Is Haggling A No-No?

Firm is firm. Negotiation takes time and effort that some sellers do not wish to spend. It is their right to refuse to.

But if not firm, then I'd say you can reasonably attempt to negotiate any of the terms, including but not limited to things like price, layaway period, splits/extras or partial/full trades. I think newer hagglers over-focus on the price (it is the main part after all) and would like to remind that it is possible to negotiate other parts of the transaction too. Anneke's shipping question was a good example of this. My favorite field to talk about is layaway period, there's significant flexibility there.

 

If it's okay to negotiate will a seller, then how much lower on price is still a reasonable offer? Shipping included or 25-50 $$ off ?

 

If the listing doesn't specify, I just ask the seller whether or not they're open to haggling.

If seller says yes, then make an offer.

 

I haven't ever haggled for a doll, but I would if I had an opportunity, such as the person saying OBO.

I'm such an easy-going person, I would probably accept someone's lower price if they offer. I usually sell things at low prices to ensure they get sold quickly.

 

I've never haggled on the price of a doll, either buying or selling. But I have haggled on a few clothing items, both buying and selling.

 

I think the only time I've haggled about doll prices was when I was doing a trade + cash, and the other person and I went back and forth a little about how much cash was going to be involved.

I don't like to haggle -- when I sell things I post them for the price I'm willing to part with them for. Sometimes I lower prices if something doesn't sell, but a lot of the time I have things up for sale that if it doesn't sell for that price I'll just keep it. When I see a doll listed for what I consider a ridiculous price, I just figure either the person will lower the price eventually or the item won't sell. It's a little frustrating when they're the only person selling something I want, but if they want more than I'm willing to pay I just figure I'm out of luck.

Also, because I'm not from a culture that haggles and I have no experience with it, it's not something I'm comfortable with. I've also had people try to haggle with me who made completely ridiculous offers (e.g. wanting to pay over 20% less than I was asking for items I'd posted for sale not an hour before) and frankly it just offends me a little and makes me extra-determined not to haggle. I think the suggestion of asking a seller if their price is negotiable is a good one -- that gives the seller the freedom to say no without potentially accidentally irritating them with what they consider a lowball offer.

 

I've made offers before and done a bit of haggling, so long as the price doesn't state that it's fixed. I do this at flea markets all the time. I do believe that it takes a certain amount of tact and respect, and making a reasonable offer, not just something insanely less than the actual value. And when you get into sales that do allow for trades? Then it really gets fun!

 

To me, I believe that haggling depends on certain situations.
If I already know that I'm getting a good deal, I won't bother with haggling. I intend to keep my dolls (regardless of it actually happening that way or not), so if they are worth that price to me, then I will most certainly go for it without question.
However, I have come across a couple of instances where I almost had to haggle a little bit of the price because of a question of what the actual price was. This mainly occurred before we had the cool fill in the blanks in the MP. I would see a price, then a trade option with another price, and then a totally different price somewhere else in the post.
When it comes to actually buying (or even selling) a doll. I prefer to have a set straight price, or a "make an offer" price. I personally almost feel self conscious about my own knowledge of the doll's price if I have to make an offer myself, so for the most part...I try not to haggle.

 

Do you believe haggling about the price of a doll a person is selling you second hand is a no-no? Obviously this would be if they hadn't stipulated whether the price is set or not.
^^ Well it would be polite to first ask the seller if the price is negotiable.

I ask this because I'm interested in a doll on the marketplace, but this person has hugely inflated the price when there are some things that should have lowered it.
I suppose this would depend on the doll itself... I mean, if it's a very rare doll, even if there are some defects, some people might raise the price for the rarity value.

 

I do haggle sometimes of some sort, but I made sure that I do it quite nicely
without overdoing it or offernding the seller
If I'm really in the tight budget I try to negotiate with the seller :3

 

I haggle relentlessly, and likewise I price my dolls in such a way as to account for buyers who haggle - If you give me a reasonable offer, I'll probably take it. And if I like your attitude, you'll get it cheaper again.

Moral of the story - Shy bairns get nowt.

 

I've never had to haggle. When I have the money I can usually find something in the MP for a price I like. Otherwise I'll relentlessly stalk their thread and wait for them to come down to a price I can't refuse. Although I run the risk of having someone else get to it first. . . Like others, if it came down to it, I'd politely ask if the seller was open to offers and go from there.

 

If the price says firm, I would consider it rude, even if I personally thought some aspect of the doll suggested a lower price, and I wouldn't do it.

Despite how things may seem due to my typically opinionated manner, I really don't like offending anyone, so unless something said 'offers welcome' or 'or best offer' or something similar, I probably wouldn't even consider it. If it didn't specify and I really wanted to negotiate for some reason, or ask about potential sales terms that aren't clearly noted, I'd message first to ask if negotiations are welcome before initiating any.

 

Ugh, I hate that! I always sell dolls less than retail and include free extras. The last time I sold a doll it was undamaged, not yellowed, had a nice faceup, free choice of glass eyes eyes, free choice of wigs, a full outfit, and shoes. The original price for the doll was $400 blank, bald, and naked with acryllic eyes plus the cost of shipping and I was selling it for $250 with free shipping and I *still* got people trying to haggle me on it. I have nothing against people making offers on a doll that's at or above retail, but if it's obvious that the seller has shaved down the price for a quick sale and you're making even lower offers (such as 70% lower than retail) it's just insulting/annoying and a waste of the seller's time.

 

I thought it was against the rules to do something like that?
I got my head bitten off when I made a topic about a year ago about someone who had overpriced their doll and I had asked them why that was.
Maybe the rules have changed a bit since the new marketplace (with the firm and negotiable options) but I try to steer away from overpriced dolls. If they are overpriced, they won't sell and the price will come down eventually.
Personally I don't mind if people make an offer, but most people don't make offers in a polite way. They will often demand you make them pay less or try to force trades on you, even tho the price is set to firm and there's no trades listed. That's what kind of ruins it for me.

 

There's a difference between politely asking if the seller will take offers and straight up telling them that their prices are too high. One is haggling the other comes off as price policing which is still against the rules as far as I know. Haggling doesn't necessarily involve sky high prices, but rather negotiating on any doll to see if you can get a better deal (though again, if the doll is already priced very low I wouldn't be comfortable asking a seller to take more off). If a doll really is overpriced, then simply steering away is probably the better bet.

 

If the seller has indicated that the price is negotiable or that she is open to offers, by all means haggle away!

If the seller has indicated that the price is firm, I would say that it is best to respect the seller's decision. If the potential buyer really, really, really wants that doll, she could send a polite PM with a reasonable offer. However, there should be no haggling if the seller refuses the offer. That's bad manners. (If the seller makes a counter-offer, then let the haggling begin!)

Haggling is not a problem as long as the potential buyer knows where to draw the line.

I had a buyer who approached me about including free EMS shipping, and we haggled about the overall price for a while. In the end we settled on free registered airmail with insurance, because EMS shipping is expensive in my country and well out of my budget. Thankfully, the buyer understood both my need to sell and my difficulty in providing free EMS shipping.

I also encountered a potential buyer who asked me to include a body with a doll head that I was selling, as well as free shipping. It took a while to convince her that the reason I was selling the head alone was because I did not have a body to go with it, even though I had sold another similar full doll a few days before. After that, she asked if I could lower my price, provide free shipping, and send the head with a pair of free eyes, a free wig, and a free outfit. As well as to allow her a layaway of 6 months. (Keep in mind that all this was after I had told her I would definitely not lower the price.) After 4 days of such PMs, I took the head off the marketplace. Maybe I'm weird, but when it comes to dolls that I own, I love them and wouldn't want them to go to owners who are more concerned with the freebies they can get out of the purchase than the doll itself.

So... I think haggling is fine, but it should be conducted with politeness and respect on both sides.

 

I love haggling! I love it when people PM me asking if I'd be willing to include free shipping or will I take an offer of $xxx instead of the full amount - it adds to the thrill of selling and also helps me get to know the person buying my doll As bbotss said - I would much rather my doll go to a good home than make a little money, and it always helps to haggle a bit to get a feel of where you're potentially sending your beloved item to.

On the receiving end, I always assume that 'Negotiable' means 'Haggle Away!' and if I can't quite afford a price or I think it's a little too steep I will always ask if there's any chance of lowering it ^_^ Similarly, if a doll has been on the MP for months with a high but 'Firm' price and it's one I really want, I would probably consider PMing the seller and politely asking if they would be willing to take an offer for the doll - if their reply is no then I'd thank them and leave it at that (or scratch around for the extra dough...) but sometimes they're happy someone's interested and willing to lower the price a little as long as you're reasonable about your offer ^_^

Fortunately for me, so far the only people I've really encountered in terms of haggling are people who have been very reasonable ^_^ I did have one person who was determined I should split a doll from the 'extras' and give them a discount - considering the 'extras' were freebies I was including because I had no use for them... They wouldn't take no for an answer, which was pretty frustrating but fortunately I had a lovely buyer come along and resolve the problem for me - took the doll, freebies and all I always try to be reasonable and polite both with buyers and sellers - demanding free stuff never encourages me as a seller so I can't imagine it would thrill anyone else either

 

Here we have a somewhat cultural difference, which is why it's cool to see all the different responses. In the States, if someone says the price is XXX and it's clear it's firm. Then haggling is extremely rude. Some other places you can actually haggling the department store price down... Department store o.O That boggles my mind, because if there was one place I'd figure the price to be firm, it's the store...

Anyway, for me and in regards to this forum if it says Firm, then I don't haggle. If it says OBO then you better believe I'm going to do a little haggling. As a seller, if I put firm, I mean firm, and if someone tired to haggle with me, I'd be extremely upset.