Quote:
Originally Posted by Frozen Rat
I bring this up because I was in the classified forum looking at a guitar that really interests me. I was seriously considering sending a PM but then saw, "buyer pays all PayPal fees" and that soured my desire to buy from that seller. I think those fees are the seller's responsibility and I don't like being asked to either to use the friends and family option (giving up protection) or paying the fees. Paying shipping I understand and agree to as long as it's not padded. But those fees are the seller's nut to pay, not mine, and I don't like it when a seller tries to slip those on to me.
I'm reminded of two weeks ago when me and my wife bought a new car. The finance guy tried to sell us an extended warranty which would have been 9% of the cost of the car. I said no. Then he wanted to sell us a maintenance package which would have been 5% of the cost of the car. I said no. He started talking about another add-on and I stopped him: "I'm going to keep saying no to whatever you try to tack on." There's a trend over the last decade of slyly increasing the costs of things with after-sale-add-ons, just like the darn plane tickets where they ding you for everything extra now, like luggage.
Lastly, I thought that it was verboten to try to push those fees on the buyer. Am I wrong?
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Good evening --
Not trying to tell you what to do & I'm only trying to help. Having said that, a seller can say anything they want and, in a free market, you have the right/ability to walk away. The bottom line on the "correct price" is the intersection of what the buyer is willng to pay and the price the buyer is willng to take -- inclusive of ALL costs.
I would suggest that you determine the price that you are willing to pay, add some negotiating room, and begin your correspondence by first asking any needed questions about specifics of the instrument, additional pictures if needed, etc., with NO mention of price or fees.
Then, after reflecting, if you are seriously interested in the instrument, send the seller another e-mail and give them your opening offer by saying something like:
"I am interested in your guitar and, to simplify the discussion about the potential purchase, my offer of $xxx is for the total price, including shipping and any other fees associated with the purchase."
If they reply by saying something like: "But I want you to pay the PayPal fees, etc., etc." Then reply with clarity that you will pay any fee that they want you to pay as long as it is reflected on the final agreed-to amount.
If they are unyielding, then there's your evidence that they are not serious about the negotiation. If they want to sell the instrument -- and your offer reflects the approximate value of the instrument, then they will work wth you -- they would be foolish to "walk."
As an aside, I've seen several custom instruments on this site that are not realistically priced. Note that I'm only basing this on their "offer price to self-described purchase price of the instrument."