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Basschat Marketplace: do you haggle?


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Love this………..”I don’t like to haggle, if I think it’s a fair price” well what if it ain’t and you want it’? 🤦 really! Nahhhh I just like to give my hard earned cash away😡 even if it’s ‘any movement on price’ or ‘would you include postage’ hardly insulting, yes I’ve dealt with some great ppl on here but c’mon🫤

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1 minute ago, roger said:

Love this………..”I don’t like to haggle, if I think it’s a fair price” well what if it ain’t and you want it’? 🤦 really! Nahhhh I just like to give my hard earned cash away😡 even if it’s ‘any movement on price’ or ‘would you include postage’ hardly insulting, yes I’ve dealt with some great ppl on here but c’mon🫤

 

Don't tell me how to Basschat! :D

 

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I've often "too cheap" on items here. In general I think that gear posted here for sale is pretty close to being fair prices.

I'm open to offers...as long as they're not taking the pisss offers and I'll offer what I think is fair. 

Hate the "it's worth what someone will pay for it " BS...everything has a real value,  whether the buyer is there on the day doesn't reset the scales.

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My system is very simple, with just two 'rules', or choices to be made...

 

1 - Do I want it, Yes/No..? If 'Yes', on to Rule 2. If 'No', end of.

2 - Can I afford it, Yes/No..? If 'Yes', purchase, if 'No', end of.

 

This makes buying stuff very simple, and very quick. I only buy stuff I will keep, so there's no selling to be bothered with.

Simple, me..? Yup. B|

 

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I have no problem with people trying to haggle. I have a realistic idea about the price I want to realise for whatever I'm selling. If that price isn't met then I can always say no. Similarly if I was trying to buy an item advertised on Basschat, I might make an offer based on what I thought was a fair price. However, as others have commented, it's all about the manner in which you negotiate. Tact and good manners are everything, as far as I'm concerned anyway.

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It very much depends on the individual situation. I will offer less if I think it is a reasonable offer.

If I'm selling, then one thing guaranteed to stop the deal is the "What's your best price?" question. I switch off at that point.

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2 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

It very much depends on the individual situation. I will offer less if I think it is a reasonable offer.

If I'm selling, then one thing guaranteed to stop the deal is the "What's your best price?" question. I switch off at that point.

 

I fookin' hate that question.  What's my best price?  A million pounds, that's my best price, that would be awesome, thanks. ;)


It's the laziest way to enter a negotiation possible.  If you're going to make an offer, make it, otherwise, bog off.  I don't see people who enter the chat that way as serious buyers - they're opportunistic tyre kickers at best.

Edited by neepheid
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3 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

I fookin' hate that question.  What's my best price?  A million pounds, that's my best price, that would be awesome, thanks. ;)


It's the laziest way to enter a negotiation possible.  If you're going to make an offer, make it, otherwise, bog off.  I don't see people who enter the chat that way as serious buyers - they're opportunistic tyre kickers at best.

Quite so mate!

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3 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

 I think I've got a fairly good idea of the value of things but that isn't to say that a seller hasn't got a different viewpoint; sentimentality, buying 'new' or having bought something at the top of its price range and then needing to sell in a downbeat marketplace period, is generally when you have a wide range of opinion on price. 

 

 

 

This seems to happen to me often - when I want something it's hard to find and expensive, but if I no longer need it then the bottom's fallen out of the market.

There are some non-musical items I'd sell right now but there are few people interested and they'll only offer half what I paid (used), which at the time were in line with typical dealers' prices.

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I hope that the receiving end of me asking if there's any wiggle room on the price has been received favourably. When I had money to burn, I didn't haggle at all, but alas after years of financial torment, I am hugely and warmly appreciative of the wonderful BassChatters who have offered a little discount. In return, I truly hope that everything I have sold has been below value (usually because items are in meticulous condition as I baby everything).

 

99% of the time it has been brilliant, though there's the odd BCer whose behaviour was far from community spirit and they have their cards marked. 

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I would just add that overwhelmingly, on here prices are extremely fair, if not even a little on the low side. 

 

I think most people do their research and price things accordingly. Unlike some of the chancers on eBay and Fakebook marketplace. 

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I don't haggle but I have made offers and I've had people make me offers. That's fair enough. The only issue I've had on BC was one guy who kept coming back to me, trying to knock me down, then trying to haggle over postage. Initially I was flexible but in the end he irritated me so much I told him I wouldn't sell him the bass under any circumstances.

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I tend not to haggle as a buyer but I'm happy to take offers. I don't sell high value items much but on BC I usually just list at the price I want; if I post the same thing on Gumtree I tend to bump the asking price to account for hagglers. The "what's your best price?" question is annoying but I try and have an idea of what I want and just stick to that.

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43 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I don't haggle but I have made offers and I've had people make me offers. That's fair enough. The only issue I've had on BC was one guy who kept coming back to me, trying to knock me down, then trying to haggle over postage. Initially I was flexible but in the end he irritated me so much I told him I wouldn't sell him the bass under any circumstances.


You’ve got to know when to quit when haggling. It should be good natured and respectful but when it gets to this point I agree it’s a massive red flag and becomes really irritating. 

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IMO, generally, the things that appear in the Marketplace on BC are well priced. We are all gear-heads or we wouldn't be here, so we're savvy with not only what stuff tends to sell for, but also what kind of price someone would be willing to pay. I would really hope that no one takes the you-know-what with their pricing.

 

Haggled marginally for things, knocking a bit off here and there, free postage etc. but generally buying and selling for a fair price.

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I think the general concensus is to be polite and fair. If I make an offer and thre is no counter offer I'd take that to imply that 'I'm not prepared to haggle'. Coming back with a counter offer means we are haggling but you need to offer a bit more. I'd never take it personally You can't really be upset at someone trying to get a good price.

 

I'm not convinced the 'best price' question is rude though, people are often unsure about bargaining and it's a formulation they have heard over and again on the antiques shows. You have to allow for people being clumsy with words sometimes. I do have my pet hates though; no timewasters is one of them, the implication for me is that anyone not paying is doing so out of malice and that somehow their time is so much more important than mine.

 

Another pet hate is people who make silly offers for something they haven't even seen, which happens a lot on some sites but not so much here.

 

Overall though I think people are right, the stuff sold here is pretty specialist and we are all aware of the value of most of the things on sale, anyone who over prices will soon know by getting no response.

 

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I think it's fair enough to try an offer, here or anywhere else, but I think on here I wouldn't enter into lengthy haggling, just maybe float a slightly lower offer if I thought the item was a bit overpriced. And I wouldn't be offended at all if the seller stuck to their guns.

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28 minutes ago, velvetkevorkian said:

Mine is "if you're looking at this you know what it is".

‘Way to cheap’ and ‘this won’t hang around for long’ the cynical side of me is convinced it’s to boost a mates sale🤷‍♂️

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My personal experience of the Basschat marketplace has been overwhelmingly positive. Most of the stuff that is advertised is offered at a fair price and prices set by knowledgeable folk……..so I rarely consider haggling - especially if I want the gear.
 

If I compare Basschat with some other generic marketplaces, however, I would almost always consider haggling for items on there. There so many more “chancers” on non-specialist marketplace sites in my personal experience.

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When I'm not teaching, I work on a farm doing menial jobs.  They pay's not great but it keeps me in spending money.  If an item will cost me X hours of sh*t shovelling I ask myself am I prepared to put those hours in.  If it's a yes, then I buy the item; if not, I don't.  Should a BC seller say that offers are welcome then I might make one, but other than that I wouldn't.  I've never sold anything on BC but if I were to, I'd state a firm price.

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I've absolutely no issue with haggling and absolutely no issue with being haggled with. Who ever owns the item is entitled to sell it for whatever price they want, be it an inflexible price or one that they are willing to negotiate on. Some things I REALLY want and will pay up for, some things 'I'd like' and am less worried about a successful purchase so will make an offer or ask if the seller is flexible on price to get to a number I'd be willing to go to. No one needs to sell their item for anything other than asking, but haggling, negotiating, asking 'best price' etc. come with the territory of selling used items and shouldn't be taken with offence in my opinion and shouldn't be responded to in a negative way. You can engage or you can politely say you're price is firm - no harm either way and (IMO) no point in setting yourself firm buying/selling rules, take each scenario as it comes! 

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