At what point is the line crossed between being an informed buyer, and overly demanding?

"Take it or leave it."

A very effect phrase to shut up tire-kickers.

It always seems like if I'm selling, the people want near-new perfection (or worse, they expect the 'whatever' to actually operate better than it was designed to) for a tiny fraction of new cost. On the other hand, if I'm buying... Well that's when inoperable rusted junk becomes more valuable than gold.

Go figure! My wife says I'm impatient, lol.

The market is flooded and there is no political presser to buy. A Buyers Market.
Just list with a firm amount.
Never sell a gun when you need money, and never buy one with money you can't afford to blow.

I've noticed this as well. I'm meeting someone tomorrow to wrap up the sale of an XDM. He's politely tried to get me to come down in price a number of times. I reminded him that given the extra magazines and night sights I'm including, he's getting a good deal, which he understands. The good news is that I'm using this money to buy a new gun, so even though my sale price is lower than I'd like, the cost of whatever I buy will be lower as well, so it's a wash.

A friend's deceased father had a pretty good collection of guns and he decided the best way to dispose of them was to have a table at a gun show.

Lots of tire kickers at gun shows. One was looking at a Belgium Browning SA-22. When he saw the price tag, without any discussion at all, he said, "I wouldn't give that for it." So I asked, "OK, just what would you give for it and not back out?" He put the gun down and walked away. No sense fooling with people like that as he probably didn't have much more money on him that the price of the gun show ticket.

LoonWulf said:

Agreed, and one i have unfortunately been using alot the last few weeks.

Click to expand...

"All prices are firm" keeps a lot of lookyloos away

Make me an offer AND lay the money on the table. If I pick it up we have a deal.

I've normally had good luck buying firearms. Most people that contact me seem respectful and can typically (but not always) write intelligently.

Its selling anything else that annoys me. 90% of the replies are just "whats ur bottom dollar" and that's it. If I reply at all I'll just restate the selling price and ask them to make an offer if they feel that's too high. Very rarely do I get a response back.

Loonwulf, In my experience, low-ballers come and go and your recent experience doesn't represent a pattern change. I've had people offer me half of my already reasonable asking price and others who can't get their wallet out fast enough. Low-ballers are not really interested in doing business so I just have fun with them. When they low-ball me, I increase the price. I tell them the increase is my nuisance tolerance fee. They usually disappear quickly.

It seems the art of dickering is dead, lowball buyers or sellers who think they’re entitled to get all their money back.
selling something that’s out of production then you have a position of strength if not then compromise.

The time to think about selling price is before you buy not after.

Courtesy and manners have long been abandoned in many interactions. Do what you can to keep it alive. Maybe things will start to swing back the other way.

Internet selling is pretty easy for me. For whatever reason the first tire kickers always ask to pay 1/2 or 2/3 what the item is priced for. I always respond that their offer is lower than I'm willing to take and I'm going to let the sales ad keep rolling.

For face to face selling, as soon as a buyer says "you need to sharpen your pencil", I'm done with that conversation.

I think there are a lot more informed buyers ... Now, someone who asks for 25 pictures of a revolver I'm selling and wants three or four micro close-ups of the top strap to prove there's no flame-cutting ... that might be a little overly demanding.

But I also might be in the "overly demanding" crowd since I've become dismayed by the huge amount of firearms advertised as "like new in the box" or "as new in the box" and then when I dare to ask for a ball-park round count because I see significant signs of wear indicating the piece has been fired far more than just "one cyclinder through it" or "only one magazine through it" ... And, "un-fired" means never fired, by anyone ... not just by the current owner who's selling it ...

I see a lot of uninformed sellers whose ads leave a lot to be desired. It's just not that hard to concisely characterize the condition of a firearm.

For myself, my ads will name a price and will note that it's firm and not negotiable. If someone gives me an offer less than my asking price (and I do a lot of research prior to determining my asking price; if anything, I've sold often for much less than I could have gotten, had I wanted to patiently wait for that gottahaveitnow buyer), I don't deign to respond.

It does seem as though some buyers feel entitled to start with insulting offers and don't understand the etiquette of the used-gun trade. There was one old guy up here who agreed to my price over the phone, and then when we met, seriously low-balled me and then refused to meet my price. I found out later he did this often and his behavior could almost be seen as bullying (but it apparently had worked for him with a number of inexperienced, younger sellers). This guy became well-known locally after he was charged with dealing firearms without a license and also re-selling guns he'd bought to prohibited persons, so he actually did some time ...

I wonder how much of this low-balling is being done to prove to one's compatriots on forums or social media what a shrewd buyer they are?

Internet claims of amazing gun purchase deals (that I never see in person where I live) sure could be a driving force.

Asking for a better price is something that just about all of us do. And that’s because we all want a better deal.
When I sell something, I always have it priced. If someone makes me an offer that is way to low, I don’t get my feelings hurt. I just say no thanks. But I have been known to bust out laughing to some offers.

When I sell things I know the high, fair and low price without a doubt. I always start with MY bottom dollar (fair-low) then write "FIRM" in all caps. The flood of ridiculous people and extreme low ballers on Craigslist taught me that haggling isn't worth my time. If and when I get a reply that's lower than cost, I'll write back "price is firm". Saves time cutting the haggling out.

I have several guns that I just don't use anymore and while I don't really NEED the money I wouldn't mind selling a few. In years past I never had any trouble selling one, but it is getting harder. I've done better trading them for another gun when in the past it was usually better to sell 1st then buy.

I enjoy buying and selling in the secondary (non-retail) market, guns and otherwise. I have developed a few observations:

1) Unless your ego is tied up with the item you're selling, there's no such thing as an insulting offer amount. Unless the words used are literally insulting ("you ***"), you've no reason to be offended.

2) Emotionally interesting but unnecessary items (ie: guns, big trucks) bring out the hopeful fool in many sellers. Witness the tens of thousands of AR's on Armslist for $100 more than the same gun costs at Dick's Sporting.

3) If your mass market gun isn't sold in a week or two, you're either advertising to the wrong crowd, or you're overpriced. No one but you cares what you paid, or what you wish it was worth.

4) Smart money almost always makes an aggressively low offer. Unless you're in a rush to secure the deal before someone else notices how good the price is, you should always offer less than asking. If the seller is offended, you probably didn't want to deal with them anyway. If the seller's a grownup, all you have to loose is the time it takes to haggle.

I think my average purchase price for firearms over the last 10 years is somewhere around 80% of asking, with at least a few around 60%.

Facebooks groups are the worst by far. Guys think their M&P Sport AR is worth $900 and they think your LaRue isnt any better than a $400 parts kit gun...

I have never purchased a used gun on the internet. I may one day as there are a few older or discontinued classics I would like to add to the stable but even then it isn' likely.

Why? Because I just can't buy a used gun I can't touch. I have tried to make myself but I can't. I have even typed up offers only to delete them before sending. Maybe I should trust my fellow man a little more.

I would rather just check the used section at the LGS, pawnshop or even check out a gun show (I like beef jerky lol). Maybe with the new gun market down used prices will drop. Seems like the last 8 years the used prices were way to close to new prices for me. So I just bought new

Maybe I'm just too picky but I refuse to pay more than 75% of retail for a mass produced gun that is currently in production (unless I actually know the seller). And I could care less about what mods were done or what the seller paid. I'd prefer the gun not be modified anyway. I have no way of knowing what Bubba may have done at his kitchen table.

Of course older, collectable and discontinued guns have there own market and any deals made there are going to be totally different. But I am a horrible haggler. Really, I suck at it and I hate doing it. Its why I haven't put a Garand in the safe yet even though I have wanted one for a few years. I just find something else to buy. Its usually new. Just easier that way.

In my mind, it is a business transaction and any emotion will interfere with your head and/ or the ability to just say “no”; car salesman thrive on the human nature of their buyers that are so troubled with stating a firm “no”. Asking for a better price (albeit somtimes from the Bubba Boy) is part of the deal; don’t allow the crude ways to get under your skin and stand your ground for your price/conditions.