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DawnM
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I agree! I guess some people just want to see how low you're willing to go. I used to get sob stories and they disturbed me. Things like people not being able to afford curriculum because they didn't even have enough for groceries for that week. Or their DH's being laid off and if they don't find free curriculum they'll have to put their kids back in public school. It's sad because I know there are people like that who are needy but how does one prove it, and was it my responsibility? I was so glad when I stopped selling stuff online.

 

Hang in there!

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Yep. We ARE a very low income family, so I always barter, but for maybe 20%, not 75%!

 

I had one lady claim that her father had just woken up out of a two month coma that morning and that's why she didn't arrive to pick the item up that she was buying from me. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and held onto it for her, turning down another buyer. Then she said her bank card had been blocked because of potential fraud flagging, and she couldn't get money out, so would I hold it another week. I realised by then she was probably lying, but since i'd already turned down the only other potential buyer I held onto it to see if she returned. She didn't. Who lies about a coma?!

 

The sob stories I run into in the local buy/sell groups seem to be less about getting things free and more about getting people to hold items until they have money, and then they decide to spend the money on something else, so they try to get you to hold it until the next payday instead. I had one regular customer in my clothing store who was forever asking me to hold items only to disappear, but she bought so much that I tolerated it for the times she would actually follow through. I eventually figured out that her ability to buy depended on how many cigarettes she needed that week. She would message me at the beginning of the week to buy an item, but, at the end of the week realise she needed to choose between my item or smokes and the smokes always won. Then i'd hear from her in a week or two trying again. 

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That's yet another reason why I prefer Amazon or eBay with no "best offer." 

 

No sob stories. I've been in economic distress myself, but what I list is what I list.

 

 

Right now I am selling furniture and older TVs, nothing I can ship.

 

I have some curriculum to list and will prob. list it this weekend, some Teaching Textbooks and such.  I got rid of most of it last summer when I stopped homeschooling.

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When I started homeschooling I would sell my curriculum to buy the next year's curriculum. It was easy, no unreasonable requests, such as 75% off my asking price. Somewhere along the line it became a hassle. Everyone has a sob story. Everyone wants it for free. All I wanted to say was "guess what, I have a sob story too. I'm not selling my curriculum for a lark. I also need money to buy stuff with." I never said it. I just started donating most of it.

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Right now I am selling furniture and older TVs, nothing I can ship.

 

We've done a few things like that on local Facebook groups, but yes, it's agony. At times I've gotten frustrated and just donated them to a local ministry that provides such things to needy families for a donation slip for our taxes. At a certain point my patience runs thin no matter how much we've needed the cash.

 

We had a nearly new generator that was priced well for 40 hours of use and regular maintenance. And I got offers that were in the range of one that was barely running. And three people that said they would take it for the price we listed it for that never showed up for the appointment we set. I finally just took it down. Maybe this summer I'll relist it when I have more time.

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If I'm selling an item (even a pony) that I think is worth my asking price and folks want to dicker, my comeback line is always, "Let me write down your name and number (or save your e-mail) and I'll get back to you later if the item is still available.  I want to give it a chance to sell at full price first."

 

Sometimes inquirer #1 ends up deciding it's worth full price after all.  ;)

 

I do the same with people who can't come until X date. ("I'll let you know if it's still available.")

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We sell cattle on Craigslist. My husband has had it with people offering lowball offers. You're not going to get a registered cow for $300 when she's listed for $1000. So he's taken to adding "I sell good stock and I know what they're worth. These are fair prices so please don't waste my time and yours with low offers."

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I consigned a Step2 playset for $25, typically close to $100 new, but it was faded.  It didn't sell, and someone at the sale offer $10 for it so I didn't have to take it home.  I donated it to a local outreach.  I was at the sale afterward looking at what didn't sell, and I was looking at the sticker price, not what I thought I wanted to pay for the thing.  We're low income and haggling like that just has never ever occurred to me as a buyer.  I can live without something if I can't/won't pay the price listed.  I'll hunt for a good price, but not haggle.

 

FWIW, if you get frustrated and just donate, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore might pick up furniture and such from your porch--if you have a ReStore or similar place near you.

 

Good luck with all of it!

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I consigned a Step2 playset for $25, typically close to $100 new, but it was faded.  It didn't sell, and someone at the sale offer $10 for it so I didn't have to take it home.  I donated it to a local outreach.  I was at the sale afterward looking at what didn't sell, and I was looking at the sticker price, not what I thought I wanted to pay for the thing.  We're low income and haggling like that just has never ever occurred to me as a buyer.  I can live without something if I can't/won't pay the price listed.  I'll hunt for a good price, but not haggle.

 

FWIW, if you get frustrated and just donate, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore might pick up furniture and such from your porch--if you have a ReStore or similar place near you.

 

Good luck with all of it!

 

I told DH I would rather donate it to a cause than to deal with hagglers who lowball.

 

I can come down some, but not to that, I can write off that amount in taxable donations!

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TBH I really think this depends on what you are selling.  I can't imagine underbidding like that on good breeding stock - it would feel disrespectful and I might even wonder about quality if the offer was accepted unless I knew why.

 

But with used furniture and tvs - I think the market for these things used is much worse than people realize, and I often see things listed that I am sure are unlikely to bring that sort of price.  I would offer what I was willing to pay, because I would think it is pretty likely that the person might not get a better offer.

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In my experience, most people on Craigslist offer price their things. So I almost always make a lower offer and it is generally lower than what I think something is worth so they have room to counter with a higher but closer to a reasonable price. That is how haggling works.

 

Of course the sob stories are insulting to the seller but haggling is a normal tool used all over the place. People haggle car prices and house prices and that is deemed entirely normal. Why wouldn't it be for other things

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I totally agree. When we moved crass country, I got rid of most all of our furniture and a lot of kitchen stuff. I ended up donating it all to a charity that resettles refugees. When the volunteer came to pick up my stuff, he was very excited, because most of what is donated is ready for the dumpster. He came back three times to get it all.

 

I know I could have made a good bit of money, but the tax deduction was much easier for me and helped out several families who had absolutely nothing.

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I totally agree. When we moved crass country, I got rid of most all of our furniture and a lot of kitchen stuff. I ended up donating it all to a charity that resettles refugees. When the volunteer came to pick up my stuff, he was very excited, because most of what is donated is ready for the dumpster. He came back three times to get it all.

 

I know I could have made a good bit of money, but the tax deduction was much easier for me and helped out several families who had absolutely nothing.

 

 

Oh, oh, oh, Thank you!  I had forgotten my friend works directly with refugee families and I have donated and delivered twice.  I am contacting her RIGHT NOW to find out about getting rid of these two chairs, some end tables, and we will have more later.

 

I can also throw in several kitchen items.

 

I would MUCH rather it go and be used and go to someone in real need than deal with this bartering, etc...

 

PS:  Ok, she says they won't use large recliners, they have large groups over and sit on the floor.  They can use smaller stuff, kitchen stuff, folding chairs, etc...

Edited by DawnM
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In my experience, most people on Craigslist offer price their things. So I almost always make a lower offer and it is generally lower than what I think something is worth so they have room to counter with a higher but closer to a reasonable price. That is how haggling works.

 

Of course the sob stories are insulting to the seller but haggling is a normal tool used all over the place. People haggle car prices and house prices and that is deemed entirely normal. Why wouldn't it be for other things

 

 

If it ridiculously low, I don't even bother haggling.  

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I'm trying to sell curriculum right now. Bleah! It's been sitting on my table for a while because I hate the sob stories, and sorry, but a complete level of AAS is worth more than $5 and all 8 books of Beast Academy 3 is definitely worth more than $30 total!

 

It gets really old really fast.

 

I'm taking better pictures today and listing on ebay.

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I'm trying to sell curriculum right now. Bleah! It's been sitting on my table for a while because I hate the sob stories, and sorry, but a complete level of AAS is worth more than $5 and all 8 books of Beast Academy 3 is definitely worth more than $30 total!

 

It gets really old really fast.

 

I'm taking better pictures today and listing on ebay.

 

 

We have a couple of different mission boards nearby, one of them has a thrift shop and I know MANY of them homeschool.  I will gladly give books and things that don't sell that well, or even some stuff that COULD sell, to them as I know it will be appreciated and used.

 

But I don't believe sob stories anymore.  I had someone ON HERE that I paid her full asking price for the materials and after hounding and hounding, she sent them 5 months later.  

 

There was another woman on here who scammed people.

 

It taints you.

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Love, love, love the idea of donating to refugee families!  

 

I generally donate our stuff, or give to a family that needs it via freecycle, but sometimes the extra income would be nice so I get the need to sell things sometimes.

 

When we cleaned out my mother's house, and she was moving, we came up with the general rule of thumb that we would donate everything except items that she thought she could sell for $100 or more.  Anything less than that didn't feel worth her time (we were in a time crunch).  Having that general idea in our heads helped us make some decisions about perfectly nice items that we might otherwise have felt some guilt about releasing.  And - oddly - we didn't really end up selling much.  Most things we decided it just wasn't worth the time and energy, and she ended up finding ways to donate that made her feel better about where the stuff was going.  

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I totally agree. When we moved crass country, I got rid of most all of our furniture and a lot of kitchen stuff. I ended up donating it all to a charity that resettles refugees. When the volunteer came to pick up my stuff, he was very excited, because most of what is donated is ready for the dumpster. He came back three times to get it all.

 

I know I could have made a good bit of money, but the tax deduction was much easier for me and helped out several families who had absolutely nothing.

 

Yes, this!  I'm slowly learning that blessing others with items in good condition brings me more joy than currency in my pocket.

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If it ridiculously low, I don't even bother haggling.

That is a strategy I use as well. That is the beauty of haggling online, you don't have to take part in it. But why get frustrated over it? And really if all your(general you) offers are too low in your eyes than the item is likely overpriced.

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That is a strategy I use as well. That is the beauty of haggling online, you don't have to take part in it. But why get frustrated over it? And really if all your(general you) offers are too low in your eyes than the item is likely overpriced.

 

 

Because it is frustrating to deal with rude people.  Low ball is one thing, but 1/4 the price, that is just rude IMO.  

 

I would rather donate, and will if it doesn't sell by Sunday.  

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Because it is frustrating to deal with rude people.  Low ball is one thing, but 1/4 the price, that is just rude IMO.  

 

I would rather donate, and will if it doesn't sell by Sunday.  

To play devil's advocate, as my DH says, an item is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If someone isn't willing to pay your "full" (listed) price, then it isn't worth that. It's worth the 1/4 price or low offer that you do get.

 

That being said, this is why I generally donate things. My mom, OTOH, loves having a garage sale and getting rid of things that way. I'd hate all the work associated with having one. They joy I get from donating and avoiding that work is totally worth it for me. Different strokes for different folks.

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To play devil's advocate, as my DH says, an item is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If someone isn't willing to pay your "full" (listed) price, then it isn't worth that. It's worth the 1/4 price or low offer that you do get.

 

That being said, this is why I generally donate things. My mom, OTOH, loves having a garage sale and getting rid of things that way. I'd hate all the work associated with having one. They joy I get from donating and avoiding that work is totally worth it for me. Different strokes for different folks.

 

I am perfectly fine donating so saying different strokes as if I don't want to donate is not accurate.  I have said I am willing to donate multiple times on this thread.

 

And I will say it again, I would rather it go to someone who I know will appreciate it and enjoy it than sell for a low price to someone like the person who low balled me.

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So, I was trying to figure out why a low ball offer was considered rude.  Then when I saw this...is that why the low ball offer is considered rude?  Do you think that someone who pays less won't properly appreciate and enjoy the item?

 

I am genuinely asking here, I am one who enjoys a good haggle and don't quite understand why it offends people. 

 

I don't mind haggling.  But offered $20 on a $75 item to me says you aren't really interested.  

 

Truth is, I hate selling anyway, I would make a horrible salesperson.  Which is why I am not in sales at all.

 

Do I think they won't appreciate it?  I have no idea, but I do know people who WILL and people who won't be telling me some fabricated sob story.  Are some stories the truth?  Of course.  But I guess I am tainted by all the ones that aren't.

 

BTW:   I just listed the item late last night, so I won't sell to the first person to low ball, I will wait through the weekend.  Then I will donate.  

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I don't understand....if I am not interested, I just don't make any offer at all? 

 

Sob stories, yeah, those bug me too.  I just ignore those. 

 

Just jumping here to say what I think personally. I think someone who offers a ridiculously low price is trying to buy it to resell it for a higher price. That's how some people make money. I also learned that some people who are on freecycle do the same thing. I gave away lots of stuff I probably could have sold but it wasn't worth my time. To be perfectly honest, if I had an item that was worth $75, I wouldn't want to go through the hassle of packing it and going to the post office for $20. It's a hassle. It's just easier to donate.

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I hate haggling.  Perfectly good waste of time.  I put on what I value it as and the buyer knows what that is and can take it or leave it.  My parents sell at Farmer's markets and we get so many people who want to haggle.  Our prices are clearly marked as well as the sales tax (we have to have a permit to sell and a a sales tax number and have to collect and pay those taxes even though many people don't think we do).  People are constantly trying to haggle to not pay the sales tax, quibble about the price etc.  I'm like do you go to Walmart and berate the cashier there when you don't like the price?  We are a business entity just like Walmart.  The biggest offenders are people from other countries.  Even when you flat out tell them there is no negotiating on prices they feel compelled to try. I realize yours is  different situation where you do have some leeway but the whole "bargaining" thing is such a turnoff to me that even for personal stuff I won't sell to people who want to haggle.  I'll toss it first.

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I think what is insulting about the extreme lowball offers is that they have the 'feel' of people trying to take advantage of someone's desperation.  And so they contain the assumption that the seller is desperate, as well as conveying the ick of someone capitalizing on that.  It's an ugly thing.

 

Having said that, sometimes people are really nuts about how much they are asking.  I usually don't bother with those, but last year someone posted a pair of boots on a neighborhood list for about 80% of retail, and I thought it was a mistake--sale prices were less than that.  Granted, they were only gently used, but still...So I inquired to make sure that that was the price, and the seller said, what would YOU pay for them?  So I gave her what I thought was a very fair offer for *used*, which was 1/2 of the sale price, and she was insulted, or at least feigned insult.  She said that she couldn't dishonor the boots by selling them for that much, and I replied that that was what they were worth to ME, and to let me know if she changed her mind.  She never did, and I'll bet she still has them.

 

Also, sometimes people kit up things that shouldn't necessarily be combined.  I once looked at a set of 6 chairs, a table, and 4 barstools.  I didn't like the table--it looked roundish but was actually very slightly oval, which meant that every round OR oval tablecloth I had would look weird on it (thank goodness I brought two along to try--or I'm not sure I would have seen that.)  Anyway, two of the chairs didn't match the rest, although they coordinated reasonably well.  After I saw this, I messaged the seller and said, "You probably don't want to break this up, but if you ever decide to do so, I'd love to have the 4 matching chairs and the 4 matching barstools", and about 3 weeks later he decided that selling something was better than selling nothing and sold them to me.  I was delighted, and I assume he was happy.

Edited by Carol in Cal.
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I can see that, though I guess it just doesn't bother me if people are going to just resell the stuff. 

 

I hate shipping anything, I generally just sell on CL

 

 

Haggle at a farmers market?  That doesn't even make sense lol.  Just go to the next stall, there are like 5 people selling tomatoes.  lol

No problem.  Just trying to understand people :-) 

 

The truth is, where I am currently at, it's tough to GIVE stuff stuff away on CL.  When FIL passed, we brought home one of his couches.  DD21 is living with roomates, but they were getting ready to move, and taking their couch with them.  Well circumstances changed with the roommates and DD21 couldn't use the couch and we couldn't either.  It wasn't a super valuable couch or anything.  It was in good shape but just a cheapo couch that was used, so not worth transporting back to FIL's house for the estate sale.  Listed it on CL for free, it took WEEKS to get even one response.  Selling is just as bad, if not worse, it just moves SO freaking slow. 

 

Thankfully we do have an SUV and a pull behind utility trailer and will haul it off for donation ourselves by Sunday if need be.

We have a few other things that need to go, so we can make a decent sized haul of furniture.

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 Listed it on CL for free, it took WEEKS to get even one response.  Selling is just as bad, if not worse, it just moves SO freaking slow. 

 

With furniture, a good bit of this is because bedbugs move around that way.  Some folks figure they want to get rid of theirs - so sell the furniture.   :cursing:

 

We haven't personally had this happen, but have heard enough stories from folks who have been affected that I will no longer buy used furniture from CL or yard sales or ads in the local paper, etc.

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My mom is into high end antiques, so she goes regularly to good dealers and auctions.  At least here, the dealers say it isn't usually worth it to try and sell good quality stuff online - you just can't get a price that is in line with its objective value.  I see people all the time with things like dining room sets listed at $1500 or more, and yet I know the same kinds of things go at auction sometimes for $100.

 

Bigger furniture like dining tables and couches are bad because people have to pay to transport them, but the worst seems to be any kind of electronics.  The market for used is flooded because people are looking to get rid of them and don't want to pay to do it. 

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