Are people not haggling?

Not on CL. If you want to bid on things, you buy on eBay. When I just want to get rid of something, I put it on Craigslist at the price I want. I ignore the lowball offers, and sell it to the first person with cash. I think a lot of people use this model, I rarely get offers below my ask.

I enjoy haggling, and i've recently added a tool that I think I read on this board and has been really successful in the last two deals i did. this doesn't work in all situations but does usually work for private one-on-one transactions. the trick: silence

when selling, if someone makes an offer and its still too low to go the "split the difference" route, or you simply want more money out of them, just give them the silent treatment, many times they'll make another higher offer without you even saying anything. works similar when buying too, they don't counter low enough, you let them stew on it and think you're about to walk before you come back only $100 higher.

selling silence worked for me when i sold a couple of sea-doos a while back. guy came at me with an offer that was within my willing acceptance range, so i decided to keep quiet to see if it would work, and sure enough, he came up another couple hundred bucks.

also when i just bought my mazda3, i lowballed a bit but the car is kinda rough, and gave him the silence for a bit before coming back to just under my max, and he took it.

lots of fun, just wish i could haggle on stuff without spending a bunch of money though.

classicJackets wrote: I hate when people offer (especially on cars) without even seeing what it looks like in real life.

I've done this. When a car is priced at $3000 OBO, sometimes the person wants $2900 and sometimes they want $1500. If I'm only prepared to spend $2000 right now, you can bet your ass I am going to make an offer before seeing it. Why waste both our time?

I haggle everything, but I also don't low ball. I make reasonable offers and go from there.

If someone is asking stupid money, I either ignore or wait. I will check back once in a while to see if the price is coming down.

The exception is cars with blown drivetrains (engines, transmissions, etc.). I will not pay big $$$$'s for these. No your 02 WRX with a blown motor is not worth $5K, sorry!

NGTD wrote: I haggle everything, but I also don't low ball. I make reasonable offers and go from there. If someone is asking stupid money, I either ignore or wait. I will check back once in a while to see if the price is coming down. The exception is cars with blown drivetrains (engines, transmissions, etc.). I will not pay big $$$$'s for these. No your 02 WRX with a blown motor is not worth $5K, sorry!

ha! i've been seeing RSX Type-S on CL with bad motors for only a few hundred under running/driving examples.

I was once at a swap meet with friends and they had a friend (a used boat dealer) that wanted a late 60s Chevy truck. My friends (hardcore Chevy guys) had scoped things out the day before and narrowed it down to 5 nice trucks. The used boat dealer offered HALF the asking on all 5 trucks and left his cell phone number. He bought the first one that called back. All the while he was taking calls from his business selling boats over his phone. I would have never thought of offering on all 5 trucks, and telling the guy when he called back that he waited to long, that I already bought a different truck.

spin_out wrote: I was once at a swap meet with friends and they had a friend (a used boat dealer) that wanted a late 60s Chevy truck. My friends (hardcore Chevy guys) had scoped things out the day before and narrowed it down to 5 nice trucks. The used boat dealer offered HALF the asking on all 5 trucks and left his cell phone number. He bought the first one that called back. All the while he was taking calls from his business selling boats over his phone. I would have never thought of offering on all 5 trucks, and telling the guy when he called back that he waited to long, that I already bought a different truck.

Did he buy a truck or what?

In reply to Strizzo:

There's a solid/not stolen type-s a block over from me with a ticket for a way expired tag that hasn't been moved in a while judging by the rusty rotors. I'm gonna keep an eye on it and see if it gets impounded. It should go for about 1k at gov deals. Not a sure fire strategy as a G35 that kept getting tickets finally moved added a tag and again hasn't moved since! His emissions are about to expire as are the type s emissions.

https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/5991821815.html

Just offered $800 on this. Seller was not amused.

My brother just sold a 2010 Jeep Patriot on Carsoup.com for his asking price, the buyers didn't haggle at all.

I just bought a Dewalt cordless impact driver and did not haggle.

It must depend on the part of the country you're in. I've had some stuff on Craigslist for a few weeks now, and I either get ridiculous lowball offers or people who waste my time by acting interested, only to break off contact inexplicably. The one thing I did manage to sell thus far, I ended up taking $50 less than I originally wanted because I was so sick of dealing with it.

I berkeleying hate craigslist.

I guess for me it depends on how the item is priced. If it is fairly priced, I don't quibble. A lady listed a piece of Statton furniture on a local Facebook yard sale site for $150. My wife bought a bedroom suite of this stuff 30 years ago and paid $4k for it then. When I picked the piece up, the lady pulled a some paperwork out of a drawer and started explaining what Statton furniture was to me. I smiled and told her we already had some. She laughed and said "I should have asked for more money". I got it out of the house as quickly as I could. Fortunately her husband was there because that was a heavy SOB.

I typically won't low ball. I won't make an offer at all. I may if the item is crack-priced, just to piss the person off. There is a local guy on CL trying to sell Triumph lug nets for $65 each.

mtn wrote: https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/5991821815.html Just offered $800 on this. Seller was not amused.

Holy E36 M3! That's some of the worst crackpipe pricing I have seen in a long time. I would have offered $500. That's a Lemons/chump car at best.

fanfoy wrote:

mtn wrote: https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/5991821815.html Just offered $800 on this. Seller was not amused.

Holy E36 M3! That's some of the worst crackpipe pricing I have seen in a long time. I would have offered $500. That's a Lemons/chump car at best.

Yeah, I offered $800 to annoy him, but I was later thinking that was too high once you consider that you've got to put new tires, a new battery, probably a new timing belt, maybe even a new gas tank and lines (at minimum drain the old gas)... All to end up with a car worth $2,500 BEST CASE.

Our interactions:
mtn: Interested in the car, but you’re WAY off on the price. Would you take $800? This is a car with a rebuilt title, flood damage, doesn’t run, hasn’t been driven in 20 years… basically all that it has going for it is rust free.

Crackpipe seller: Lol. I think you’re way off. I think at your price point you’re better off shopping at the junkyard.

mtn: Look, the car is worth $3,000 if its running. It has a salvage title. But it’s not running. It needs new tires, a new battery, the fuel tank needs to be drained, it may need a new fuel tank, the fuel lines may be gummed, it needs to have the cylinders directly oiled bypassing the oil pump… anything rubber is probably shot, including the timing belt. Do you know if it’s a long or short nose crank?
If you think you can get what you’re asking, more power to you and good luck. (Have you had much interest?) Otherwise my offer stands

Crackprice: God I love you craigslisters. Go buy someone else’s $800 1990 Mazda Miata. Thanks.

Everything I've sold on CL I have gotten what I asked for, but I tend to ask for what I think are just below market prices for items that have some demand that I have and do not want. If I don't think there is demand, it goes to the trash or is donated. I tend to see part of CL as paying it forward a little.

Everything I have bought off CL I have paid what was asked and did not make an offer, mostly for the same reasons I set prices for what I sell, the same rules apply to what I seek to buy. I'm looking around on CL every day, its interesting to see how fast ads will disappear when people price things to sell them. My recent favorite was a 1995 Bronco-not perfect and high miles but no rust, $2500. Gone within an hours. I bought my Tahoe, 1999 with 208K, leather, heated seats, Husky liners throughout, owners manual and records form a one owner family for $2500. Within hours of the ad going up we were meeting in the parking lot of a mexican restaraunt. That having been said I don't go looking on CL for things that cost real money either.

I have had people drive 40 miles and a bridge toll to offer me half of what I am asking, I use the "thanks for the offer, but I have other interested parties," whether I do or not is of no concern but waiting for someone to come by is annoying. I am not talking huge money either, stuff like a $40 motorcycle exhaust. Time wasters. You really want to be annoyed selling, give out your phone number for texts, I think some people just like to bother.

The sweet spot for haggling seems to be 40 to 25% off of asking price. Be cordial with people and show respect and you can get deals.

I don't know what it is that makes young males so averse to a bit of haggling on both the buying and selling sides. It's good for when I'm a seller, but not so good when I'm a buyer (firm at $3000 for a slightly beat if mechanically solid E36 318i is somewhat ridiculous).

mtn wrote: https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/5991821815.html Just offered $800 on this. Seller was not amused.

CL cracksmoker wrote: 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata - $5700 It has a rebuilt title. It came from Florida with a history of flood damage. The price takes into account the $$ you'll have to put into it to get it running.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA gasp HAHAHAHA BWAHAHAHAHA tears Wow.

mtn wrote: https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/5991821815.html Just offered $800 on this. Seller was not amused.

"The price takes into account the $$ you'll have to put into it to get it running." ...and helpfully adds those $$ on top.

Duke wrote:

mtn wrote: https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/5991821815.html Just offered $800 on this. Seller was not amused.

CL cracksmoker wrote: 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata - $5700 It has a rebuilt title. It came from Florida with a history of flood damage. The price takes into account the $$ you'll have to put into it to get it running.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA *gasp* HAHAHAHA BWAHAHAHAHA *tears* Wow.

Yea, WOOOOOOOW! Give me some of what that guy is smoking!

I might just send an email myself to further antagonize the shiny happy person.

Furious_E wrote:

Duke wrote:

mtn wrote: https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/5991821815.html Just offered $800 on this. Seller was not amused.

CL cracksmoker wrote: 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata - $5700 It has a rebuilt title. It came from Florida with a history of flood damage. The price takes into account the $$ you'll have to put into it to get it running.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA *gasp* HAHAHAHA BWAHAHAHAHA *tears* Wow.

Yea, WOOOOOOOW! Give me some of what that guy is smoking! I might just send an email myself to further antagonize the shiny happy person.

I'm honestly curious how he came to that valuation. KBB values a 92 with the same mileage in Excellent condition at $2500.

Twenty years from now he'll still be selling that Miata. Only difference will be that he'll add an extra zero and substitute his dad's sob story for a similar sob story about himself.

This thread kinda confuses me. Honestly, my understanding in person-to-person selling/buying has always been one of negotiation. I assume that the price is slightly higher than the person is actually trying to sell it for and what I offer is usually slightly lower than what I'm willing to pay. We meet somewhere in the middle. I buy and sell a lot of things on Craigslist and don't bother to call a person who has "firm" listed nor do I ever phrase a potential sale that way. Negotiating is not low balling. Two anecdotes real quick: I bought my current civic DD off craigslist. The seller wanted 5.5k for it at the time, I offered him 5, we ended up at 5.2 because in my mind (and his too, probably) the car was worth somewhere between 5 and 5.5 thousand. I also bought my Fender bass off of cL many years ago and got it for $100 under asking because I had cash with me and it was a Tuesday (or something) night.

In reply to penultimeta:

I think the problem with Craigslist is that everyone has different expectations of what the proper "etiquette" is.

And apparently in my area, the etiquette is to waste sellers' time and offer them a quarter of what the item is worth.