I am hopeless at negotiating prices. I pay full asking for everything and I don't sell any of my old things- I donate them (I would rather give an item away than see it go for a pittance.) Plus where I live you have to pay over asking for most houses (my last one was a bargain- I just paid the sticker price ;-)

Sometimes I've made lowball offers b/c I know posted price is same or very close to the "new" price. So many individuals price emotionally and not necessarily in touch with demand. Ex: "I love Aunt Dees doilly and hate to get rid of it, so I'll price it high, hoping it won't sell." Or, "I remember how hard I worked to get Gucci purse. Whoever buys it will have to sweat it, just like I did."

I remember when eBay came along and I found dishes for sale at the same price as retail form an individual. I could not figure out why I would buy plates from some person in Ohio versus a regular store for the same price and loss of convenience.

I just sold 2 like-new breakfast bar stools for $10ea. I had one lady offer me $20 ea, then didn't show up. :0) The etiquette would be to call to say, sorry I can't make it today.

I called the next offer, he was here in 20 minutes & appreciative of getting a deal! So......I'd rather have a thrilled buyer & lose $20, than an uppity, all-attitude person I have to deal with. Just give it to 'em if it's a cheap item sitting in my way.....I say. :0) or donate it, that's my usual way to dispose of items.

A seller can always choose to take a wait and see what other offers come in. As a seller, my attitude is if I don"t accept the offer, what is my next step- donate and take tax write off, spend time waiting for another offer, have the item underfoot?

I guess it also depends if it's a biz or a regular mortal editing household.

Can you counter the bid, meeting the person a little better than halfway?

If I'm making I low ball offer, I usually explain my reasoning, such as "new is XX dollars, and I feel this is worth 1/2" or "due to the damage to the finish on the left rear corner, I'll offer you this".

I don't mind receiving low ball offers, provided they are polite. I'll often ask why they feel it would be a fair price. If they are just cheap, I probably won't accept. But if they have a reason, including "It is all I can afford", I may well accept. I especially like to "help" appreciative individuals.

I don't do much Craigslist or garage sale buying but I think ldstarr has the right idea. If you think the asking price for something is too high, say so to explain why you think the lower price you're offering better reflects the item's value.

ldstarr, I have found IME that judging the reason could be emotional as well. I once had a person lowball me and I asked for a reason. The person said he was young, just starting up. I accepted the offer. He shows up in a luxury sedan, suggesting to me he could have been playing on my sympathy. I felt taken at first, but then comforted myself by remembering my motive to sell was "no need".

I decide if the item is worth the asking price to me and whether the seller indicates "firm". If so on either count, I pay the asking price. Otherwise, I'd likely say "what is the best price you'll take for it?". If that doesn't meet what I want to pay, I walk away.

If I were selling, I'd respect the same treatment and wouldn't be offended if the person walked away. If I were to then call after them and say "wait, I'll go lower", then I wouldn't have been genuine with them in the first place. That matters to me whether I'm the buyer or the seller.

I consider low ball offers to be anything that is less than 75% of the asking price. As a buyer, I do make low offers on items based on what the item is worth to me. I have no negative feelings if a seller declines the offer.

As a seller, I try to price items fairly. I will respond to any offer with a counter unless I have multiple offers closer to my original price. If I do, then I generally ignore the low ball offer.

Except for those garage sales when it's a "get rid of everything" affair and prices are low, informal sellers typically jack up asking prices when there's no market to compare to and in the hope someone will come along and agree to it. Asking the seller what price they want is playing into their hands. Offer YOUR price and then meet in the middle, if appropriate. Or, move on.

It all depends upon whether you're willing to walk away or not. I, personally, consider what's fair, how much I want it, if I can find it someplace else, and whether I feel Ok about it. I don't care about playing into anyone's hands; I have the right and option to walk away. Pfffft.

Depends on the item...if it's a few bucks, then I don't bother offering...if it's a few thousand, then you have to start somewhere...but I won't negotiate too much.

I have emailed and made what I consider a low offer (but I couldn't do more) but made sure to ask to please keep me in mind for future reference. In other words...I would like an item, but other things are taking priority.

Usually, I will give stuff away. However, people that email me SO SURE that they MUST have it, generally are no-shows. I'm kind of sick of doing it, so it's off to Goodwill.

If people get offended by your offer, then why are they bothering to have a conversation with you?

Buyer or seller the worth is what someone else is willing to pay as Anglophilia stated. I have extreme issues paying top dollar for "like new" because in fact it isn't. It is a used item. There is a risk the buyer is taking. No one knows how the item was used by the previous owner. The issue in all of this that really upsets me is when I hear a buyer agreed on a certain price then gets to the pick up w/o the agreed on amount. If you plan to negotiate after seeing, I think you need to be upfront about it. IMHO it is a verbal contract if you agree and meet to exchange money/said item.

I was ready to pay posted price for a Henredon sofa but when I got there I realized the photos were more flattering than the real deal. I immediately offered a much lower price and seller was very annoyed that I wanted to revise. Perhaps if I'd said "I accept your price if item looks like the pictures" but I didn't. Lesson learned for $$ items.

It was very clear that this rotary iron was either unused or had only been used a couple of times. A client of the seller bought it for his wife and she didn't like it. He gave it to the seller to use for the sheets in her acupuncture practice but she never had time to use it and it was taking up space. New, nearly used, used...it was an amazing bargain.

Bossy it would also depend on what condition seller had posted..good, excellent, like new, ect. If the condition wasn't listed than I expect the item to be my worth and if it wasn't I'd walk away. In your case I would have told the seller this sofa presented better in photos than what it is I was willing to pay $$ for what I seen in the photos but not for what I see IRL. There's a lot of sellers that know just how to photo something showing it better than what it is...I call that being dishonest.

Oh, I told him allright. But it didn't keep him from being annoyed with me and probably w/himself b/c he didnt actually find a sucker for his sofa.

Rather than give a lowball offer, I usually ask "will you take less" -- that gives me an opening to see what the seller will do. If it's still more than I'm willing to pay, I'll mention it but I try to always wait for the seller to name the price rather than insult him by offering something too low.

I don't know how many times, we've done it and the seller (perhaps sensing a person of interest) gives us a price way below what we were thinking! Naturally we snap it up before he changes his mind!

I really try to NOT name a price.

And I've been on the receiving end of the "lowballers" -- when I've had a garage sale, for instance. An item that sells new for $50, I have priced at $5 (I know it's used) and then I will have someone offer me $1 for it -- like right after I open the sale. (Duh, I don't think so!) And it does insults me especially early in the sale.

To me a low ball offer is an offer waaaay below the value. It's different than a reasonable offer. Someone can ask whatever they want for an item but that doesn't make it a reasonable asking price. I think low balling is in poor taste unless the price comes with an "or best offer".

This reminds me of a mistake I made a few years ago. I was selling a beautiful set of furniture for $300 and this lady wanted it, and brought movers. She took all the furniture and then asked if I would take $200 for it. I realized then what a mistake I made not getting the money first because she had all my furniture and I had no way to get it back up my stairs. I said no and luckily she paid me the full price. I was lucky! I don't deal with Craigslist anymore.

I don't feel insulted, I just say, "Feel free to offer less, I'll feel free to say "No"."

Anglophilia, I've always wanted one of those rotary irons, but they are such an investment without knowing if I could use it successfully. I've watched videos, but I'm still unsure about them. Do you love yours? Do you use for things other than linens? How hard is it to use?

When I sell things on Craigslist, I often receive emails saying "Would you take $$$ ?" Over email, nothing would insult me. As a buyer, you can always say you want to see the item in person first. One thing I learned selling an item, remind the buyer that you need exact change. I realize the ATM dispenses $20 bills, but that is not my problem.

A little OT but it has happened to me more than once. Buyer gives me some of the $ and frantically looks in pockets, car, etc. for the remainder. seems to me they're hoping I will say, "it's OK, this will do", which I don't. I send them to the ATM very close to me but then the missing $ is suddenly found, ha.

The opposite has also happened. Sold a plant and after some chit chat, I shared cuttings of something. The buyer was so thrilled, he gave me twice my asking price and would not hear of getting his change back.

(saying silent prayer that CL murderer never shows at my door or designated meeting place.)

Dealers sometimes are very aggressive about offering pennies on the dollar. Even if you're selling an item for a very small percentage of its actual worth, some people will try to get it for even less. It seems like they're not happy unless they're hurting someone. A friend told me a story about her father. He closed his antique shop and put everything in storage. At some point he decided that was silly, so he had a yard sale. seems like the item in question was one of those lamps with the globe on the bottom and a globe on the top and a chimney. Someone came browsing through, asked price, and he said $20, which was a really good deal. Mind you, he had been an antique dealer and he knew the value. The person offered him 10. He shook his head and repeated 20. Buyer evidently thought she had a fish on her line, and kept repeating her $10 offer, following him around, badgering him. Finally, the guy stopped, looked at her, and said "would you like to know what's worth $10 to me?"... and threw the lamp across the driveway, smashing it to bits. The woman squawked, "are you crazy that thing was worth $75!", to which the guy replied "then you should have paid the $20".

Great story

I negotiate, back and forth till everyone is happy. I don't low ball but if they have a nice option to make an offer I will. I don't understand not countering it's for sale it's available for discussion.

"Lowball" is a cliché term and I don't really give it any thought. You're conducting a business transaction and one side wants to get way more than it's worth to someone and someone else wants to get it for way less than what someone else wants. Items are worth what someone will pay at the moment. If I offer someone a price and they're "offended" (yet another cliché term), then that's THEIR problem. I can't insult someone, and nobody can insult me. Only they or I can be insulted by our own feelings and actions. Too bad people don't understand that they're words. Just letters put together. But today we're so conditioned to take offense whenever we can.

Normally, if something is fairly priced and it's something I want and am willing to pay the price, I don't haggle. I don't haggle for a hobby. I'll ask if they will take less, or offer something I'll pay, or both but it's only a couple negotiations. Then I'll walk or vice versa. When I've had garage sales or something I normally put absolute bargain prices on them and people can make offers and I'll accept or reject. Sometimes I'll tell them to stop back later and I'll probably take less then if it's early on and I'm thinking I should get more.

At one sale when I was getting rid of one of my Crock-pots, it was brand new, in the box. I had received it as a gift and no way was I going to use it. Had already tossed the ones I used and replaced with Nesco Roasters. This was a LONG time ago now and I put a $5 price tag on it. Retail was about $40-$45 but I wanted to get rid of it. This lady starts whining "well, does it work?" I had just finished turning someone else down on an offer so she should have known I'm not going to play games. But I said it's brand new in the box as you can see the box hasn't even been opened! It SHOULD work since it's brand new, never opened so never used. Then she started with, "well... will you take TWO dollars for it?" I said no. I'll have more than $2 worth of fun smashing it with a sledge hammer and use the cord as a backup for something else. The cord alone will cost at least $10 to buy. "Will you take $2.50?? I couldn't resist. I told her it's at least a $40 unit and you know it and the price is going to $7.50 in exactly 30 seconds and reached for the masking tape and marker. Then she offers a check. I looked at her and wrote $7.50 on the masking tape and started tearing it off. She whipped out a fiver right quick. Then... as she was walking away, she asks... "If it doesn't work, can I bring it back?" I broke out laughing and said this ain't Wal*mart but you can bring it back. I won't give you your money back but feel free to bring it back. One guy was picking up some things and he just broke out laughing. Came up to pay me for the stuff and said "I like your style." A couple ladies who overheard it commented about how some people just don't want to pay anything do they? I just said I think for some it's just a hobby. And when their purchase was totaled I rounded it down for them and told them it's my "nice person discount".

I recently gave away a leather sofa (I put stuff in the free section of CL). Nothing was wrong and it wasn't wrinkled or worn or discolored in any way. We had had it a while and I just wanted it gone.

I had some guy email me and ask me ALL sorts of questions about it...like he was almost badgering me (what kind of leather...origin...photo of the label). I had put up photos in my listing. So THAT really bugged me. I mean, it's a free sofa in very good condition....

I frequently find that people are no-shows more often if you give stuff away. Charge a few bucks and they are more likely to show up. I sometimes wonder if there's an automatic "I want" app or something regardless of what the item is.

Lately, with my listings, I have stated that my time is as valuable as anyone's and to please don't email unless you're sure you're interested....I got a very nasty email from a someone who told me off well about that...

<steps off soapbox>