"What's the lowest you can go" is not a clever bargaining technique. Don't even bother trying this; nothing betrays your amateur status more than asking a buyer his or her lowest price.
Many Craigslist and garage sale buyers attempt this "technique," I assume because they have limited exposure to real bargaining situations. I refuse to respond to it as the buyer's goal is obvious: to try to worm out what the seller's actual minimum price is and then bargain down from there.
If someone asks me this question, I invite them to make an offer on the item. I ignore them when they insist I tell them my price; I am not going to fall for a technique as weak as this.
Please, don't try this technique. You will just end up insulting anyone who knows what they are doing and make yourself look bad in the process.
Showing posts with label Craigslist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Craigslist. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Items to Look for: Textbooks, Continued
On Saturday I discussed criteria for determining if a textbook is a good investment. Today I'm going to talk about pricing textbooks for both buying and selling.
When buying books, it's important to know if it's worth the investment before you purchase it. As I said in my last post, if the book is older than four years, don't bother checking it; it's almost guaranteed to be outdated.
What's worth the investment varies from person to person. If I can get a book for $0.10 to resell it for a $7.50 profit, I'm fine with that. Some people require larger profits to be bothered to list the book, take it to the post office, etc. Remember that Amazon's fees and shipping add up quickly; your profit is equal to the books selling price * (1 - 0.15 in fees) - the book's initial cost (ie, how much you paid for it at the garage sale) - $2.34 in fees + $3.99 shipping credit - ~$3-$5 shipping fees. So, if you sell a book you bought for $2 for $20 on Amazon, you're really only making ~$12.50 after shipping. It's important you do the math before you make the purchase so you don't end up making an investment that loses you money.
When buying textbooks, it's very important you don't overspend. Had you spent $10 on that hypothetical textbook from above, your profit would drop to less than $5. Like everything else, be conservative: try to make your purchase as cheap as possible.
Personally, unless I am very sure I can sell the textbook very quickly for a fair sum, I am unwilling to invest more than $0.15 on it. Spending $0.50 on a book on March 3rd in which I had no idea of its value was very unusual for me; usually in this situation I wouldn't spend more than $0.10. For whatever reason I felt like taking a gamble; it paid off as the book sold for more than $28 after fees and shipping.
I employ two venues for selling textbooks: Amazon and Craigslist. I use Amazon when I'm more interested in a quick sale than I am in making a little more money; I also use it when I have failed to find a buyer on Craigslist. Like selling on Craigslist, the trade-off effect is very present: you are more likely to get more money if you're willing to wait.
Textbook prices on Amazon don't seem to fluctuate like video game prices, so listing your book in the middle and simply waiting for it to be sold doesn't seem to work. I have noticed, however, that people are willing to spend more for a book in better condition or for a book from a seller with good feedback. Obviously, don't lie about the book's condition (this will only get you negative feedback), but a good way to build good feedback is to list like-new books at the low price.
When pricing a book on Amazon, I usually don't list it at the lowest price. Instead, I price it six to eight cents cheaper than the fifth or sixth cheapest copy. This way, I'm still on the first page of used copies but I'm making a few more dollars than sellers at the top of the list.
I sell books on Craigslist in the following situations:
When buying books, it's important to know if it's worth the investment before you purchase it. As I said in my last post, if the book is older than four years, don't bother checking it; it's almost guaranteed to be outdated.
What's worth the investment varies from person to person. If I can get a book for $0.10 to resell it for a $7.50 profit, I'm fine with that. Some people require larger profits to be bothered to list the book, take it to the post office, etc. Remember that Amazon's fees and shipping add up quickly; your profit is equal to the books selling price * (1 - 0.15 in fees) - the book's initial cost (ie, how much you paid for it at the garage sale) - $2.34 in fees + $3.99 shipping credit - ~$3-$5 shipping fees. So, if you sell a book you bought for $2 for $20 on Amazon, you're really only making ~$12.50 after shipping. It's important you do the math before you make the purchase so you don't end up making an investment that loses you money.
When buying textbooks, it's very important you don't overspend. Had you spent $10 on that hypothetical textbook from above, your profit would drop to less than $5. Like everything else, be conservative: try to make your purchase as cheap as possible.
Personally, unless I am very sure I can sell the textbook very quickly for a fair sum, I am unwilling to invest more than $0.15 on it. Spending $0.50 on a book on March 3rd in which I had no idea of its value was very unusual for me; usually in this situation I wouldn't spend more than $0.10. For whatever reason I felt like taking a gamble; it paid off as the book sold for more than $28 after fees and shipping.
I employ two venues for selling textbooks: Amazon and Craigslist. I use Amazon when I'm more interested in a quick sale than I am in making a little more money; I also use it when I have failed to find a buyer on Craigslist. Like selling on Craigslist, the trade-off effect is very present: you are more likely to get more money if you're willing to wait.
Textbook prices on Amazon don't seem to fluctuate like video game prices, so listing your book in the middle and simply waiting for it to be sold doesn't seem to work. I have noticed, however, that people are willing to spend more for a book in better condition or for a book from a seller with good feedback. Obviously, don't lie about the book's condition (this will only get you negative feedback), but a good way to build good feedback is to list like-new books at the low price.
When pricing a book on Amazon, I usually don't list it at the lowest price. Instead, I price it six to eight cents cheaper than the fifth or sixth cheapest copy. This way, I'm still on the first page of used copies but I'm making a few more dollars than sellers at the top of the list.
I sell books on Craigslist in the following situations:
- I know the book is used at a university in my area
- It's an older edition or it's worthless on Amazon
- I don't mind holding on to the book to potentially make more money
First of all, it's almost guaranteed you will make more money selling books on Craigslist than you will on Amazon. I've had people pay me $40 on Craigslist for a book that starts at $0.01 on Amazon. Furthermore, many students are willing to buy older versions of their books; I've had many students happy to spend $30 for the 4th edition of a book in its 4th edition that costs $150.
Perhaps the best part about selling books on Craigslist is that there's little competition. You can set your book at $50 and people will offer $40 and be happy, whereas on Amazon the book may start at $20 and there may be thirty sellers trying to sell the book for $20-$50; in this situation your copy would never even be looked at at $50.
I usually base my Craigslist asking price on the lowest Amazon price for the current edition of the book. I usually price my copy two and a half times the Amazon low price; so, for example, if the Amazon low price is $30, I will list it at $80 with a disclaimer that I will consider all reasonable offers. This way, the buyer will offer $50 and I will counter at $60. I still walk away with a good profit (even better considering I didn't have to pay Amazon's fees) and the buyer is happy.
If the Amazon low for a textbook is less than $5 I will list my copy at $20. If someone offers $10 I'll take it.
Friday, February 24, 2012
A Laughable Bargaining Technique
The intelligence of the average Craigslister is approximately equal to that of the average Youtube commenter; ie, on par with the garden snail. I have seen a number of ludicrous bargaining techniques from these people but the one I will discuss below is definitely the most humorous.
Several extreme lowballers with whom I have conversed have attempted to justify their lowballing because they would be "paying [me] in cash." As in, "I'll give you $30 for this item you have listed at $120 because I'm giving you cash."
Dumb Craigslisters, if you are reading this, pay attention. Your lowballing is not justified by your paying cash. Cash is the only form of payment I'll accept. I won't accept your check (I have no way of knowing if it's good or not) and I certainly won't accept a barter for something less fluid than cash.
When people send me emails like this, I simply respond that cash is the only form of payment I accept so their offer is stupid (I'm not always that blunt; it depends how I'm feeling that day). I usually won't even offer them a counter; I'll wait for them to make a second offer and then counter that so they're at the disadvantage.
Craigslist people make me angry sometimes.
Several extreme lowballers with whom I have conversed have attempted to justify their lowballing because they would be "paying [me] in cash." As in, "I'll give you $30 for this item you have listed at $120 because I'm giving you cash."
Dumb Craigslisters, if you are reading this, pay attention. Your lowballing is not justified by your paying cash. Cash is the only form of payment I'll accept. I won't accept your check (I have no way of knowing if it's good or not) and I certainly won't accept a barter for something less fluid than cash.
When people send me emails like this, I simply respond that cash is the only form of payment I accept so their offer is stupid (I'm not always that blunt; it depends how I'm feeling that day). I usually won't even offer them a counter; I'll wait for them to make a second offer and then counter that so they're at the disadvantage.
Craigslist people make me angry sometimes.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Craigslist Bargaining 101
I like to think I know how Craigslist works. I've probably had more than 80 sales in my lifetime; I had more than twenty sales in 2011 and I've already had six sales in 2012. Hell, I made over $1000 on Craigslist in summer of 2010 selling textbooks I fished out of a dumpster but that's a story for a completely different blog.
In my last post I mentioned that I disagree with the "How to Survive Price Negotations on Craigslist" discussion over at recraigslist.com. I don't think the author is incorrect; the guy is clearly an expert. Actually, given his circumstances, I feel he's totally right; selling things on Craigslist is his profession and by lowering his cost he is reducing his income. However, for those of us who pursue garage saling as a hobby, reselling purchases is just a bonus (icing on the cake, if you will) so his rules don't exactly apply to us. I will now discuss my preferred method for selling stuff on Craigslist.
For us hobbyists; moving items isn't our primary goal. We can afford to hold onto purchases for longer because we're not depending on the money to pay the rent. We can therefore focus on maximizing our returns
When I list an item on Craigslist, the first thing I do is figure out how much money I want to get for it. From here, I set my asking price. For textbooks it's anywhere from two to two and a half times my minimum; for everything else it's between one and a half and two times my minimum.
High prices serve two purposes. For one, they scare off lowballers, or at least most of them. Two, they let me negotiate. Everyone loves a good deal and people think they're getting a good deal when they can reduce your prices (why do you think some department stores have sales so frequently?).
I inflate my prices to give myself breathing room. Say, for example, I want $40 minimum for an item. I will list it at $80 so when someone offers $40 we can settle at $60. I get more than my minimum and the buyer thinks he or she is getting a bargain. If no one bites at $80, I can lower my price to $60, someone will offer $40, and we'll settle at $45 or $50.
Ryan, the author at recraigslist, doesn't have this luxury. Ryan is focused on moving as many items as possible and the only way to have really rapid turnaround on Craigslist is to offer really good deals. He can't afford to inflate his prices so he can't afford to bargain.
One instance in which you should not bargain is when you have already agreed upon a price with the buyer. If you reduce your price for the buyer either via phone or email and he or she shows up wanting you to reduce your price further, put your foot down. If you've already bargained once you should never settle for bargaining twice.
In my last post I mentioned that I disagree with the "How to Survive Price Negotations on Craigslist" discussion over at recraigslist.com. I don't think the author is incorrect; the guy is clearly an expert. Actually, given his circumstances, I feel he's totally right; selling things on Craigslist is his profession and by lowering his cost he is reducing his income. However, for those of us who pursue garage saling as a hobby, reselling purchases is just a bonus (icing on the cake, if you will) so his rules don't exactly apply to us. I will now discuss my preferred method for selling stuff on Craigslist.
For us hobbyists; moving items isn't our primary goal. We can afford to hold onto purchases for longer because we're not depending on the money to pay the rent. We can therefore focus on maximizing our returns
When I list an item on Craigslist, the first thing I do is figure out how much money I want to get for it. From here, I set my asking price. For textbooks it's anywhere from two to two and a half times my minimum; for everything else it's between one and a half and two times my minimum.
High prices serve two purposes. For one, they scare off lowballers, or at least most of them. Two, they let me negotiate. Everyone loves a good deal and people think they're getting a good deal when they can reduce your prices (why do you think some department stores have sales so frequently?).
I inflate my prices to give myself breathing room. Say, for example, I want $40 minimum for an item. I will list it at $80 so when someone offers $40 we can settle at $60. I get more than my minimum and the buyer thinks he or she is getting a bargain. If no one bites at $80, I can lower my price to $60, someone will offer $40, and we'll settle at $45 or $50.
Ryan, the author at recraigslist, doesn't have this luxury. Ryan is focused on moving as many items as possible and the only way to have really rapid turnaround on Craigslist is to offer really good deals. He can't afford to inflate his prices so he can't afford to bargain.
One instance in which you should not bargain is when you have already agreed upon a price with the buyer. If you reduce your price for the buyer either via phone or email and he or she shows up wanting you to reduce your price further, put your foot down. If you've already bargained once you should never settle for bargaining twice.
Monday, January 23, 2012
A Note on Craigslist
In the last few posts I have discussed using Craigslist and in the future, as I discuss reselling more frequently, I will mention more of my own Craigslist experiences.
Please, please do not use Craigslist. It is a scary place with weird people. I personally had A Very Bad Experience (caps intentional) with a buyer March of last year that made me very glad I met the guy in a heavily-populated, well-lit location with a friend. I was still afraid of being arrested and/or shanked. People get murdered at Craigslist deals. And scammed. Seriously, it's not worth it. Use eBay or Amazon.
I am using my Craigslist anecdotes only as demonstrations of bargaining and reselling techniques. I do not condone your use of Craigslist. In fact, I disapprove. I take no responsibility should you use Craigslist and be hurt, scammed, murdered, etc. Seriously, don't do it.
Please, please do not use Craigslist. It is a scary place with weird people. I personally had A Very Bad Experience (caps intentional) with a buyer March of last year that made me very glad I met the guy in a heavily-populated, well-lit location with a friend. I was still afraid of being arrested and/or shanked. People get murdered at Craigslist deals. And scammed. Seriously, it's not worth it. Use eBay or Amazon.
I am using my Craigslist anecdotes only as demonstrations of bargaining and reselling techniques. I do not condone your use of Craigslist. In fact, I disapprove. I take no responsibility should you use Craigslist and be hurt, scammed, murdered, etc. Seriously, don't do it.
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