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Is Haggling A No-No?

Dec 3, 2010

?
  1. Yes

  2. No

  3. Sorta

Multiple votes are allowed.
Results are only viewable after voting.
    1. I hate haggling. I just want to see a price and if it's too high, I don't buy. I don't want to pressure the seller to accommodate me. If they lower the price if no one buys, then I'll think about it again.

      I MIGHT see if there is something that can be done with the shipping if I'm buying several items or if the shipping is domestic and not expensive, etc. But I usually just go by the seller's information and won't buy if I don't think the conditions are right for me.
       
    2. I wouldn't use the term Haggling myself, but I've both made and accepted (fair) offers and negotiations many times.

      Of course, there's a way to go about things, such as not coming across as rude or condescending, but more often than not, I'd say oddly high prices have been a guess from the seller, and they are usually happy to reconsider when they know there's a genuine interest. :)
       
    3. I won't ask for a seller to lower their price unless they specifically put 'negotiable' on their sales thread. If it says firm, I will consider whether or not it's worth it to me at that price. If it is, I'll jump on it. If not, I'll wait for them to lower their price and see if it's still available. But if the item in question has been sitting at that price for a month or two, I might be tempted to make an offer.
       
    4. I haggle, but in a polite way. I ask whether a seller would be willing to let their doll go for the price I had in mind, or sometimes just whether they'd be willing to share shipping or ship unstrung to lower costs. If they want to stick to their stated price, then either I politely tell them I'm not interested at that price and wish them luck in finding a buyer, or if I really have to have the doll, I pay full price. I don't insult them or their doll to try and lower the price, though -- that's just rude.
       
    5. The marketplace says if prices are firm or not. If they are then it's rude to haggle, but if not, go for it.
       
    6. As long as they say they are open to offers, it's okay to haggle, it may even be okay to PM someone and ask them about a doll if it's been for a sale a long time, and ask them if they would consider lowering the price.

      If it's a FIRM Sale, with no haggling wanted, respect it.
       
    7. I once did have to haggle because I did not see why I should pay more then the original price for a limited doll that had slightly damaged blushing (hardly noticeable). My main issue was that it was not in it's original outfit and some home made hideous dress. I did manage to get 50 dollars off with saying no to the dress. I just thought i had to because of the extra cost of ordering her a new dress. I usually try to pay a fair price and am willing to pay 50-100 dollars more for a limited doll if it is still in it's original clothing depending on if there is any damage or not.
       
    8. It's okay to haggle if the price isn't firm. If they don't have a firm price, they expect you to haggle.

      The best I can suggest to is to politely point out the problems with the doll, and ask if they are willing to lower the price because of it.
       
    9. If I am selling something and have indicated I am open to reasonable offers, then by all means please make them. I am generally really open to working on a price that works best for me and a buyer. Like most people if a buyer indicates a price I don't like/can't afford is "firm" though I generally will just watch the thread.

      I'm really not adverse to some sort of polite/reasonable "haggling" in personal sales at all. Where I tend to draw the line is product that my shop sells as vendors. We were at an event earlier this year and I remember people trying to talk us down on the price of brand new product straight from Dollheart. We were selling at the price Dollheart sets, and we honestly don't make much off it at all. So it was very frustrating to have the same people continue to circle by our table offering lower and lower prices if a certain product they wanted was still there, even though we continued to explain them politely why the prices were what they were and why we couldn't lower them.
       
    10. I did once. They asked $25 more than the doll was worth and they said OBO (no doll box or pillows - just the doll itself). So I offered the original price of the doll. Soooo much anger. I'm sure my eyes got so big from the tongue lashing. I still got it for the price I asked and I'm glad I have my doll but my goodness if I had thought more than a moment about it I probably would have just walked away and purchased it directly from the doll vendor. That really put me off purchasing dolls second hand.
       
    11. If the seller didn't mention that the price is non negotiable, and the buyer il making a fair offer, I think it's no big deal.
      The most important thing is being polite for both ^_^
       
    12. I never haggle; I think it's rude. It's a cultural thing, but I find haggling to be very entitled - like you're trying to profit at the expense of the other person.

      That being said, I've sold many dolls before, and I have received many offers (ETA: even if I list my prices as "firm"). Generally, about half were very polite (some I accepted), and half were very entitled and selfish and I said no to them just on principle (they weren't all offering a really low price either). I won't deal with someone who acts entitled and selfish because I quite simply can't trust someone like that in a transaction for items worth hundreds of dollars. Sometimes I'd take less money than what I wanted for the doll just because the buyer seemed very polite and I thought it would just be easier to get a bit less money but have a smooth transaction (they were always the best).


      But some of the bad ones I received.... :horror: My favourite was someone PM'ing me and, all conspirational-like, saying something like psst psst hey, wouldn't you want to lower the price for me? Wink wink, nudge nudge. Uh, how about... no? I've seen this tactic before when I went to bazaars in my home country and I never understood it. You're just a rando nobody that I have absolutely no emotional investment in. Why would I ever want to do favours for you that negatively impact my own financial status, just because you ask?
       
    13. Is haggling a no-no?

      I find it funny that there's so much anxiety around this, when the DoA marketplace has a built in filter for this! If next to the price, it says 'negotiable', haggling is fine and the seller would probably be thrilled to get PMs with offers (even low-ish offers). If next to the price it says 'firm', that means the seller will probably be a bit miffed if a potential buyer tries to haggle (if for no other reason than it makes it seem like the buyer didn't bother reading the sales thread). If there's no label, you can include a note in your PM along the lines of "sorry if you aren't interested in offers, you didn't mention anything in your thread and I thought it couldn't hurt to ask. I won't be upset if you aren't interested in my offer :)" and the seller shouldn't be too put out.

      As a seller, I really really wish people would send me offers if they think my prices are too high. I will always consider any offer, and the worst I will reply is "that's a bit low, could you do $X instead?", and I'd totally understand if I got a response of "no, sorry, that's still a bit too high for me". And then, if I later decided their offer wasn't so bad after all, I could PM them directly to see if they were still interested, rather than lowering the price in my thread and them possibly being beaten to something they wanted by another buyer.

      Not sure why buyers find haggling so scary, to be honest!
       
    14. Haggling is something I just can't do even when I see a seller list price as 'negotiable'. It just makes me feel uneasy.
      If I see something that I feel is just a little too expensive, I either wait for it to go down in price, or, I forget about it.

      That doesn't mean that I never will, it just means I never have. Not just for dolls, for anything.
       
    15. I always feel very uncomfortable with haggling, I've seen other people haggle but I never know how far to go and when its right to agree. For some reason I wind up feeling sorry for the seller and guilty for haggling the price, but thats just me. I usually just pay the price (if I really must have the item) or walk away.
       
    16. The most I have done is ask if they would include shipping or eyes or wig or whatever. In fact, most sellers are very generous.
       
    17. In general I respect the sellers pricing and if I can afford it - I buy it, if I can't then I pass. But it never hurts to ask for clarification from the seller if the selling terms say negotiable. If the price says firm then it should be respected.

      I know that in a few countries other than the USA, haggling over the price is standard custom/free gifts are included - so I can see how the concept of haggling over price is simply a practice based on cultural norms.
       
    18. I wouldn't feel comfortable with it. I've only haggled once for a pair of doll shoes IRL because the person wanted to charge me per shoe and I got them to let me buy it for three bucks for the pair.