I have a couple of questions about the buying in the sales forum

[CycloneComics]

Just wondering what the etiquette is for a low ball offer. Is there a percentage I should stick to.

[Stronguy]

Whatever you would be comfortable with getting were you the seller.

 

For the record there are a lot of lowball offers going around; usually from the same people. They usually range in the 50%-60% range of the asking price regardless if the asking price is a good deal or not.

[RockMyAmadeus]

I like to ask Rich Henn to sell me his stuff for 98% off his asking prices.

 

[Shootydog]

yeah...there is a lot of fishing going on. I dont really mind a lowball offer..I can just say no.

It becomes an issue when the lowball offer becomes a device to see just how much the buyer can get before they actually accept any offers.

 

 

[Comicdey]

If I want something I offer what I'm willing to pay. I offered $75 for a $95 dollar item the other day. Counter offer was $90 and I passed. No harm no foul. Sometimes I buy at the asking price and am happy to do so. Depends on the book. I might offer a lot less than asking if the price is way higher than market, but that'd be a rare occasion.

 

I have yet to offer more than asking price. But it could happen ::

[Speedy-D]

There's no rule for lowballing, but it seems like a waste of time offering 50% or 60% of the asking price. I sometimes just pay asking if it's a good deal or if I know the person, but I don't see any harm in asking for a few bucks off, especially if I'm buying a few comics at a pop.

 

Actually, now that i think about it, I guess I kinda lowballed someone a little while ago. Sorry about that man, but you had a comic I really wanted and I was feeling poor at the time.

 

I guess if I were a seller, I'd be reluctant to let anything go for less than 85% of what I was asking unless it'd been sitting around unsold for a while and I really wanted to get rid of it. At which point I would have discounted it already.

[telerites]

I normally never go below 10% off the original asking price. Sometimes I will ask for shipping to be included and pay the asking price. But most normally, I will just ask if that is the asking price is best price they can go. I did a recent purchase like that - the seller responded with a little lower price and I took it.

 

I am always scared that I will insult the seller if I go too low but that's just me. If I think the book is way overpriced, I just move on.

[Comicdey]

Real low ball offers make me laugh

 

sometimes I take them though just because, but 99% of the time I'm laughing.

[c-mack]

man I would take a low ball offer on my hulk lot ...=( it got no love

[ImageMask]

Just wondering what the etiquette is for a low ball offer. Is there a percentage I should stick to.

 

PM Gman for the quintessential art of low balling.

 

 

[paperheart]

Just wondering what the etiquette is for a low ball offer. Is there a percentage I should stick to.

 

PM Gman for the quintessential art of low balling.

 

 

cal could give him a run for his money

[BrianR]

While I have received offers below what I am willing to sell, I don't consider them lowball offers. These offers allow me to gauge what the market is truly like.

 

I know what I value my books and what I think they are worth, however this can be a huge difference in what others feel they are worth, A recent example is I sold some stuff at 30% less than what I wanted. Did I "lose" money on the deal; that depends on how you look at things. I paid more for them than I sold them for as I paid what they were worth to me at the time. Now that I am selling them the value has diminished to me in the sense they are no longer as important to what I currently need or want. The money I spent is now a sunk cost. Yes, I would like to get a full return on my money, but what was hot a year ago may not be hot now.

 

For the buyers out there I base my negotiations on what I know about you. If I know the books will go to a collector I will cut a bigger deal than I normally would, if I know you will flip the book, the deal won't be so great. If you are a dealer I will cut the same sort of deal as a collector and sometimes better, (this may not make sense to some) the reason though is I know the dealer has overhead costs involved so even though he pays less, the dealer needs to pay rent, employees, tax, storage, etc.

 

 

All this being said I just about never ask for a price break from the people I deal with, buy from. I do like to make trades and when I do the trade route I know they are doing me a favor and in turn I will lopside the trade value in their favor.

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

While I have received offers below what I am willing to sell, I don't consider them lowball offers. These offers allow me to gauge what the market is truly like.

 

Honest, sincere question: what if the people making the offers are doing it solely for flipping purposes...?

[BrianR]

While I have received offers below what I am willing to sell, I don't consider them lowball offers. These offers allow me to gauge what the market is truly like.

 

Honest, sincere question: what if the people making the offers are doing it solely for flipping purposes...?

 

 

After being here on the boards for a while I pretty much know who they are and I typically don't accept the offer.

 

There have been times I bought a book to flip. I am upfront about it just ask Roy. I don't ask for discounts when I do as its seems kind of cheesy.

[Old Fashion PB and J]

I made a joke about this in BrianR's sales thread. He and I have had a good relationship here on the boards. The lowball offer I posted was a joke. I did end up buying the book, but it was a package deal since he had a book that I was asking about last year. I had him give me a price for both, he gave me a price and I accepted. The books will now be locked away.

 

Lowballing can be insulting. A really low offer I wont respond. I will also cut better deals for collectors over flippers. I understand everyone likes money, but lowballing to flip just bothers me.

[RockMyAmadeus]

I agree. I've bought books here that I believed were undervalued for flipping purposes. I didn't ask for a discount on those.

 

(thumbs u

[BrianR]

I made a joke about this in BrianR's sales thread. He and I have had a good relationship here on the boards. The lowball offer I posted was a joke. I did end up buying the book, but it was a package deal since he had a book that I was asking about last year. I had him give me a price for both, he gave me a price and I accepted. The books will now be locked away.

 

Lowballing can be insulting. A really low offer I wont respond. I will also cut better deals for collectors over flippers. I understand everyone likes money, but lowballing to flip just bothers me.

 

I was actually thinking you would counter the offer I didn't think you would accept the first offer out.

[KryptoSpidey]

I agree. I've bought books here that I believed were undervalued for flipping purposes. I didn't ask for a discount on those.

 

(thumbs u

+1 on that...

pay full asking price,and i feel the book is yours to do whatever you want with it,even if that includes selling it 10 minutes later for a profit...

[seank]

If I make an offer below the asking price, it's usually based on market data from Heritage, Ebay, and/or GPA. Or I'm buying more than one book and ask for a discount on the lot. If the seller wants to turn down my offer, that's his decision. More often than not, the seller agrees accepts my offer.

[MagnetoWasRight]

Personally, I've met some amazing people on these boards and I would never want to do anything that would lower my standing here. In my opinion, low ball offers can be insulting, maybe not on purpose, but they can be either way. It seems like every new boardie I meet introduces me to another awesome member...the idea of saving a few bucks on a book doesn't seem worth it to me when relationships are at stake.

 

I just had a boardie tonight offer to sub a few books for me at an upcoming convention. I was totally caught off guard, we've PM'd a few times, and I've bought an awesome book from him, but I never expected that...I've made alot of cool friends on the forums and to me that's worth far more than saving a few dollars on a book. Just my opinion of course...