The Etiquette of Price Negotiation

[FPrice]

I am curious if others have had this experience and what they think is the best way to respond. Once in a while when offering a firearm for sale I'll get a response that the person is interested but thinks the price is too high and wants to know what the lowest price I'll accept is. I find this to be an awkward question and have had problems responding (until recently as I'll explain).

To me it's a bit self-defeating to to establish a price then be the one to name a lower price without any negotiation. Lowering the advertised price is one thing but how do you feel about being asked to name a lower price?

The answer I have come to is to ask the person to make me a (reasonable) offer and we'll go from there. I have accepted offers lower than my asking price in some cases and in others I have not.

How do others handle this situation and what do you feel is the best way to initiate a negotiation?

 

[hminsky]

I think you should always put the ball back in their court if possible.

 

[dreppucci007]

I'm with you, Frosty. The proper etiquette would be to have the buyer make you the offer, and give you the right of acceptance or denial. After the initial offer, if the seller doesn't agree with the offer, the seller may come back with something he/she finds more acceptable.

 

[Jose]

The price is as marked and fair, take it or leave it.

 

[Executive]

Haggling is almost always expected in private sales. Most people I know artificially inflate the original asking price in anticipation of a lower offer, to ulimately arrive at what they wanted in the first place. I prefer to ask a fair price and will almost always accept a slightly lower yet fair offer.


Chris

 

[PatMcD]

I would say "You've heard my asking price, what number are you thinking of?".

 

[M1911]

My response would be "make me an offer."

 

[Mike508]

Such a statement as "How low are you willing to go?" is manipulative on the part of the "buyer." Putting the ball back into the "buyer's" court is fair, IMO, regardless of how the seller wishes to phrase it.

 

[hallettguy]

respect and control


ya i think you should always just make an offer as a buyer! haggling is ok and expected! but if someone says that too you just say back, "what do you have in mind". don't be affraid to say no its your stuff! you must retain control!

 

[dwarven1]

I visited Israel many years ago, and in the Arab market in Jerusalem, you HAD to haggle or you'd get ripped off shamelessly.

Many years later, I visited Jamaica... they're OK, but no match for the Arabs in haggling.

 

[Buffalo Bill]

Selling price

I've always gotten the price I wanted for my firearms. I sell on Gunbroker. I always check the value in my Blue Book of Gun Values. Since I keep my firearms in like-new condition, I see what the value is for 98-100%, add in the value for extras like wood grips, two-tone, etc. My guns are sold at 99%+ condition. If the value is $550.00, that what I ask, and that's what I get.

 

[JuergenG]

I visited Israel many years ago, and in the Arab market in Jerusalem, you HAD to haggle or you'd get ripped off shamelessly.

You mean like this

 

[senorFrog]

You mean like this

When going through the suez canal on an commercial cargo ship, they let Egyptian traders onboard. Pretty imfamous name too "Charley Brown". The set up junk on blankets. One was trying to sell me a knock off rolex watch. He said..."I make you good offer...TELL NO ONE ELSE!".

Was an interesting trip because the Egyptian ship pilot was served a big bowl of pork stew for lunch.

 

[C-pher]

You mean like this

Holy Crap!! That's funny!

 

[daceman63]

Just tell them you believe you're asking a fair price and that you would be somewhat willing to negotiate and ask them what they had in mind.

 

[Patriot]

If I believe that I want to get the price lower because I am interested in it,
I will make an offer. Otherwise I will either accept the asking price if it is fair,
or move on. I have made offers that have been accepted immediately, have
had counter offers made, and have had others outright rejected. I have bought
when I know that there are alternatives a few/many dollars cheaper but I
wanted the gun and the seller wasn't trying to exact every last shilling out of
the transaction so I paid more so that a fellow shooter could move his gun.
If I think that the price is not a win-win transaction I avoid it. I assume that
this goes for the seller as well. The same holds true when I sell something.

The art of negotiation takes many forms. This is a science unto itself and
there are many business colleges that offer comprehensive courses on the
techniques and skills. I have taken many of those courses but prefer to be
rather straighforward out of respect to my many fine friends in the shooting
community. Trying to achieve a win-lose advantage is no way to go through life
from my perpspective. I am happy to say that I have found that there are
more like me on this board than the alternative.

TBP

 

[kjt]

Negotiating

. . . the person is interested but thinks the price is too high and wants to know what the lowest price I'll accept is.

To me it's a bit self-defeating to to establish a price then be the one to name a lower price without any negotiation.

Absolutely correct -- if you respond to that request, you are negotiating against yourself. Tell him to make an offer.

Goes for everything, too. Even your house.

 

[Bruce for NH State Rep]

When I bought my 10/22 last month, the price tag said $175. I simply asked "Will you go 150 for it?" I had no idea how low they'd go, so I gave him what I'd be willing to spend, and thought to be a fair price.

The guy looked something up on the computer for ten seconds, said "Yep", and the deal was done.

 

[Jose]

When I bought my 10/22 last month, the price tag said $175. I simply asked "Will you go 150 for it?" I had no idea how low they'd go, so I gave him what I'd be willing to spend, and thought to be a fair price.

The guy looked something up on the computer for ten seconds, said "Yep", and the deal was done.

He paid $100 for it.

 

[Len-2A Training]

When we bought our house in 1974 (FSBO), we made an offer of asking price minus some amount. The owners read our offer and countered with "would you like to know our bottom line". We said sure, they told us and we said "sold" (it was within our comfort level)!

32 years later, no regrets and we are still personal friends with the previous owners (who moved to Orange, CT).

Perfect win-win situation . . . but there were no real estate agents to screw it up and we only laughed at the screw-ups by the seller's attorney (we could have unfairly benefited from it, but did the right thing instead). We went out to dinner with them to celebrate the sale of the house, we've had them over and went out to breakfast with them a few times when they were up here on business and we've visited them in CT when we were on our way back from NJ a few times.

Gun sales can go the same way if the personalities of seller and buyer are such that nobody is trying to take advantage of the other party.

 

[Chris]

Back in 2000 when my wife and I went to India, we were shopping for the rug that is in our diningroom. Unless you go to a government run shop for crafts, the only way you will find a reasonable price is to haggle. We spent all day in Agra visiting one rug dealer after another and not finding the quality we wanted at a price we wanted. We finally told one of the dealers "It isn't the price, I'm looking for something exceptional and frankly I have not seen it."

After some further discussion, much of it in Hindi, the 'owner' of the shop told me that he had a place we could get the rug we wanted. We were to follow him and he'd show us.

Now, I was fairly concerned about this as you hear a lot about tourists being lured into dangerous situations.

Turned out that he was going to a large 'factory'.

On arriving, he spoke to a few people (again in Hindi) and then we were ushered into a very well appointed room and offered bottled water, etc.

One by one some of the finest rugs we'd seen were brought in. Almost all of them were rejected becuse of certain design elements or colors that didn't match what we wanted. But, as each rug was brought, we pointed out the things we liked.

Finally, A small conversation was held between some of the guys showing us the rugs and the guy in charge said "I know what you want. Follow"

He took us onto the 'floor' of the building where rugs of all kinds were being worked on. Mostly having the ends hand tied, but also washing and even some repairs. All by hand. Hundreds of men and women and not a machine to be seen.

We crossed the floor and into a storeroom filled from floor to ceiling with rugs strapped to palets and what I assumed were rugs packed in burlap to be shipped.

Over along the loading bays, the guys were pulling rugs out of a pile.

And there it was. Exactly what we had been looking for.

I'd say it was probably 4 in the afternoon at this point. The guy knew he had us. We made an offer that we knew was reasonable, but slightly lower than what we were prepared to spend. He naturally rejected it. I asked what he had in mind and the price was absolutely CRAZY. He wanted 97,500 rupees (roughly $2000) We again made our offer. He looked offended. We stuck to our price. No argument, no heated words. I simply kept repeating my price and asked if he would sell. He kept returning with a counteroffer. Once the counteroffer came down to the price we were prepared to pay, I simply nodded.

The rug was swarmed by workers to tie off the ends (it had just come in from whoever had woven it and wasn't finished) and the 'manager' offered us refreshments, got us a taxi, made arrangements for dinner at a local place he recommended, and made sure the rug was properly wrapped in plastic and then burlap right there in front of us.

We ended up with a 10x8 100% wool oriental with a very thick nap and high thread count for 45,000 rupees. ($900) After the American Express currency charges it was still under $1000.

If my wife's uncle had not explained the way Indians 'negotiated' I would have never believed it. In fact, i was sure we were going to lose the rug by turning down his offers.

The fact is, if you know the value, you slightly undervalue on your offer, stick with the offer, and then allow the seller to 'win' when they meet your real price. Had our original offer been unacceptable (knowing that it was slightly low) there would have been no negotiation. You would have heard a 'no no' which is a polite way to say "you western boob, don't waste my time". So long as the counter offers keep coming, you are fine with your price and simply need to reach the 'settle' point. It is polite to settle above your price by a few %.

The more valuable the item, the more lengthly the 'negotiation'. I'd hate to buy a car, I've heard that the whole negotiation can take days.

The other thing I learned was that all sales were expecting cash. There is a whole lot of cash transactions that exist "off the books" to avoid taxes. When we went, family were happy to take checks drawn on American banks or solid gold coins in exchange for cash rupees at far better than the exchange rate because it gave them 'legal' money in the form of a non-taxable 'gift' for the not so legal currency.

Was an amazing experience. But after the rug, shopping was fairly easy. Some items I think we guessed wrong when making our offer, and I got a few "no no" responses, but overall once you get a feel for the 'value' of the currency, your gut is not far off.

 

[News Shooter]

I HATE haggling

When I was kid my father sued to take me everywhere with him to listen to him haggling over everything. He would haggle in department stores, gas stations, you name. Sometimes it got really heated. He used to drop me off in front of the drug store and tell me to go in an offer 5 cents for a ten cent candybar.
I grew up fearing and despising the whole process.

What cured me of it was spending quite a bit of time in Hong Kong in the 80's.
Haggling is truly an art form there. They haggle over everything. Once you are emersed into it and get used to it, it comes naturally.

I still don't do it here though

 

[Lugnut]

Well... I'm in sales and here's my view. Anything is fair game as long as both parties are ethical and polite. Sometimes people price things based on "knowing" some discounts are going to be requested. Some people price it on what they want- period. Both are fair IMHO. Ultimately both parties have complete control of their own situation.

I often get puzzled at people that freak out and get really angry when buying a house or car or anything for that matter. There are no hard and fast rules about what is acceptable and what isn't. Just keep it cool.

 

[SKS Ray]

I am curious if others have had this experience and what they think is the best way to respond. Once in a while when offering a firearm for sale I'll get a response that the person is interested but thinks the price is too high and wants to know what the lowest price I'll accept is. I find this to be an awkward question and have had problems responding (until recently as I'll explain).

To me it's a bit self-defeating to to establish a price then be the one to name a lower price without any negotiation. Lowering the advertised price is one thing but how do you feel about being asked to name a lower price?

The answer I have come to is to ask the person to make me a (reasonable) offer and we'll go from there. I have accepted offers lower than my asking price in some cases and in others I have not.

How do others handle this situation and what do you feel is the best way to initiate a negotiation?

As far as I can remember I've gotten what I asked for a price when selling firearms or anything else for that matter. I usually set a price under what everyone else is selling because I know I'll get close to what I paid for it and give the buyer what I'd like to get, a good or at least fair deal.
But I agree with what you mentioned in asking them to make a reasonable offer.
Now when I'm buying from a gun show or store vendor, I'll haggle like a madman and go so far as to point out flaws and damages to get what I think is a good price since most gun show/store vendors are overpriced to begin with. And if its what I think is a fair price, I'll still go for $20 less just for a chance they'll take it. I've gotten some of my best rifle deals that way.

 

[dwarven1]

When we sold our last house, we took a bath on the price. We wound up having to spend $10K for a new septic system (thank you, Title 5

), we had to START with an asking price $15K under what we paid for it... And when we finally got an offer, the buyer offered us $2K less than our asking price. I agreed, but it was our absolute bottom price we could sell for. After the home inspection, when I didn't hear anything back from them, I commented to our realtor that they must have had a crummy inspector - I knew there was stuff to find!

Her reply was that no, the inspector found the stuff all right... but that she told the buyer that if they tried to go down any farther, I'd have told them to go pound sand. I laughed when I heard that... because she was right! I was about $1.00 away from saying "F*** it, we're keeping it and renting it out."

 

[matt]

Haggling is almost always expected in private sales. Most people I know artificially inflate the original asking price in anticipation of a lower offer, to ulimately arrive at what they wanted in the first place. I prefer to ask a fair price and will almost always accept a slightly lower yet fair offer.


Chris

I haggle EVERYWHERE. Private sales, definitely. Appliances at BIG stores, definitely. Tech items, usually depending how much of a commodity it is. Jewelry, ABSOLUTELY, even at mall stores. If you don't want to give me a lower price, tell me no. I won't be offended. I may or may not buy your stuff, but being offended by it would be silly. Asking me to make an offer is perfectly acceptable too. It's part of the 'game'. I've taken the approach that you never know if you don't ask. I've saved alot of $$ this way.

 

[BillO]

Etiquette of Price Negotiation

I don’t haggle at all unless the price is an “asking price”. If I think the price isn’t reasonable, I move on. More on etiquette; when you agree to buy, it should be binding. Twice, I’ve found better deals in between the “I’ll take it” and the actual delivery. When you agree on terms, you should follow through with the deal. Period.

 

[FPrice]

I don’t haggle at all unless the price is an “asking price”. If I think the price isn’t reasonable, I move on. More on etiquette; when you agree to buy, it should be binding. Twice, I’ve found better deals in between the “I’ll take it” and the actual delivery. When you agree on terms, you should follow through with the deal. Period.

I don't think there is anything wrong with asking if the seller will consider a lower price as long as you name a price, present it in a straightforward manner, and don't go insultingly low. Then you can negotiate. As long as it's done in a friendly manner I see no problem

As far as the lack of follow-through I think you have an excellent point and the basis for another thread, perhaps "The Etiquette of the Follow-through" or something like that. I encourage you to start such a thread to help people think about this.

 

[PistolPete]

I actually work for the Want Ad and deal with this on a regular basis. One thing I've found is when selling an item privately put the item in at a price slightly higher than what you want for it. When someone asks what the lowest you will go tell them to come take a look at the item and then make you an offer. Tell them there may be a little bit of room in the price but not much. Then let them know that you have several people interested in the item so you are confident that your selling price is fair.

Also, let them talk you down a tiny bit. Americans have become become use to haggling over price and many times won't buy an item because they weren't able to negociate a lower price. By keeping your price a little higher than you want that person gets to talk you down a bit and he will feel he got a better deal. This has always worked for me.

Remember though that your price needs to be reflective of the product you are selling. If you're selling a used gun that is easily attainable in this state and you're asking full retail expect people to ask what is the lowest you will take. So if your price is competitive and fair then don't accept less for it. Think like car dealers and know "there is an ass for every seat"

P.S. Don't ever put in the ad "must sell" or anything to that effect because that tells potential buyers you are desperate and will accept much less than you are asking.

Good luck,
Pete

 

[jhrosier]

While I have sometimes offered a lower price or accepted a lower offer, I'm pretty sure that I could have stood firm and still made the sale, most times.
I think of it as more of a courtesy to someone I know or recognise from NES, and find it frequently offered in kind.
This is a great place to meet folks and swap gear.
My only complaint is with the occasional "tire kicker" who is not really intending to buy anyhow.
I've taken to checking the recent postings of anyone that I don't know.
Sometimes patterns of behavior can be instructive...