Low-Ballers Need Not Apply!
- Thread starter ridewiththewind
- Start date
This is the beauty of sales. Any offer is better than no offer, and the seller can say no, counter the offer, or say "paypal the money to tbrown@tycovalves.com", if an offer isn't serious-no big deal, too low-who cares, don't accept it.
I dont get it ..... I am in sales... I have sold just about everything from Cars, Cues,to Vaccum Cleaners over the last 15 years........
If somebody offers low... say NO.... if you dont want to sell it!!!!
Otherwise offer a start to bartering.....or dont ..... whatever...
dpnt get all pissy 'bout it .. just say NO....
If somebody offers low... say NO.... if you dont want to sell it!!!!
Otherwise offer a start to bartering.....or dont ..... whatever...
dpnt get all pissy 'bout it .. just say NO....
Most of it goes on
because of unknowns:
1) Not knowing the seller very well. Is he/she a player just selling one of their cues. Is he/she hustling cues to turn a buck? Is he/she a dealer?
2) Not knowing the cuemaker from Adam (LOL), therefore a buyer doesn't know the real value of the cue from the cuemaker. Every seller says it is the greatest cue since sliced bread.
3) New sellers think they can get rich by buying bargains, and selling for 10x what they paid for them on Ebay or here.
4) And sometimes, buyers are only willing to pay so much for a cue. They like it only so much.
5) I have seen cues on here that are as ugly as Big Bertha's little sister, with a big price on them. I have bit my tongue to keep from posting, 'You have got to be kidding' on threads.
6) I have seen cues on here marked up 220 percent of the real value by someone trying to pay off that loan the bank keeps calling them about.
7) Undoubtedly, there are cues sold here that are NOT PERFECT. They don't play well, they may not be balanced right, or there is something about them the seller doesn't like, and he/she is just trying to unload it
to the first buyer they can wrap their hands around.
8) No one truly knows just how legit each other are until the cue is paid for, and the cue is in the hands of the buyer.
9) In foreign countries, haggling over prices on anything is an accepted way of life, and expected, especially when the seller is not a business owner.
10) There are just as many minuses for a buyer as there are for sellers, if not more.
because of unknowns:
1) Not knowing the seller very well. Is he/she a player just selling one of their cues. Is he/she hustling cues to turn a buck? Is he/she a dealer?
2) Not knowing the cuemaker from Adam (LOL), therefore a buyer doesn't know the real value of the cue from the cuemaker. Every seller says it is the greatest cue since sliced bread.
3) New sellers think they can get rich by buying bargains, and selling for 10x what they paid for them on Ebay or here.
4) And sometimes, buyers are only willing to pay so much for a cue. They like it only so much.
5) I have seen cues on here that are as ugly as Big Bertha's little sister, with a big price on them. I have bit my tongue to keep from posting, 'You have got to be kidding' on threads.
6) I have seen cues on here marked up 220 percent of the real value by someone trying to pay off that loan the bank keeps calling them about.
7) Undoubtedly, there are cues sold here that are NOT PERFECT. They don't play well, they may not be balanced right, or there is something about them the seller doesn't like, and he/she is just trying to unload it
to the first buyer they can wrap their hands around.
8) No one truly knows just how legit each other are until the cue is paid for, and the cue is in the hands of the buyer.
9) In foreign countries, haggling over prices on anything is an accepted way of life, and expected, especially when the seller is not a business owner.
10) There are just as many minuses for a buyer as there are for sellers, if not more.
Snapshot9 said:
I do not think the issue that keeps this thread alive has to do with haggling. Most expect a certain amount of dickering back and forth. The issue is those who make contact with what most would feel is a ridiculously low offer. An example would be a $500 listed price, and an offer received of $100.
I do agree that there are many sellers who do not do their homework first, and have no real idea of what their cue is actually worth. When I sell a cue...which is not often...I track back on what a cue from the same maker, of the same level, has been bringing...and base my asking price from that info. As I have previously stated, I must be doing something right, as the cues have all sold pretty quickly, and for close to what I was asking.
Lisa
yep
Tap,tap,tap...Well said LISA. I agree with this post because any time I sell a cue, its already at a give-away price
Good rep to you for this post if it allows me to
ridewiththewind said:I am sure that this one will get me flamed...but, big whoop...I feel it needs to be said!
This Wanted/ForSale Forum used to be a really great place to pick up a nice deal on a cue, or even offer up opportunities for highly sought after cues that we might not otherwise have.
However, as of late, things have begun to take a turn...and it's gettin' ugly. It's bad enough that now we are having more and more frequent incidences of fraudulent dealings here.....but then, to top it all off, we have those who are constantly trying to get something for nothing!
These are the ones (and you know who you are) that really just raise my hackles. Very often, most cues here are already listed at a very fair price. We're not a bunch of new-nicks here....most of us know the value of that which is listed for sale. Some of us will list for a slightly lower price, for a quick sale, some of us (most) will list a cue at a price that leaves built-in room for negotiation....that is often part of the fun.
You have absolutely no clue as to how utterly disrespectful it is to particularly established sellers here, when they list a cue(s) at a fair market price, and allowing for haggling room....for someone to come in with an offer that is so completely low-ball, that it is a slap in the face!!! If you want that 'steal of a deal'...take your sorry butts back to fleabay...I'm sure there is something that you can find for yourselves there.
No.....I do not currently have anything listed for sale...but yes, I have had it happen to me. No, you will not even get me to waste my time with a response to your 'offer'...if that is what you want to call it.
If you think I am out of line with this post....fine, you're probably one of the ones I am talking about. I have a lot of friends here, and I am hearing more and more that they just cannot seem to be able to find the true offers for all the low-ball offers that flood their inboxes.
If you see something that you like, make a fair offer on it......but do not make an offer that you yourself would never think to accept for one of your cues!!
Lisa ===========> tired of the direction this forum has taken.
Tap,tap,tap...Well said LISA. I agree with this post because any time I sell a cue, its already at a give-away price
Good rep to you for this post if it allows me toBigjohn is small on ETHICS!
I dealt with Bigjohn once, and it was a nightmare! John in your auction your price was 875.00 buy it now....I offered you 800.00 delivered, and we both agreed on 800 + 25.00 delivery.... By my math I received an 8.5% discount....Wow thats a lowball
. Lets get back to Bigjohns ETHICS....if you look at the ebay listing John revised it....if you click revise it will explain... John did deleted the best offer option on his ebay listing, and moved it down to the description let me quote John "All reasonable offers will be considered!"....John did this so all offers wouldn't go through ebay.....John had 2 reasons for this...
1. John would get to see all offers through email, not through ebays best offer system....when John received an offer he liked he would send an invoice through paypal, and end the auction...Ebay doesn't get their commision for the sale....real smooth John
2. John sold me a cue that was not described accurately....I had zero recourse through ebay...Johns feed back was protected. Here is a the links to the AZB thread, and ebay auction which explains all
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=70146
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170133696909&sspagename=ADME:L:RTQ:US:1
I apologize for hijacking this thread....
Bigjohn said:
I dealt with Bigjohn once, and it was a nightmare! John in your auction your price was 875.00 buy it now....I offered you 800.00 delivered, and we both agreed on 800 + 25.00 delivery.... By my math I received an 8.5% discount....Wow thats a lowball
. Lets get back to Bigjohns ETHICS....if you look at the ebay listing John revised it....if you click revise it will explain... John did deleted the best offer option on his ebay listing, and moved it down to the description let me quote John "All reasonable offers will be considered!"....John did this so all offers wouldn't go through ebay.....John had 2 reasons for this...1. John would get to see all offers through email, not through ebays best offer system....when John received an offer he liked he would send an invoice through paypal, and end the auction...Ebay doesn't get their commision for the sale....real smooth John
2. John sold me a cue that was not described accurately....I had zero recourse through ebay...Johns feed back was protected. Here is a the links to the AZB thread, and ebay auction which explains all
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=70146
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170133696909&sspagename=ADME:L:RTQ:US:1
I apologize for hijacking this thread....
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In some cases....it's all about the markup...
Now...this story is not about an internet purchase...but I went into a Billiards store looking for a new cue.
I narrowed my search down to a particular Pechauer after I took a close look at it out of the case, felt the balance, and hit a ball or two with it without chalking it.
The sticker on it said $650. I told the guy (who I think was the owner), that I was interested in the cue, but $650 seemed a bit high to me for that cue.
The guy grabs a book or binder....pages through it....and says, "Model P-something"..."Yep, it's $650".
I kept milling around the store looking at a few other cues...and then just stood in the center of the store and paused a while...and the guy then says, "Okay, I'll give it to you for $475".
Now all the while, I was really just hoping that I could get it for like $50 or maybe $75 dollars less....but when he said that, I immediately purchased the cue...
Since then, I did double-check the price for that particular cue, and it does RETAIL or is listed for $650.
But after that, I couldn't help but always wonder what the markup really was on cues like those -- and after that I have always thought that I'm probably overpaying any time I pay what someone is asking for a new item -- such as a cue.
In conclusion -- I wasn't really looking to low-ball anyone -- but was pleasantly surprised with the amount the seller was willing to drop the price on a new cue.
Now...this story is not about an internet purchase...but I went into a Billiards store looking for a new cue.
I narrowed my search down to a particular Pechauer after I took a close look at it out of the case, felt the balance, and hit a ball or two with it without chalking it.
The sticker on it said $650. I told the guy (who I think was the owner), that I was interested in the cue, but $650 seemed a bit high to me for that cue.
The guy grabs a book or binder....pages through it....and says, "Model P-something"..."Yep, it's $650".
I kept milling around the store looking at a few other cues...and then just stood in the center of the store and paused a while...and the guy then says, "Okay, I'll give it to you for $475".
Now all the while, I was really just hoping that I could get it for like $50 or maybe $75 dollars less....but when he said that, I immediately purchased the cue...
Since then, I did double-check the price for that particular cue, and it does RETAIL or is listed for $650.
But after that, I couldn't help but always wonder what the markup really was on cues like those -- and after that I have always thought that I'm probably overpaying any time I pay what someone is asking for a new item -- such as a cue.
In conclusion -- I wasn't really looking to low-ball anyone -- but was pleasantly surprised with the amount the seller was willing to drop the price on a new cue.
Get_A_Grip said:
Typically, retail works likes this: $650 retail = $325 dealer cost = $162.50 manufacture cost (production, promotion, shipping). Since most small 'mom & pop' businesses generally need to 'keystone' their items...full retail...to stay above water....actually, you paid roughly what a larger dealer would have charged you anyways....somewhere roughly between 25% and 30% off of the full retail pricing..or MSRP. In other words...you paid what you could have expected to pay had you purchased the cue from any large online retailer.
This isn't considered low-balling, IMHO.
Lisa =====> who worked in retail far too many years.
ridewiththewind said:Typically, retail works likes this: $650 retail = $325 dealer cost = $162.50 manufacture cost (production, promotion, shipping). Since most small 'mom & pop' businesses generally need to 'keystone' their items...full retail...to stay above water....actually, you paid roughly what a larger dealer would have charged you anyways....somewhere roughly between 25% and 30% off of the full retail pricing..or MSRP. In other words...you paid what you could have expected to pay had you purchased the cue from any large online retailer.
This isn't considered low-balling, IMHO.
Lisa =====> who worked in retail far too many years.
Interesting -- I just found the cue that I bought here on AZ -- the P17 model listed for $585. I still think I got a great deal
Get_A_Grip said:Interesting -- I just found the cue that I bought here on AZ -- the P17 model listed for $585. I still think I got a great deal
Right on. But, as you can see, there is a bit of 'playing' room when dealing with retail pricing on items. I should note however, that this is not necessarily applicable when dealing with custom made items...although, a similar pricing formula can be used.
Lisa
Wrong side of the bed???
A cue is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, no matter what someone wants for it.. So if someone low bids even if it is rediculous all you have to do is ignore them, their are better things in life to think about then to get yourself in a uproar about nothing, this could have detrimental benifits to your long term health, life is to short to get upset over trivial things, have a more care free life and bring the positives to life not the negatives and you will atract more positives to yourself.... Just my opinion...
A cue is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, no matter what someone wants for it.. So if someone low bids even if it is rediculous all you have to do is ignore them, their are better things in life to think about then to get yourself in a uproar about nothing, this could have detrimental benifits to your long term health, life is to short to get upset over trivial things, have a more care free life and bring the positives to life not the negatives and you will atract more positives to yourself.... Just my opinion...