I've been on here for a long time and may have asked this before. Am the only one or is it a HAMB tradition to beat up a guy on his parts price? Some of the responses I've received lately have been almost an insult. Some times I feel if I offered the item for free and paid the shipping they still would refuse because then they might think there's something defective with the part. WaWAWa
I can't recall selling anything on the HAMB classifieds, but I find people have a lot more balls when they are not face to face. If you were selling at the swap meet no one is going to offer half or a third of the asking price, but the buyers on marketplace aren't shy to type you an insulting offer.
Normal....they want to buy as cheap as they can and you want to sell it for as much as you can. What's hurt buyers and sellers is the cost of shipping. It's really become expensive, so naturally trying to buy for as little as possible as that freight really adds up. Somebody makes you an offer, insult or otherwise, easy to say no.
Whenever I sell anything, I price it at the price I want, no BS and no games. Regarding shipping, I include the terms “ local pickup only “ and “ buyer to make shipping arrangements “. The prospective buyer is responsible for determining the method of shipping and insurance (if they want it). As a courtesy you can help facilitate shipping, but it is up to the buyer to choose. Jim
my grandfather said it never hurts to ask, they can only say yes, no or hell no. goes the other way too. don't be insulted, just use one of those responses. and move on.
I've bought and sold here on the HAMB and on the Barn as well. A member did lower the price on some EAB heads he had advertised at my request but not a stupid amount. And that was to help out with the shipping cost from Colorado to SoCal. I lowered the price of a flathead oil pan I sold to a HAMB'r down under once we found out how much shipping would be. And one more thing, I sold a flathead front timing cover to a member in AZ but forgot I had lowered the price by 5 bucks. He sent me the $$ for the old price and when I realized the 5 dollar over charge I sent him a check for $5.00. He said I shouldn't have sent him the check but what right is right even if it was only 5 bucks. I have other examples of positive dealings but bottom line is I've always had going dealings here and on the Barn.
"The evolution of the human race, encompassing the emergence of anatomically modern Homo sapiens, is estimated to have occurred over a period of approximately 300,000 years." I'm not surprised at all by people lowballing. What does surprise me is that, as humans, we have not yet accepted the reality of exactly who and what we are. We have certainly had long enough to work each other out........
I don’t like that they try and low ball you without seeing the product. Not necessarily on the H.A.M.B. but any classified.
When I’m buying parts I look at it like I’m not just paying for the part, I’m paying you to not have thrown it out years ago and for storing it. Some guys always have to negotiate like it’s a sport. I don’t negotiate to win. If the price is right I pay it. If it’s a little too high and I need it I pay it. If it’s way too high I keep walking. If the condition is open to interpretation on a large purchase I’ll negotiate. When I’m selling I know what I’m in for and I don’t worry about it. People make offers. That’s fine I’m cool with it.
It just seems to me that if you are selling something you should be prepared to listen to any offer. Negotiating is a time honored tradition, especially with anything auto related from whole cars to parts. You don't have to accept any offer that you feel is absurd. And yes, shipping has likely put a dent on what people think a part is worth to them.
I recently told a HAMBer I had a part he mentioned in a thread. He liked the photos I sent, and I said $100 shipped. He agreed and sent payment. Only then did I find out the shipping of the three pound box would cost $33 of the $100 payment. Oh well.
If you have it listed for over year you have it listed to high price it right and it will sell we the buyer no you do not need it or it would be for sale
I've bought and sold on the HAMB and have been lucky enough to never have a bad experience either way. Some of the folks who have been here much longer than me blow off the feedback statistics. There is a reason that @Ryan included those statistics in a person's profile. I tend to look at those to see what kind of person I'm dealing with. If it's someone with no history of feedback, I'm a little more careful in my dealings. A major concern for me are the people on here who are in the business of selling parts, who are not Alliance members, who do not participate in discussions, and want me to use PayPal friends and family. I'm supposed to take all the risks so that the seller can beat PayPal out of its commission and avoid paying sales tax.
You've got to take the current environment into consideration. The past 5 years have really put a beating on the average car guy, and disposable income isn't quite so disposable anymore. When you have less 'play' money, you are more conservative where you spend it. I've also seen prices coming down on a LOT of stuff over the past 5+ years. I remember when an OG 32 rolling chassis would be listed for $15k and that wasn't unrealistic to expect to get near that. Now, unless super mint, no where near that.
Easy enough to say "No thank you". But I know what you're saying, some people are too pushy and have no problem with being disrespectful and insultive simply in the interest of trying to drive the price down. They won't take no for an answer and it makes it very difficult to "move on". It's real tempting to tell them to go fuck themselves. I usually tell them that I might lower the price in a couple weeks or so if it doesn't sell right away. If they're serious, they'll step up rather than lose out. If they're not serious, you won't hear back from them.
Never bought or sold here, but I do check the classifieds pretty often. If I see something most would consider a deal, it usually doesn't last long. OTOH, there are listings over 2yrs old with no price reduction. Whatever it is, it's only worth what someone will pay at a given time. Barter/haggle/offer is part of the game. If a seller hasn't grasped that at this point, might be time to change games. Yeah, you'll have lowballers, expect it. No need take it personally, just pass and send 'em on their way... I have dealt a lot on other platforms. Many times I've paid asking price, other times bartered, or walked. Just the way it works.
The items I have listed and sold here have been at give away prices. Anything listed near researched market price gets no action. Listing anything on any selling site brings out the best and worst buyers.. Scammers,trolls,angry,just plain stupid people have become more exposed due to the internet.
I have had very good luck getting my asking price on the HAMB , but I also price things to sell . Recently I had my first real lowball offer on the Hamb , a guy wanted me to sell him a $15.00 dollar pair of motor mounts for $20.00 shipped . I let him know the shipping was $17.00 , so it would be $32.00 total. He acted highly insulted !
Let's not forget, Ryan started all of this, including the classifieds, for fellow HAMBers to help out fellow HAMBers. Sadly, the dealers and scammers found out about the free ads and popped on hoping to loot the "fellow" HAMBers. Like @alanp561 mentioned, it's really unscrupulous for these folks to come on here, take advantage of the free ads, but are too cheap to pony up $50/ yr. for Alliance Membership. They all should be ashamed.
I look at it as a game. Seller: "How high can I go before I chase away buyers?" Buyer: "How low can I go before I insult the seller?"
I will usually ask if they will consider an offer. If the seller comes back with an amount that I'm willing to pay, all's well. If, not, I just thank them. Not trying to insult anyone.
Shipping large parts and vehicles is always a consideration for a buyer and seller. To help out I started this thread for folks to get things moved economically and safely … @ https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...aul-ship-post-here-no-commercial-ads.1322352/ Jim
I sell at swap meets. I get lowball offers all the time. Sometimes I can bring them up to what I want, sometimes I let them walk. But I've never felt that a lowball offer was somehow an insult to my knowledge of what a part is worth. It's simply a negotiating tactic. Same goes for when I'm a buyer: I'm not insulted when a seller has grossly overpriced an item, but if I want it, I might hit him hard (politely) with a counter. What's a play here is a psychological trait called "anchoring." Some sellers will price an item inordinately high; they know they will get an offer that is a percentage of what they want, so they "anchor" the price extra-high so as to maximize the expected counter offer. Meanwhile, some buyers will do the same thing: disregard the asking price and make a lowball offer in an attempt to reset the "anchor," and see if the seller will comeback with a counter that just a percentage over what they've offered. These are negotiating tactics that have been around since the dawn of marketing. But online marketing is new. When negotiations are face-to-face, most folks are attuned to social cues that show we're not being insulting. Occasionally you run into a "dick," but oftentimes that's just somebody on the spectrum who just isn't capable of seeing those cues. Online is a different story. It's very difficult to convey these social cues in a brief text message. Offers and counter-offers come off as curt and bloodless. Many folks don't have the word-savvy for this level of communication. So whenever I'm dealing online, buyer or seller, I give everybody a little grace.
I went to McDonald's just to get a regular burger because some people need to eat every few hours due to health reasons. Well, the price is now $3.99 for that tiny burger. I offered to pay 25 cents like it used to be and still should be and the "young adult" behind the counter just looked at me. ( they used to be 15 cents when I was a kid). Of course I was turned down so I paid the $3.99.
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