Why are so many people so cheap these days?

[neveriiold]

I thought it was only at yard sales and on Craigslist that shoppers want everything for nothing.  I am findng the same mentality on eBay now.   I have been selling for about 10 years through various avenues and have never seen anything like this.  Have a brand new in package $175 quilt for sale on Craigslist (right now won't even think about listing it on eBay because of shipping costs) and am asking only $40.  Email I get yesterday only asks, "How low will you go?"  Really?  I know some people like this "game," but I am really tired of all the lowball offers.  

[livadia]

...selling on eBay sounds like a hatchery...Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!

@u_cant_take_it_with_u - LOL   

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

You're missing the point. When you have a bad attitude about buyers in general, that comes through in your listings. When you think of people as a herd you will turn away good paying buyers as well as the cheap ones.

Sometimes I wonder with the attitude some show here towards buyers why they're selling at all.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

So you' re asking only $40 for a $175 quilt? That's a sure clue that you are open to lowering the price even more!

List the quilt at $125 and THEN entertain offers.

~~C~~

[neveriiold]

I disagree.  There are buyers who still appreciate "value" and as for asking $80 for an item I think is fairly priced at $40, I just ruled out getting any lookers at all.  

[neveriiold]

You describe the type of buyer (some greedy dealers) who anger me the most.  When I first started selling, an older seasoned antique dealer once gave me this advice:  if you find something at a yard sale and the seller is asking $1.00 and you know you can make $5.00 off it, it is immoral to ask that seller to take less.  Be fair.  Pay them what they want/need and you still make money.  This lesson has always stuck with me.

[a_c_green]

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@keziak wrote:

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Email I get yesterday only asks, "How low will you go?"  Really?  I know some people like this "game," but I am really tired of all the lowball offers.  

Seems to me you could say something like $40 is a firm price, may be interested in discounting after holding for a longer period of time. 

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I agree that that's a very diplomatic way to respond. Back when we were holding garage sales and were handed that line in the morning, we'd respond by saying that if it's still here at 3:00 (or on the last day of the sale or whatever), we'll consider an offer.

<rant>

Now, having said that, I will also add that "How low will you go?" has always struck me as one of the dumbest, most insulting opening lines I think I've ever heard on a regular basis. It says to me, "Let's cut out all of the elegant ballet of bargaining, and just skip to the end where you reveal what your minimum price is, because I'm already assuming that you're going to give in." 

I'm not averse to bargaining, and I do it myself when buying under those same circumstances, but I'll at least find some logical point to start with, such as some flaw or other shortcoming in the item that the seller may not have noticed, or an offer to combine two or more purchases for something less than full price for each. Simply declaring that the current price is rejected and demanding a lower price instead for no particular reason is just plain rude.

<end_rant>

[retrose1]

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@neveriiold wrote:

You describe the type of buyer (some greedy dealers) who anger me the most.  When I first started selling, an older seasoned antique dealer once gave me this advice:  if you find something at a yard sale and the seller is asking $1.00 and you know you can make $5.00 off it, it is immoral to ask that seller to take less.  Be fair.  Pay them what they want/need and you still make money.  This lesson has always stuck with me.

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Agreed.

If you are going be making a profit anyway, why try to make more at the expense of someone else?  That's the reason why several fund raising rummage sales call me to let me know that they are having their sale this weekend.  They know that I am more than willing to pay what they are asking and don't give them grief about their prices.

I hit a garage sale years ago and there was a rude dealer couple that would take things out from under others piles, grab whole sections and throw all of it around while going through it, move things around and rearrange box lots and then waltzed up to seller and asked if they would take $10 for a box full of odds and ends that was marked $25 for all and they had tossed a pile more in it.  The seller paused for a second and I said that I would happily pay $25 for it since they didn't want to, and I would pay the posted price of the extra antiques they had tossed in hoping that the seller wouldn't notice.  I picked it up and and took it away from them and wouldn't let them take out the tin filled with the gold necklaces and rings the lady had taken out of the case and stuffed into.

They glared at me and then realized that they could not haggle the seller with me standing there and paid cash for a few items in their hands that were woefully underpriced and left.   The seller cut me an amazing deal after she saw how bad they had been and how much she would have lost to them and that the jewelry would get a much better price with less risk at a pawn shop or reputable used jewelry seller.

[pantlandia]

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@neveriiold wrote:

You raise a couple of valid points, but my premise remains.  If buyers can't afford the goods, they should move on and buy something else they can afford.

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But what does it hurt you when they try to find an item and offer a price that they can afford? You never know what a seller might accept and it really doesn't hurt to ask. Unless, or course, they get someone who is obviously offended so much that they would post in a forum about how cheap people are...

[neveriiold]

As many have already stated here, it is one thing to try and "negotiate" a better price if you think it is warranted.  It is another to try and take advantage of someone.  And, no, I don't let people take advantage of me and I am proud to post that fact here!!!

[neveriiold]

Good for you!  I wish more people would take the high road!!

[18704d]

" ...if you find something at a yard sale and the seller is asking $1.00 and you know you can make $5.00 off it, it is immoral to ask that seller to take less.  "

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I disagree.

If the seller agrees to a 50 cent offer, then the offer and acceptance was mutually 'moral'.

btw

has anyone in this thread acknowledged that perhaps some of these "cheap" people may have financial problems like unemployment, and need to keep a roof over their family's head and food on the table?

That may be why they're offering $25.00 for a $100.00+ item

Because every extra spare dollar they can squeeze out of the purchase price, may help them pay their rent or utilities on time.

jmtcw,

Lynn

[aurora777_58]

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@tybu_hild wrote:

I agree with you, sockmonkey.  Not many are fortunate enough to achieve the American Dream.  My children are a good example, they work hard, aren't extravagant and still haven't gotten there.  My youngest has a Masters in counseling, wants to do HS counseling but can't find a job because of budget cuts. She's married with children. 

BTW, I also refund my customers when they overpay for shipping.  I do the same on etsy where I also have a shop.

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I also refund any overages paid on shipping.   I don't cheat others and I don't want to be cheated.
I find it appalling that these venues take a percentage of shipping when shipping money isn't part of our money, but that's an example of the "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" rule.  

[retrose1]

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@18704d wrote:

" ...if you find something at a yard sale and the seller is asking $1.00 and you know you can make $5.00 off it, it is immoral to ask that seller to take less.  "

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I disagree.

If the seller agrees to a 50 cent offer, then the offer and acceptance was mutually 'moral'.

btw

has anyone in this thread acknowledged that perhaps some of these "cheap" people may have financial problems like unemployment, and need to keep a roof over their family's head and food on the table?

That may be why they're offering $25.00 for a $100.00+ item

Because every extra spare dollar they can squeeze out of the purchase price, may help them pay their rent or utilities on time.

jmtcw,

Lynn

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My general attitude is that if someone is so broke that they are budgeting every dollar for necessities, like food and toilet paper, then they shouldn't be shopping for luxuries and making offers for them on ebay.

I can find lots of recently made slightly used quilts and comforters at thrift shops and garage sales for $5-10 or less, especially in the summer.  If you are poor, then spend like it.  If it was something that isn't just to pretty up the house, maybe I would think about that, but the OPs buyer is just bottom feeding.

[18704d]

"My general attitude is that if someone is so broke that they are budgeting every dollar for necessities, like food and toilet paper, then they shouldn't be shopping for luxuries and making offers for them on ebay."

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If that luxury item is resellable on eBay

then it makes perfect sense for a broke person to buy it for it's resale profit potential.

Thanks,

Lynn

[rolenboy01]

It's entirely possible to be rude to cheapkates and be perfectly pleasant to others it's not as foreign concept that falls in line with not thinking of people as a herd, they never gave an indication that they had an attitude with all buyers that's something you implied.