Proper Selling Etiquette ??? OBO abuse???

[Walter Langkowski]

Alright so back when I first joined this fourm there was some structure and etiquette when it came to selling. It used to be first come (pm) first serve. Now lately it just seems that someone will post something for sale for say for 350.00 "OBO" knowing it's above market price and then proceed to sit there for 24-48 hours and collect offers and say that seller gets 5 offers and the offers come in this order 1st 300.00 2nd 310.00 3rd 290.00 4th 335.00 and 5th 330.00 then 24 hours later after the offers quit rolling in seller then decides to take offer number 4 because it was the most money. Is this good/acceptable selling practices? Or is this frowned upon? I honestly have no idea that is why I'm asking because I've always for as long as I've been on here seen some thing get posted for sale and then someone reply saying something like "pm sent" then someone right after them say "if that falls thought im next in line". It just seems like it's always been a first come first serve system. And say offer 4 comes in 24 hours after offer 1. Shouldnt the seller atleast inform offer 1 they had a better offer and ask, can you match it. But to me at this point the seller already seems pretty grimy for his practices, so most likely I would feel like I'm just being manipulated in order for the seller to squeeze extra money out of me. I understand OBO means or best offer but if that is the case shouldnt everyone list everything as OBO and sit back and try to collect as much as possible ebay style? I would love some constructive feedback on this. Because I'm sure I've lost hundreds by being a strait up legit seller. Saying this is the price first one to pm me/post pmed on my thread and says they want it it's thiers once they post payment.

Also should they're be an OBO section so we can go in there and place bids like ebay? That way you know strait up that's what's going on and not get hustled and jerked around by the OBO seller saying "someone offered me more can you match it" or "im waiting on the first guy to post payment" but in reality is waiting for more offers to take the highest one.

 

[OakleyFrankFMJ]

And this is why certain people just belong on eBay


The OBO really should be in reference to their asking price.

They ask for $300 OBO. They shouldn't be waiting for PM after PM to come in for a day or to and then try to negotiate better pricing.

Those sellers need to be reported.

 

[QLR1]

There are no rules when it comes to selling. Someone could sell to me just because and ignore all other PMs. The sky could be blue and they can just tell you F you. Etiquette, be damned.

Sent from Q's Note5

 

[kronin323]

First off, the "first come, first served" rule may be a fair practice but it's totally unenforceable and when it comes down to it, the seller always has the right to choose who he sells to.

Second, it only applies to full-asking-price offers. If you make an offer less than asking price, you're not locking up "dibs" on the item, you're entering a negotiation that may or may not be successful, at your own risk of someone else coming along with a better offer.

Whether or not an initial asking price is scalping is a grey area that's been beat to death here - values are subjective and fluid, and some people actually think their shit is worth that much, it takes the market's lack of interest to teach them otherwise. Perhaps it's a deliberate overpricing, perhaps not. But anytime you make a conclusion based merely on assumption, you're limiting yourself.

And that's from the perspective of a buyer, which is pretty much all I do here. But from the perspective of a seller, which I've done more elsewhere...

If a seller gets a better offer, should they go back to the first low-offer and give them a second chance? It's nice, but not necessary. The thing is, buyers can be just as flaky as sellers. People make offers then disappear. They might even negotiate to agreement, then disappear. Similar items in the market can come up and they go that way instead, or they end up buying something else unrelated that eats up their budget. When selling, the more time you spend going back to others giving them a "fair chance" (or trying to play them off each other for a higher price ), the more likely your best offer will disappear and you're back to square one.

Just like a seller may not come back to an earlier offer to say they've got a better one, buyers don't take the time to notify a seller they're no longer interested when they change their mind. It goes both ways.

If you're trying to negotiate a better price, you can't just sit back and wait for the seller to do everything in his power to make sure you get every opportunity, you have to be proactive, follow up, ensure the seller knows you're still in it, work to beat the other buyers. If you lose, it's not the seller's fault.

Bottom line, this isn't K-Mart, it's a dynamic marketplace where sellers are trying to sell their stuff as fast as possible for the best price and buyers are trying to get the best deal they can while still beating out other buyers. When it comes to ethics, what matters is honesty, properly representing the item, following through on obligations, no shilling, etc. Lack of deception. It's caveat emptor, so there's no such thing as deceptive pricing, only sucker buyers who didn't do their homework.

And if you don't like how a seller (or buyer) is operating, you shouldn't do business with them. A similar item will come up sooner or later.

 

[QLR1]

Wait. Kmart is still around, @kronin323?

Sent from Q's Note5

 

[headpatrolman]

@kronin323 nailed it as always. Is there a smarter guy on this forum? He is living proof that X-Metals though called skull crushers by some, do not cause brain damage.

 

[QLR1]

@kronin323 nailed it as always. Is there a smarter guy on this forum? He is living proof that X-Metals though called skull crushers by some, do not cause brain damage.

I thought I was the only one who called X-Metals skull crushers. Nobody messes with The Fouker.

Sent from Q's Note5

 

[kronin323]

Is there a smarter guy on this forum? / Are there smarter guys on this forum?

I'm sure there are, just less long-winded...

 

[headpatrolman]

I'm sure there are, just less long-winded...

Love reading your contributions. Always well thought out and presented. Actually written in the English language, not a quasi derivative that contains English words and resembles the language I was taught to read and write; but somehow is not the same. You Sir, are a gentleman and a scholar.

 

[Rusty M]

First off, the "first come, first served" rule may be a fair practice but it's totally unenforceable and when it comes down to it, the seller always has the right to choose who he sells to.

Second, it only applies to full-asking-price offers. If you make an offer less than asking price, you're not locking up "dibs" on the item, you're entering a negotiation that may or may not be successful, at your own risk of someone else coming along with a better offer.

Whether or not an initial asking price is scalping is a grey area that's been beat to death here - values are subjective and fluid, and some people actually think their shit is worth that much, it takes the market's lack of interest to teach them otherwise. Perhaps it's a deliberate overpricing, perhaps not. But anytime you make a conclusion based merely on assumption, you're limiting yourself.

And that's from the perspective of a buyer, which is pretty much all I do here. But from the perspective of a seller, which I've done more elsewhere...

If a seller gets a better offer, should they go back to the first low-offer and give them a second chance? It's nice, but not necessary. The thing is, buyers can be just as flaky as sellers. People make offers then disappear. They might even negotiate to agreement, then disappear. Similar items in the market can come up and they go that way instead, or they end up buying something else unrelated that eats up their budget. When selling, the more time you spend going back to others giving them a "fair chance" (or trying to play them off each other for a higher price ), the more likely your best offer will disappear and you're back to square one.

Just like a seller may not come back to an earlier offer to say they've got a better one, buyers don't take the time to notify a seller they're no longer interested when they change their mind. It goes both ways.

If you're trying to negotiate a better price, you can't just sit back and wait for the seller to do everything in his power to make sure you get every opportunity, you have to be proactive, follow up, ensure the seller knows you're still in it, work to beat the other buyers. If you lose, it's not the seller's fault.

Bottom line, this isn't K-Mart, it's a dynamic marketplace where sellers are trying to sell their stuff as fast as possible for the best price and buyers are trying to get the best deal they can while still beating out other buyers. When it comes to ethics, what matters is honesty, properly representing the item, following through on obligations, no shilling, etc. Lack of deception. It's caveat emptor, so there's no such thing as deceptive pricing, only sucker buyers who didn't do their homework.

And if you don't like how a seller (or buyer) is operating, you shouldn't do business with them. A similar item will come up sooner or later.

Well said couldn't agree more!