What's your bottom dollar?

[CobyRupert]

Well , i have been through that ruse to.
Guy shows up wanting to buy a 1st gen Mazda RX7 I listed for parts with a toasted rotary I bought it for the interior and spare rear axle for my other RX7.

the guy shows up, then wants me to (donate) it to the church group he is part of and they are going to restore it and then do a raffle.
That's when I start asking questions - like where are you going to find a new interior, good rotary engine, battery body work paint and a rear axle. I tell him that the car is a true parts car and is not worth restoring and if I can't get a few bucks for it, the metal recycler will come and get it sight unseen and pay me $200.

Then he admits that is all he was going to do (for the church), So then I ask which church he is talking about and I can see he hasn't even thought that part up yet.
At this point I get out my cell phone and call the recycler and set up the pick up of the car.

Too bad it wasn't a real church. Then if you donated that "rare 1st gen Mazda RX7, good condition, needs some work" that's "worth" $3500 - $10,000 or whatever the Blue Book value says (hey, THEY'RE the experts, you're no expert vehicle appraiser!), the tax write-off / savings may be worth a lot more than $200.

 

[two_bit_score]

My Ads say FIRM yet some yahoo always low balls you and stresses CASH. I guess you can't blame them for trying.

Putting warnings in ones ads, just drives people away. It's just something you have to deal with.

As the Seller: "It's for sale for $100."

As the Buyer: "I would pay $50."

If a seller says to me that they 'want' $100 I just think that is their 'hope I can get it' price. I will then say "I'd be a buyer at $50".

If some one says to me 'what will you take' I say "Its for sale for $XXX." If I'm negotiable on price I add "What would you pay?".

TBS

 

[Industrial Toys]

If I want 100, I will ask for 120 and say FIRM. I have reduced the price even for people who don't haggle to what I was expecting to get.

 

[ning]

Too bad it wasn't a real church. Then if you donated that "rare 1st gen Mazda RX7, good condition, needs some work" that's "worth" $3500 - $10,000 or whatever the Blue Book value says (hey, THEY'RE the experts, you're no expert vehicle appraiser!), the tax write-off / savings may be worth a lot more than $200.

Until 13 years ago, yes.

Now, the church will auction the donated car, send you a form with the amount gained at auction noted for your tax records, and that's what you get to claim as your charitable contribution.

(ref: IRS Guidance Explains Rules for Vehicle Donations | Internal Revenue Service)

 

[SARG]

I've sold two garden tractors and a rotary cutter in the last two weeks. Two items sold off CL & the third was a drive-by buyer. I just list the sale price for $50. over what I want. Seems to work.... they get what they think is a break & I get what I think the item is worth.

 

[Shaneard]

I've sold a lot of stuff on the local classifieds, it's pretty easy to weed out the bottom feeders and the actual buyers. The low ballers will text with a low price, I always respond "that will hold it until you can come up with the rest". It usually shuts them up. If I've sit on it for a few weeks with no interest usually the first person to offer anything gets it. I've also got more blocked numbers in my phone from scammers than numbers from actual people I know.

 

[caver]

Haggling is expected but "what's your bottom dollar" just seems more and more prevalent. It's the LACK of negotiating skills or laziness that seems to have crept into society. I was ranting about this to a female friend who said that's why she stopped having garage sales. She had some baby toy for sale that retailed for 50$, she put 1$ on it. She had just shut down the garage sale and moved everything inside when a lady knocked on her door and offered her 25 cents for it LOL she said NO and gave it to goodwill. Me, I would have had more fun with it. I would have said sure let me get it. Take a hammer and destroy it then bring the parts to the door. Oooops, had a mishap, you still want it?

 

[TnAndy]

I've been to auctions where used stuff has sold for more then you can buy it brand new. I always check on my phone for what it costs before bidding and know where to walk away.

Went to a woodworking machine auction some years ago....knew it was Grizzly stuff, but I was looking for a cheap shaper for limited use. Get WAY down the country where it is, the stuff is nearly junk....really rode hard and put up wet. First pc that goes is a 14" bandsaw that, like you said, sold for more than new !! I was standing there with a Grizzly catalog in hand shaking my head.

Went back to the truck then, hadn't been gone long, left the wife doing her knitting. She asks "What's wrong ?"

"Honey....we've GOT to get out of here.....there are a bunch of escaped mental patients down here bidding on equipment...it could turn ugly...buckle up !"...and that's the last wood working machine auction I ever attended.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I know a guy that builds and repairs farm equipment. He claims that the cutting torch is for people who give him a hard time. Destroy the thing that they were getting a good deal on but didn't want to pay that, right before their eyes.

 

[crashz]

If you are a buyer and want something at a lower price than advertised, I feel like you need to put the effort in and offer a starting point. Not "what is your best price". And its got to be a realistic starting point.

I bought a use power rake from a gentleman this spring. He had two from an auction. It turns out one was a fixer upper and the other was in good shape, but had a worn drum. He listed a price, but encouraged me to take the running one. I told him I'd rather buy the fixer.-upper So I offered a low price, he countered, and I paid him. Easy-peasy transaction. We both got a good deal in my opinion.