Seller logic.
Summary: inhawaii inquired about getting a discount when buying 12 items from a seller who already offered discounts for purchasing four or more items. The seller responded that the existing discount applied to all purchases of four or more. inhawaii expressed confusion over why no additional discount was offered for purchasing 12 items. Other participants explained that the seller may have set the maximum discount level at four items due to cost considerations and profit margins. Some suggested attempting to negotiate a specific dollar amount for large quantities, while others shared that similar experiences occurred when trying to use bulk discounts. The discussion highlights different perspectives on pricing strategies and negotiation dynamics between buyers and sellers.
I saw something that I wanted to buy.
The seller offered a quantity discount if you bought two, three or four (or more).
I asked the seller if they would be interested in giving me a discount if I bought all 12.
I get a response saying "We already offer a discount if you buy 4 or more."
So I think to myself...
If a seller is willing to give a discount on two, three or four, wouldn't they be interested in discounting all twelve of them?
I did not push the issue.
No sale.
Does the seller's decision make sense to you?
a_c_green
·3 weeks agoSeems like a lot of folks are choosing to ignore the "or more" applied to the deepest discount. You get that discount on 4 items, and beyond that, you're still paying the same deepest discount per item: for 5, for 6, and so on.
As others have pointed out, the discount cannot increment forever or else it would all end up free to the buyer.
ten_o_nine
·3 weeks agoBuy 2, get 5% off
Buy 3, get 10% off
Buy 4, get 20% off
Buy 5, get 30% off
Buy 6, get 40% off
Buy 7, get 50% off
Buy 8, get 60% off
Buy 9, get 70% off
Buy 10, get 80% off
Buy 11, get 90% off
Buy 12, get 100% off
grann-4629
·3 weeks agoI'll take 12 please. Wait, if I order 24 do you have to send me some money too?
inhawaii
OP3 weeks ago@ten_o_nine
Come on, do you really think that was the discount I was looking for?
How about this scenario...
Buy 1 for $5.00 each
Buy 2 for $4.90 each
Buy 3 for $4.80 each
Buy 4 for $4.70 each
If you want to buy all 12, i'll let you have them for $4.69 each.
That's better than just saying NO.
ten_o_nine
·3 weeks agoI know, but seriously, if a seller was offering a listing with quantity of 12 with no discount for buying more than one, I would ask the question, but seller is already offering buy more save more up to 12.
I am sure you wanted to buy all 12 because it was the lowest price you could find. Sellers are here to make a profit for all the work they do.
inhawaii
OP3 weeks ago@ten_o_nine
I understand where you're coming from.
I hope you can understand where I'm coming from.
If the seller is willing to give a discount if you buy 1, 2 or 3 extra, why not at least CONSIDER a little discount for buying 11 extra. Just makes sense to me. The extra discount stops at 4. I was contemplating buying more than 4, but because of that I didn't. I didn't press the issue with the seller. The seller has the right to run their business how they see fit.
Example:
I don't offer any quantity discounts on any of my listings, but if someone was interested in buying 100 of my widgets, I would surely at least CONSIDER a discount. But again, that's just me. 😉
luckythewinner
·3 weeks ago · EditedYes. He does not want to give you a further discount just because you want more than 4. You can buy 4, buy 12, or buy 4 three times.
linenandlaceltd
·3 weeks agoSeller makes sense to me. I'd also only be willing to offer so much of a discount, and getting the 4 or more discount on all 12 is better than full price.
If it were me, I'd rather sell to several people and get more money than sell to one person that expects a deep discount because they're buying all 12.
gloryglorygifts
·3 weeks agoThey are already giving you a discount for 4 or more. I wouldn't give you extra either but I will give you free shipping.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoI'd want to know what kind of item we're talking about before I would extend that offer, LOL. Dish scrubbers -sure! Buckets of kitty litter ... uhh, no.
gloryglorygifts
·3 weeks agothankfully, most of my items that offer discounts are 4 ozs. No kitty litter! LOL
pastimpressions
·3 weeks agoYour logic is not flawed, it doesn't hurt to ask
The seller's logic is not flawed; there is no harm in enforcing bottom lines
For all you know, the seller enjoyed a unit cost upon merchandise acquisition that would enable/incentivize a further (however undisclosed) additional discount.
That's why IMHO it never hurts to ask.
Go bold or go home.
It was a fair ask with a fair reply.
frugalmarketplace
·3 weeks agoI think the seller was proper in his response.
bolensparts-360
·3 weeks agoI see no problem with the seller telling you he is only going to go as low as the posted discount Some sellers are actual business and buy in inventory at a set price and need to maintain a margin % not everyone has the flexibility of a flea market seller who got 50 pieces of a widget for pennies.
inhawaii
OP3 weeks agoOk I concede.
I guess my logic is flawed.
If i'm going to give someone a discount if they buy 2 instead of 1, I'm certainly going to give them a discount if they buy 12 instead of 1.
gurlcat
·3 weeks ago@inhawaii I think maybe everyone is either misinterpreting the situation, or you didn't explain it concretely. Because now it sounds like you're saying the seller wouldn't give ANY discount if you bought 12. But that's not what he said; he said there IS a discount on 4 or more.
Here's what I think we all pictured (I'll use made-up prices).
$10 if you buy 1
$18 if you buy 2 ($9 ea.)
$24 if you buy 3 ($8 ea.)
$7 ea. if you buy 4 or more.
You wanted 12, so if this^ pricing applied, it should be 12 X $7 = $84.
That definitely is a very nice discount compared to 12 X $10 = $120.
Your post made it sound like you thought the markdowns should keep stacking, cheaper and cheaper for the 'each" price, beyond the purchase of 4. And that's what everyone was replying about.
But now when you say^ "a discount if they buy 12 instead of 1" it sounds like you thought he would make you pay $120 for 12!! Sorry but I think you just misunderstood the discount.
inhawaii
OP3 weeks ago@gurlcat
Maybe I didn't explain it correctly.
My logic is...
Why would the seller offer the SAME discount to a customer buying 4 than to a customer buying 12 or how about 112 or how about 1200? Makes no sense to me, but that's just me.
jonathanbrightlight
·3 weeks agoBecause you can’t make up a loss in quantity… if providing a further discount would reduce their margins to the point of not making money or even losing money, it makes perfect sense. Presumably they paid a specific amount for each of those items, and that doesn’t change no matter how many you buy from them.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoThank you for clarifying, but I'm kind of surprised that we were actually reading you right the first time, considering you're a business person too.
But without seeing the listing, the prices, or even knowing what kind of item this was ... who knows, maybe your logic is actually spot-on!
tools*
·3 weeks agoMy interpretation of your post was that the seller was willing to offer a discount on only the first 4 items purchased.
Let's say that the asking price was $10 per unit. Buy 4 and pay $9 per unit. Buy 12 and pay $9 per unit for the first 4, and then $10 per unit for the remaining 8.
Or buy 4 at $9 apiece, another 4 at $9 apiece, and yet another 4 at $9 apiece.
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·3 weeks agoThey did.
You just didn't like the discount.
gurlcat
·3 weeks agoIt's kind of interesting to me that you titled this 'Seller Logic' because it sounds like you wanted them to operate on logic like that of a flea market or yard sale seller, but instead got a response like that of an employee manning the cash register at a store.
That tiered pricing structure is fairly common for certain kinds of items at big stores, and so I think that's what this seller modeled it on. But there's probably real logic to it as well, like whatevery the 'per each' price discount maxes out at 4 or more, that's all the discount he could give you without abandoning profit.
Also he's not operating a yard sale or flea market, where getting stuff 'gone' is part of the seller logic.
broto_64
·3 weeks ago · EditedYes, the seller's decision makes sense to me.
Speaking as a seller...
To honor your request I would have to edit the listing to specifically tailor it to your request, in the hopes you'll actually buy, for less money than if I simply do nothing.
And if you do not buy then it is even possible I drive some regular buyer away as he was only willing to purchase 1 or 2 right as I changed it to 12, not to mention what it could do to my search engine results when I ultimately have to change it back to its original form.
Last but not least I may actually have more than 12 in stock OR it's a regularly restocked item meaning it's not about emptying the clutter to me, whether you buy 1 or whether you buy 12, this MQ item isn't ending after the 12 sell...
Odd as well, I literally had this request for an item of which I have 12, however I only gave a discount for buying more than one (and have started doing this more and more, a simple discount of 1+)... I have found the whole game of 10% 15% 20% to simply create more work (and perhaps confusion) so to me it's one discount for any order of more than one.
ten_o_nine
·3 weeks agoThey already gave you the max discount. Their rule was '4 or more,' meaning you were getting a discount on all 12, the level 4 discount. You were asking for an extra level that they just don't offer.
tools*
·3 weeks agoAnd the result was that they sold 4 instead of 12.
inhawaii
OP3 weeks agoSellers logic:
If the customer buys just 1 more than 1, they get a discount.
If the customer buys just 1 more than 2, they get a extra discount.
If the customer buys just 1 more than 3, they get a extra discount.
If the customer buys just 1 more than 4, no discount.
If the customer wants to buys all 12, no discount.
Of course the customer can do whatever he/she chooses but this logic makes no sense to me.
ten_o_nine
·3 weeks agoIf the customer wants to buys all 12, no discount.
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Yes, there is a discount for the other 8 plates at the 4 plate level, the max.
tools*
·3 weeks agoYes, but you have to buy 4, 4, and 4 to maximize the discount. Just buying 12 costs more.
jonathanbrightlight
·3 weeks agoHow would buying them in sets of four increase the discount? The discount is the same if James buys 4 or 8 or 11 or 12. They just aren’t giving an additional discount for buying 12 vs 4.
ruby_c_took
·3 weeks agoWhy would it? If buying 4 (or more) lowers the item price on each one to say, $8, then all items you buy in your order of over 4 are $8 each. You don't gain anything by buying in groups of 4 that way. That's usually how volume discounts work, so the logic of the seller is just that the lowest per volume price they'll agree to is the one they've set for people who buy at least 4.
Unless we're all misunderstanding how the theoretical discount is applied in this situation.
ruby_c_took
·3 weeks agoI'm quite confused now. Here you're saying they're not offering a discount for more than 4, but in your original post, you said they replied telling you there is a discount for 4 or more. So which is it?
As presented here, of course it makes no sense to do it this way, but that's not how the situation was presented in the original post.
inhawaii
OP3 weeks agoJust curious what everybody thought.
Normally (me anyways) if you're willing to discount something to sell more, you would jump at the chance to sell all 12 instead of 4. No big deal. I ended up just buying 4 instead of 12.
lakefor94
·3 weeks agoIf I was the seller, I would have tried to get all your money I could.
tools*
·3 weeks agoI would generally be willing to forgo some profit to unload all of a product in a single sale, but that's just me.
tsme35
·3 weeks agomaybe shipping on 12 would be too high
christworks
·3 weeks ago@inhawaii I agree with @cityslickercreations2004 and @mamacassidy My first read of how you said you presented your question made my think you were asking if there was a discount on 12. I know you wouldn't ask that and that you were actually asking about an additional discount.
The seller may have understood what you were asking though. Who knows. I can't say their answer is wrong either way. If I had 20 widgets and you wanted all 20, I would prefer you message me with your best price to buy them all. Otherwise I have to sit here and do a bunch of math. Plus, if you say, "I'll give you $200 for all 100 of your widgets," that $200 has a nice ring to it. Unless, of course, I paid $2 for each of my widgets. Then I'm going to tell you to scram with that nonsense, just like I did with BillyBob who messaged a $50 offer for a $400 camera.
sin-n-dex
·3 weeks agoI had a bunch of German Inflation money up once before, and there were 1100 listings. The buyer offered me $1500 to take all of it. $1500 sounds great, but that's just over a buck a piece. Considering I figured the lowest price on most would be $3 each, I said no to the offer.
reallynicestamps
·3 weeks agoThe lowest price you would accept or the lowest price to replace?
If I could replace them for 50c each, selling them for $1.00 each would be fine. The cost of shipping would not be enough to damage my profit.
If I could not replace them for $3 then $1.00 is too low.
BUT
If I paid $3 each and had held them for "too long" (a month? a year? 10 years?) I might agree to $1.00 each because I have stuff and I want money.
ruby_c_took
·3 weeks agoMaybe they just misunderstood you. They thought they were answering your question--12 is more than 4, so you'll get a discount, they didn't understand that you wanted the amount of the discount to increase with each additional item after 4.
Or maybe they couldn't afford to increase the discount that much and are hoping 3 separate people will buy 4 instead of you buying all 12 with a progressive discount, which would work out better for them profit-wise.
iamalwaysright
·3 weeks ago · EditedIt depends. I have another flaw that adds to the mix. I've been told by some that I'm way too literal. If you ask me, most people are just too general lol.
Given that and that you outlined in the OP, as the seller I would just have multiplied the discount for 4 items times 3 and replied with that number to you. Most of my listings I offer combined item discounts solely generate a purchase history to help with the exposure of the listing for buyers to purchase the units individually. Or it could be seller is doing this to try and get a higher feedback score. To which it's not any more beneficial if a buyer purchases 1 unit or 12, it still counts as one order.
If it's clear that you asked the seller for an additional percentage discount from the one already offered for 4 items, then it's likely the seller is like me and doesn't like to use the word "No" in a reply to a buyer. I'd much rather rephrase my rejection to them in a softer tone.
Somewhat related, I have many listings that advertises and offers discounts once the buyer purchases 4 or 5 units or more. I get buyers asking if I would discount if they bought 2. I would then tell them "You will get a multiple item discount when you buy 4 units or more. Thanks!" If they can't read between the lines there and come back asking, it's BBL for them.
oldwestgold
·3 weeks agoIt's their sandbox. Four could be the limit that they have set to make a certain profit. I don't see the problem.
mam98031
·3 weeks agoI have found myself in that vary position before as a seller. Unfortunately on items that I do not have enough profit built in to accommodate such a request. I steer as clear of selling things at my cost or below whenever possible. I know there are times as a seller we need to do this, but none of us like it. So I won't go too low for a sale for items very often.
eburtonlab
·3 weeks agoPerhaps the discounted price for buying four or more items is the maximum discount the seller is willing to accept. Or the extra effort of creating a special discount for twelve items is not worth it just to unload twelve items in one transaction, in the seller's opinion. The seller may be confident that the items will still sell at the current discount and not see the need to offer a lower price.
Or perhaps the seller has gone to the trouble of setting up custom discounts for potential buyers in the past, only to have the buyers flake out, and has decided not to deal with such requests as a consequence.
authentic*vintage
·3 weeks agoA buyer over the weekend purchased I think 14 lids from me - I definitely gave a bundling discount. It just makes sense.
grann-4629
·3 weeks ago · EditedI saw some mafia (Capone, Luciano, etc.) cards that I liked, so I added 6 of them to my cart. When I went to purchase them, the shipping was over $25, based on a per card rate. Seller not willing to combine shipping ... 6 cards would cost no more than one card to mail.
authentic*vintage
·3 weeks agoThat's a nope for me too
gurlcat
·3 weeks ago@grann-4629 That's how you know that seller's strategy is about making their item prices appear low by building profit into shipping, which is why they wouldn't discount shipping regardless of the actual label cost to them.
In other words, that's how you know the seller is a moron.
tobaccocardyahoo
·3 weeks agoNot a surprising answer. How much you need to buy "to get the best price" is often not ALL. The best price is predefined by many sellers.
I would consider blocking you, if I did not already know anything about you.
cityslickercreations2004
·3 weeks agoJust guessin' here. "We already offer a discount if you buy 4 or more."
It appears seller thought you were asking if there was a discount with a purchase of 12 items. They have offered a discount which should cover all 12.
Perhaps, you were inquiring if there was an additional discount for all 12 were purchased. I have had no luck with this technique.
mamacassidy
·3 weeks agoI agree with this comment.
Maybe try offering a dollar amount?
ie, If the item is normally $5 each, then ask if they'd take $4 each if you bought all 12. I have had some luck with this method, but usually only if it's a large number of items or if the store is going out of business and they are looking to get rid of stuff.
lakefor94
·3 weeks agoJust means they are good with their discounted price when you buy 4 or 12, or not.
dirk12955
·3 weeks ago · Edited1) Buy 4 get discount
2) Buy 4 again
3) Buy 4 again
Got 12, Got the discount, Let the seller agonize over
to ship 4 at a time or combine the 12
Then there's the "Fee shipping" question. Is it?