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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. If it says firm, don't try and haggle. I am one of those people who absolutely HATE haggling. The price should be the price. I have no interest in trying to argue about the price as I wouldn't attempt to purchase if I did not like the sticker price. It's a waste of my time.

      Conversely, I do not like it when people try to haggle with me. And it really drives me batty when you have no trades or specific trades listed and you receive offers for really random things that are not the listed items. If I was open to a "show me what you got" type deal, I would have said so. It makes me feel like people don't really read the thread.
       
    2. I've never sold a doll, but I have made offers if the thread wasn't marked firm. In two of the cases I received a counter-offer which was acceptable. In the third case I was refused. It was all done very politely and didn't stress me, since ordinarily I'm not a pushy person. In the cases where I offered, the dolls/parts in question had been there for a while.
       
    3. If the price is not marked firm, and if it's been up for sale for a while, I'll ask nicely and politely if the seller is willing to accept a (specific) lower price. If the seller says no, I don't pursue it. Many sellers are happy to negotiate, if the item is not selling.

      Some sellers act like a counteroffer is a mortal insult. This attitude always surprises me. If the offer is made politely, and the price is not marked firm, why get angry?
       
    4. If you need help with bargaining, DON'T bring someone who can't do it, or makes it worse.

      A little OT, but we were on Canal street (first fake bag buying experiance), and while my dad was trying to get the price lower (we had it at 32 out of what I think may have been 45?) my mom suddenly comes in with a bargain of $33.:doh:doh

      My mom is not good at buying from regular people. When my dad and I are desperately trying to both set the price lower, and make the sale, my mom has to come in and say "Are you sure you want to sell it?" She's done it on more than one occasion, and has sometimes ruined our plans when the person decides to not sell it, after all.

      Luckily, if I ever do the Marketplace thing, it's all going to be online, and not in person (with my mom there).:lol:

      I just realize how unintentionally mean I sound:sweat:lol:

      But also, on another issue, people may not fully understand (unless you've written that you've marked things way below retail price), so hearing that there is a $200 doll still might seem very expensive to people who just don't know.

      I'm wondering if it's wise to put seller against seller? Like saying seller X has been willing to throw in an extra wig, or something, and you ask if they can do anything like that? My dad's done that when bargaining with sellers of those small stands in the city.
       
    5. Not especially. When I worked retail and was always told our products could be had for cheaper at Walmart, my response was always "Well, then, no one is stopping you from purchasing it at Walmart."

      It's just tacky to PM someone here on the board going "Well, someone else is selling their Shiwoo with a free wig, can I have one with the Shiwoo you're selling?"
       
    6. Normally I don't have a problem, as long as the seller is polite. The worst thing that could happen is I decline the offer. However, two things really bug me.

      1. Wanting to trade my item for X when X isn't on the trade list (or I'm not even accepting trades). I've been known to ignore such requests. If you can't even be bothered to read my thread properly why should I bother responding?
      2. This:

      Completely agree. I don't care if Bob is giving away Shiwoos for free. This is my sales thread, not his. What you see is what you get.
       
    7. Well it definitely is unwise with me -- I would cheerily tell the person to go buy from that seller then.
       
    8. This. Taking this approach crosses the line from bargaining to rude and entitled, IMO.
       
    9. Depends on why you're doing the haggling. Haggling for sport, or to get the price within your budget is fine. Seriously lowballing a price is rude, and seriously lowballing while proclaiming that you must have it because you will absolutely die without that doll because it is your Grail and you will cherish it and love it forever and ever amen is just mega lame - if it's that important, ask for layway and save your pennies.

      The one place I absolutely won't haggle is with handmade items. The one place I absolutely will haggle is shipping - I know exactly how much the flat rate boxes cost and how big they are and won't pay more than that for shipping.
       
    10. Polite is always the way to go if you feel the need to ask the seller
      for a lower price.
      I've been the seller and had situations where I wasn't asked nicely:
      Them " can you lower the price? I've seen other ones sold for less...
      there is one on **** for less"
      Me: " no sorry, but you are free to purchase the other ones you've seen..."
      Them: "I'd rather have yours but for cheaper haha"
      ME: :|

      Now that the doll MP asks if a price is firm or negotiable I think that
      buyers should somewhat respect that. Here is my standing: I've yet
      to haggle in the MP :sweat I've lusted after dolls for months without
      asking. Stupid? Crazy? Maybe, but because I don't feel right about
      "haggling" I'm not so keen on being asked either. But I have lowered
      my original asking prices out of sheer desperation.
      With all things in life there's a nice way and a not so nice way and trying
      to add humor to it doesn't really help. Oh well that's just my opinion:sweat

      edit: If an item is waaaaay overpriced then I understand asking, though I
      doubt you'll succeed since they most likely know exactly what they are doing.
      But asking a seller to lose money (that they originally paid) or making them
      feel guilty for wanting a profit on a Limited is not nice! XD
       
    11. I think it is perfectly acceptable to pm a seller and politely ask if they were prepared to take an offer for a doll. After all, they may have a lower figure in mind that they are willing to accept and you may well be lucky and they accept your offer. Or they can always come back with a counter offer. I honestly feel that there is no harm in asking as long as you are polite and the offer is not completely unreasonable.
      I have sold lots of dolls and have had many people pm me with offers....I've only once felt a bit 'insulted' when someone's offer was soooo low as to be cheeky! But I guess the person saw things differently from me.
       
    12. Ohgods... XD That would definitely annoy me beyond all belief. Things like that actually make me a little afraid to sell things in the marketplace--after an experience with someone semi-rude trying to haggle with me, I can't imagine what it would be like if they then came back with the full offer. I wouldn't want to sell my doll to someone like that! *_*

      Any time I sell something, I'm a little wary... But usually when I post prices, I'm flexible. A lot of times, it's because I don't feel I can properly judge how much the item I'm selling is actually worth. Because of this, I tend to overprice things a bit, and mention that if you would like to make a different offer, you are always free to ask. ( I haven't sold any dolls yet, but this applies to art and various things online~ )

      However, I think I'm a lot less likely to haggle with others. I mean... My general experience is that if you're buying something second-hand, it's cheaper, and especially if it's in good condition, then you're getting a good deal, no matter how much less it is than the original. Even if it's only a dollar or two, you're still saving money! And in most cases, shipping is probably cheaper too~ So I'm really grateful, and if I'm going to buy something, I'm going to have the money all ready just like I would if I were buying from a company.

      I know there are some instances where this wouldn't apply, such as with particularly rare or expensive dolls... In those cases, I might ask about a lower price if it were a doll I REALLY wanted. I'm probably more likely to ask about making payments though, even then!
       
    13. Wow, seriously tacky! That flies just fine on Canal Street, where everybody's selling the same junk, everyone knows they're charging too much, & everybody's equally desperate to make a sale. And it flies just fine at a store that has a "price-matching" offer/policy, where you bring in a competitor's advertisement for the same item at a lower price. But when it's not bootleg handbags or cheap electronics at stake, and when it's online (where you don't have the immediacy of a face-to-face), protocol is just a very different animal.

      Especially in a doll scene, where there's often lots of emotion invested in the sale of an item... and, especially on a forum where price-policing is against the rules. If you call out a different seller by name, & hold them up as an example of the price this transaction "should" involve, you're likely to accomplish nothing but offending the seller & get yourself reported. As many others have just pointed out! (Bob's Free Shiwoo Stand, indeed. XD)
       
    14. Hhhmmm ... I love to haggle a bit. But only if the price isnt firm and I always ask polite before I make an offer.
       
    15. Of course, if they say the price is set then you shouldn't. But if they don't say that, then I see no harm in offering a lower price, as long as it is not ridiculously low.
       
    16. Online? For non-commodity items? Not wise at all.
      • If you are lucky, the seller will tell you to piss off and buy from that guy instead.
      • If you are unlucky, the seller will still refuse to sell to you even if you met their asking price.
      I see no upside for trying this in the MP.
       
    17. Speaking as a customer, if a retail salesclerk told me to take my business elsewhere, I would... forever. There are ways to tell a customer you can't match a price, without sounding like a jerk. The DoA marketplace is a different situation though. For the most part it's private, non-professional sellers and buyers... and as someone else here pointed out, there is a lot of emotional investment in the purchase.
       
    18. As someone who managed a retail store for a number of years, there were indeed times I told people that, usually after extreme provocation. Those people were so obnoxious that I didn't mind losing their custom forever. In fact, I was hoping I would, because it was obvious that they were total PITAs! And you know what? My business didn't suffer.

      But you're exactly right that the MP is a different kettle of fish.
       
    19. Got a point there - (everyone, not just Jenny). I was doubting it, but I decided to just throw my question out there.
       
    20. AS long as the seller doesn't have something stating no haggle then it's fine. The worst that can happen is that they say no. I used to do a lot of buying and selling of lolita clothes and everyone haggles. I mean if you ask for like half the price then obviously that's very rude but asking for a little less if it's what you feel is fair is fine. I think most people assume there will be haggling and put the price up a bit higher than they would ultimately take.