What would you consider Low Balling?

[Yikes]

I have a couple of items up on Audiogon. One item retails for $9000 (Still a current product) and I believe that I am asking a fair price of $5000.

So I receive an offer for $3500. To me that is pretty serious Low Balling. Especially considering that the ad has only been up for a couple of hours. I could maybe see if the ad had been up for 3 weeks and the item hasn't sold yet, but for a new ad?

If I were interested in a similar item I'd offer something like $4250 - $4500. A still substantial discount off the asking price, but not insultingly low either. So am I wrong in considering such an offer Low Balling?

[grawk]

It's up to you what to take. I don't know that over half of your asking is necessarily low balling.

[seacard]

There was a pair of JC1s on Audiogon two weeks ago in mint condition that went for under $3700 (the seller was asking for $3700, not sure what he finally got). And it took a week. So I don't think $3500 is entirely unreasonable.

[Augsburger]

For me, anything greater than a 10% discount of the asking price is a lowball attempt.

[Yikes]

There's no way that I'd sell them for $3700. and considering that I've received close to a dozen questions regarding the sale in less than 4 hours there seems to be lots of interest.

[The Monkey]

Not trying to be obnoxious, but what does it matter if it is "low balling"? You have a notion of what you will accept, and that ain't it. At the same time, the offeror is trying to see if he can get a bargain. Nothing wrong with that, if a little annoying. Just tell him thanks for the offer, but that it's not close to what you will accept and move on. Or just ignore him completely.

Now if you are getting a lot of "low ball" offers at around the same price from different people, then maybe you need to reconsider your pricing.

[Driftwood]

Just as a data point, when I bought my JC-1s on audiogon, the asking price was $3500. I think the resell price is impacted by the original price being $6000/pair, which still shows up in a lot of searches since it was quoted in a lot of the reviews.

[jvlgato]

I agree with The Monkey. I'd emphasize that it is annoying, and that's why I hate selling stuff anywhere except here, but it's just part of the deal when you sell stuff. The buyer just figures you can say 'No', plus should you decide to come down in price later, maybe now he/she is first line. But again, I would say that I get annoyed at significantly lower offers, whether it's considered low balling or not.

[skullguise]

Agreed with a lot of the above.

If I get a price offered that is far enough below my asking, I often reply with something to the effect of "I might do that price, but would prefer to wait [some period of time] to see if I get at or closer to my asking price."

More often than not, especially in this case where it's a fairly new ad, the person will come back with a better offer if they are truly interested.

[Voltron]

Ditto Dinny.

[n3rdling]

When I put something up for sale at a price I know is reasonable I usually say something like "lowballers will be ignored". It's worked wonders

[justin]

is the item for sale a cable?

[guzziguy]

The important thing is not to take low offers personally. It's about the person making the offer, not the seller. If you get an offer that you consider to be lo-ball, either ignore it or respond according to some of the suggestions above. Don't let it cause you to raise your blood pressure even one mm HG (1 unit of pressure). It's just not worth it.

[seacard]

is the item for sale a cable?

Yikes is selling the Parasound JC1 monoblocks, and the Usher Be-20 speaker. The JC1s, I assume, are the ones that he received this offer on. The Be-20, by they way, is a terrific speaker at this price. The Be-10 has always been on my short list, assuming I wanted a dynamic, box speaker.

[Wmcmanus]

There's no way that I'd sell them for $3700. and considering that I've received close to a dozen questions regarding the sale in less than 4 hours there seems to be lots of interest.

Then it seems like you've answered your own question. I think everyone needs to define for himself what lowballing is, and I think it's very situation specific. It seems like in this case he was testing the waters to see if he could grab them quickly with a low offer before others could jump in. That could either be viewed as a lowball offer from your perspective (which I guess means you could take offense to it, and write back with a nasty reply, or whatever you deem appropriate), or it could be viewed as nothing more than a buying strategy on his part. Maybe he's not a 'serious' buyer because in his heart of hearts he's looking for something else, but he could be convinced to grab these if the price is right from his perspective.

[grawk]

When someone offers a price that the last couple of things sold at, it's hard to call it lowballing, even if it's a lot lower than what you're asking