a cluttered repair shop. I have several boxed items to sell but don't want any dealings with buyers having a garage sale mentality.

Life is nothing  but negotiating. Morning to night. From the day your born to the day you die.  The 3 r's are second compared on how to negotiate. A low ball offer on Monday might look real good the following Monday, buy it was missed. It is said sometime the customer is king, I say he is God. Nothing happens without a buyer no matter the price. Pricing can be  is very difficult. Market and taste change very quickly. Price is what you pay value is what you get.  The world of  negotiating can be ruthless. The subject is endless and the hunt can be the best part. Anticipation is greater the realization. The issue with audio equipment is the it is all purchased from discretionary income. No body is really hungry.               

@dayglow  +1