Equipment buying negotiation strategies, haggling stories sellers, etc.

[Hay Dude]

I really don't like haggling especially for cars or tractors.
My last tractor purchase was easy. I had a 20% NHCA discount.
My Tesla was easier. 20 minutes on the internet and car and loan were secured.

I remember about 20 years ago, my older brother went into a GMC dealership to buy a vehicle he really liked.
He is a tough negotiator.
When he refused to take their lowest price offer, he stood up and said. "I'm done. I'm outta here". As he walked out the salesman started yelling at him and followed him outside with a few nasty comments. My brother's wife told me "you should have seen these guys follow him outside and chastise him for not taking their offer." lol

They went out of business a few years later. Deservedly so.
They had numbers, my brother was alone with his wife. Real tough guys....

 

[dodge man]

I’m trying to sell a set of 4 20” rims on Facebook marketplace now. One is curbed and two of the 4 are slightly bent. I don’t know if the curbed one is a bent one or not so I have them priced pretty cheap. We will see how it goes, brand new one of them is probably over $800.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Most of us have been there. We are buying equipment from a seller. We want the best price possible.
Interested in hearing some of your best negotiating tactics from a buyers perspective and your favorite buying conquests.

I love how my Uncle negotiated buying a baler listed at $14,000. The buyer let us know that several people had been out to look at it.

Uncle told him, "I have $12,000 with me, and then you can stop playing baler salesman."

This really helped the seller imagine the next few weeks of dealing with tire kickers and others. We took the baler home with us on that first trip.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

A fun story in case @haydude or any of you are looking to negotiate a quad.

As kids, my older brother found an ATV in the classifieds (this was before the internet). Brother wanted to take the ATV for a test drive but the seller was skeptical. Brother looked at me and said, "i'll leave him here for collateral."

The seller actually considered what would happen if bro didn't come back. "Can you repair fences?"

Oh, those innocent times . . .

 

[ultrarunner]

I never understood haggling over price. When I list equipment for sale, I usually just list it at half the price of new, figuring the buyer will come up with what they think it's actually worth after they see it. And when the buyer arrives and asks me, I always just say, "offer me a fair price for what you think it's worth." In every case I can remember, they offer more than I'd have suggested or accepted, and we both walk away happy.

Wasting my time to haggle over a few hundred dollars on an item I don't need or want anymore, is not how I want to spend my time. Likewise on the buying end, if I need the thing, I'm not going to let a difference of a few dollars stand between me and getting it. My time is worth more than that.

I grew up around the car business and every car, new and used had the price on the window…

It was a very rare occurrence for someone to come in and say write it up, I will take it.

 

[JohnTexas]

I looked to upgrade my tractor and wanted a used 75hp John Deere to save money since I do not put a lot of hours on it. Tried Facebook Marketplace but some sellers were poor communicators or items were sold by the time I followed up. Wound up getting a great deal from a large JD dealer network with a dozen locations. An advantage is they have no emotional attachment to the tractor and it is just iron costing them money sitting on their lot. Missed out on a couple but was quick to make a deal when another one came up for sale. While they may be trades or repos you do get some dealer warranty, serivce, etc. and they are usually priced fairly. I was fortunate the one I purchased also had an extended warranty that was purchased by the previous owner. I was told he used for a short while and then traded for a skid steer as the tractor was not the best option for his needs.

 

[sixdogs]

I try to price things fairly and not overly play the mark up to mark down game. So I'm fairly firm on price ask a seller. Over the years, I've met some real characters that try to way underbid from me.

It doesn't always work but maybe half the time I can turn that around into a sale by treating the buyer better than he expected. I explain that I price things fairly and then explain why. Maybe I've owned it six years or the original owner. I grease it before every use, never let it sit out and clean it every fall. I have all the owner's manuals and take pride in ownership. "So I appreciate your offer but I priced it at a level I know will sell."

You would be surprised at the people that will pay my price. Not the low end guys but the guys that did their homework and are deeper thinkers. They searched prices and know everything I told them was true.

 

[ultrarunner]

Sometimes professional sellers are the worst…

A car dealer had a one year old boat he owned and had at the dealership with a for sale sign… he was going through a divorce.

Boat checked out but it was end of season so I made a fair cash offer…

He said it was a good start but held firm…

I said no problem… I’m still looking… call me if you reconsider…

He called a few times but always to haggle…

About a week later he said the boat is yours if I bring cash by noon today… ok

I show up with $8800 and he says change of plan… he has someone coming at $9,500

I said you wasted my time and left…

That night he calls and said the boat is yours at my price… I say going to Tahoe and back in 3 days…

Come home to messages to come get my boat…

I found and bought a beautiful Sea Ray for $8000 and tell him so.

For about a week he kept calling offering to deliver but I never responded…

That dealership no longer exists…

 

[BleedingOrange]

I tried selling various items at a firm price, but soon realized that everyone wants a discount, so I then started adding the amount I was willing to discount to the selling price, let them talk me down to what I actually wanted for the item, and it is a win win for both of us. I never put firm price in my adds, so most potential buyers will know there is probably some room for negotiation.

 

[Hay Dude]

I tried selling various items at a firm price, but soon realized that everyone wants a discount, so I then started adding the amount I was willing to discount to the selling price, let them talk me down to want I actually wanted for the item, and it is a win win for both of us.

That’s how I sell.
The only disadvantage to that is that you could chase away some prospective buyers with an overly high ask price.
I found over the years there are some very shy buyers who barely have the courage to call about your item not to mention haggle.

I may have told this story before, but a long time ago, I had a flail mower for sale on CL. A guy from about 300 miles away called about it and we talked for a bit. I told him under no circumstances would I take les than $2,500 for it. I made sure he understood, because I didn’t want him to drive 300 miles only to offer me less and he go home empty handed.

I was on the barn fixing some boards when they arrived to pick it up. He looked the mower over and sure enough, offered me less. I reminded him of our previous discussion about not taking less than $2,500. At the time, I was alone, there were 2 of them. I did not have a sidearm. I did not have cell phone reception, either. I only had my tool belt on and a 28oz Estwing mill faced framing hammerin my hammer holder. The main buyer told his buddy who was driving “I’ll get the gun” as he walked to the cab of the truck. His buddy chased after him and convinced him not to.
I told them to get off my property. A sort of stand-off developed and the buyer’s friend convinced him to “cool out”. Fortunately, he did. The main buyer sat in the truck, punching things and cursing. His buddy paid me the $2,500 while I carefully loaded it up.
They left without further incident.

 

[Fxfymn413]

Cash on the hip is always a good negotiating tool. I bought a very lightly used 32 foot hydraulic dovetail trailer for $2K less than the asking price, which was already low, when I told the seller I had a stack of Benjamins in the truck. He was a business owner; "As long as Uncle Sam never knows I sold this its yours." Two hours later I had the title in hand in my name and was on my way home.

Because of many factors that trailer is now selling for almost double what I paid for it seven years ago. Probably the only thing with wheels I ever bought that went up in value without me doing a thing to it.

 

[ultrarunner]

Location is also a factor…

When I sold a tractor the buyer traveled some distance and when he arrived in East Oakland exit he told me he almost turned around thinking it was a set up…

About a mile after he had that thought he reached my address and waited in the car… he said had I not went out to greet him he would have left.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

As a buyer, I search out the item I am interested in, or have found I didn't know I needed. I do my research to determine a fair price for new/used item. I then reach out to owner and confirm price/basic condition etc. If I am satisfied its within my judgement for a fair price I buy it. If I think its high after looking at it (they all ain't mona lisa's) I offer what I feel is fair. That's it. I can usually walk away without issues.

If something is listed overpriced I rarely contact to negotiate the price.

When selling I try to determine a fair price. If buyer tries to negotiate I will say you know I am open to negotiations, I will take $500 more than my asking price... Makes me laugh anyway... Them not so much sometimes. I guess it also depends on my mood.

 

[tradosaurus]

I tried selling various items at a firm price, but soon realized that everyone wants a discount, so I then started adding the amount I was willing to discount to the selling price, let them talk me down to want I actually wanted for the item, and it is a win win for both of us.

That sounds about like what you would do.
I'm sure quite a few people don't even bother asking about what you are selling.
A savvy buyer will know that the item you are selling is worth so you must be able to take advantage of some poor sap.

 

[howardjohn]

I have found that cash is king! Showing up to look at something with cash in hand is a really good incentive for a seller to sell at a lower price. Also if it is on craigslist I wait to see how long it stays on. If it is on a long time at a price I think is high the seller maybe more willing to deal if he has not gotten a lot of calls about it.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Reminds me of the time I bought a enclosed trailer. I saw the ad on CL. Was to meet the buyer in a food lion parking lot several miles from my house. I was there on time, so were 3 other potential buyers. Talk about non negotiations... Luckily I had cash and walked away with it.

 

[WinterDeere]

lol... seller was hoping to start his own private bidding war!

 

[Flogger]

I figure I’m too old to argue. I started with car dealers by doing my research on value. When I contact the dealer I make my offer which is immediately followed by foggy bs in an attempt to leave the door open for their revenue enhancers. I give them a few minutes to bloviate to reduce the swelling in their head and then I say I will pay you $xxxxxx and that is the number that will be on the check. All I need from you is yes or no. It really stuns them and since I really do make fair offers they always call me back. The closest I have come to a rejection was on my wife’s current car. I made the offer and then got tied up at work so the search stopped momentarily. When he called back 3 weeks later I got another $1500 by feigning disinterest.

 

[kenmac]

That's exactly what I paid for the same mule about 6 months ago. Mine was a 'demo' that had been loaned to the local small college. It had about 250 miles on it and came with a full warranty. Sales tax here is about 9.5% and that was included in the 18K.

Mine wasn't a demo and I really didn't need the wheel/tire upgrade, or the winch. I had never gotten stuck in the 4010 that I use to own and it didn't have a winch. just got a better deal on this because it was a left over 24 model ranch edition .

 

[Hay Dude]

I am in the negotiation process right now on a fairly large item. I’d like to share with you how I negotiated this sale.
It has sort of “evolved” over the last 2 weeks.

The first negotiating strategy I used was the truth or “facts” whichever you chose to call it.

I immediately noticed the unit is manufactured by a “tier-2” manufacturer, so it is automatically worth a bit less than the more prevalent “tier-1” manufacturers, despite being similar quality. The seller wasn’t aware of this and wanted same as the biggest/best manufacturer.
That was the first strategy that allowed me to negotiate price, but I never offered a number. He lowered the price because I merely pointed this out to him.

​

The second strategy was also using truth.

While he lowered the price initially about 6% to keep my interest, I told him I was looking at other units. Of course, I did go look at other comparable units. In the ensuing days, he would contact me, but I would not return much communication. I let about 2 weeks go by, looking at similar units, letting the seller know I was looking at other similar units. Silence is a strategy. And of course competition is a strategy.

Then the dam broke over the weekend. He brought his price down another 6%. I believe it was because he understood he might lose me to another comparable unit. We talked a bit and I negotiated some additional services from the lower number HE gave me.
I never offered any number in the entire negotiation process.

It looks like the deal is done. Will let you know if it goes through. I don’t like to count my chickens before they hatch.