If questions like this annoy you then you may just want to sell to friends. And by friends I mean the guy down the road that doesn't ask questions. Seriously. I have asked this question many times to people in the past. (not on here but still applies) And this is why, You and I both know you are overpricing your item to fish for the dummies willing to pay that price. I, however AM NOT willing to pay your premium price and therefore will ask you "What is your bottom dollar on this?" What it means is "What is a reasonable price to you that you will still make money and is a more acceptable price to me." If it is still to high then I "might" haggle a little bit and maybe offer some trades or whatnot to come to a fair agreement. Now I'm not making a personal attack so don't take it that way but if you get that upset with people asking a common question then maybe you really should just not sell things.
If questions like this annoy you then you may just want to sell to friends. And by friends I mean the guy down the road that doesn't ask questions. Seriously. I have asked this question many times to people in the past. (not on here but still applies) And this is why, You and I both know you are overpricing your item to fish for the dummies willing to pay that price. I, however AM NOT willing to pay your premium price and therefore will ask you "What is your bottom dollar on this?" What it means is "What is a reasonable price to you that you will still make money and is a more acceptable price to me." If it is still to high then I "might" haggle a little bit and maybe offer some trades or whatnot to come to a fair agreement. Now I'm not making a personal attack so don't take it that way but if you get that upset with people asking a common question then maybe you really should just not sell things.
You say the buyer should have offered $800 to start? Why? If that is the final price he is looking for then starting at that price is just room for the seller to go up on the price. Obviously by your example then the seller should have initially listed his item at $800. Right? I mean he did end up taking that much for the item. By listing it higher he either was willing to haggle or was dead set on seeing exactly how much money some fool was willing to pay. If you are firm on the price of something that's one thing but if you offer to haggle then why get mad when someone uses the same tactics you are using? I honestly don't understand that mentality.I agree with the OP.
My grandfather has always been an expert "haggler" if that is what you call it, and I have learned a lot from him. If he wants to buy something, he knows how much he is willing to pay for it. That is how much he offers. If the seller is not willing to take that, no deal.
Here is the scenario I hate:
Item priced at $1000
Buyer: I will give you $500
Seller: Best I can do is $900
Buyer: I can only give you $700
Seller: OK, I will take $800
Buyer: OK, $800
The buyer should have offered $800 to begin with, if he was willing to pay that much. If the seller wouldn't take it, buyer should walk away. The seller in this scenario should have given a simple "No, thanks" on the $500 offer. This is what I call haggling. What I learned from my grandpa is something different (I know another term for it which some might find offensive).
Not fishing for dummies. I price it at the high end of what it is worth.
Although , I may be willing to take a little less than what it's worth, or maybe
not. I don't think I have ever exceeded retail when listing something. I get
frustrated because I already know I am not going to sell it as soon as they ask
the question.
You say the buyer should have offered $800 to start? Why? If that is the final price he is looking for then starting at that price is just room for the seller to go up on the price. Obviously by your example then the seller should have initially listed his item at $800. Right? I mean he did end up taking that much for the item. By listing it higher he either was willing to haggle or was dead set on seeing exactly how much money some fool was willing to pay. If you are firm on the price of something that's one thing but if you offer to haggle then why get mad when someone uses the same tactics you are using? I honestly don't understand that mentality.
Usually when I ask this question I have the amount of money that the original price quote is. BUT that doesn't mean that if I can get the item for less i'm not going to try. If someone says the list price is my bottom dollar thats fine. It doesn't hurt my feelings. Now it will just depend on whether I think that the list price is worth the cost. Or I may have asked because I think the price is high and want to see if you are going to haggle or may be interested in trades or some other kind of deal. Selling and buying in this fashion has been done for CENTURIES and as the above post stated alot of us saw our grandparents do it everytime they bought something. If you are firm on your price then state so in the listing and most respectful people (myself included) will not try to haggle with you. That's your price and that's that. But what irritates me is someone who puts $700/OBO and then gets mad when you try to haggle with them on price.
Ever buy a car and pay full sticker price? Come on now and be honest>
I haven't. Ever asked a car salesman what his bottom dollar is on a vehicle? Think you have ever gotten an honest answer? Name the price you would be willing to pay. If the seller says no, walk. Don't play that game with them, and YOU will win. They will act like they lost big, but they didn't.