On the Cheap - Page 2

sharkbite · #21 09-03-2015, 12:35 PM

At the risk of copping flak for making light of this...

http://www.montypython.net/scripts/LOB-hagglescene.php

Precis: If you are haggling properly you should offer half as first bid....
(well for beards, anyway)

rrussell1962 · #22 09-03-2015, 12:39 PM

I don't want to step on any toes here but I can see a difference between "Price X negotiable" and "Price X" meaning that is what I am willing to accept, take it or leave it. Having said that I have made an offer for something lower than the asking price, but messaged explaining my reasons and giving example of recent sales etc.

N1 (Mirko) · #23 09-03-2015, 12:47 PM

I'm very conscious that good gear comes at a price, so I avoid ridiculous low-balling. Having said that - when I see litte interest from others in an item that is beyond much own reach but does interest me, I will give the seller a heads-up & let them know what my budget would allow. Do I know how bad they want to sell? Do I know whether they care what the item would fetch under "lab" market conditions that might never occur? Does anybody know how many others besides me even want the item once it's been up there and has met little or no interest? No, no and no. Too many factors at play here. So it's all about communication.

Sure, a figure I can offer for a given item might not necessarily be a good representation of what the item might fetch given enough time, or a big enough market, or enough appreciation for workmanship etc. Quite often, few or none of these conditions are present (the Australian/NZ astro market isn't exactly huge), and as a seller, I would appreciate hearing about any intrested buyers, even if what they are prepared to pay might seem low to some. I'd like to make that call myself rather than preclude offers from being made in the first place. What I do expect is that communication is polite and courteous.

FlashDrive (Poppy) · #24 09-03-2015, 01:04 PM

I had a gentleman offer a price on my JMI Focuser... nearly close to my asking price.

I considered this and ' met him half way ' in regards to his offer...I let it go for a reasonable reduction in price.... without me ' giving it away '

I'm happy and he is happy because he was given an opportunity to receive this item at a proper and fair price within my asking price.

And that is my whole point in this thread ......

Col.....

N1 (Mirko) · #25 09-03-2015, 01:07 PM

Flash, BTW your avatar is the best I've seen in a long time! (And yes, this post is perhaps only slighly more relevant than what she is typing)

Solanum · #26 09-03-2015, 01:09 PM

1) What I can and can't afford is irrelevant here, it is what I am prepared to pay (and what you are prepared to accept) that is important.

2) My point was that my offer was not derisory (I don't think anyone here would think it was), but that did not stop you making a public post on the matter as a direct result of my offer (irrespective of whether I was named or not).

3) I prefaced my offer with an acknowledgement that it was below your asking price and that you were unlikely to accept it if you could meet your asking price within a reasonable time frame. This was not trying to get something 'on the cheap' it was acknowledging that your valuation and mine differed.

4) Posting quotes from private messages is not very good form in my book, not that I have anything to hide, before I saw this post I thought we were having a good natured exchange.

As a result of all this I can assure you that I will never be interested in purchasing anything from you irrespective of the price. Sorry.

Everard

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlashDrive

Goodness me .... your name is not even mentioned in this thread..... whats your problem.
Give it a rest .... if you can't afford the asking price .... THEN GO WITHOUT.

... these are words that you sent to me in your message ..... and I quote

..' the pricier it is the higher proportion I would expect second hand.' ... you put yourself in now..!! ( TeleVue gear is not cheap ..... one only has to look at Bintel prices lately to know that )

Col....

FlashDrive (Poppy) · #27 09-03-2015, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N1

Flash, BTW your avatar is the best I've seen in a long time!

Thanks N1 ... yes..I stumbled upon it recently and thought how funny it was.

Cheers ...Col.

FlashDrive (Poppy) · #28 09-03-2015, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solanum

1)

As a result of all this I can assure you that I will never be interested in purchasing anything from you irrespective of the price. Sorry.

Everard

That's fine ...I'm OK with that ... I won't be affected one bit .
BTW ... your name was not even mentioned here ...and in general it was not even aimed at you....I had others who went in below you on price for the same items. ( that's what made me put ' pen to paper ' so to speak.
You have really jumped the gun on this one...... think before you speak .... and yes we were having a ' civil ' conversation via messages....
Let it go, because it appears you have got yourself all bitter and twisted over this..... no offense was ever intended toward you.

It's just a shame that you jumped in and took it upon yourself to be ' offended ' , and self inflicted at that..!!

Hope you have clear skies tonight.

Col....

LewisM · #29 09-03-2015, 02:11 PM

I'll offer you $120.05 for whatever it is Col ('cos I have NO CLUE what you are selling).

All joking aside, I have dealt a LOT with Col - usually driving down to either meet in person or drop money in a secure pre-arranged place for him. Never been an issue once, and we always came to a mutually agreeable price. If I didn't like the price (which was only once), I'll just say so and walk away from it.But then again, I am not much of haggler - I usually ask directly what someone is comfortable with, and we take it from there.

Our latest transactions were $2000 on a scope (Takahashi) and $150 on some parts - the price on the retail market for the parts alone that I bought was in excess of $450.

brian nordstrom (As avatar) · #30 09-03-2015, 03:11 PM

I like Lewis here have got lots of gear ( I mean truck loads

) of gear from Flash and the prices I payed were all mutually agreeable to us both , goods arrived in described condition in a timely manor , I for one wont hesitate to buy or sell to my old mate Colin

in the future .

On a side note I have made probably over 200 transactions here at IIS classifieds and have only had one

bad one , that was nothing to do with price /condition of said item but the buyer expected something to be thrown into the deal that was never discussed once in the transaction communications , then he had the cheek

to publically bag me in the threads here , I was shocked !!! , no PM or anything first , just wading in with all guns blazing , gladly the Mods did there usual top job in deleting the thread before I lost it with this strange guy ? .

ps. %99 of my astro gear is from IIS classifieds , a great tool , so thank you to all I have dealt with over the years , saved me a small fortune

.

Brian.

OICURMT · #31 09-03-2015, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharkbite

At the risk of copping flak for making light of this...

http://www.montypython.net/scripts/LOB-hagglescene.php

Precis: If you are haggling properly you should offer half as first bid....
(well for beards, anyway)

Click here to load the video

CockneyNutjob · #32 09-03-2015, 04:16 PM

Lol, best thread I've seen for weeks!

Zaps · #33 09-03-2015, 04:40 PM

Seller goes high, buyer goes low.

FlashDrive (Poppy) · #34 09-03-2015, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zaps

Seller goes high, buyer goes low.

... that way.. buyer gets nothing...!!

Flash....

barx1963 (Malcolm) · #35 09-03-2015, 05:09 PM

Personally, it never bothers me if low balls a price at me, I've done the same thing if I cannot afford the price they are asking but it is a piece of gear that I would like. After all there is no such things a "proper and fair price", only prices that 2 people (ie the buyer and the seller) think they can accept.

If I have a piece of gear that I want to sell I will quite often advertise it at a deliberately high price, you never know there may be someone out there who is desperate for just that bit of gear. If I get no bites I can choose to cut the price or withdraw.

If I think my piece of gear is worth $600 and now one else is willing to pay that, then my opinion that $600 is a "proper and fair price" doesn't mean diddly squat, and if I am not prepared to sell it for less than that then I have no option but to not sell it. Getting upset about low ball offers is really a pointless exercise and a good way to damage relationships.

Malcolm

FlashDrive (Poppy) · #36 09-03-2015, 05:39 PM

Everything is for sale at a price ...I've even seen it myself.

Someone places an AD ... and says ... ' Price is Firm ' ....indicating that is what it will take to buy it.

Someone places an AD ..and says $ blah blah ... ONO ... indicating ' lets haggle ' if you want this item.

Offering ' low ball ' ( fully knowing ) that the offer is totally ridiculous is in my view ' bad taste ' and reeks of bad integrity of that person.

These individuals are only out to try and see if one is ' gullible ' to their antics and are at best, nothing but ' vultures ' looking for a quick score.

Read the words above ... ' fully knowing ' ...that's my point.

Cop it enough times and you get real sick of it.

Flash.....

BPO · #37 09-03-2015, 05:53 PM

There's not much point taking any of it personally. A guy recently offered me NZ$800 for a new mount (still sealed in the boxes) I was selling with an asking price of NZ$2,500! He told me "that's all it's worth" even though the after market accessories alone were worth more than his offer. I just laughed and saluted his cheek.

BTW, the mount sold to someone else for NZ$2,500...

Kunama · #38 09-03-2015, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BPO

There's not much point taking any of it personally. A guy recently offered me NZ$800 for a new mount (still sealed in the boxes) I was selling with an asking price of NZ$2,500! He told me "that's all it's worth" even though the after market accessories alone were worth more than his offer. I just laughed and saluted his cheek.

BTW, the mount sold to someone else for NZ$2,500...

If I was selling something on ZeBay, Humtree or the local classifieds I too would have no problem with ridiculously low offers but when one sells within a small group, a club or a community such as this one expects a little more courtesy in such dealings.................. maybe the "One" is just old fashioned and not of this "me Me Me !!! generation"

"One" will continue to make fair offers to others within the community that is IIS.

FlashDrive (Poppy) · #39 09-03-2015, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kunama

If I was selling something on ZeBay, Humtree or the local classifieds I too would have no problem with ridiculously low offers but when one sells within a small group, a club or a community such as this one expects a little more courtesy in such dealings.................. maybe the "One" is just old fashioned and not of this "me Me Me !!! generation"

"One" will continue to make fair offers to others within the community that is IIS.

Spot on Matti .....

BPO · #40 09-03-2015, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kunama

If I was selling something on ZeBay, Humtree or the local classifieds I too would have no problem with ridiculously low offers but when one sells within a small group, a club or a community such as this one expects a little more courtesy in such dealings...

It was via a local astro Yahoo! group.

Quote:

...[M]aybe the "One" is just old fashioned and not of this "me Me Me !!! generation"

Maybe, but I just view it in the spirit of "you'll never know if you don't try."

Quote:

"One" will continue to make fair offers to others within the community that is IIS.

Then again, maybe the guy genuinely believed his offer to be a fair one? Who knows. He wasn't successful this time, but maybe next time someone will bite.