Does the *groveling for a sale* thing work for you?

[dubiousgain]

And by that I mean, sending a watcher of ones listing, a lesser price offer; And to be sure, call it what you will, but in my opinion, that IS, groveling.... and I don't think it has ever panned out for me. I think that 80% (if not more) of my watchers, are chronic watchers, for various reasons.  And by the same token, as a warcher, I don't think I've ever accepted a seller's offer)  So back to my  original question, how many times has sending a watcher an offer, resulted in a sale for you?

[chapeau-noir]

I've been a 'poor American' wandering in some pretty obscure places and people have still have offered me things for sale, hawking it to me just as they do the locals passing by.  One man did so was selling produce and we ended up chatting in the shade, and he played me some of the local music on his boom box - I was down in the Caribbean.  Small villages, no tourist traps.

[patd3283]

We were in Grenada with our 16 year old son - tall, blond, rather good looking...

Girls would come up to him (even with his Mom and Dad sitting there) with swim suits that would zip off and make offers to him.

Don't know whom was more surprised, him or me 🙂

[chapeau-noir]

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@patd3283 wrote:

We were in Grenada with our 16 year old son - tall, blond, rather good looking...

Girls would come up to him (even with his Mom and Dad sitting there) with swim suits that would zip off and make offers to him.

Don't know whom was more surprised, him or me 🙂

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๏̯͡๏ Whoa! 

[moondogblues]

OMG...I had to laugh.

[gracieallen01]

Ahhhhh, but for the good ole days!

[ersatz_sobriquet]

What some might call a "tourist trap" I might call heaven...nothing like leaving the great white north in winter and getting off a plane and having that heat hit my face, that sunshine, that music, those fresh vegetables with twice as much flavor as ours, those smiling faces whether trying to sell me something or not...this "rich?" American says please transport me to that "tourist trap"! 

[city*satins]

Does the shop keeper run out in the street, and grab a pedestrian and say: "Hey, I noticed you glanced in the store window at those socks" ?? AB---surd. 

Actually,  I bought a ton of Dead Sea skin care products because a merchant at a mall saw me glancing at the stuff and slowing down a bit as I was walking buy.   Ten minutes later,  my pocketbook was $125 lighter. 

His best line while showing me stuff was  "You don't worry about the price!  I'll make you a great deal!"

It was nice stuff, by the way.  Not as effective as spending a week soaking in dead sea mud, but cleared up some skin issues.

So yeah...it happens and for some merchants, it's a winning strategy.

I didn't see his behavior as groveling.  Going out among the potential customers is an age-old tradition in many marketplaces.  In some places I've traveled, I've made a point of getting into the scene early (as a buyer) because for some merchants, the first sale of the day is lucky or unlucky and signals how the rest of the day is going to go.

[lindyslucky]

Reminds me of being in England with our 15 year old son...

We got heavily pushed when we were eating out to buy him beer.

They kept saying it was ok, they didn't mind.

Goes to show different locales.... different behaviors are acceptable. 

And the send offers have only worked once for us as sellers....we've probably sent dozens.

And while we have had offers, we have never accepted(I don't think).

Sometimes they come too quickly.

Sometimes I'm hoping to make money & havent.

And, for me, I wonder if item is overpriced to begin with.

I feel the same about best offer.

In my humble opinion, eBay offers too many ways to buy, and it becomes confusing for buyers.

[chapeau-noir]

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@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:

What some might call a "tourist trap" I might call heaven...nothing like leaving the great white north in winter and getting off a plane and having that heat hit my face, that sunshine, that music, those fresh vegetables with twice as much flavor as ours, those smiling faces whether trying to sell me something or not...this "rich?" American says please transport me to that "tourist trap"! 

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I find those excellent things without going to tourist traps - there's a whole world out there.

[chapeau-noir]

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@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:

What some might call a "tourist trap" I might call heaven...nothing like leaving the great white north in winter and getting off a plane and having that heat hit my face, that sunshine, that music, those fresh vegetables with twice as much flavor as ours, those smiling faces whether trying to sell me something or not...this "rich?" American says please transport me to that "tourist trap"! 

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Also, I think you're reacting to someone else's comment about "tourist traps" and "rich Americans", as did I.

[earlyant-77]

And this addresses something I have been saying on here for years, which is that professional sellers are forced to compete on the same platform with casual sellers who don't care what they get for an item, or others who do stuff like this "just to keep busy."

I've been saying for years that the casual sellers are forced to compete on the same platform as "professional" sellers.

Plus, I only search auctions, and have never bought anything new from here other than maybe watch batteries not conveniently available. Only antique/vintage.

[dubiousgain]

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@city*satins wrote:

Does the shop keeper run out in the street, and grab a pedestrian and say: "Hey, I noticed you glanced in the store window at those socks" ?? AB---surd. 

Actually,  I bought a ton of Dead Sea skin care products because a merchant at a mall saw me glancing at the stuff and slowing down a bit as I was walking buy.   Ten minutes later,  my pocketbook was $125 lighter. 

His best line while showing me stuff was  "You don't worry about the price!  I'll make you a great deal!"

It was nice stuff, by the way.  Not as effective as spending a week soaking in dead sea mud, but cleared up some skin issues.

So yeah...it happens and for some merchants, it's a winning strategy.

I didn't see his behavior as groveling.  Going out among the potential customers is an age-old tradition in many marketplaces.  In some places I've traveled, I've made a point of getting into the scene early (as a buyer) because for some merchants, the first sale of the day is lucky or unlucky and signals how the rest of the day is going to go.

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And that is great that it worked out for you; But let's be honest here, your one story does not negate the millions of other stories that are dissimilar to yours. And I'm sorry if you find the term "groveling" distasteful, or uncomfortable, but that doesn't make it any less the truth. Check your dictionary to see what the definition for groveling is.  Call it what you will, but it is totally applicable.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Dropping the price on an item is hardly groveling. Now if you were personally emailing buyers and begging that would be different. Dropping a price is not servile or obsequious, it’s just a business proposition.

unless you mean the crawling on the ground with bowed head version which would be hard to do over the interwebs yet possibly entertaining.

i understood it was a figurative reference not literal but I still disagree with the word in the case of making offers. This is a business not some Victorian Penny Dreadful. Oh the humanity!

[dubiousgain]

I guess it's all about synonyms  or in this case,  possibly pseudo synonyms. But look at all of the threads this post has generated, in just a few days...mainly concerned with terminology. That should tell you something.  And look at all of the  thumbs up that  the threads have received. And you have to admit",

 

"groveling" certainly grabbed your attention.

[u_cant_take_it_with_u]

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@dubiousgain wrote:

I guess it's all about synonyms  or in this case,  possibly pseudo synonyms. But look at all of the threads this post has generated,

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       That's likely the truth. Had you used a word steeped in repose, you would not have received half the response. Using the term groveling is an anthima to most sellers, I would imagine; Ergo that innate defense mechanism kicks in. A defense is best served, when it serves oneself.