Was This Out of Line?

So, I was perusing eBay looking for potential coins to add to my collection when I found one I liked. The seller had it listed for $120...so I looked it up on HA to compare prices and see if it was reasonable. Not only did I find comparables...but I found the exact same coin had sold on HA in June for $56. There was a "best offer" feature for this auction so I sent the seller a message and simply asked him what the best price he would take using the "best offer" feature. Then I added something like, "I see this coin sold on Heritage for $56 on June ?, 2012 (can't remember the exact date)." I don't want to seem rude...but I wanted to be clear that the coin is overpriced and that I'm an educated seller. Do you think this was an acceptable thing to do?

I don't want to beat around the bush...I want his best fair price. I know he has to make money...and who knows, the coin may have changed hands several times between HA and now. But more than 2x the HA price from 2 months ago seems excessive.

 

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It is excessive, and a lot of guys try to flip this way. E-bay is a terrific trolling ground to reel 'em in. You probably P/O'd him with that question Rich.

 

You have to take into consideration a few other things. There are ebay fees, HA buyers premium, Paypay fees and profit. It may seem excessive to charge twice what he paid for it, but I'm sure his profit is no where near 100%.

 

Richie,

As a seller, I do think this is out of line. The seller lists a BIN price and then gives the option of best offer. I don't mind you telling the seller that you know the coin sold for $56, but to ask him what his lowest price is seems out of line to me and is my pet peeve on E-Bay. Instead of expecting the seller to give you the best deal possible, simply make an offer that you think is fair. That puts the ball back in his court and he then has the option to accept, decline, or counter.

When buyers ask me for my best price, I lie. For example, if I have a $100 coin for sale and by lowest acceptable offer price is $80 and someone asks me what my lowest price is, I will usually say $90. It works better than what I want to say which is "what is the most you will pay for the coin?"

Paul

 

+1. IMHO, the only thing that makes it "unacceptable" is the fact that you told him the price it sold for awhile ago while then asking how low he would be willing to go. If I was that seller, I would feel like I'm being trapped in a corner, since it's obvious I can't give a concise answer/offer without making the buyer feeling peeved since s/he might think "Why the heck are you asking for $$$ when I already told you it sold for $ recently?"

Of course, I might spell out the whole reason why the price might seem inflated, i.e.: fees, BP, shipping, etc. (as Lehigh said) in addition to the off-chance that the coin actually under-sold at Heritage, making it worth more than its realized price anyways. But explaining all that would annoy me and only make it appear like I'm beating around the bush.

That's how I would feel at least, as a fellow eBay seller.

 

I'm not going to beat around the bush with sellers. If he gives me a response that I am willing to accept I will buy...it not I will pass. And that $56 is with the BP. I might offer less than his best price too...who knows.

 

For most coins, my rule of thumb is offer about 15 to 20% less than what they are asking. It usually goes well, but not always.

 

If he is an educated seller, more than likely he knows that price already. To me the only reason I think its unacceptable was that you stated both the sold price on HA and asked him for his lowest settling price. A simple question of how much would he accept would have been fine.

 

See, I don't see anything wrong with this. I illustrated that I know the history of the piece. He is welcome to demand any amount for the coin...and I am welcome to not pay it. If he had it priced a little closer to it's recently auctioned price...I wouldn't have mentioned it at all...but 2x the HA price seemed a little steep to me.

 

Well, actually I do believe it is a bit out of line, because I have always figured the price someone paid for a coin is irrelevant. It is just how much the coin is worth. He has no more of an obligation to pass on his good fortune, if he got the coin cheap, than he does to over charge you if he paid too much.

But more important than that, with that approach, I think the seller will just dig his heels in because you ticked him off, and you will not walk away with the coin at a good price. Since has a Best Offer option, you can start there and play the game. It may be a PITA, but it is called "the art of the deal" not "the science of the deal"

When I was in retail sales, my best deals were to people I liked and to people who wore me down. After spending some time with a customer, it was like, I spent too much time with this guy to walk away with nothing, and if he was a pleasant chap, it made it much easier to do the deal he wanted. Someone who tried to bottom line me, right out of the box, usually did not get the best price possible

 

As sellers on ebay you have to expect that once in awhile you are gonna get someone who ask you as question that bothers you. Not only that, if you buy and re-sell as many of us do you may have someone pull your covers like you did to that seller in this case. Who cares if the guy got PO'd. With that said, you may pay through the nose if you still want to buy the coin from that seller tho'.

Was it out of line?. Obviously it was otherwise the dude wouldn't have gotten so PO'd. Onward to the next coin and the next seller.

 

Actually...the price that coin sold for on HA (whither this seller bought it there or not)...is about the normal going rate for this coin. There were other examples that had sold. So, he didn't really get "good fortune" on it. Plus, if my question does "tick him off" and he digs in his heels...then I'll simply move on.

He hasn't even responded yet. All I have said is what I asked him, I made no mention of a response or a reaction because there hasn't been one yet. I just wanted to know what everyone thought of the question. He might be perfectly pleasant.

 

I don't know if out of line is the term I would use. Bad negotiating tactic? Maybe. The seller knows what he paid for the coin, and more than likely knows what he needs to sell it for to make a profit after fees, shipping, etc. I doubt you will get any response other than a declined offer. As a seller, if someone sends me an offer I think is low, but reasonable, I send a counteroffer. If they send me a lowball ridiculous offer, I just decline. Like Lehigh, when someone asks me in a message what my lowest price is I always go higher than my lowest price.

 

Sorry, but I must also agree with Lehigh. Simply offer him what you are willing to pay for it. Further commentary would be beating around the bush. If he takes it, it is yours.

 

:thumb:

 

The price the seller paid for the coin is irrelevant. Just make him an offer that you are comfortable with and leave it at that. Hopefully you will get a nice coin for your collection and he makes a little money too.

The price he paid is something I would file away in my head when making the offer, but not something I would use as a negotiating tactic. Good luck on the deal!

 

I agree with Paul and rlm , I think you should offer him a price you think is fair . Then see if he accepts or declines . Stating you knew how much it sold for would probably tee him off . Imagine If someone asked you whats the lowest price you would pull a tooth for and then quoting some price you gave a friend or relative , it's really none of their business .

 

Hmmm. Two months ago huh?

Two months is quite a while and there's no guarantees that the current seller was the original purchaser of the coin from Heritage.

Were you out of line by stating you knew what the coin sold for on Heritage? No.
However, when you then asked the seller for his best price, I think you just might have crossed his line and he'll either ignore you or just block you.

It is a free country after all.

Be sure to share the results of your query.

 

I agree with G here....

I don't think it was out of line, but I'm not sure how quoting a former sales price is germane to the discussion as to what the seller's best price is.

Said a bit differently, what does sharing that information do for the discussion?

I would have simply asked for his best price then made my decision. Another alternative would be to make your best offer and see if he passes or plays. However, he who speaks first in a negotiation tends to lose, so I would likely have gone with the former tactic over the latter.