Tightarses Trying to Beat down Already Cheap Price

gomazz on 13/01/2018 - 19:06
Last edited 13/01/2018 - 19:31 by 1 other user

Most of us have probably had experience with this. I have had items that I no longer need, so want to get rid of it with the minimal amount of hassle, so put a bargain price on it.

Then I have to deal with people who want to offer half that price again. This has happened to me in the past and is happening again. I bought two Neil Diamond concert tickets for $285 and can no longer attend. I am offering them for $200 and am getting the usual time wasters offering $100, etc. What do you people say to these bargain hunters/time wasters?

Don't worry about replying if you're going to ridicule an entertainer of his standing, or be a tightwad ozbargainer and say the price is too dear.

The concert is 75% sold and still 9 weeks away.

Entertainment

Comments

  • Presence on 13/01/2018 - 19:11
    +49

    It's part of selling things. As long as they don't waste your time visiting and inspecting the item then don't worry.

    Plenty of people put up stupid prices for things and there's plenty of others who need cash quick and can't say no.

    • [Deactivated] on 15/01/2018 - 10:43
      +8

      It’s when they go the extra mile into time-wasting and dodginess that I object.

      When I was selling up things recently before leaving the US (after a two year contract there), there was a near-ubiquitous strategy… they would negotiate the price down semi-reasonably (e.g. offering $100 for an item that should really sell for $150), then arrange to come take a look at some odd hour, waste 30 minutes inspecting things and chatting, then say: “I’ve only got $80 with me, take it or leave it”.

      Almost every buyer did this. When I would tell them to GTFO, they would start to get antagonistic, tell me that I’d wasted their time, and try to coerce me accepting the offer.

      After a while (and some dodgy experiences with people trying to steal stuff while “inspecting” items), I ended up just giving in and taking whatever they offered. It was better than having a constant stream of shady people in and out of the house trying to steal actual valuable items.

      • ankor on 15/01/2018 - 22:12
        +6

        Wife wants to do a garage sale- I'm particularly unenthused about the prospect of holding one since we have a housing commission block just two doors down.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2018 - 16:01
          +4

          Yeah, it doesn't sound like fun. But at least with a garage sale, you can make sure you take any valuable items out of your garage and lock them inside. You just have to roll with the slime-ball behaviour for the day, and the only items at risk of being stolen are the ones you're looking to get rid of.

          In an apartment, selling up furniture, it's harder. We had people coming to look at a chest of drawers, bringing the whole family, and while we were showing the wife the chest of drawers (and she was haggling over blemishes), the husband was trying to swipe the Nintendo Switch and games from the entertainment unit on the other side of the room.

          In the end, we went to the hassle of moving the furniture out into the hallway before prospective buyers/thieves came to inspect it, to reduce the risk. But then we had people (it had to be neighbours) take some of it while we were waiting hours for people to show up.

          I'll be happy if I never have to do that sort of move again in my life.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2018 - 17:45
          -1

          Yeah watch out for those houso's. They are all stealing scum bags

        • ankor on 16/01/2018 - 19:23

          @marlor:

          Thanks for the tips.

          While I have about 20 years martial arts experience with some significant contact and not just points karate experience, and an ability to grapple to a limited extent, I'm not too keen on applying that knowledge as I haven't trained in about 2 years and am getting a bit weak and round in the middle lol.

          Having someone stealing a switch would have had me go effin apesh-t though so I probably would have gone all target fixation on the perp while getting clubbed with some Tupperware from behind..

        • ExpressCoffee on 18/01/2018 - 00:38

          @marlor:

          tried to steal the switch?! what a scumbag!! what did you say to him when you found out? I'd be super pissed..

        • [Deactivated] on 18/01/2018 - 08:22
          +2

          @ExpressCoffee:

          When I spotted him, he quickly put it (and the game boxes he’d grabbed) down. I’d actually put everything inside the entertainment unit cabinet, and he’d opened the door, found it all, and grabbed it out.

          I yelled at him asking him what he thought he was doing.

          He said: “You’re selling lots of stuff. I was just looking through here to find more things to make an offer on”.

          I said “We’re selling furniture, that’s it. I made that clear. Stop going through our stuff and get out”. He acted all hurt that I’d accused him of any wrongdoing… but seemed happy to leave as quickly as he could.

          Once he was caught, his wife lost all interest in the chest of drawers too, and just left without a word. It was all pretty dodgy.

        • [Deactivated] on 18/01/2018 - 08:54

          @marlor: There is part of me that thinks he may still have gotten away with something still.

        • [Deactivated] on 18/01/2018 - 09:54

          @Jake Elwood:

          We’re still sorting through things after the move. It won’t surprise me if things are missing. But then we’ll never know if they were misplaced during the move or stolen by scumbags.

        • Salmando on 19/01/2018 - 00:36

          @Jake Elwood: bet he took the Marth Amiibo

      • virhlpool on 16/01/2018 - 00:25

        Curious.. where in the US was it? :-)

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2018 - 10:51

          Santa Clara.

          Silicon Valley is a damn slum. Constant car break-ins, homeless people everywhere, scammers all over the place.

          It was a hellhole. I’m so glad to be out.

        • virhlpool on 16/01/2018 - 11:37
          +1

          @marlor: Very high income disparity there. Many rich people (techies and investors) but many poor (who couldn't ride the wave for some reasons) as well. Some people in the US learnt coding (despite their non-IT background) or entered other relevant businesses and rode the IT wave but many were left behind.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2018 - 16:00

          @virhlpool:

          Yep. Hence the absolute prevalence of shifty behaviour. Plus, all the small-scale crime like car break-ins and muggings. When rents are US$3000/month for a one bedroom apartment in a 1970s-era complex, life is tough if you're unemployed or on the minimum wage.

          There was also a lot of random dodginess like vandalism. There are so many temporary workers who bring their families along, and the kids are clearly not happy about the situation, and get up to all sorts of mischief.

          Plus there was all sorts of general weirdness. Our apartment complex had a pool, but we saw people coming in from the more run-down apartment building nearby and swimming in a tracksuit, or washing their feet in the spa.

          Work was great over there, but I'm so glad to be home.

        • virhlpool on 16/01/2018 - 17:26

          @marlor: Why is there the short-supply of housing though (that's causing such high rents)? They have plenty of land near city.. Issues with Sydney are different due to limited land availability in desirable areas. There are clearly much nicer places to live in the states. I like many places on the East Coast. More balanced and nicer life..

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2018 - 21:59

          @virhlpool:

          Congested roads.

          It took me more than an hour to get to work, and I was only five miles away. There’s plenty of land, but only if you’re willing to have a three hour commute.

          Trains aren’t an option either in the South Bay. They run about once per hour, are unreliable, and stop at weird locations.

          Meanwhile, Stanford owns all the land near Palo Alto, and refuses to sell.

      • Geoff-bargain on 16/01/2018 - 13:36

        I had the exact same thing when leaving the Netherlands. My problem was that you would sell stuff through the equivalent of ebay but it wouldn't take payments so the exact same thing would occur.

      • Ceri on 16/01/2018 - 17:34

        If it's something that you can carry to public places, then probably arrange public meetups (near your place preferably). And still say no anyway, even if they get pissy it's their fault for not preparing enough money (which I'm sure is on purpose and they'll keep on doing it if people keep falling for it). In the end if they didn't grab a bargain they also lose time and (travel) money. Their loss imho.

      • Stoffel on 16/01/2018 - 20:56

        Similar experience in Sydney when I was selling up there. Had my car listed online at what I thought was a very fair amount so I noted that I wasn't negotiable on price. One guy called up offered me a laughable amount - told him I wasn't negotiable. He then got strangely aggressive, so I ended the call as soon as I could. A few days later he rings again and I recognize the number. This time he is a completely different person, very polite, and asks if he can come have a look at the car. Turns up with his girlfriend and they look at the car, take it for a drive. When they get back he tells me that he's a mechanic and he can see that there is x, y and z wrong with the car and he'll only offer me the same laughable amount he offered me before. I tell him thanks, no thanks. Get's aggressive again, telling me that I am dreaming about the price I want etc. Tell him I'm not going to stand there arguing with him and walk back to my apartment. Five minutes later he's ringing the doorbell - now he's polite again and pleading with me to lower the price. Not sure if something wrong with him, but it was all very strange.

        At the same time, I was pretty pissed off at the large amount of people who came out and took the car for a drive, only never to hear from them again. My way of thinking is that you find a car you like, give it a good look over and then if you're satisfied with everything, take it for a quick drive before settling with the owner. With this lot it was a two minute look at the car and then a request to take it for a drive. Only drive it if you are serious about buying.

        • Nuggets on 16/01/2018 - 23:49

          I bought a car secondhand last year and I know that I found it hard to give the car a proper look over with the owner watching. So I would take it for a short drive, park it and have a good look at it all before bringing it back.

        • serpserpserp on 17/01/2018 - 20:53

          You can only really tell how a car performs when you drive it. Maybe they didn't like the drive? Seriously, if you were to buy a new car, would you like it if the car salesmen said to you after a test drive "OH you took it for a test drive, you should now have to buy it!"

      • Blackadda on 18/01/2018 - 12:23

        if every buyer did this then it wasn't the bargain you thought it was and that was the market price. True Bargains get snapped up pretty quick but there are some absolute parasites out there.

        • [Deactivated] on 18/01/2018 - 12:31
          +1

          It just seemed like standard buying strategy in the US.

          I'm happy to make a deal, but don't turn up then pull a shifty strategy of "Oh, I know I said $100, here's $80". I'd be happy to accept $80 in advance, but when you pull a scumbag move like that, I'm inclined to show you the door.

  • smashed on 13/01/2018 - 19:13
    +2

    Put them on resale.ticketmaster.com.au

    • gomazz on 13/01/2018 - 21:16
      +6

      Thanks. I just went to their site. If I want to get $100 per ticket, I have to list them for $127.78. Maybe if I wanted to get $50 ea, it would be attractive to someone. I hate being ripped off. If they don't sell on Gumtree for $100 ea, I'll give them away . Townsville, 20th March, 1300 Smiles Stadium.

      • smashed on 13/01/2018 - 21:42
        +7

        resale.ticketmaster.com.au/neil-diamond-tickets-kirwan-qld-20-3-2018/tickets/2241355

        You can list at the price you want and it will still be the cheapest, so they should sell.
        List sooner rather than later

      • moocow on 15/01/2018 - 20:14

        where did you find the fees to sell? i spent ages on that site and found nothing!

      • Cheapjoke on 16/01/2018 - 17:51
        +1

        I previously sold two ariana grande tickets for 200 each ($400 x 2) at resale.ticketmaster because gumtree people was being shitheads, trying to negotiate me cheaper prices (200 x2) and say that ”There are heaps of ads on gumtree and with the show being in September they generally get harder to sell. I had two tickets extra same section for Beyoncé three years ago. And I ended up selling them nearly half of what I paid…” (i legit copied paste that text)

        Mind you, this was during May and I had heaps of people wanting to grab these tickers. Was so done of their shit so i went to resale ticketmaster and sold it there, free postage from resale.ticketmaster
        But i have to up the price a bit because of the fee they charge. So much easier and more simple. Only con is that you get your money a week after the concert date. Best thing is that you dont need to communicate with the buyer.

  • try2bhelpful on 13/01/2018 - 19:17
    +8

    You will always get idiots - tell them their dreamin'.

  • Ughhh on 13/01/2018 - 19:30
    +20

    I am offering them for $200 and am getting the usual timewasters offering $100, etc. What do you people say to these bargain hunters/timewasters?

    Knowing it's a popular item that I'm confident it'll be sold, I would reply back "I can't do $100, but I'll give you a special discounted price of $250".

    • tomsco on 13/01/2018 - 21:57
      +1

      Haha, that’s what I do.

      • abb on 15/01/2018 - 13:23
        +4

        Then when they say "but it was listed as $200" you say "oh, was it? Well now it's $300"

        (and leave the listing at $200, of course)

    • ely on 15/01/2018 - 07:29
      +1

      Yeah, exactly my strategy. Confuses the (profanity) out of them.

  • oscargamer on 13/01/2018 - 19:33
    +28

    Simply ignore them

  • citygal on 13/01/2018 - 19:37
    +10

    Sometimes people don't really need the item but they buy it because it's cheap - and if they get it for cheap, they are happy; if they don't, it doesn't really matter and will just pass. I've experienced a lot of these issues. To be frank, some ticket owners don't mind selling them for cheap as either they need quick money, or just wanna get rid of it before expiry. It also depends on how much time and effort you want to put towards selling it. If you're patient, you can always wait til you get the right price.

    • smpantsonfire on 15/01/2018 - 10:14

      I tend to search things every few days and look at the tickets to event coming up in the next day or two, people are more keen to sell than not sell at all, and get a better price.

  • Mikinoz on 13/01/2018 - 19:39
    +22

    Welcome to gumtree

    • smr23 on 15/01/2018 - 08:37
      +14

      scumtree *

      • Kangal on 18/01/2018 - 13:11
        +2

        scumtreescumtreescumtrees
        cumtreescumtreescumtreesc

  • Baysew on 13/01/2018 - 19:48
    +2

    I hope you get the price you want for the tickets.

    This is a previous post, with someone having similar issues. Trying to sell on Gumtree……haha

    • lawrencium on 15/01/2018 - 23:49

      That was a wild ride… 'bed wetter'

  • onetwothreefour on 13/01/2018 - 20:10
    -1

    List them on stubhub.

    • GregMonarch on 16/01/2018 - 16:58

      Their business is reselling tickets. And I've never heard of them. Use Gumtree like you originally planned.

      • Cash only. And if they're not sold in the last ten days before the concert, up the price to at least what you originally paid. (Some people don't plan anything in their lives until the last minute and are used to paying accordingly.)
      • onetwothreefour on 16/01/2018 - 18:39

        Yes and he wants to sell his ticket but no have the hassle of lowballers. So because you've never heard of them he shouldn't use them? I've successfully sold tickets through them before.

        • GregMonarch on 16/01/2018 - 19:09

          No, my point was there's a lot more people on Gumtree, which has no fees, plus more people on that ticket site will probably search Gumtree too - but the reverse probably isn't true because the ticket site isn't as well-known. Or list on both. But if I did list tickets there I'd increase the price to cover the fees (and if it's possible to say so, I'd refer them to the Gumtree ad instead where they can buy them cheaper, LOL).

  • Ocker on 13/01/2018 - 20:19

    What are the seat details (concert location and set numbers) - we may be able to do a deal

    • AussieMark on 17/01/2018 - 12:00

      maybe pm this guy?

  • bdl on 13/01/2018 - 20:34

    Humans being humans :/

  • sraymond on 13/01/2018 - 21:36
    +14

    Seems your expectations are unrealistic. Looks like you are only wanting to take an $85 hit on two concert tickets when the show isn’t even sold out. $150 seems closer to the mark.

    • FatBlanket on 16/01/2018 - 21:55

      Exactly, dealing with a random on Gumtree isn't worth the discount.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/01/2018 - 21:41
    +18

    Some people push it too far.

    I was in Langkawi a few weeks ago, and a British family paid about $4 (five of them) for the bus fare and there is no change given (it's a box you put money into, and driver doesn't have access so can't give change).
    They kicked up the mother of all shit storms about not getting their change, which was about 30-50 cents worth.
    We paid them the equivalent of $2 (smallest denomination I had) to shut up, called them a bunch of tightarse (profanity) so then the husband had a go at me, mind my own business, doesn't need my charity, blah, blah.

    I've also given up trying to sell stuff on Gumtree, etc. I just give it away to friends or people I know.
    Few times I posted things for free, must pickup, on Gumtree and had people harass me because I wouldn't deliver it for free saying if they had to spend money to get it or pay for delivery then its not really free and its false advertising and I could go to jail for that.

    • chumlee on 13/01/2018 - 21:57
      +30

      Yep. Jails are overcrowded with people serving time for false advertising

    • tomsco on 13/01/2018 - 22:00
      +7

      Few times I posted things for free, must pickup, on Gumtree and had people harass me because I wouldn't deliver it for free saying if they had to spend money to get it or pay for delivery then its not really free and its false advertising and I could go to jail for that.

      Bahaha.

      It shocks me how hard it can be to get rid of something for free.

      • [Deactivated] on 13/01/2018 - 22:36
        +5

        I used to have a full head of hair, until I tried to get rid of an old fridge on Gumtree.

        • jlogic on 15/01/2018 - 01:12
          +1

          Free for those that come and pickup. Delivery extra depending in location.

          Did that with a fridge got a few messages asking how much for delivery? Said after hours and weekend rate was a flat $100. Kept doing the until I got a pickup. Gone in two days and no idiots.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/01/2018 - 01:41
          +2

          @jlogic:

          $100 not worth my effort, not after hours, not on the weekend, not ever.

          It got picked up a few days after I posted it. But soooooo many people wanted it delivered for free at a time convenient to them #EntitledAsses

        • jlogic on 15/01/2018 - 14:21
          +3

          @Drew22: The $100 was to stop people from going further. It was a tactic to stop idiots from bitching about having to pick it up.

          Settled on $100 as it stops the freebie folk from being stupid.

        • moar bargains on 15/01/2018 - 20:13
          +2

          Just leave it on the pavement outside your house with a sign saying $5 on it. Will be gone in the morning, guaranteed.

        • Kangal on 18/01/2018 - 18:17

          @therog1:
          Only works in Mt Druitt, Frankston, and Woodridge.

    • MessyG on 15/01/2018 - 10:29
      +1

      +1 for pulling people up on their shitty behaviour

  • WTF on 13/01/2018 - 21:44
    +11

    Whould you take $50 for the tickets?

    • GetOffMyUnicorn on 13/01/2018 - 22:59
      +5

      $51 for the pair, ignore WTF, he's so tight.

      • WTF on 14/01/2018 - 01:10
        +8

        But I pay CASH!!

        • bigbadboogieman on 15/01/2018 - 10:43
          +5

          You should offer Bitcoin. He can make up the loss on the next upward movement…

        • GregMonarch on 16/01/2018 - 17:05

          @bigbadboogieman:

          People who don't use crypto be like: "Ha ha!"

          People who do use crypto be like: "Uh-huh."

  • chumlee on 13/01/2018 - 21:56
    +2

    Offer them for a trade

    • Kangal on 18/01/2018 - 18:18

      2 tickets, for 2 souls ?

  • BertieBrown on 13/01/2018 - 22:04
    +1

    This happens all the time when I list something but eventually I’ve been able to sell pretty much everything that I’ve ever wanted to sell.

    Part of it is the opportunity cost. People figure that we’re (sellers) in the worse position b/c we’ve got something that we’re trying to unload; to a certain degree maybe they’re right, but if you either just keep re-listing or wait you’ll prob find someone who’s willing to pay a realistic price.

    Sometimes however, as much as we want to sell something it’s just priced too high (not saying is the case with Neil Diamond) but all the same I think often holds true.

    One aspect is that realistically would this not likely be the last time to be able to see Neil live in Oz? He’s getting on isn’t he?

  • pegaxs on 13/01/2018 - 22:43
    +7

    I have 3 x $5000 safes. They are used, but you wouldn’t know from looking at them, they present as almost new. They are surplus stock and have been replaced with newer (more expensive) units….

    I just want to get rid of them, so I thought I would beat the lowballers and sell them off for $800 thinking they would get snapped up. The number of offers I have had from “I’ll pick them up for free” being the lowest to “it’s going to cost a fortune to move them, I’ll give you $300…” It’s like it’s a sport to see if you can offer the stupidest amount.

    While I am up for giving people a bargain or getting one myself, but come on, just be reasonable. I like to think, before I make an offer on something, what would I sell it for if I owned it and offer that amount.

    • tomsco on 13/01/2018 - 22:56
      +7

      Can you deliver to Darwin? Will give you $400.

      • GetOffMyUnicorn on 13/01/2018 - 23:00
        +1

        $401 is my new bid.

        • tomsco on 13/01/2018 - 23:03
          +8

          But you can’t inspect cause you’re on an oil rig? Guess you’ll have to send your agent around.

        • pegaxs on 13/01/2018 - 23:10
          +10

          Holy jeebus! My PTSD is starting up again…

          I did get one guy from NT offer me $1000 “delivered”. Checked the freight price via our account with TNT. Including our discount, it would have been $2750 (ex GST) just to ship it. So, technically, my lowest bid was -$1750…

          Just fly down @tomsco. Take one back as checked baggage. They are only 650kg each… :D

        • Suspect420 on 15/01/2018 - 15:48
          +1

          @pegaxs: how big is this safe?

          What type?

          I'm seriously looking for a safe.

        • pegaxs on 15/01/2018 - 16:09
          +1

          @Suspect420: Private message sent…

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2018 - 17:23

          @pegaxs: My TNT cost from Newcastle to Darwin for 650kg is $1255.

          Toll nqx would be cheaper for up north deliveries guaranteed.

        • pegaxs on 16/01/2018 - 17:39

          @Fincky: It wasn't exactly into Darwin. I cant remember the name of the place off the top of my head. Didnt even bother with NQX because I knew the guy was being a tool. I only looked up TNT out of sheer curiosity. It may have been the sheer size of these safes that also affected the price. And as we are shipping out of Singleton, being a regional shithole may have also affected the price :D

  • p1 ama on 14/01/2018 - 01:14
    +30

    I sell and buy a lot of things on Gumtree, so I know your situation.

    You're attaching an emotional value to the good, which you should not do when you are selling - it doesn't matter whether you are selling your most prized possession or a lump of coal, the price that you will get for it is the price that the market is willing to pay. The buyers are free to offer whatever price they want to pay and you can choose to ignore or accept their offer. I think you're taking a transaction too personally. I don't see why you really care about what they're offering, you say that they're wasting your time, but how much time are they really wasting? It takes less than a second to see an offer you don't want and then move on.

    If you don't want to deal with the hassle, sell it by auction and then it's a simple process. People bid on it and whatever it comes to, you are binding to sell. I think that's a fair model to apply in these situations.

    • ely on 15/01/2018 - 07:33
      +3

      you can choose to ignore or accept[, or take the piss out of] their offer

      FTFY, you missed the most important part! If people are taking the piss with a ridiculous offer, then they're not going to buy and you might as well ridicule them so as to a) hopefully get some amusement value out of them and b) possibly (unlikely) deter them from being such idiots in the future.

      • tomsco on 15/01/2018 - 08:37
        +2

        I've tried something similar.

        Sold an iPhone recently. Cheapest price I found B&M at the time was $459, although one store was selling as much as $550.

        It was brand new, still in original seal. I didn't need it and wanted at least $400.

        Listed it for $450 to allow room for people to negotiate down.

        On a Facebook BSS page, someone said would I take $300. I wrote back saying how does she justify such a low price. She promptly deleted her comment.

        In the end I sold it for the $400 I was after. Someone messaged me asking if I would take $400 (I feel $50 at that price is reasonable) and within half an hour, was exchanging goods for cash. I find either just ignore or have fun with the low ballers, but don't let it take to much time. You will generally find someone willing to pay a reasonable price.

        • GregMonarch on 16/01/2018 - 17:19
          +1

          I don't play the time-wasting negotiation games. If I would accept a lower, haggled-down price, then that's what I list it at. "How low would I go and still be content to sell?" And there's the listed price.

          In the ad I say I've researched prices, if you have too you know it's more than reasonable, don't waste your time offering less because such requests will only be ignored and someone else will it before you. Then I do exactly what I said. Ignore every message to the contrary.

          People that know what things are worth and don't muck around trying to get it cheaper just turn up, say hello and shake your hand, pay, talk for a couple of minutes about the idiots on Gumtree, and go without either feeling they've lost IQ points.

      • p1 ama on 15/01/2018 - 10:01
        +5

        1) Supposedly they're wasting your time, but now you're wasting even more time to ridicule them? Again, fair emotional response, but hardly logical.

        2) Not sure why making a low offer is equated with being an idiot. People have reasons to make the offers they do - that might be what they value the item at, they might not have a lot, they might be able to offer a quick sale or they might just be opportunistic. They're just looking for a bargain, ironic that we're calling them idiots.

        3) Not sure what the problem is - if you choose to sell by offer, then the benefit you get is that you get to choose to reject or accept an offer for the price of getting offers that you might not like. If this doesn't work, sell by auction where you don't have to deal with that but with the caveat that you have to accept the best offer. You can't have it both ways, I wish it were as easy as everyone just paying my asking price.

        • ely on 15/01/2018 - 12:37
          +1

          1) I'm not wasting time ridiculing them; I'm getting good value out of my time ridiculing them :D If you don't get any value out of it then you shouldn't do it, but if you do then it's totally logical. Sometimes they're confused, sometimes they take offence, sometimes they even get into the spirit of things and we all have a good laugh!

          2) Asking for something at well below its value (and well below the advertised price) is pretty idiotic. They're allowed to ask, I'm allowed to think they're idiots and troll them in return.

          3) I'd sell by auction, but eBay fees are horrific, so I'm fine with Gumtree and just trolling the low balling idiots. I'm not sure what your problem is; they can choose not to put in a shitty offer and not be trolled, but if they want to put in shitty offers then they have to accept that they might be trolled in response. They can't have it both ways, I'm sure they wish it was as easy as everyone just accepting their BS offers :D

        • GregMonarch on 16/01/2018 - 17:22
          +2

          @ely: Oh yeah - that's the other thing I mention. "I've researched expired ebay auctions, know it would sell for $x, and I would get $y after fees. I've split the difference. So you still get it cheaper than ebay and I get slightly more but without the hassle of posting it."

        • ely on 16/01/2018 - 17:47

          @GregMonarch: Sound reasoning, I should add something like that in mine at some point (but for the moment I do quite enjoy trolling lowball offers).

        • GregMonarch on 16/01/2018 - 18:54
          +1

          @ely: It's ok if you don't pay for SMS. But for some strange reason I've found the ones that waste your time the most, are usually the ones that don't buy - and vice versa!? So weeding a few out early is good.

    • Blitzfx on 15/01/2018 - 09:22

      I don't see why you really care about what they're offering, you say that they're wasting your time, but how much time are they really wasting? It takes less than a second to see an offer you don't want and then move on.

      At that point in time, it's no different from receiving spam. Takes you a second or few to process, depending if it's SMS spam, but it's incredibly annoying

  • twww on 14/01/2018 - 05:20
    +3

    I just tentatively bought something on gumtree. Rarely buy stuff from there. Made an offer as I believed it was not worth what the seller was asking for.

    Outlined my justification for the price given the past sales on the item and it being discontinued as well as age.

    Had to shake my head at the RRP they quoted in their ad. More like RRP for current new stock, perhaps? Not necessary! Just state the facts of the used item you are selling.

    They said my offer was too low. Gave me the spiel about another offer they received which was higher which they said no to. They gave me their bottom line.

    Still too high for me, I thanked them and offered to meet them in the middle.Failing that, I wished them luck on the sale.

    All told, $60 was wiped off the sale and pick it up in a couple of days.

    • Destin on 16/01/2018 - 21:10

      This really shits me. The seller is clearly not ready to sell it at this price. What's the point in trying to barter, if the listed price doesn't appeal just move along.

  • jacross on 14/01/2018 - 08:48
    +5

    If the price is acceptable i say deal. If it is not acceotable i say no deal.

    If you cant handle what you are describing, then dont sell.

    Bargain hunters are fine. Its the ones who tell you their life story/sob story that are annoying.

    • MetaphorOZB on 15/01/2018 - 09:43
      +1

      I'm guilty of doing this when I want something that I'm not in a hurry to buy.

      I will send low ball offers to a bunch of sellers and offer to pick up immediately - then if someone just wants to get rid of it they accept the offer.

    • Ten on 15/01/2018 - 10:16
      +5

      I personally can't stand when some buyers I've encountered say things like "I can only offer $200 as I am a single mother".

      If you are that hard up maybe you should be spending the money more wisely than on a luxury item.

      • sheebies on 15/01/2018 - 17:00
        +3

        It drives me insane when people say they're a single mother.

        I was selling a toddler trampoline, a woman gave me a sob story of she was a single mother and she had to have it but she could only afford 75% less than my asking price and wanted me to hold it for a week and half until she got her pension. I said no and she abused the hell out of me. Told me I was heartless amongst other things.

        I then saw her on another facebook group asking for places to get her nails done for a date night with her fiance.. I just laughed, but it came out later I wasn't the only one she was hitting up for discounts due to her being a "single mother".

  • StuffnStuff on 14/01/2018 - 09:16

    Given up trying to sell stuff on eBay & Gumtree, now using facebook (as much as I hate the platform). People appear more honest and upfront on FB, Gumtree is full of people who appear to get off on knocking you down on price then never turning up. The Facebook community just appear to be more legitimate….maybe because they cant hide behind a profile name and you can check people out before conversing with them !. Regardless of the platform you use, you are in control so if someone offers you $100 for a $300 item you are under no obligation to sell it.

    • Ten on 15/01/2018 - 10:21
      +5

      I've found the opposite. People on facebook groups seem more likely to try and tell me a sob story as to why they can only pay so much.

      I had a girl reply to my facebook sale post saying 'Sold'. I wen back and forth with her asking when she can pick it up etc. Then she changed the day she could pick it up. Then she said I can no longer pick it up. Then she tried to lower the price again.

      I had enough and just hit up the next person that wanted it, they picked it up that afternoon for the price I wanted.

      The original person then replied to my facebook post, trying to publically shame me "I asked for delivery cos I am a single mother with no car and get paid by the government next wednesday. Now you sold it to someone else. Not fair"

      Look lady. I don't care about your personal circumstances. Don't respond to a post if you can't afford it, not to mention the amount of time wasted.

      • Your Friend on 15/01/2018 - 14:46
        +1

        i hate people that just comment "sold" without even checking with you first

      • ankor on 15/01/2018 - 22:23
        +1

        I'd be far too tempted to hang sh_t on her, but then you're feeding flames to the fire and engaging in a social media battle with stupid.

        In which case, create a fake FB profile and troll away!

        • lawrencium on 15/01/2018 - 23:54

          Until you get zucced and FB asks for your government ID lest your profile gets shut down

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