Craigslist lowballers

[thestonedgamer]

For example, there is a Street Fighter 2:CE cab I am looking at in CL right now. From the pictures, it appears to be in decent shape. The dude is asking $550. No, that is not a bad price, but unless it is filled with awesome or some game that is very amazing or you can tell extra work has been done to it, then I personally refuse to pay over $450 for a cab (maybe that is why I only have 2, but whatever). I offered the dude $400. For a working SF2:CE, that seems very reasonable.

That cab is on my end of town, now I'm gonna offer $410.

Totally kidding (insert silly smiley face here).

 

[SegaAges]

That cab is on my end of town, now I'm gonna offer $410.

Totally kidding (insert silly smiley face here).

Well I can throw in the "guilt trip" on people since I am getting a cab for some library. They are making a teen section and I was going to track down a 2 player, 6 button jamma cab (their money, of course) and throw a 1000-in-1 or something in it.

Also, another Vegas klover! That is awesome. We should meet up and bust out some games sometime. I only have 1 cab that I am switching jamma boards on right now, but oh well.

If we want to talk further, maybe we can PM each other to not thread jack. Sorry, but I just moved to this town 6 months ago, so it is awesome to see klovers out here

EDIT: Also, awesome username. Based on that alone, we will definitely need to keep in tough

 

[thestonedgamer]

Well I can throw in the "guilt trip" on people since I am getting a cab for some library. They are making a teen section and I was going to track down a 2 player, 6 button jamma cab (their money, of course) and throw a 1000-in-1 or something in it.

Also, another Vegas klover! That is awesome. We should meet up and bust out some games sometime. I only have 1 cab that I am switching jamma boards on right now, but oh well.

If we want to talk further, maybe we can PM each other to not thread jack. Sorry, but I just moved to this town 6 months ago, so it is awesome to see klovers out here

EDIT: Also, awesome username. Based on that alone, we will definitely need to keep in tough

This is craigslist we are talking about, and ten bucks. No way guilt about you being a good person helping teens at the library avoid reading in order to play video games would work. It's ten whole dollars, maaaaan. He/she would HAVE to take the better offer - you were just some 'lowballer' trying to scam them!

Welcome to KLOV. I'm new to the site and arcade collecting, but not Vegas. Kinda tied up this weekend, but I know I'll be at Insert Coins Fri from 10 to midnight if you're anywhere near downtown.

 

[norton9478]

On the selling end, I don't mind low ballers. I either ignore them or make a counter if I think it will work.
No big deal.

The timewasters on the other hand. They suck.

I'll take a I'll give you $200 for the machine over Hey... $500 sounds great, give me your address and I'll pick up tonight. Then he never shows.


On the buying end, If the deal is really good I never ever try to haggle.

When my GF was buying furniture for her sisters she would jump on the best deals with a story how she just got her sisters out of foster care. Just in case someone else got another email before her. The hope was that the person would sell to her.

 

[girlracer]

thats why you ask for more than you really want. like for an arcade or something ask 50-100$ higher than you really want.

i bought a copy of super mario bros wii at the pawn for $10 listed in on craigslist for $30, but really i would have taken $20, sold it 3 days later for $25

i tend not to try to low, low ball, but i will try to atleast get it for $50 less to cover my gas if i can since i usually have to drive around 2hrs to look at anything.

 

[jehuie]

If I find a really really really good deal on nice machine for, say, $50...and I'm standing there with cash and no other buyers, I will almost always offer $25 just to see what happens.

Yeah I'm a cheapskate but times are hard. It takes my wife almost 3 hours to earn $25 and to me it's an insult to her if I pay more than I need to and make her work harder. (Yes, I have a job too)

 

[blkdog7]

Do you have any monitors for sale? Oh really? $15 bucks? Hmmmm. Well, I dunno. Uhmmmmm.... could I get it for free?

Within reason. Don't be a jerk.

 

[the7k]

To be completely honest, even though I support haggling/lowballing, I don't do it myself.

Well, unless I'm right there in person, with cash in hand - or without enough cash in hand. I've gotten many a good deal on flea market stuff by simply being short on cash. Got a lot of two Genesis systems (one still in the box) and about 50 games (including SF2, MK, MK2, SamSho, Sonic 1-3, etc.) for $27 because that's all my wallet happened to have in it at the time.

 

[smalltownguy2]

I've stated my position on this before. Taken from another thread:

You know what, I'm going to have to respectfully take the devil's advocate on this discussion. I am a very frugal individual. I err on the side of being cheap more than I care to admit. My wife will attest to this. She constantly has to remind me that my cheap endeavors sometimes end up costing more more in the long run -- especially in my time spent.

My time is my time. If I spend tons of it fixing/restoring/driving/negotiating to get a great deal, then it's time well spent for me. I've gotten some insane deals in my life because I've asked for them. I've also been accused of low-balling. I don't deny it. In fact, I declare it up front. For example:

"I know it's a lowball offer, but I can offer you (lowball amount) for your (thingamajig). You might be able to get more from someone else, but I can assure you, I don't play games, I don't send endless emails asking for more pictures, re-schedule appointments, ask more questions, and be a general pain in the ass about it. If you want your (thingamajig) gone now, I will be there with cash in hand, no haggling. Easy for you. Let me know. Thanks!"

I can't tell you how many times this approach has gotten through to the folks who are just trying to get rid of an item without headaches. Let's face it: the sellers who are savvy about their pins and vids, they KNOW what their machines are worth, and they're willing to wait for the right money for them. This approach is NOT going to work on them. Period. For the un-learned seller who just wants this "big eyesore" gone, they're ALL ABOUT making it as quick and painless as possible.

But you gotta be quick. Several times I've been loading up an item and the seller has gotten calls while I'm loading it where they've had to turn down (better money from) someone else. You gotta shoot first, ask questions later.

I have gotten burned a few times too - gotten the call while on the road - it's the seller telling me he's taken a higher offer and is rescinding his agreement. It comes with the territory. I don't sweat it. Like I said, time well spent.

You HAVE to remove the emotions from this. It's business deals, pure and simple. If the buyer offers and the seller agrees, who cares what the price is? The deal is made and both parties are happy. If there's remorse afterwords, the only one to blame is themselves.

My great grandfather always had a lot of money. He didn't have a very good job and he had 12 kids with dozens of grand and great-grandkids, and his wife didn't work. Many years ago, when I asked him how he was able to make so much out of so little, his words stuck with me: "Kid, don't pay a penny more than you need to. You can ask, they can say no."

 

[ChaosJohn]

a <200$ crapcab with a 60$ bootleg board, what did you expect?

Spoken like someone who has no knowledge of the actual components or condition of the game.

like new monitor - > $100 value
60-in-1 $100 value
cocktail cabinet in solid condition with no water damage, just with dirty wood grain vinyl - $100 to $200 value?
Jamma harness and AC power setup - $100 value
real Ms. Pac cocktail control panels with real Ms Pac joysticks in excellent working condition - $50-$100 value
brand new set of overlays for the control panel - $20

The parts alone for this cost almost $500. I did get the monitor for $75, but I could easily turn around and sell it for $100 or more if I was willing to ship it (like new perfectly working WG monitor).

If you can find a solid cocktail with a like new monitor and a working JAMMA harness in it for $200, then you must be a better bargain finder than I am.

 

[ChaosJohn]

How many of those people are just firing the opening shot to haggle? Neither party can play that game starting with the absolute last price they will comfortably settle on.

Lowballing isn't so bad. What sucks about buyers is when they lowball, but then lack the tact to keep from sounding like they are shitting on you and your merchandise. There is a good way of telling the seller what is wrong with the items and what it would take on your end to fix it or why the opening price seems a bit high...and then there is the way 90% of the people out there dump on your stuff.

I sent a response to everyone who initially responded (15 people).

5 people tried to lowball (as low as $250 - I dare ANYONE in this group to find a working 60-in-1 with a like new monitor for $250. I dare you. And yes, a couple of the lowballers sent searing emails "informing" me that I'd never get that much for it and it was a piece of crap and I should be ashamed for trying to gouge people.

The opening price was not high. It was actually the low end of average prices for what I was selling. I know most people HERE might expect to pay less for a 60-in-1 cocktail, but you are all able to fix broken things. This was functioning perfectly.

5 people expressed general interest.

5 people wanted it now now now. It sold the day after I listed it. The next day, one of the people who was jonesing for it posted an offer on craigslist that he'd pay $800 for a working cocktail 60-in-1.

I probably COULD have gotten $800 for it if I'd have held out for that, and if I'd have solved the cleaning problem (the guy who bought it was able to clean the crud off the T-molding with a razor blade).

 

[ChaosJohn]

Most people don't have a problem with lowballing....until they are on the receiving end. If you lowball,you have to be willing to tolerate people lowballing your stuff. It's a two way road. And honestly CL is the absolute last place I would list something with the intention of getting full asking price. In my opinion,you'd have a better chance of someone meeting your asking price if you listed it on ebay.

Again... I got my asking price.

I know how to price things that I sell on craigslist and I generally always get what I'm asking.

 

[ChaosJohn]

Just curious, did you get any lowball offers from people you know from here? Don't need to name names obviously....

Not sure. I'd rather not post email names.

Actually, 3 of the people who lowballed were considerate about it. They said something like, "Would you take $400 for it?" I have no problem with that. But some of them were real rude and calling me names and saying I should have taken their offer because I'll never get as much from anyone else and a bunch of malarkey like that. It's those ones that bug me.

Here are 3 of the 4 pix I posted of the game, in case you're wondering:

 

[ChaosJohn]

I have three Capcom Big Blue cabinets, all craigslist items.

Cab number 1 - Street Fighter III: New Generation (since changed to Street Fighter Alpha III for an extra $90) - they wanted $700, I paid $350.
Cab number 2 - Marvel vs Capcom II - they wanted $600, I paid $260.
Cab number 3 - Super Street Fighter II Turbo - they wanted a grand, ended up with it for $460.

...as you can see I paid less than half of what the craigslist sellers wanted. If saving money makes me a 'lowballer' then so be it. Like someone else said, you guys crying foul over people trying to get deals at what is known as the world's largest garage sale should either not post on craigslist, or start posting these ads:

Yeah, but none of those games was worth what the seller was asking. If you hadn't offered them the more reasonable prices, those games would STILL be on craigslist.

And yes, I've seen games that people had listed for way more than they're worth and have offered less as well. And explained to them why (sometimes with links to ebay auctions showing where several copies of the same game have sold for half of what they're asking).

And I've also seen games that people listed for LESS than what they're worth, and I've offered MORE than they were asking to beat out the other sharks and lowballers (who would offer even less). I got my Food Fight by offering $500 when the seller had it listed at $250 and several people were offering him $100. Their loss.

I have no problem with people "trying to get deals", but calling me a gouger and saying I'm an idiot for asking that much when I've got 5 people begging to be the one to get it for that price is ridiculous.

So, let's make a couple of rule of thumbs for making offers on craigslist items:

1. It's okay to offer less than asked, but try to be polite about it.
2. If you're asking too much, expect to take less or not to sell the game.
3. If you offer less than the seller is asking and don't get the game, then it sucks to be you.
4. If you are willing to pay what the seller wants, but "can't pick it up until Friday", then expect not to get it.

 

[ChaosJohn]

Oh, and by the way, the buyer wanted to set this up in an arcade he has (mostly pins with a few arcade games).

I rewired it to accept coins while he was waiting.

 

[blkdog7]

Not sure. I'd rather not post email names.

Actually, 3 of the people who lowballed were considerate about it. They said something like, "Would you take $400 for it?" I have no problem with that. But some of them were real rude and calling me names and saying I should have taken their offer because I'll never get as much from anyone else and a bunch of malarkey like that. It's those ones that bug me.

Here are 3 of the 4 pix I posted of the game, in case you're wondering:

I see nothing wrong with selling this for $500. It looks decent. I bet you could get $800 if you waited.

 

[thestonedgamer]

Yeah, but none of those games was worth what the seller was asking. If you hadn't offered them the more reasonable prices, those games would STILL be on craigslist.

MvC2 in a big blue cabinet isn't worth $600? Wow, I wish you were around to tell that to the lady who sold it to me, so when all the craigslisters that missed out on the game told her I "ripped her off", she could have said "sorry, but there is no way that game was worth what I was asking".

So let's add another rule to your little list: if you miss out on an arcade game, don't be a shitheel and make the seller feel like he/she just got swindled by someone just because YOU missed out on a good deal.

 

[Alpha-tron]

I sold and bought surplus eletronics for years. I use to manage a surplus eletronic shop before. There will always be those who want a lower price even though you know you are far cheaper than anyone else.

I have kicked people out of the shop because they wanted an unreasonable price and wanted to argue the point. It's better to cut a person off and send them on thier way than to listen to someone argue for an hour about a price. I have kicked people out those in suits who would make odd comments with in ear shot. As I told the owner, If your going to treat people like they are worth less than you are. Expect the same treatment back.

Now it sounds like I was tossing out customers left and right and the eletroniuc surplus business would have suffered becuase I would throw out the unreasonable low balling customer. I took a little hole in the wall surplus store who was making 8k a month to a store that was making 246K a month. I found out a bad customer will always take more time than a good customer. If you find good customers keeping good relationships with them will always promote more business. I use to keep List of the good customers and bad customers.

There are those who want a lower price even if your know your the lowest price around.
They are those who want/need to feel that they have gotten a bargain even tho they already have gotten one. Just the nature of certain people. Since I am the owner/seller. I do have the right not to selling an item just because you wave dollars in my face. It's not always frist come frist serve in this world.

 

[jethrokiller]

Again... I got my asking price.

I know how to price things that I sell on craigslist and I generally always get what I'm asking.

I'd say your lucky you got it, the thing only has one button, and it wasn't even wired up too accept quarters. Did you let the person know that alot of the games on there are unplayable with only 1 button?

 

[ChaosJohn]

MvC2 in a big blue cabinet isn't worth $600? Wow, I wish you were around to tell that to the lady who sold it to me, so when all the craigslisters that missed out on the game told her I "ripped her off", she could have said "sorry, but there is no way that game was worth what I was asking".

LOL. Okay, let's say they aren't worth that much TO ME.

So let's add another rule to your little list: if you miss out on an arcade game, don't be a shitheel and make the seller feel like he/she just got swindled by someone just because YOU missed out on a good deal.

No kidding.