#1
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Sunday morning Reverb Rant
Actually, this is more a rant about people ON Reverb.
I don’t do a a lot of horse trading. Every listing I’ve ever put up is researched and fairly priced, including the 3 guitars I currently have up. Every listing says “respectful offers considered”. So why do some folks seem compelled to ridiculously lowball prices? I mean seriously offering 40-50% less than my asking price is an insult (from a stranger-I get it). Secondly, if I respond with a counter have the stones to reject if you’re not interested instead of just letting it hang for 24 hours. Now, before I get totally flamed, I know that a) this is pretty minor in the scheme of things, b) typical and natural human behavior c) that everybody wants to get lucky and d) pretty minor in the scheme of things. I needs another cup of coffee. Rant over. |
#2
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No reason to flame. I share your feelings and hence don't allow offers unless I'm desperate to sell quickly.
__________________
Current: Lowden F35, Sitka / Cocobolo. Maestro Victoria, Sitka / EIR. Maestro Singa, Adirondak / EIR. Maestro Singa, Sinker Redwood / Wenge (incoming) Gone but not forgotten: Martins, Gibsons, Taylors, sundry others. |
#3
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This all seems pretty obvious to me. |
#4
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People have right to offer anything they want. And you have the right to say no. I don't see any reason to rant.
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#5
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Years ago I listed a house and had an offer for a full 50 thousand less than the listing price. It made me extremely angry at the time and I told the listing agent to throw it in the garbage. She (wisely) advised me to step back and consider they were new to the real estate market and counter to them. They accepted my counter-offer of $500 less than the listing price. |
#6
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...its better than a lot of the BS you have to endure with CL listings...but lowballers are always gonna be attracted to gear selling sites...I've had experiences here on the AGF that are just as just bad...always best to let it go and move on...
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#7
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Most people want something for nothing, and it's not personal - I know, easy for me to say. Not that it solves the lowball issue, but I've recently backed off of long distance sales in favor of Craigslist. Yeh, I know that Craigslist has its own share of issues, but having just done two app. $1800 guitar sales on Craigslist, I truly believe it's the lesser of evils. No seller fees, no shipping fees or worries, no PayPal fees, buyer gets to inspect, cash sale. My Reverb discontent came from a recent lowball offer coupled with the prospective buyer wanting an inspection period. For the record, I don't think that an inspection period is unreasonable - I just don't want to risk shipping a pricey guitar across country (Virginia to Oregon) only for the buyer to return it because the tone doesn't appeal to him. And then there's the risk of whatever the buyer might do to the guitar while inspecting it and/or the return trip back to Virginia. And then there are the various fees and taxes involved.
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Emerald X20 Emerald X20-12 Martin D18 Martin 000-15sm |
#8
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This behavior is expected and if you accept that and plan/price accordingly you'll be better off. I always post for a premium price. I expect that in the first day or so I'll get one or two ridiculous low-ball offers. I just reject them, I don't counter offer - normally. I say normally because sometimes I'll post for such a premium price that the low-ball offer is actually not all that far from where I need/want to be. Case in point I have an Emerald for sale right now that I put up for several hundred dollars over what I need to get for it. Like clockwork, the low-ball offer came in but was actually without about $50 of what I paid. I ended up rejecting only because I really don't want to sell it but if someone came in for the premium price I'd reluctantly let it go.
Here's my rant about Reverb AND AGF classifieds, which like you has nothing to do with the platform and everything to do with the potential buyer: The Sad-Story Person. This is a person that wants to buy your item and always has this over-the-top story about why they want you to sell them your guitar for a pittance. They try to guilt you into it. I really hate that because while I'm sure anything is possible, every time I've encountered it, it just seems too fake to be true. |
#9
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I never accept offers and I don't answer them. Case closed.
__________________
"One small heart, and a great big soul that's driving" |
#10
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CL
I recently had a guy offer me a commercial hot dog fryer trade for a guitar on CL. That’s a first for me! I said no thanks...
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#11
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Ive always thought that 40 to 50% off retail is a fair price for anything. The same off a used price is not a fair price. That is a lowball but you dont have to reply, its just part of selling. Its not personal.
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#12
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What is much worse is when some agrees to buy, or an offer is accepted, and then they disappear and do not pay. In this case the listing is closed and you must give them at least three days to pay. This happen to me twice recently.
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Sobell Model 1 Sobell six string archtop Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis Eastman John Pisano Gibson Johnny A Franklin Prairie State Collings D1A |
#13
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Let me first say that I think Reverb - as a marketplace platform - is pretty slick and works well. None of this has anything to do with the platform or the functionality, which I really like.
And yes, sellers want top dollar and buyers will generally try to get a deal when they can - this is not news to anyone. Sellers are often unreasonable as well - pricing their guitars well above market rate for unknown reasons. I was gassing for a J-45 Limited Edition for months. The seller (a small music shop) has a used one in excellent condition listed for $400 higher than a brand new one. I do my homework - I know what a guitar is worth. Perhaps I am willing to spend a few extra dollars to get it, perhaps not. In this case, I was not, since my alternative was to buy a new one (the guitar was more than I wanted to spend at all - so I was really going used or nothing). I offered the Reverb seller what I thought was fair market value for the guitar - $800 less than he was asking. He countered at $100 off the listed price. I walked away. 3 weeks later I offered again, coming up $100 from my original offer, now $700 below ask, but $100 above what I felt was market value. The guy went nuts - left me a message about not wasting his time, if I didn't like the price go somewhere else, etc. The seller's listing has been available for a year and a half. I wrote back stating that I was not trying to be unreasonable, referenced the brand new listing from the authorized dealer, provided him my fair market value calculation and logic, and pointed out that his guitar has been available for over a year and is clearly overpriced. I asked a straightforward question - do you want to sell that guitar or not? Needless to say the guitar sits in his shop, unsold, and my GAS has passed - but the point is buyers are not the only unreasonable party in a transaction. Taking any of this personally is a waste of time and energy.
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Justin ________________ Gibson J-15 Alvarez MD60BG Yamaha LL16RD Epiphone Les Paul Standard Fender Player Stratocaster |
#14
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Personally I have no problem saying no.
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Waterloo WL-S, K & K mini Waterloo WL-S Deluxe, K & K mini Iris OG, 12 fret, slot head, K & K mini Follow The Yellow Brick Road |
#15
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__________________
The Bard Rocks Fay OM Sinker Redwood/Tiger Myrtle Sexauer L00 Adk/Magnolia For Sale Hatcher Jumbo Bearclaw/"Bacon" Padauk Goodall Jumbo POC/flamed Mahogany Appollonio 12 POC/Myrtle MJ Franks Resonator, all Australian Blackwood Goodman J45 Lutz/fiddleback Mahogany Blackbird "Lucky 13" - carbon fiber '31 National Duolian + many other stringed instruments. |