Dickering on guns

[Randy Johnson]

In the post below about the Conner Longrifles show this weekend (Feb 17-18) I  have mentioned a rifle I will have for sale.
It is a TVM Tennessee rifle in .36 that has been fired less than fifty times. I bought it new at Friendship back when Matt Avance still maintained a booth on Commercial Row. I believe it has a wood upgrade that would put the new price at $1300+. Included in the deal is the bag, horn, and most of what it takes to shoot it. The extras are worth well over $100.
The price for the whole set up is $750. Not asking price, price. I think this is a hell of a deal. I also think, make that know, that if I wanted $250 instead of $750 there are those who, instead of jumping on a great deal, would offer me less and let it go if I wouldn't "deal". I haven't done so in the past, but my way of dealing with folks like this in the future will be raising the price by the same amount they have tried to low ball me.
When I am on the buying end I will walk away if the price is simply too high or, even if fair is more than I want to pay. But I don't try to talk guys down from a fair asking price, and I sure as hell would never offer half or less of what I know something is worth.
What about the rest of you?

 

[BrownBear]

Not asking price, price. I think this is a hell of a deal. I also think, make that know, that if I wanted $250 instead of $750 there are those who, instead of jumping on a great deal, would offer me less and let it go if I wouldn't "deal". I haven't done so in the past, but my way of dealing with folks like this in the future will be raising the price by the same amount they have tried to low ball me.

That's me to a T. Guys want to dicker, go elsewhere.  The price is the price and I put a lot of thought into it.  I like your idea of pumping the price every time they try to cut it. Consider it done from now on when dealing with me!

When I am on the buying end I will walk away if the price is simply too high or, even if fair is more than I want to pay. But I don't try to talk guys down from a fair asking price, and I sure as hell would never offer half or less of what I know something is worth.
What about the rest of you?

I'm not going to insult anyone by offering less than they're asking. If I don't like their price, I'll walk. If they intended to get less, let them put that on the piece in the first place.

Yup, I'm a hardass. Been that way all my life and not going to change just to suit what someone else thinks is right.

 

[patocazador]

I know a guy who put his jon boat with outboard up for sale. He parked it along a busy hiway with a sign asking $2500. After a week he raised the price to $2600. Guys stopped and started bitching that he was supposed to lower the price, not raise it. He walked over to the sign and put down $2700. 
One of the guys bought his boat for $2700.  :twisted:

 

[Muley Hunter]

I use a different method. I'll make the price a bit higher than I really want. Let them offer what I really want. Everybody is happy and my item is sold.

When I put something up for sale the goal is to get it sold. Not to show how tough I am.

 

[Randy Johnson]

When I put something up for sale the goal is to get it sold. Not to show how tough I am.

I don't feel like I'm trying to show how tough I am by offering a great deal and sticking to it. I am willing to bet that retail on the rifle I am selling would be $1000 easy. I'm asking $250 less than that with a high quality bag and horn thrown in.
Story. 
Back in the early eighties I had been buying guns like crazy and needed to thin the herd a little. One that I decided to get rid of was a .45 Issac Haines made from a Wayne Dunlap kit. Nice wood, swamped barrel. The kit at the time was selling for $495. I was selling the gun as used although it had been shot very little and looked brand new for $500. There was a kid on primitive that wanted it so bad he could taste it, but he was one of those who needed to feel some kind of victory by getting an even better deal than I was offering.
I usually commute to Friendship, and when I left that day I left the rifle with Karl Wilborn (K&W Horns for those of you who remember back that far) who hung it in his booth, tacking $50 on for himself. Price of the rifle was now $550. When I went back the next day, Karl handed me $500. Wayne Dunlap had bought it back had it was hanging in his booth for $850. It has always been my hope that young feller on primitive learned a valuable lesson about looking a gift horse in the mouth. He had most of the week to look at the rifle and reflect on how it could have been his for $350 less. 
If only I hadn't been so tough.

 

[Muley Hunter]

Could be I wasn't referring to you. Read all the posts.

 

[Randy Johnson]

I did read all the posts. Aside from mine and yours there were only two. Both of them were pretty much in the same vein as mine, so I guess you could have been addressing any of the three of us.

 

[heelerau]

Personally I don't like dickering for gear, if I like the price I pay it, if not I walk away.  You are quite right,  some people just have to beat you down what ever the price. Some might even ask you to pay them to take a gift hoss away if it was offered for free !!

 

[Randy Johnson]

Some might even ask you to pay them to take a gift hoss away if it was offered for free !!

I actually saw that on a Facebook yard sale style page.
Some girl wanted furniture and appliances donated and needed them delivered because she didn't have a car.

 

[exMember]

I dickered on a powder horn years ago and I got it for what I was willing to pay. At rendezvous, the prices are ALWAYS higher because they expect you to dicker and do the tire kicking.

 

[dbowling2]

A lot of guys add a little to a gun or whatever they are selling just so they can come down to what they really want for the gun(the art of dickering), its all a part of dealing same as buying a used car..I never offer someone a ridiculous price for their stuff just what I think is fair..
 I've bought 1200.00 custom recurves for 4-5 hundred bucks that were only a couple yrs old and the reason was the market didn't care what was fair as no one had any money and stuff wasn't selling which is basically how the bow/muzzleloader market has been for the last 2-3 yrs.

 

[strong eagle]

i sold off 15 custom sidelocks i made. i had one price and it was fair. i wouldnt even answer of talk to anyone who didnt see that price. they are not worth the time or effort. now i see them being resold now and then on the internet for more money i asked. i have a couple of acres of land for building sites for sale, anyone who says anything smart or neg. is hung up on right away.some people are just donkeys, and i and you dont need to talk to them. sounds like you had quite a gun for sale at a very fair price.

 

[RhinoDave]

If I'm interested in a particular item, I always ask if the price is negotiable. If yes then I will make an offer but only if the seller is agreeable. Some people like to bargain and some don't. This is true for both buyers and sellers. I see nothing wrong with asking politely if the price negotiable. I would never just make an offer without asking first. If it is not and I feel the price is too high I just thank the seller and move on. I have run into more than a few rude  sellers that I just shrug off and move on.

 

[Marty1]

I don't buy and trade firearms regularly like some, but still have a few that I have yet to purchase.  I like RhinoDave's approach to ask first if the price is negotiable.  

For those of you that do dicker on price and buy/sell regularly, do you only dicker on used firearms or new as well :?:

 

[Smokin' Joe]

I'm pretty skilled in the "art of negotiation".....I buy high and sell low!  (My wife rolls her eyes at me alot too). :shock:

 

[Muley Hunter]

I did read all the posts. Aside from mine and yours there were only two. Both of them were pretty much in the same vein as mine, so I guess you could have been addressing any of the three of us.

Only one claimed to be a hardass about it.

I don't think using a method that too rigid on the price is a good plan to sell something. Let the buyer think he's getting a better deal makes more sense. All you should care about is getting your price. All the buyer cares about is getting a deal. You can both get what you want if you price it right.

It's how auto dealers operate. New and used.

 

[Randy Johnson]

Only one claimed to be a hardass about it.

Yes, and he said my feelings fit him to T.

It's how auto dealers operate. New and used.

It is, and it is why I absolutely hate buying a new car.
Another story.
Back in 2008 I was doing some online shopping for a car. I found one I liked, and called. I explained that I wasn't into haggling, that I wanted the absolute bottom price on the car I was interested in. The guy quoted the price listed on the website. When I said I was going to shop a little more the dude made a MAJOR mistake. He told me that if I got a better price somewhere else to give him a chance to beat it. In making that statement he admitted that he could have given me a lower price to start with. And in doing so lost my business.
It all comes down to the fact that some insist on haggling and some refuse to. If I want to sell something I offer it at a more than fair price. If the buyer want's it for less he or she is certainly free to try somewhere else. But if someone like me who will not indulge in dickering on either side of the fence shows interest and then walks away because they don't want to pay more than I would sell for, we both lose. I would regret losing  the sale to them. I would not mind losing a sale to someone who thinks I have some kind of obligation to lower an already super bargain price just to feed their ego.

 

[Muley Hunter]

We all have what we like. I like to dicker in selling and buying. If I see something I want at a fair price i'll just buy it. If I think the price is high and the seller doesn't. We don't deal. Not a big deal for me.

It's what auctions are all about. No set price.

 

[Hylander]

I'm pretty skilled in the "art of negotiation".....I buy high and sell low!  (My wife rolls her eyes at me alot too). :shock:

I'm right there with you  :slaps:

 

[Hylander]

I like negotiating, buying or selling.
I just bought a new pistol for a song and dance today.
Seller got what he wanted and I got a great deal.