The amazing guitar bargaining skills

[cheesedaele]

Lowballing aside, anybody else here gets sms-es at unearthly hours asking about your advert? So far, I've gotten queries at 1am, 4am and just recently 5.30am.

Zzz.

I'm guilty of doing this. Alot. lol. But won't call of course, just sms.

Some sellers will receive many offers and nego with all of them at the same time, as if auctioning. Some sellers more straightforward just first come first served. But you can rarely tell which kind you're sms-ing. And if it's the first kind, I don't like bargaining anyway (I feel it's disrespectful, but that's just me). If there's an offer price then that's the price I offer straight up.

 

[and23_julius]

Definition of Lowballing

IMO...people deserve to quote any price they want for an item...as long as they don't try to undermine / devalue the item in respect to the seller...

For my case I have a policy, to take a preowned item, tops at 70% of the new price...

Bottom is at 50%...but I rarely go for this...since 50% means the condition is not good, and I don't feel like making this kind of deal....

 

[ymmak]

Here is my experience, it happened a long time ago, maybe 2 years, the exact numbers might be wrong, but the sequence of events are still clear.

I was hoping to sell pedal X at $180. This guy, Y, came along and offered $160. I was reluctant but took the offer coz pedal X was sitting around for quite a long while. This guy drove to meet me at my convenience, as agreed, at about 11pm. After inspecting the pedal, he counteroffered $150, saying that it was all he had. I was reluctant and we negotiated for a while, and I eventually gave in. I wasnt too happy with the price I sold the pedal for, but I was still glad that the pedal was sold for some cash after all.

At about 1-2am, in the evening, the buyer, Y, smsed and called me. He said that he did not like the sound of the pedal, saying that it was not his type. He requested for a refund. He offered to drive to my place during that very unearthly hour, to return the pedal X in exchange for his cash. Of coz, I was furious, and rejected his offer, arguing that I need not give him a refund as long as I had not sold him a lemon. I reasoned that he could sell the pedal away if he really did not like it. But after a few persistent calls from him, I eventually gave in, but we agreed to meet on another date instead.

Meanwhile, on SOFT, I managed to find another buyer,Z, who was willing to buy pedal X at $180. I managed to arranged with the new buyer, Z, such that I could meet Y, get back my pedal, and then go and meet the new buyer, Z, to deal, all in a single day. Unknowingly, Y had also posted a thread to sell pedal X at $160, which he was still in possession of. Just before the supposedly time when Y and myself were to meet, Y said that he managed to find a buyer for pedal X. And at about the same time, Z messaged me that he wished to cancel the deal.

So whatever happend between Y and Z, you could guess it for yourself. Now, if you were me, how would you feel?

 

[dudelove]

LOL is Y the guy in your sig??

 

[dodgethis]

I think it's time the classifieds became a lot more stricter. Limit only registered users to view it and viewers and posters must have a minimum of 50 posts in order to do so.

 

[relinquish69]

=ymmak

hey Mak, how are you? I know you are a nice guy but you are a little too nice in that case. If someone were to bargain with me on the spot despite confirming all the details on email, I would definitely say no and end the deal there.

If people want discounts, they should just ask and not resort to dodgy means just to get it.

 

[theunknown]

Lowballing aside, anybody else here gets sms-es at unearthly hours asking about your advert? So far, I've gotten queries at 1am, 4am and just recently 5.30am.

Zzz.

not the buyer party. but this happened.

saw a super awesome deal for a pedal. it was 2+am.
thought it wont be nice to disturb the seller in such hours.
sms-ed the next morning at 10am.
seller: sorry bro. made a deal with a guy at ~4am.

OUCH.

 

[LadyInTears]

if you get woken up by an sms, you are a real light sleeper, or your message tone is some snsd song woooo

 

[theliverevolution]

H
So whatever happend between Y and Z, you could guess it for yourself. Now, if you were me, how would you feel?

Damn man, that sucks.
Only thing that we could hope to happen is that Z didn't like X and he hounded Y for a refund. Heh

 

[ymmak]

dudelove: yeah, Y is the person in my sig. Has been in my sig for close to 2 years liao.

relinquish69: haha, you always know that i am a rather soft and obliging person. so when it comes to negotiation, i usually tend to lose out.

theliverevolution: yeah, that sucks. i speculated that Y has actually made a $10 profit by selling to Z. while there is nothing wrong with profiting, but i felt disgusted by his wilfulness to alter his decisions as and when he contented, to his own benefits, at the expense of others, in this case, me. his gain was my loss, and no matter how generous i was, i certainly felt unjust and victimized.

 

[bluelime]

I don't understand why some people do not leave a price tag behind. Yet put nego.
How do we start nego-ing ?
At least a benchmark please.
So we will not low ball by accidentally because sometimes the condition makes a lot of diff.

 

[AzNjT]

why would i pay extra and let people know im noble? i'll try to negiotiate. whos to say which is right and wrong.

Do you not know the meaning of FIRM. What part of that word gives you an indication AT ALL, that you should 'try your luck' when its clearly stated as firm.

what I feel i can get cheap i wont find it lowballing.

its not about what you feel you can get cheap, but the point that someone is trying to sell an item which they priced knowing that they are already making a loss. and furthermore providing 'reasons' as to why the seller doesn't know his stuff or like you would know better stating 'facts' that certain guitars are stuck or there is 'no market' for your own benefit.

The message that you send by saying that is like, this is this amount of money that its worth, you prolly wont get higher for what you are selling. You are talking down at the seller and who wouldn't be pissed, you made it sound like he was some dumb a$$.

Bottom line to ANYONE who reads this post. Don't use your wise-ass remarks to get any guitar for sale just because you don't feel like the price is justified. See a guitar you want, but dont like the price, then move on. or if the value is genuinely legit then stfu and start saving or work for it. When it clearly states that the prices are firm, IT MEANS NO BARGAINING. Be it at shops where you ask, can i have a discount on this guitar after trying and then decide not to, only to place the guitar back.

I guess my mentality is to have respect for others in the sense that I don't just go around and try guitars because I Hope that the price would be discounted after some talk. You either respect the retail (not up-marked) prices and lay down the money if the construction, fit and finish is up to par (of course if the guitar is made shitty then ditch it, do NOT bargain citing the defects as a reason for the owners to sell them cheaply). Also because I know that anyone who goes to buy their guitars from stores would want to buy a NEW product, not some grease-ball after some idiots have tried their hands at it only hoping that the price would then be further discounted.

Know the value of your guitars, if it is obviously up-marked for no apparent reason then at least you know your stuff, so just move on and find other means of purchasing the guitar from somewhere else with a decent price.

 

[ShredAddict]

being low balled is part and parcel of life. it's just like having insurance salesmen calling your house telling you about new policies. it's not wrong, just plain irritating.

let's just accept this fact and move on.

 

[lastking]

being low balled is part and parcel of life. it's just like having insurance salesmen calling your house telling you about new policies. it's not wrong, just plain irritating.

let's just accept this fact and move on.

Everyone else has moved on except the lowballer, who had to start a new thread to gloat, which also shows the lack of sincerity in his apologies.

 

[justheretolook]

the buying and selling ethics has gone down the drain, the people who dont reply, the lowballers, the boutique people who laugh at the mass-produced thing your trading, the people who force you to go their area of living even if you live 20+ mrt stations apart.... more to experience in this terrain, and its quite fun, and irritating at the same time.

you know, "no thanks" and "ok, when and where to deal?" can be quite a life-changer, just my 2 cents.

 

[mail4kev]

As someone who has done a fair bit of closet clearing and trading of guitars in the recent months to streamline his collection, I think I just gotta put my 2 cents in...

I think its impossible not to get a some bargaining even for items listed as firm. Its human nature to want to get a better deal. If someone offers you some crappy unreasonable price, you could just ignore it and move on with your life. Or reply a polite no.

I'm pretty sure SMS is the mode of bargaining these days. I think I've sold like 10 guitars so far, and no one has EVER called me. Its all SMS. Trouble is... its easy to misunderstand each others intention and get offended communicating through SMS alone. I always make it a point to give the other party benefit of doubt.

I'd like to believe most of us are mature enough to honor a deal and be reasonable if issues crop up. I've been buying items based on trust and description since the days of USENET and BBS text forums since the early 90s. Most transactions have been smooth and painless. A few somewhat annoying, but life goes on. Although I must say that back in the day, internet purchases seemed a lot more straightforward. I do think that due to the prevalence and ease of access, you have to be more cautious buying and selling stuff online.

Bottomline is... no need to get into a war of words if there are disagreements. Just chill and life goes on...

-K

 

[cheesedaele]

So whatever happend between Y and Z, you could guess it for yourself. Now, if you were me, how would you feel?

Should have sms-ed Z straight away and told him that Y got the pedal from you at only $150 and was ripping him of $10. Instant payback. :twisted:

not the buyer party. but this happened.

saw a super awesome deal for a pedal. it was 2+am.
thought it wont be nice to disturb the seller in such hours.
sms-ed the next morning at 10am.
seller: sorry bro. made a deal with a guy at ~4am.

OUCH.

Happened to me too. That's why I will sms anyway. You can never tell!
And yes, if you have some SNSD song as your SMS tone then your own fault for getting woken up lol.

 

[mail4kev]

I just remembered an incident which was pretty annoying when it happened, but in hindsight... now kinda funny when I think about it. I guess that just shows there are all sorts in this world.

I had advertised a guitar for a firm price. Dude sms me to offer a trade for a guitar I don't mind trying out... fair price for his guitar is half the price of mine, and he's advertised it on soft as well for that price. I would seem only logical to me that his topup would be for the difference between the prices of our guitars.... but instead, his sms went: "I'll trade my XXX for your YYY plus top up of a $100." Uhhh... I'd still be short of 1k for that trade..... A polite no thanks to kill the conversation.... sheezzzz...

It would seem to be common sense that an offer like that is close to improbable (I won't say impossible since maybe I just smoked something that affects my logical thought processes... LOL!!!), but it still doesn't stop some people from trying their luck. I guess common sense is sometimes really not that common...

All said, I do hope that all buyers and sellers would be fair and behave with integrity. Deals are largely based on trust and honestly, and it would be very sad it starts to degenerate.

-K

 

[hub4thailand]

from phone number 8533834x

him: bro ur taylor acoustic can trade with my maestro protege

me: how much did you buy your protege

him : 450 i bought it from a friend of mine

me: and how much do you wanna topup for my 814 taylor

me : think before you offer next time

and suddenly there was silence, crazy people out there, ya right bought it from a friend that sells you double the price of a 200 dollar guitar nice friend you have. keep giving me stupid offers i will keep posting your numbers up, You have no shame calling yourself a guitar player and coming up with offer like this. THIS THREAD IS NOT ABOUT LOWBALLING ITS ABOUT SHAMELESS PEOPLE WHO SERIOUS IS IN ANOTHER HIGHER LEVEL THAN LOWBALLING. Yes its common to be lowballed nothing wrong but there are people that is in another lvl and this thread is dedicated to pay tribute to them

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

haha relax bro, that guy's most probably just trolling