Do you haggle?

Sellers:
1. Do you state you take offers on your items?
I do. If it's resonable, I'll take it. If not, I'll haggle until it's reasonable.
2. If so are you willing to haggle the price, or do you just say 'yes' or 'no' to offers?
I'll haggle unless they severely low balled. Then it's a no.

Buyers:
3. Do you make offers on items in the MP?
I will sometimes. Especially if it's a doll I want, gone through a few owners, and still priced like it's new, and it's been there for a while.
4. How do you determine what is a reasonable offer to make?
Condition I can see, how old it is,what other MP prices are, and the price of a brand new one.

Both:
5. What are your experiences with haggling and making/taking offers?
So far, they've been pretty good.

 

I don't really object ot haggling but it's not something that I do personally.
I do understand that this is an international forum and that some people from some countries find it not only acceptable but the normal thing to do when making a purchase. Generally I will not put that I am taking offers unless I am desperate to sell or my items have been for sale for a bit longer than anticipated, usually I would just drop the price though. If someone was to make some rediculous offer then I would just politely tell them no, but if it was reasonable then I would usually take it.
I wouldn't feel comfortable making an offer on something myself though unless the seller states they take offers.

 

I think haggling is a very cultural thing and should be handled with care.

(and I think the gender aspect is either moot or heavily tied with the cultural thing - some cultural stereotypes place women as the market-misers who will do anything to screw down the price a proverbial penny. In fact, I can think of more stereotypes on that vein then ones where the women sit around and wait for the men to bring down the price (?))

For me, I abhor haggling. It's simply not done where I'm from (in most cases), and it would be seen as really rude to do so. When there is a given price, I pay it if I want it. If there's not a price, I ask how much the price is. Even in most street markets, that's the case.

I hate hate hate assigning value to something, and steer completely clear of 'make me an offer' threads unless there is a very strong market-established price I can find elsewhere. Otherwise, I feel I'm not in a position to make a guess at how much the seller wants and if I'd be over or under paying. On the flip side of this, as a seller I will only ask for offers if I set a pretty set base/ball park figure for people to work from (I guess more like an auction).

I also feel 'waiting for the seller to lower their price' is <i>not</i> the same thing as haggling at all, because the seller has made the choice themselves. There wasn't any pressure or assumption that the price would/should be lowered. Then, as a buyer, it's my choice at what point I jump in and take the deal or if I wait too long and miss out to someone else.

 

I could never haggle, it's something I couldn't do without feeling like I'm being selfish and trying to take advantage of the person - it's just the way I've been brought up. It doesn't bother me in the least that other people haggle, and if I was trying to sell something and someone reasonably tried to haggle a modestly lower price I might let it got for the proposed price just so that I could get rid of the item.
I can't make offers on "make me an offer" threads, even if it's something I've been really looking for, I have no idea what would be a decent price to offer without insulting the seller being too low, or getting ripped off by offering a number too high. I'd rather cruise around the marketplace for the same thing at a price I might find reasonable, rather than to ask for it at that price.

 

Interesting thread. I don't like haggling, I feel it's stressful and too much of a guessing game for the transction to be fun for me.

Personally, I think the default is no haggling unless the seller states they will take offers in a transction. If they do and I really want the item, I would make one offer of what I would be willing to pay for it (kinda like my max bid on ebay), and whether it's accepted or rejected, it would be that.

As a seller, I don't state I take offers upfront. But if I get them, I would accept them if they are reasonable. However, I won't try to haggle, just a yes or no.

As long as people are being polite and respect each other's choices, I see nothing wrong with liking or not liking to haggle.

 

I'll have to finish reading this later, but I'm gonna put my bit in now. Now, I'm from the group that's grown up with haggling through lots of flea markets and such.

Selling:
So far I've only sold commission work, each piece with an individual quote, and I feel that to keep the prices within reason I am making so little per wig there is no way I would lower my prices. The only cut would come from ordering two, and that's because I include shipping in the quoted price. But my prices are such I'm getting maybe $0.05/hour off the wigs.
I have plans to expand into clothing which won't be done on commission, and there I'll probably be willing to haggle, and the thread will say so.

Buying:
I haven't made offers in the Marketplace, but I've only made three purchases here, and none of them said 'offers'. If something just says 'offers' I'm probably not going to mess around with it, but if there's a baseline given but they say they'll accept offers, yeah, I'd likely get down to haggling. Just haven't had anything come up while I was in the funds.

In other matters, at a local doll show, a BJD dealer was there, and she had a part I wanted. The initial price she quoted me was high for that piece, so I came back with the lowest price I'd seen it listed for since I got into the doll hobby (a little lower than any current price), and she gave it to me for that. I left the table with a real sour taste in my mouth, and it took me a while to realize it was because she didn't haggle with me... I'm still having trouble using the hands because I feel like I cheated her!

 

The idea of haggling on this forum in particular seems out of place because of the nature of whats being sold.

We all buy these dolls from the company sites or each other. There's no dolly wholesaler out there who gives these away to 'retailers', who they turn them for a higher price. We all pay the same high price, unlike the general retail world.

That's where haggling belongs, since we know that retailers paid far less than what they're selling for and its a matter of how much profit they make on each item, and how much they're willing to lose for the sake of a quick sale.

Here, I think the only thing I would haggle for would be doll clothes because you can dispute its worth, as far as how much workmanship or hours really went into it and just how expensive the cloth could have been for such a small outfit. Working on such a small scale could be considered 'skilled work' and should therefore reflect in the product's price, but sometimes that idea is stretched a little far.

So in short, we don't want to short-change anyone here by haggling on doll prices. The fact of the matter is when you sell a doll, you're usually looking for what you paid or a little bit less. The only time you see drastic reductions are when there's damage, and those fixer-uppers go either really fast (broken fingers) or really slow (terrible yellowing). Often times you'll see prices marked up from the company site from the worth of a faceup or other body work (sanded seams, blushing, etc) rather than reduced, so its awkward to offer company price or lower when someone says to make an offer. Nobody wants to look stupid or cheap

 

I haven't actually sold anything yet but I'm going to answer the seller questions how I would if I was to sell anything

Sellers:
1. Do you state you take offers on your items?
it depends on the item but for the most part I would take offers

2. If so are you willing to haggle the price, or do you just say 'yes' or 'no' to offers?
I'd be willing to haggle the price unless it was waaaaay off what I'd be willing to sell it for, $200 off when my listed price is already less than I paid for the item.


Buyers:
3. Do you make offers on items in the MP?
yes

4. How do you determine what is a reasonable offer to make?
I think about it a lot and calculate about how much the item would be worth new and/or part of the set (if it's part of a set and I only want that one item) and try to give them a range that I'd be comfortable paying in. I certainly wouldn't offer a random super low price unless the item was a super small part of a set (ex. socks) or it was damaged.


Both:
5. What are your experiences with haggling and making/taking offers?
so far pretty good, the sellers have been very nice and thought that my offers were fair/resonable and given me slight discounts when I've asked ($10-20 off really nice clothing)

 

I never haggle for anything, even when I've travelled and it's the expected thing. I find it a bit cheeky personally.

 

When buying second hand dolls, I only haggle when the seller states "or best offer". The reason is because when I am selling I offer the most reasonable price. The value of a doll doesn't really decrease unless there is damage and visible aging. I never say I take offers but ppl try anyway. Sometimes the offers are within reason but many times they aren't and it can range from being a small nuisance to reply to the offer to being a slap in the face when the buyer offers a price at about half of what the doll is worth.

To determine what to offer I usually look at what condition the doll is in and how much it is worth new or if it is popular or not. I never lop off more than 5-10 dollars unless the doll really is in bad condition or I just ask for free shipping. Most of the dolls I buy second hand are at low prices already so it doesn't make sense for me to ask for much less. If I am making combined purchases I will ask for a bigger discount but in general I try not to insult the seller by making crazy offers.

 

If it is not noted in the listing that the price is firm, I will offer a lower price sometimes. Sometimes, I will accept a lower price or try to meet someone who offered me a lower price somewhere between their offer and my original price.

I have not really haggled very much when being the buyer because, in my experience, most people either take my lower offer or say no and do not offer something in between. The few that did meet me somewhere in the middle, I suspect did not understand what I meant by "$*some amount of money* flat" and glady said yes to my offer then added shipping or a paypal fee to the final price they expected me to pay. . . >_>

 

1. Do you state you take offers on your items?
When I do not know exactly how much my item is worth, I accept offers. Otherwise, I do not.
2. If so are you willing to haggle the price, or do you just say 'yes' or 'no' to offers?
That would depend on the price, I generally take offers around 5% less, unless I am extremely unsure of the market worth.
3. Do you make offers on items in the MP?
I make offers when the seller states that they are taking offers, sometimes I ask to include shipping. When I buy multiple items, I round the price to the nearest 5.
4. How do you determine what is a reasonable offer to make?
I try to make offers that the seller would definitely say yes to, I would prefer not to haggle a second time just because I don't want to cause trouble for the seller.
5. What are your experiences with haggling and making/taking offers?
I've only been in contact with friendly people, so they have all accepted my offers.

 

The closest thing to haggling I ever did was ask if I could get a lower price for a doll head with a faceup if I bought him without it. But they already had another offer for the head *with* the faceup, so...yeah it didn't work out. But I was polite and the seller didn't seem at all offended.

I would be willing to haggle if the seller stated they were open to offers. Luckily I do a lot of research so hopefully won't make an offer insultingly low

 

I havent bought anything yet with the dolls but between one seller to another, then yes - it doesnt hurt to ask and the worst they can say is no. Now, if something was listed for 300 - i wouldnt insult the seller by asking to go for 150 + shipping. I would probably ask for 250 or 300 shipping included

 

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Haggling makes me feel odd, granted it really shouldn't; especially when a seller says, "Or Best Offer".

 

I think it really depends. I personally don't like to haggle too much, because it feels bad when usually the person selling is just trying to recoup their money. On the other hand, if it's something I want, and I *almost* have enough money to buy it but not enough for the asked price, I'll try to haggle a bit. Usually I would ask for lowered shipping or something, but never too drastic.

There was this time when I asked for the shipping of doll jeans and found the shipping too high, and told the buyer, and she nicely too around 7usd or so off just so I would buy it. So yes. I suppose that was unintentional haggling? Haha. Now to the specific questions:

Sellers:1. Do you state you take offers on your items?
Yes, I would, if I am willing to lower the price. Usually it's because I need the money soon, or if I think haggling would allow it to sell faster. ><
2. If so are you willing to haggle the price, or do you just say 'yes' or 'no' to offers?
Usually yes, but there might be some adjusting of the offered price. I usually sell less than what I list, but more than what was offered by the buyer initially.

Buyers:
3. Do you make offers on items in the MP?
Sometimes, and only if the seller says "Or best offer" or "negotiable". I wouldn't try for the ones who state firm prices.
4. How do you determine what is a reasonable offer to make?
Looking at the other threads in the marketplace? Haha, actually it depends more on what I am willing to pay, and I will use that as my starting offer.

Both:
5. What are your experiences with haggling and making/taking offers?
As long as both parties play nice, it's pretty good. The seller sells the item and gets money back, albeit a bit less than what he/she paid for, and the buyer gets a few bucks (or more) off, and it's a good deal. However, I've never had a bad experience, so I can't say for sure. I would imagine that getting ridiculously low offers would be off-putting.

 

Don't think haggling gives you anything to lose.

 

I've never haggled for anything before. Maybe I'm too shy or not assertive but I don't think I could haggle effectively. I imagine sellers would be annoyed if you tried to haggle them.

 

i am the same

 

Sellers:
1. Do you state you take offers on your items?
I would, but I already feel I offer reasonable prices.

2. If so are you willing to haggle the price, or do you just say 'yes' or 'no' to offers?
I'll most likely say 'yes' or 'no' to an offer, but be polite about it.

Buyers:
3. Do you make offers on items in the MP?
A lot actually! It took a while to get used to the idea of making offers...but it isn't so bad. I approach people politely, and try to be considerate with my offers. I may get a no to an offer, but it's usually a polite response. The offers that were accepted went very well though!

4. How do you determine what is a reasonable offer to make?
I try to research out the item I am considering, the quality, and how "used" it looks, and how long people have had the item. I try to keep in mind what items cost brand new, so I don't accidently 'low-ball' people.

Both:
5. What are your experiences with haggling and making/taking offers?
I find that haggling is quite fun, and the more you do it the better you get. I try to keep a polite, business tone, to avoid misunderstandings, and the overall experience is enjoyable.

Just be polite, and courteous, and for the most part things will go smoothly.