"Make an Offer" posts can be seen as "WTB" posts. Consider: a post like the following would be unobjectionable:
WTB: 1966 Don Drysdale
I'm looking for a 1966 Drysdale, but I'm on a pretty tight budget. I could go up to, say, $20. So whoever can offer me the best-condition 1966 Drysdale for $20 gets my money. Let me know!
Now, basically, "Make an Offer" posts are doing the same thing, but in reverse. Basically, they're saying:
WTB: Money
I'm looking for money, but I'm on a pretty tight budget. What I can pay for money is a 1966 Don Drysdale. Condition of the money is unimportant, but I am interested in quantity. So whoever can offer me the most money gets my 1966 Drysdale. Let me know!
While that's meant to be silly, it's also true. On the other hand, making an offer to sell or to buy involves the risk of proposing something insultingly high- or low-ball. (Or at least that will be taken to be insulting.) And proposing something insulting doesn't feel very good. The psychological effect of this is mitigated when the sale offer is insultingly high, because it simply prevents any interaction at all between seller and (prospective) buyer. The post simply doesn't get any response. But with a make-an-offer the prospective buyer needs to do something that may end up being gauche - the seller's response may be "come on, get serious" - and there's a sort of embarrassment involved there that the buyer may like to avoid. (Which could lead to a higher offer, or could lead to not making any offer at all.)
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04-05-2016, 10:31 AM
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