[Discussion] Blind Buyout and Reserves and Other Sales Techniques

[Tangled Metal]

The recent rash of people having sales that state: "This is not an auction" and "I will sale when my ideal price is met or exceeded" is starting to get a little old.

I am not sure if I have been guilty of this or not but I will NEVER post an item for sale from this point forward with such vague sales techniques! Here are my suggestions:

1. If you do not know what your item is worth put it up as a price check. If you then want to sell it put it up for sale. Not sure if your price check is accurate? Put it up as an auction using a reserve price. Don't set your reserve in your own mind and not tell anyone.

2. If you have a minimum price in mind put it up as an auction with that as your reserve. You might even say "This is my reserve price but I might be willing to let it go for less."

3. If you are putting up a NON-Auction thread with the prefix For Sale you should have a price listed. You could say you will accept trades.

Maybe I am just upset because I have missed out on several items that I would have paid more for than the item was sold for but never given the opportunity. Maybe it is because I haven't had my coffee. But it is like in game when someone says "Offer" my first offer is almost always very low. Why? I want a deal, sure, but also because I cannot read the magic number that you are hoping to get for it lodged deeply in your brain.

Maybe there should be some ruled for selling items, or at least some guidelines for how you post items for sale here on the boards. That is all I have to say about that. Ready for your flaming arrows!

 

[Cyanide_Mage]

Maybe I am just upset because I have missed out on several items that I would have paid more for than the item was sold for but never given the opportunity. Maybe it is because I haven't had my coffee. But it is like in game when someone says "Offer" my first offer is almost always very low. Why? I want a deal, sure, but also because I cannot read the magic number that you are hoping to get for it lodged deeply in your brain. Maybe there should be some ruled for selling items, or at least some guidelines for how you post items for sale here on the boards. That is all I have to say about that. Ready for your flaming arrows!

OR.... OOOOORRRRR, you could make your top offer right out of the gate instead of attempting to low ball someone? If you truly want an item then make your top offer first, don't be upset when you choose not to do this method but someone else does and ends up with the item.

 

[Tangled Metal]

OR.... OOOOORRRRR, you could make your top offer right out of the gate instead of attempting to low ball someone? If you truly want an item then make your top offer first, don't be upset when you choose not to do this method but someone else does and ends up with the item.

I am not attempting to Low Ball anyone. When I make an offer, generally the other person will say, nah, how about ..... It is a form of negotiating. If the person wants to get an exact price for something they should put it on a vendor. People selling also say taking offers because they have a price in mind and are hoping to get more for it than it is actually valued. Is that called High Balling?

Here's an example. Let's say there is an item valued at 250 mil. I want the item and I am willing to pay 500 mil for it. Someone puts the item up for sale accepting offers. So, what you are saying is go ahead and offer 500 mil even if the item is only worth 250 mil and person had a buyout of 300 in mind?

That would be like ONLY buying items from a Luna vendor.

 

[Cyanide_Mage]

Who says the item is only worth 250m? As with everything in life something is worth what someone will pay for it. The item maybe worth 250m to you but to someone else it could be worth 1 billion gold, thus my statement about if you truly want it MAKE YOUR TOP OFFER FIRST. There is so much gold floating around in today's market most items hit their buyouts within an hour of being posted.

If someone posts an item asking for offers, you come in with an offer of 100m to start it off hoping for some haggling, then the next person swoops who and throws out an offer of 500m because they truly want it, if i'm that seller and am happy with a 500m I will gladly take it, why draw out the process?

 

[dennislcf]

Im so sorry Tangles Metal!!
I doesnt wanna put the reserve price because sometime the offer not too far as my target. I dont know I can go for less after i put the reserved price on the auction.
sorry again to make u missed out the items which u can pay more than my end up price

 

[Smoot]

i totally understand not wanting to reveal the reserve price, as it can scare away potential bidders that only after a bidding war would meet the reserve. You run the risk of not selling the item, but also gain the benefit of getting bidders that might not have originally bid if you stated the reserve.
Its frustrating but just part of buying. Like on e-bay you dont see what the reserve is. I only ask that people say they have a reserve, if they do so bidders know to bid a bit on the higher end. I liked Olchers recent sale even tho it didnt really work out, because you didnt see what others offered at all. So you really did just have to offer what you were comfortable paying, not worry about others seeing your offers.

There always seems to be confusion over reserves too, because alot think reserve is a start price. In a perfect non-open auction, its nice to see a start price, a reserve price, and a buyout price. Just my two cents

 

[Deaol]

And for these very reasons... I keep a list of prior people I have tried to deal with and wont again.. honestly id rather get my ass crack hair waxed then go through a month long whine-a-fair, i dont know, but someones list says, or I heard some guy sold one for, kind of deal.

 

[lineman]

Unfortunately the seller ownes the item, and can sell the item however he feels like it. The only rule on these bourds is that you cant sell item for rl $. Like Deaol said if you do not agree with the way the seller is selling item do not bid. I have a few people myself that I will never buy from.

 

[Decadence]

I do agree to an extent in freedom of the seller, it is true it is the seller's item. I am also fine with blind reserves. BUT, I do expect, out of common courtesy, that someone put that they have a reserve, if they put up an auction with an end date and time. I don't want to; make sure I'm home that night, giving up going out, make sure I'm watching the auction when its about to end, make sure I'm refreshing the page and bidding within the 10 minute rule, happily and exhaustively win the auction, try to contact the seller wait a few days find out seller decides not to sell. This is a waste of MY time AND my hubby's and kids. >_<

my two cents,
Deca