"Make me an offer" RANT!!! Opinions?

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DredJAw

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[start of Ernies rant]

No offence to anyone here but I think the fastest way to make a sale is to put the price your looking for on each card and thats that. Anyone looking can say yes or no to it and then PM you if willing to buy.

Like I said, no offence or anything to anyone but I'm getting tired of people saying "make me an offer". Its your card you tell ME what YOU want for it.

Do people walk into Best Buy and say.... "what are you looking for on this stereo system?" No! Do people set up at shows without prices in mind for what they are looking for? No!

The price is laid out and you can decide whether you want it accordingly.

I'm sure its tiring having your PM's get filled up with "what are you looking for?" so I suggest, for the love of Pete, PUT YOUR SALE PRICE DOWN!

I will put a disclaimer here that if a card is super rarer or hardly seen then I encourage a best offer system but for 98% of cards out there you can logically come up with a price.

Anyways, am I pouting over something silly? Or do I have a beef?

[/End Ernie's rant]
 
Ernie,

I use the "make me an offer" to gauge how much somebody really wants a card. If they know what they want to spend, then it's easy for me to figure out whether that is enough or not. It also opens up the dialogue between a buyer... for me, it makes it much easier to go back and forth to end up selling the card in the end.

Often, I feel like I set my prices for cards really high and then nobody even bothers buying them at that price or making a counter offer. How am I supposed to know what people are willing to pay in a market that is so volatile? I could have my cards set on high prices forever and nobody would pay the amount, but when I want to get rid of the card then often the first person who inquires is going to get fairly close to the price that they are willing to pay.

This is just in my situation though... for other people it might be different. But I think you know with the possible transaction we have... I gave a first price, but now I know what you want to pay... and that price still sounds alright with me - know what I'm saying?

Matt
 
you just sound old and tired :)

But I totally get your point! I am one of those "make me an offer" guys...
And I do that only because to catch some with my dirty hook :D

I also do it because I like to negotiate and making good deals that gives me profit so I can feel good about myself!

That´s just my truth and honesty!

- Chrisse
 
Ern, I'm guilty as charged.:o

I usually list thigns on the boards with "make me an offer" but after comparing my recent EBay sales to the offers I was getting on the same cards me thinks the bay, fees or not, might be a better alternative.;)

But I would tend to agree with Chris' points. If it's new you can't really find a market for it unelss there is a comparable product from previous years with the same guy, same subset, same print run.

Market averages are a good way to price as well but, as we all know, you can put something on the bay that has sold for $65 the previous 10 times and then your copy may sell for $165. Ya never know........:)

That said, I guess it's each to their own!
 
No I agree with you. If you are selling a card tell me what you want for it.

phate just had a perfect example. We told me what he wanted for a card of his, I counter-offered as his price was higher than I wanted to pay and we came to an agreement. I don't know about phate thinks but it was an easy deal to come to IMO.
 
I HATE the "make me an offer" routine as well, you said it right...It's your card, you know what you have into it, therefore you know what you need out of it! No offense, but I very rarely deal with those offer people. In my opinion the offer routine is done to try and garner a bigger profit, i.e. hope a player collector offers alot more than I have into the card. In my opinion it's sometimes sneaky.

I do agree though on low numbered cards /1, /5, but if your asking me to make an offfer on a $30-$40 Lemieux card, you won't get it. I'll pick it up on the bay for under $10 anyway and save both our time.

My 2 cents
 
Ernesto, you're bang on there. And you get bonus points for the phrase "for the love of Pete" ;)
For simple stuff numbered to 10 or more, a seller should have a sense of what the card is a) worth and b) what they'd like for it.
Stuff out of less than 10, most sellers know at least what they'd like for it, but it does get harder to gauge what it's worth, so I can understand sellers fishing for offers on cards with that kind of rarity.
 
I agree with this. If you are willing to offer something up for sale, you almost certainly have some idea of what you're willing to consider for it.
 
I was beginning to think I was the only one that was driven nuts by that. I've all but given up trying to do deals on this site because everybody is nickle and diming each other. I don't mind negotiating at all (in fact, I love it, even if it falls through), but if you haven't got the grapefruits to say what you want for your card, THEN DON'T WASTE MY TIME. I just had a 20 post PM back and forth with a member who refused to name a price, and when I finally caved, he decided he ddin't want to move the card anymore.

And tire kickers? Don't even get me started on those....
 
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I ask for an offer often on pieces that are pretty limited(AKA Not priced due to scarcity).. Oh and Ernie, send me a pm please with an offer :)
Thanks
l
 
I ask for offers most of the time as I'm very flexible in what i'll take for cards. Several here have probably bought off me and turned around for profit because I sell low in these here parts :) Still just a hobby and as long as the "offer guy" is reasonable then I see no problem.

I do agree though that there are the people out there that want offers but refuse to budge on the number they had in mind...in that case list the card with your price! Thats far more annoying and can put a damper on all "offer guys" lol
 
Thanks everyone for the replies.

I really thought I was going to get total backlash for this post but I'm happy to see most HI members are in agreement.

I truly don't like the "make me an offer" system unless its a very scarce card. It's very shady in my opinion as the ONLY reason I see someone doing it is to try and make a bigger profit then they expected out of the card. I can't come up with anything else.

If the person really wants a best offer takes it then just put it on ebay for pete sake (how's that scott?)
 
g-force said:
If you are willing to offer something up for sale, you almost certainly have some idea of what you're willing to consider for it.
Click to expand...

I'll have to be one of the dissenters, I guess. I have tons of stuff in my trade box whose BVs are unbeknownst to me. I add things to my site on a weekly basis and simply don't look up values 90% of the time.

There's got to be a little give-and-take, in my opinion. If you want my card, then figure out what eBay sales have transpired then base an offer on that. I see it as a courtesy and as doing your homework.
 
Much of what I've got doesn't list. I have an idea of what I want for many of those cards, but I've also found that just blurting out a number tends to alienate some potential buyers. For that reason, I will often solicit offers rather than throw my price on the table. I just take the view that you're the only one who really knows what you'd like to pay for card X.



Not to mention it's a nice way to start a brisk round of haggling. I love haggling. Money's incidental - that's just scorekeeping.
 
Ernie....BANG ON!

This is a great board, but the main reason I do not spend as much time as I should is becuase of the "make an offer" crap.....I'm at the point where I totally ignore any post that has that statement!...no matter who it is....even my cranky buddy from the snow capital of Ontario :eek:

There are exceptions as pointed out (low numbered stuff, etc...), but for the most part, it's a waste of time.

Just my 2 cents.

Joe
 
I dont mind asking for an offer on a super limited card. I.E. Under 10 in existence, crazy patch etc.

However, it is extremely annoying when people ask you to make an offer on low to mid range cards. As Mike (Magootz) said if I see a price I like I buy. If your asking me to make offer on a bunch of $20-$30 cards then it's not really worth it.

Put up a price. If somebody likes it they buy it. Ends the time spent going back and forth. My last several purchases all came from people who listed prices. I'm not a fan of the guessing game.
 
My problem with making on offer is this:

If the seller makes a post saying "Cards for sale". Guess what, its the seller of the card who should set the price. His cards, he wants the money. My problem with sellers with the make an offer is when you do make an offer (low or whatever), they snicker and treat you like an arse. Well when you say make an offer, Im making the offer I want to pay, not what u really think the card deserves.
 

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