I just need other opinions
 

So I have card x on ebay for 54 {ok I'm on high side but have BO} ; High VCP is 55+ change; Avg Vcp is 41+change; Guy offers 40 {ok fair offer}. Oh by the way 3 have sold in same grade over last 10 months. I counter at 47.50 {half way point} than crickets, which means it will expire. NBD, can't sell them all. I just don't get it; I am shipping item for free; does the 7.50 really make or break the deal? I am a collector too, and If I see something I been searching for and a nice copy pops up I am not sweating a small difference. If it were off by $100 or more, that's one thing but less than $10. Come on man; I'm buying especially if free shipping. Can anyone explain this for me, I am just vastly confused. This isn't the first time a small difference {less than $10} has resulted in no sale. {edited to add- Next grade up is +200 on avg vcp}

Perhaps he realized he wasn't that interested in your card and moved on. It happens.

even if that's the case why not just decline, rather than crickets, I guess the real question does a few $ {less than 10} make or break the deal?

While you might not consider $7.50 to be significantly more, keep in mind that is almost 20% more than his offer. Sometimes people have a set number in mind and won't go any higher, even if it is just a $1.

Also, if you worried about less than $10 making or breaking the deal, why didn't you have just accept his original offer? In other words why does it have to be on the buyer to pay more and not the seller to take less to make the sale? Not expecting an answer, but just something else to think about.

As far as why not just declining the offer, what can I say, that's just the way some people are.

^^this^^ I make an offer and it is either accepted or I pass. Some of us hate haggling, I know some like it but I am not one of those guys.:)

maybe he was stoned and placing bunches of lowball offers and then the next day decided he wasn't interested.

My take
 

My take on it is this:

1. On lower value cards, most people don't give a crap about VCP.

2. When I receive offers and I respond with a reasonable counter offer, I have NEVER had anyone accept my counter offer.

3. If you really want to sell the card, in my opinion you should have taken the offer and moved on. Now you still have the card sitting in your inventory.

Rick

You have to look at all of this from a buyer's perspective. He's hoping to get it at a steal (all of us buyers want to get things at a steal). There is probably nothing more to it. You throw an offer out there hoping the seller accepts it. When he doesn't, oh well, time to move on.

Interesting, I have counter offers accepted all the time. People hit me with their offer I counter and explain that the counter is my best price. sometimes people try to haggle and I re-counter with the same number, sometimes they pass, and about half the time they accept.

I don’t mind selling at 3% below market. But I’m sure not buying at 15% above market. That’s just stupid.

you're ugly and your mother dresses you funny.











Just a couple of other opinions. :)

If VCP average is 41, then he probably can buy it for 40. Paying 47.50 is about 15% above the average sale, so unless the card has exceptional eye appeal and centering, it makes perfect sense to pass. 7.50 was a deal breaker for you also.

On a 40-50 dollar card, I would probably make my best offer and if not accepted, move on. It is really dependent on how hard the card is to find. On more difficult to find items, I would be more willing to haggle. I think you need to realize that some people don't like to go back and forth on the price of a card. If you are going to counter-offer, you are risking losing a sale.

Tony I agree with you. It is frustrating. It feels as if the seller always has to be the one to give in now a days. Read some human psychology books. It's amazing how people think.

Absolutely...usually out of principle. Generally speaking if someone wants to quibble over a few dollars then I don't want to deal with them.

I guess, but it seems like I am always giving in as the seller. I sell way more with BO than without, so that is why I continue to use it.

What irks me is when I make an offer many time I don't get a response until much later. :mad: At times the counter offer is a very small discount from the original price. I usually don't respond after that.

Try a higher BIN, see if someone sends an offer that you are more likely to accept... I've seen people do that to and it works...

I don't collect VCPs, I collect baseball cards. When someone says VCP to me at one of my cases, when selling, I tell them I don't sell VCPs. If you want an avg to below avg card, keep collecting VCPs.

This is actually the kind of response I really like from the seller. I am a buyer and I haggle. I don't like the process of haggling but on eBay there are some sellers who price accordingly and others that tack on 50%. I've offered 50% on a buy it now and got accepted and I've offered 90% and got rejected or countered.

I had a seller give me a best and final on a Brooks RC - it was lower condition and his price was only $8 more than my offer. It was above the max amount I set in my mind. So I let the offer expire. The shipping was more than the standard $3.50 for a bubble mailer and this was factored into my offer. A day later the seller came back and made me an offer to reduce the shipping and the price would essentially be what I offered in the first place (I didn't solicit this). I felt that was fair and we got the deal done. Keep in mind that the $8 was on a card that was at least double the price of the card the OP is referring to.

There are not a ton of cards that are must haves for me and if I miss out on one today there are going to be 10 more in the next two weeks. So I understand going over on special cards that don't come up often but on cards that are frequently available I often hold at my price.

I also will go over my price if there is a really good eBay bucks deal or an eBay coupon for 15%. I was waiting to make a final offer on this card if eBay had a deal come through but they didn't.

There is no black or white answer here. You'll get just as many different types of people as you get answers here.

I've had the same thing happen. I counter most of the time because most offers I find are lower (people trying to get a steal). I too get a little irritated when someone just lets the offer expire rather than counter or decline. I would never ignore an offer.

One thing that has worked for me at times, is to make sure to include a message with it, including thanking them for their offer. Something to the effect of:

Thank you for your offer. I would be more comfortable at $XX. If you can do that please accept and I will get your card shipped out today.

If it is a final, final offer I will change the text to reflect that. Occasionally, I will factor shipping and say I can deduct x to cover shipping or in your case remind them that your price includes shipping, well packed in a bubble mailer with tracking.

He wasn't 15% when you factor in shipping. Shipping is a true cost and he built it into the price. His counter was essentially $44, which is $3 or 7% above "market". His offer of $40 is was 11% below "market" with free shipping.

I think offering free shipping can hurt sales in some situations because the buyer thinks its free and doesn't factor it into the price of the card. Nothing is free, it's just built in.

Getting an offer on an item is more valuable than you think. It locks that person into a price that maybe they were not all that comfortable with. In those cases, a counteroffer, however fair and reasonable, will give the potential buyer an out. My advice is to always accept an offer you get on ebay if it is reasonable. Trying to milk the offer for a few more bucks is much more likely to lead to no sale, in my opinion.

I appreciate the viewpoint, but as a businessman I have a number I have to get to make a card profitable. Unless I screwed up and have been holding the card way to long, I do stick to that number. If a card has been in inventory forever then, yes, I do accept the first decent offer that comes along, but why bother with a card you suspect you can move at your price? Like I said I counter once and it works well for me. Of course I'm one of the weirdos who doesn't get "insulted" by low-ball offers, and frankly it's not a big deal to me if somebody fails to respond and lets an offer expire, but maybe I'm way too laid back for this business!

Even though I try not to, I sometime flake on responding to a counter-offer. Sometimes I get an email alert that the seller sent a counter and I read it while standing in line at the store. If I'm declining, I'll plan to get on the app or my computer later, but if nothing jogs my memory, I may just forget. I'm sure it's not on purpose from all buyers.

420 takes on a new significance in the hobby
 

it's not me I'm talking about. It's a friend :)

^^This. Very important.

As a buyer, there are items I really have to have and then there are items I'd take at a certain price. For the former, I'm really going to go for it with my offer. For the later, I'll typically throw out a low offer which is really the price the item appeals to me at. At a higher price than that, I can live without it. So I'd move on in your situation as the buyer did. He probably just didn't want it that badly.

Also, I never decline counter offers...I just move on. What's the point of declining it? Always thought that declining a counteroffer seemed a little bratty. Maybe it's more polite than not responding? I'm not losing sleep over it.

As a seller, I offer free shipping and if I'm considering an offer that's on the low side, I'll always counter with an amount that will cover the shipping cost. I'm not giving out steals and eating the shipping cost too. People typically accept.

What I just love is the flippers, who come groveling with hat in hand and make offers less than 50% of my asking price. I generally just let those hang out there until they expire.

I'm with the others who have noted that a difference of a few bucks can make or break a deal on a relatively inexpensive card. I have changed my mind on a card after making an offer for various reasons including finding a similar, or completely different card elsewhere while waiting for a seller to respond. Had my offer been accepted I would of course pay for the card. But sending a counter can give the buyer a way out.

Every card has a price of indifference for me. Meaning there is a price where I honestly don't care whether I sell it or keep it.

So when selling, I put my asking price above my point of indifference and take offers. If your offer is above my point of indifference, congrats, the card is yours. If it's not, I'll counter at my point of indifference. You don't like my counter, okay, no worries. Have a nice day. I'm happy to keep the card at that price. (I even imagine I'm buying the card at that price to see if I truly am indifferent at this price).

When buying, my offers go up to my point of indifference. And people that respond to me with price guides, VCP, past sales, whatever amuse me. I could care LESS what your guide book tells you. I told you what the card is worth to me. You don't like my price? Fine. Keep your card and have a great day. I'm happy with that outcome. I have no clue why you aren't too.

Are my prices of indifference in line with the broader market? ABSOLUTELY NOT. There are obscure cards I've bought at prices that no one else in the country would pay. There are also cards that you could offer me at 20% of the lowest known sales price and I'd walk away (I'm just NOT paying a huge premium for Moe Berg cards! His card should never sell for more than a Jimmie Foxx card in my opinion, and as a result I'll never own the card. I'm fine with that.).

That is interesting, but I am curious, If you received that note with a counter would it make a difference?

Oh how true; so tonight I decided to accept one that was borderline, rather than counter. And before they even paid they requested to cancel the order. oh well.

Then you have basically answered your own question. A buyer who is likely to sell someday should never pay 15% over market because it will make it much harder to profit down the road.

Seems to be more and more of that going on Ebay these days. Winners of auctions. Winners of BINs. My blocked list has grown larger and larger.

It ultimately depends on the card and the dollars. But personally, I like communication. Some people don't care about it, but buying or selling, I am good with discussing the sale particulars. So it could sway me slightly if I really like the card and get a good feel through the messages. I generally have more confidence in the deal and how things will be handled with positive communication with a seller or buyer.

This is really well said. It works when buying as well as selling.

If a price is borderline, then politeness goes a long way.