Offer...Offer...Offer

[DVDA]

I walked into my local supermarket and asked one of the employees how much a box of cereal was and he replied "Offer?"

I went up to 2 little kids selling lemonade outside and asked them how much and they replied "offer?"

Obviously those 2 scenarios dont make sense in the real world but how come I have to encounter it 300 times in UO.....All you see from Spammers is "Selling <Insert Stupid Post-AoS item EA came up with here>" but when you ask them how much they ALWAYS reply "offer?"

WHAT DO YOU MEAN OFFER? You are the seller I am the buyer, tell me what you want for your freaken item we are not buying/selling Used-Cars here!

So lets hear it from the people who do this...why do you do it? In hopes some idiot will offer twice as much as your seeking or do you just really like deal or no deal?

Also if you hate this as much as I do lets hear from you as well...Personally I NEVER buy an item from the person who says offer.

 

[shulginist]

I have always found that funny as well. I usually just say ok thanks or lowball it by a nice margin.

 

[DVDA]

If I badly want the item, I will lowball them drastically...

i.e its worth 1 mil, i will offer 150K in the off chance they are dumb and only saying "offer" cause they have no idea what its worth

 

[Lord Frodo]

I have always found that funny as well. I usually just say ok thanks or lowball it by a nice margin.

And you got to laugh when they get pissed when you low ball it. Stupid how they get pissed when you do what they say.

 

[Anon McDougle]

i do it if i dont know the price or was unable to shop around and find value but i never take first offer i shop it around a few days

or will log in on another char and spam buying the same item to get a idea of price

 

[SpaceYourFace]

They ususaly say offer in the hopes that you dont know what its worth and might overpay.

 

[John Merchant]

A lot of times its because they don't know what a fair price is to sell it at.

 

[Blade_Thugluv]

I do tell people to make an offer on an item i am selling sometimes.

The reason i do it is because i have a ball park of what i want but dont have a set price and dont care to much.

If someone makes an offer thats higher then my ball park i normally say how about and then a price that is lower then they offered. It throws them off for a second and prob makes them think i am stupid but whatever.

Some times people will try to low ball and depending how much and if i am in a good mood or not i might sell it to them at their low ball offer. Other times i will just shot them a price alittle higher but still under going rate.


~Blade

 

[DVDA]

If someone makes an offer thats higher then my ball park i normally say how about and then a price that is lower then they offered. It throws them off for a second and prob makes them think i am stupid but whatever.

~Blade

Thats funny as hell...if that ever happened to me, I'd probably poop myself

 

[Theo_GL]

I walked into my local supermarket and asked one of the employees how much a box of cereal was and he replied "Offer?"

I went up to 2 little kids selling lemonade outside and asked them how much and they replied "offer?"

Obviously those 2 scenarios dont make sense in the real world but how come I have to encounter it 300 times in UO.....All you see from Spammers is "Selling <Insert Stupid Post-AoS item EA came up with here>" but when you ask them how much they ALWAYS reply "offer?"

WHAT DO YOU MEAN OFFER? You are the seller I am the buyer, tell me what you want for your freaken item we are not buying/selling Used-Cars here!

So lets hear it from the people who do this...why do you do it? In hopes some idiot will offer twice as much as your seeking or do you just really like deal or no deal?

Also if you hate this as much as I do lets hear from you as well...Personally I NEVER buy an item from the person who says offer.

Becuase it is basic negotiating tactics. If someone else names a price first, you have the upper hand.

If I say '100k' - what are the odds I get more than 100k for it? Zero. If I let you name a price, then I can always say, no, I want 100k. But if you offer 200k? Sold.

Its just standard negotiating. If you want the power - don't buy it until they name a price. Never offer.

 

[DVDA]

Becuase it is basic negotiating tactics. If someone else names a price first, you have the upper hand.

If I say '100k' - what are the odds I get more than 100k for it? Zero. If I let you name a price, then I can always say, no, I want 100k. But if you offer 200k? Sold.

Its just standard negotiating. If you want the power - don't buy it until they name a price. Never offer.

I see the reverse view and its the approach I take during settlements (Personal Injury Negotiations)...

I sit down and say, my cilent wants 400,000 for his injuries (when in reality i really want about 100K but will settle for 75K as per cilent's request). This gives me the opportunity to hear their counter-offer and try to work my way up from their counter.

If they say "screw you we will give you 100K," i dont immediately smile and say to myself job well done. I will keep trying to bring the price up until they plan to walk out.

 

[ElRay]

I see the reverse view and its the approach I take during settlements (Personal Injury Negotiations)...

I sit down and say, my cilent wants 400,000 for his injuries (when in reality i really want about 100K but will settle for 75K as per cilent's request). This gives me the opportunity to hear their counter-offer and try to work my way up from their counter.

If they say "screw you we will give you 100K," i dont immediately smile and say to myself job well done. I will keep trying to bring the price up until they plan to walk out.

I find it rather amazing that it takes *deep* discussion on a gaming board for an attorney at law to comprehend what Theo said.

 

[Faeryl]

If I badly want the item, I will lowball them drastically...

i.e its worth 1 mil, i will offer 150K in the off chance they are dumb and only saying "offer" cause they have no idea what its worth

Usually, if I ask someone to offer, it really IS because I have no idea what it's worth, but I sure hope that doesn't make me dumb

 

[Wenchkin]

I remember asking for less than market price on items (quite a bit less) and the general response from folks was that they walked off without trying to negotiate cheaper etc. So, I've ended up asking players to make me an offer of what they're prepared to pay and that starts the negotiations off. I'm not in UO to get rich and if someone offers too much I'll tell them as much and lower the price. Better having a customer feel he got a bargain than grumbling about someone ripping him off at the bank.

Wenchy

 

[Coppelia]

Becuase it is basic negotiating tactics. If someone else names a price first, you have the upper hand.

If I say '100k' - what are the odds I get more than 100k for it? Zero. If I let you name a price, then I can always say, no, I want 100k. But if you offer 200k? Sold.

Its just standard negotiating. If you want the power - don't buy it until they name a price. Never offer.

That's why the seller can raise the price before he offers it to negociation. But he has to find a compromise between a big raise in case the buyer won't negociate much or will negociate too hard and a small raise in order not to frighten the customers.
Those who say offer are either not aware of the price and have a very rough idea so they don't dare putting a precise price, but that's just postponing the problem because there'll be a moment when you'll have to say yes or no to a precise price ; or they are too lazy to think of a price to attract customers while still having a nice margin, and just try the overpricing bait. In case of. But they of course have a price in mind, otherwise they wouldn't tell you "no" when you lowball it.

So basically : know the market price, and if someone ask you "offer?", he's either lazy, noob or a scammer, so make a low offer until he tells you what he's expecting.

 

[Goldberg-Chessy]

I walked into my local supermarket and asked one of the employees how much a box of cereal was and he replied "Offer?"

I went up to 2 little kids selling lemonade outside and asked them how much and they replied "offer?"

Obviously those 2 scenarios dont make sense in the real world but how come I have to encounter it 300 times in UO.....All you see from Spammers is "Selling <Insert Stupid Post-AoS item EA came up with here>" but when you ask them how much they ALWAYS reply "offer?"

WHAT DO YOU MEAN OFFER? You are the seller I am the buyer, tell me what you want for your freaken item we are not buying/selling Used-Cars here!

So lets hear it from the people who do this...why do you do it? In hopes some idiot will offer twice as much as your seeking or do you just really like deal or no deal?

Also if you hate this as much as I do lets hear from you as well...Personally I NEVER buy an item from the person who says offer.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for an offer. It does not make the buyer or seller stupid. It is a part of standard negotiating and if you dont think that people loitering around a bank are ripe for negotiating you are much more foolish then the spammers my friend.

If it bothers you so much why do you even inquire? Why are you even putting yourself in position to get so mad if it is such a big issue to you? Do your banking and leave maybe?
There are more then enough player vendors to shop at where you will not have to worry about "offers"

I also dislike it when I am forced to blindly offer but if I am knowledgable enough about the items I am buying(as everyone should be)then I will simply make a fair offer and go from there.

Peace

 

[Connor_Graham]

Becuase it is basic negotiating tactics. If someone else names a price first, you have the upper hand.

Bingo.

 

[Gheed]

Becuase it is basic negotiating tactics. If someone else names a price first, you have the upper hand.

Yup I never name a price. If I have to offer, my offer is always free. Usually they think I am being smart. Then I explain "that is what I want to pay for it and you asked me to offer. I offered what I wanted to pay." Most of the time from that point I can get them to name a price and go from there. If not then they don't want to sell it too badly or are looking for a sucker.

 

[Kiminality]

I don't trade seriously.
I guess if I did, I wouldn't be poor... But I don't really mind paying above market for something I want, similarly, I don't mind accepting lower for something I don't want.

In my case, if I say "offer" (only, it would be more verbose), it's because I don't really care for the details of getting the very best trade.
Of course, if someone's a smart arse, then I might start paying more attention to how much it's worth, out of principal

 

[Prince Caspian]

I walked into my local supermarket and asked one of the employees how much a box of cereal was and he replied "Offer?"

I went up to 2 little kids selling lemonade outside and asked them how much and they replied "offer?"

Obviously those 2 scenarios dont make sense in the real world but how come I have to encounter it 300 times in UO.....All you see from Spammers is "Selling <Insert Stupid Post-AoS item EA came up with here>" but when you ask them how much they ALWAYS reply "offer?"

WHAT DO YOU MEAN OFFER? You are the seller I am the buyer, tell me what you want for your freaken item we are not buying/selling Used-Cars here!

So lets hear it from the people who do this...why do you do it? In hopes some idiot will offer twice as much as your seeking or do you just really like deal or no deal?

Also if you hate this as much as I do lets hear from you as well...Personally I NEVER buy an item from the person who says offer.

I have never understood that mentality. It comes across as rather insulting to the buyer. It says to me "I'm hoping I can fleece you."

When someone is selling an item, and I ask how much, and they say the o-word, I walk away.

 

[Kiminality]

I have never understood that mentality. It comes across as rather insulting to the buyer. It says to me "I'm hoping I can fleece you."

When someone is selling an item, and I ask how much, and they say the o-word, I walk away.

Why not just make a sensible offer, then walk away if they decline?
Seems more rational to me...

 

[Prince Caspian]

Why not just make a sensible offer, then walk away if they decline?
Seems more rational to me...

Because chances are rather good they won't consider a sensible offer. And there's an even better reason -- I don't give jerks my patronage if I can help it.

 

[Kiminality]

You're making a broad assumption that that all people who ask for an offer are jerks.
Your loss.

 

[Prince Caspian]

You're making a broad assumption that that all people who ask for an offer are jerks.
Your loss.

So be it. Its a loss I can afford.

 

[StaticOnAtlantic]

They ususaly say offer in the hopes that you dont know what its worth and might overpay.

exactly, thats what i do and it usually works.

 

[Trebr Drab]

Next time, offer them 2 fat pigs and a sheep.

 

[RichDC]

Well at least its nice to know if im selling something i have no idea the value of and ask for an offer then the person walks away, its because they are an arrogant presumptious....

 

[Prince Caspian]

Well at least its nice to know if im selling something i have no idea the value of and ask for an offer then the person walks away, its because they are an arrogant presumptious....

Yep, just like the person selling it maybe should do some research and learn the value of what they are trying to sell.

Check please. I'm done with this argument. I stated my opinion. Don't like it? That's fine. But being rude and abusive does not make you persuasive.

 

[RavenWinterHawk]

I spend about 25 million a week stocking my vendors.

I have never bought anything from anyone saying offer.
I have never bought anything from someone listing stuff in their profile without a price.


I will spend millions, when someone says XXXXX for 1 million. If the price is fair. Ill buy them all.

No price, no business from me.

And the reverse, When Im buying items... I say buying dyes 200k. Drop a check on me.

When I put out a price. I get stuff.

 

[Kiminality]

Next time, offer them 2 fat pigs and a sheep.

Depending on what I'm selling, there's a chance I'd go for that offer.
A smile is worth more than pixels, ultimately.

 

[Jirel of Joiry]

What I hate is the Spammers that spam selling blah-blah-blah make offer, then when you make a offer they either keep on spamming or recall away without ever acknowledging your offer.

A note to said spammers: If you don't wanna sell your item then stop spamming you do; its UO not rocket science!!

Sorry for sounding cross but its rather irritating.

Jirel

 

[Lord Drakelord]

I go in LOW with the first "offer" and then we dicker from there.

 

[Gheed]

Why not just make a sensible offer, then walk away if they decline?
Seems more rational to me...

If someone is selling something through shout, they should know the ball park market value of the item. Or they should have some idea of an acceptable price range and sell at the high end of that range. But that isn't always true for the buyer. Because the buyer can't always run to the bank and find someone standing there selling what they want. If a buyer absolutely must have something... standing around at the bank waiting for someone to sell it would be the worst possible way to obtain it.

In my case, if I say "offer" (only, it would be more verbose), it's because I don't really care for the details of getting the very best trade.

If you are selling and know a ball park amount then the only logic behind "offer" is the hope that you can get more than what you think it's worth.

If you think something is worth 300-500k then sell it for 500k and accept less if you are willing. If you don't care for getting the very best trade then 300k would be an acceptable counter.

If you are just being lazy then 500k is one less key stroke than "offer" (several keystrokes if you were to be more verbose).

If you don't care for the details of getting the very best trade... well I'm not sure what that means so I am going to guess you were bored and picked something random up in your house to sell at the bank... then why should it matter if a buyer also doesn't care for the details of getting the very best trade?

If you are going to jerk them around because you don't care about their time enough to sell the item fast and be done with it. Then why get offended that they might waste your time being a smart arse?

 

[Kiminality]

You misunderstand me.
The sort of situation I'm talking about is, for example, if I see someone asking on the forums about a certain item, or someone at the bank looking for something.
If I have the item, and there's no need for me to keep it, then I'll be willing to sell it.

Since it holds no monetary value taking up a lockdown, I can't say "This is worth n gold to me", because I don't apply a value to everything I own.
They want it. I don't really.
The basis is therefore what it's worth to them.
It can ultimately be a judge of character. I'd much rather reward someone with the willingness to pay more, with a better deal, than to fleece all comers.

The trap you've fallen into, I'm afraid, is that assuming that all who trade would trade logically.
I have an item worth 1 million. You offer me 1.2, and that says to me that you are willing to pay above its value, because it has some importance to you, so I might say 800k.
If you say 800k, I might agree, but I'll probably say 1 million.
Basically, gold isn't the only factor in a trade, for me/

 

[Coppelia]

You misunderstand me.
The sort of situation I'm talking about is, for example, if I see someone asking on the forums about a certain item, or someone at the bank looking for something.
If I have the item, and there's no need for me to keep it, then I'll be willing to sell it.

Since it holds no monetary value taking up a lockdown, I can't say "This is worth n gold to me", because I don't apply a value to everything I own.
They want it. I don't really.
The basis is therefore what it's worth to them.
It can ultimately be a judge of character. I'd much rather reward someone with the willingness to pay more, with a better deal, than to fleece all comers.

The trap you've fallen into, I'm afraid, is that assuming that all who trade would trade logically.
I have an item worth 1 million. You offer me 1.2, and that says to me that you are willing to pay above its value, because it has some importance to you, so I might say 800k.
If you say 800k, I might agree, but I'll probably say 1 million.
Basically, gold isn't the only factor in a trade, for me/

Then you don't say "offer", you say "give what you think it's worth". Generally the buyer won't say "here's 3gp", but will thank your generosity by paying a good price and will be happy to pay it. Win-win.

 

[Kiminality]

Then you don't say "offer", you say "give what you think it's worth". Generally the buyer won't say "here's 3gp", but will thank your generosity by paying a good price and will be happy to pay it. Win-win.

That would be verbose enough for me...
*Haters one-word lines*
The "offer" part would usually come in a more convoluted package, effectively saying that.

 

[Gheed]

Ah ok I apologize. I did misunderstand. The OP was talking about a buyer approaching and advertising seller. If a seller is approaching and advertising buyer then "offer" is perfectly acceptable.

Yes I do expect folks to trade logically. I have learned how to sniff out bad buyers fast and end the negotiation.

These days tho most of my income is through vendors. The price is the price and there is no negotiating.