Utter Frustration:

[Exhibitman]

As a frequent recipient of those sorts of emails from wannabe buyers on rare cards my response is right in my listing:

--I do not "have to" sell you my item for the price you dictate.* My wife is the only one who gets to say I "have to" do something, and she says it plenty.*

--I am well aware of what the market is for most anything I sell; trying to "educate" me on pricing is not a negotiation tool, it is just a tool tool.

--While I am certainly appreciative of your personal or familial connection to a particular item, it is not a reason for me to give you a discount.* A crasser person than I would even consider it a reason to raise the price.*

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

As a frequent recipient of those sorts of emails from wannabe buyers on rare cards my response is right in my listing:

--I do not "have to" sell you my item for the price you dictate.* My wife is the only one who gets to say I "have to" do something, and she says it plenty.*

--I am well aware of what the market is for most anything I sell; trying to "educate" me on pricing is not a negotiation tool, it is just a tool tool.

--While I am certainly appreciative of your personal or familial connection to a particular item, it is not a reason for me to give you a discount.* A crasser person than I would even consider it a reason to raise the price.*

Agreed and part of why I don't sell much anymore.

My personal guideline is that no matter what the card is, if cannot offer at least 80% of asking...I move on.

I will however toss it in my watch list and keep an eye on the listing to see if the seller revises anything. I have had one particular card in my watch list for over a year and a half, lol. If he ever comes down to earth on it i'll grab it...but I can wait.

[mattjc1983]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

As a frequent recipient of those sorts of emails from wannabe buyers on rare cards my response is right in my listing:



--I do not "have to" sell you my item for the price you dictate.* My wife is the only one who gets to say I "have to" do something, and she says it plenty.*



--I am well aware of what the market is for most anything I sell; trying to "educate" me on pricing is not a negotiation tool, it is just a tool tool.



--While I am certainly appreciative of your personal or familial connection to a particular item, it is not a reason for me to give you a discount.* A crasser person than I would even consider it a reason to raise the price.*

This is an interesting approach. Certainly they're your listings, and I'm not saying your wrong, but I wouldn't want to start off on an antagonistic note with my potential buyers before they've even placed a bid.

Personally, yours would not particularly offend me as a potential buyer, but I have avoided plenty of listings where the seller starts the description section with a laundry list of rules. If it takes me more than a few seconds to find the actual item's description within the mountain of rules the seller is stating, I move on, because that just sounds like a transaction begging to have issues.

But I also agree with the other poster that said the potential buyer should avoid the same by not sending a "take it or leave it" offer.

My best purchasing experiences have always been when both parties start the transaction assuming the best about the other. These tend to resolve to the mutual benefit of both.


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[Snapolit1]

I've had jerks on eBay give me some pitch with a low ball offer basically telling me they are doing me a favor and I would thank them. Crap like that. I always assume it it some twenty year old (no offense to any 20 year olds on the board, I wish I was one) who has no real life business experience under their belt and maybe read the Art of the Deal once in Cliffs Notes. Has happened a few times with modern era stuff.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I've had jerks on eBay give me some pitch with a low ball offer basically telling me they are doing me a favor and I would thank them. Crap like that. I always assume it it some twenty year old (no offense to any 20 year olds on the board, I wish I was one) who has no real life experience under their his and maybe read the Art of the Deal once in Cliffs Notes. Has happened a few times with modern era stuff.

no offense taken. i wish i was one as welll.


Basically the issue is if the card ever went to auction you would be the highest bidder guaranteed but the seller just refuses to list it at auction

[CollectingAmericasPastime]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I've had jerks on eBay give me some pitch with a low ball offer basically telling me they are doing me a favor and I would thank them. Crap like that. I always assume it it some twenty year old (no offense to any 20 year olds on the board, I wish I was one) who has no real life experience under their his and maybe read the Art of the Deal once in Cliffs Notes. Has happened a few times with modern era stuff.

I hate my generation, and I personally apologize for them.


To the OP: I would absolutely mention your family connection. I have a dotted line connection to Grover Hartley, who was the manager of the minor league team my grandpa and uncle played on. He has a couple cards, including a Boston Store card. I've only ever found 1, and it was fairly expensive. The seller was very open to negotiating. Unfortunately, we couldn't get down to a price I was comfortable at, at the time. I kindly thanked him for his time, and told him I would keep this in mind going forward for when the funds are more abundant. Very positive interaction, and if the initial contact is done politely and respectfully, I don't see any problem in inquiring about price flexibility.

[Econteachert205]

I would not buy, like someone else said make a card using the scan. That card isn't worth 5 bucks to 99.95% of collectors.

[the-illini]

If the seller is asking 5500 for an SGC 20 when a PSA 5 sold recently for about 40% of that, then the card is not really for sale.

[Timbegs]

Ask the buyer if he is willing to negotiate or if he wants to know the most you can pay. If he'll negotiate, make sure the first offer is credible. If no negotiations are possible, my advice is to make the absolute best offer you can for the card - hold nothing back - and state it as such "hey, this is the best I can offer for the card.' Mention the family connection to the card and hope for the best. If you actually put the offer up and he turns you down you can rest easy knowing for sure.

While I don't own any really rare or super high vale cards, I imagine those that do appreciate serious offers. Id say at LEAST better than 65% of ask...

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by KMayUSA6060

I hate my generation, and I personally apologize for them.


To the OP: I would absolutely mention your family connection. I have a dotted line connection to Grover Hartley, who was the manager of the minor league team my grandpa and uncle played on. He has a couple cards, including a Boston Store card. I've only ever found 1, and it was fairly expensive. The seller was very open to negotiating. Unfortunately, we couldn't get down to a price I was comfortable at, at the time. I kindly thanked him for his time, and told him I would keep this in mind going forward for when the funds are more abundant. Very positive interaction, and if the initial contact is done politely and respectfully, I don't see any problem in inquiring about price flexibility.

I agree that the family connection is your strongest approach. Trying to rationalize the price is not likely to be as successful.

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