a) A good negotiator doesn't walk away.

b) A good negotiator would much rather be negotiating the price up than have the other party in control and negotiating the price down.

I have used this tactic thousands of times.
The punch line:
* More than a few tried to go back to my original asking price...and finally paid 3+ times for the entitlement attitude.

.

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

In this case:
A sale is NOT a negotiation, unless the seller (ME) ALLOWS it...

.

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

What would you rather do:

a) Negotiate up from $3500.

b) Negotiate down from $6500.


You are in perfect control under the second scenario and have a good shot at getting $5K, or more. In the first scenario, it's going to be a struggle to get $5K.

The buyer is definitely not in control when you provide a price of $6500. You're definitely confused here.

Most successful sales are done via negotiation. Unless you're buying beer at the local supermarket, that's just how it's typically done.

You can always fight the commonly accepted practice and issue a FIRM price, but this is rarely a successful tactic. A buyer needs to be convinced to purchase your vehicle at the price you are asking (typically at or above market). He's not going to hand you your asking price because of your good looks.

Distract the buyer if it is a quality item. Simply by using your knowledge. Price can become a secondary consideration by the buyer if you are skilled. I will not sell junk anyways.

I fished small ponds with my kids from the little boat. A guy came and knocked on the door and ask how much I wanted for it. I told him it wasn't for sale.

He demanded I put a price on it. I said "$9000.00."

He said I can buy a new one just like that for 900.00 dollars. I said, "that's what you should do cause I'm going up to 10K on this one.

__________________
84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

Who has the most information about the other party's intentions? The seller has no idea what the prospective buyer was willing to pay.

A good negotiator would prefer to negotiate up from the buyers offer.

I would prefer to educate the buyer than have the buyer educate me.

I am not selling the 240D, unless they meet my FLAT price !!!

This is my DAILY DRIVER, I have zero interest - motivation for negotiation or compromise..

At the moment I am BUSY, and unwilling to waste precious time negotiating or building a replacement car.

Every time I hear "commonly accepted practice", I think of Lemmings.

.

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

A .. . Umm . . You are asking for and deserve any abuse you get from someone given the train of posts listed below. My comments below.

So a random person asks you if the car is for sale, you reply with an outrageous price. This leaves the random person to do what? Of course they are going to pick it apart. If you don't want to sell, don't tell the person that you are willing to sell the car!

Cars priced 3X over realistic value on Craigslist have their own thread on this site. . .


Point 1 from post 15 brings the previous 3X price back to market value.
Point 2 is valid no matter the situation, but if one values their item 3X market, expect some pushback.


So, at the moment you are unwilling to sell the car but you tell people that the car is for sale. Why not tell the person that you don't want to sell because you would just have to turn around and buy something else?


In other words, don't tell someone that the car is for sale , don't give a 3X price, don't be surprised when someone pushes back if you ignore the former.

Hey Roy, I know how you feel. But one time, I was fueling up the 190d at a pump in the suburbs of chicago and an an "interesting" character, reeking of cologne and with big clunky jewelry on, approached me and asked "how much you want for that mercedes?" I looked down at the car, and looked back and said "Sorry, it's not for sale." He seemed put-out. "What do you mean? Everything has a price." I responded with "Not this one. Not right now." He even got a little huffy "What, you don't think I'm good for it or something? I got money, and I can pay cash." I told him "Sorry, this one's not for sale. You might check online or ebay and see what turns up." He walked off mumbling something about "Stupid blah blah blah." I thought it was hilarious. BUT the point to this post is to tell the story about a guy in San Antonio.

Before we moved up here, we had to sell the wife's 1989 Honda Civic. There was a big open parking lot where people put cars with for sale signs in the windows. So, I typed up a nice description of all the major work that had been done on it (timing belt, water pump, brakes, battery, tires, tranny fluid and filter, cap, rotor, plugs, wires, etc. all in the last year or two.) And it only had 100K on the clock, and was in great shape. We looked up the blue book value, checked pricing for similar cars online and at local lots and decided on a price (I think we listed it for $1750 firm- an excellent price, but we didn't want to deal with tire kickers for very long. We got lots of calls, and most wanted to haggle. I said "we're firm on that price" before even going out to test drive it with people. Some asked "hey can I write you a check for it?" Answer "No." Tire kicker: "How about I give you $500 now, and the other $1000 over the next 2 months. Answer "No." Tire kicker "aw cmon man, what if I trade you $500 and my beanie baby collection, and give you the other $500 next month. Answer "No."

But the guy that took the cake said on the phone he wanted to "buy the car." We ask if he's sure, and he says "You can cancel all the other appointments you have because I just want to check it over briefly and buy it." So we actually DID cancel one appointment because this guy had actually called first, but told the girl who called that we would call her back if this guy didn't buy the car. So, we go meet the guy, and he shows up with a 3-ring binder and a book that says "how to make money dealing cars" or something like that- not kidding. He looks it over, takes notes. He checks the ac, he checks the heat, he tries the wipers, and all the light bulbs, he crawls around under it, he has us pop the trunk- he rolls around in there. He stares blankly at the purring motor and flips the pages in his book. He stares into the tailpipe. He flips around in his book some more. Then he starts asking absurd questions. Tire kicker: "How much rust has it got?" Answer: "None, as you can see. We're here in south central Texas and the car has never seen salt." Tire kicker: "You SAY that you put new tires on it, but these have some wear." Answer: "Here's a penny, go check for yourself. They have less than 10K on them, and we told you that you're getting receipts for all service done." He looks at the penny, and hands it back to me. I show him the tread depth. This goes on for 2 hours. He took it for a test drive, and then insisted we drive it while he sits and listens for noises, and another hour ticks by. Finally, I take him back to his car and say "Well. If you have the $1750 we can sign the title for you and call it a night." His response "Uh." Flips the pages in his book... "I'll give you $850 for it." I about tore his ****** head off. "What?!" I TOLD YOU we were firm on that price!" You have just wasted 3 hours of my time, and you're going to low ball me. His response was "OK, OK, uh... I'll give you $900." As we walked back to my car, I said "It's 1750 or no deal." His response "OK, I'll call you tomorrow then." I told him not to bother. The next day, we met with the college girl who absolutley loved the car, even my (then girlfriend's) peace decal on the back windshield, and couldn't stop hopping up and down over how much she liked the car. Her parents and older brother drove over to meet us, cash in hand. My girlfriend rode in the car and we drove back to her college dorm in a short convoy. As we drove off the girl was literally hugging the Civic and taking pictures of it with her phone. As we pulled up in our driveway at home, my girlfriend's cell phone rang, it was notebook boy, who said he was calling to offer $1000. She told him we had sold it to someone for $1750, he asked why we ddn't call him. He then offered $1850 for the car. We told him the car was sold. He offered $1875. We told him the car was sold and she was hanging up. He kept talking and she hung up on him.

So- I think Roy's method would have been helpful in that situation, and would have put the tire kickers off. Everyone wants a "good deal" but wasting people's time is not acceptable.

This is a prime example of the kind of person I sell a car to. Whenever I have sold any of my past cars i name a price and am firm on it and will not budge unless the buyer is a genuine person who will love the car as much as I have. I think all of the cars I sold went on to college kids as their first or second car.

qwerty writes:I honestly hope that offer doesn't exist. Only fools and desperate men can't say "No." But if you ever wonder if you can successfully buy and sell without getting the most out of every deal, I can give insights as to how and why it works.

So if you don't get the most for yourself in every transaction, you lose? That's greed. It's accompanied by the fear that you could have gotten a better deal or that you got taken, and conflict when you view the other party as an opponent.

It's rare that I negotiate after a very brief exchange. I definitely don't approach it with that type of "win" and "lose" attitude. When buying I know how I value an item and I know what I can afford. I set an amount of money aside before I start buying and that's what I'll pay. I generally only look at items priced at or below what I am willing to pay. But if a seller tries to make me pay more, I say that I can only pay what I've offered. They will choose to accept or end the discussion. Financially, I care nothing about what they get, how they look at the deal, the hard times they've fallen upon, or what the item's worth to them. If I pay more than I can afford, then I lose.

When selling I've already named my price because items I have for sale have a price associated with them. I price the item fairly because I'm not interested in negotiating and wasting time. If someone offers a lower number, it will be acceptable or below my lowest figure and my answer is "yes" or "no" as appropriate. When asked to name a price in any way, I mention that I've already named a price, and it's on the sign / ad. Financially I care nothing of how much they can afford, how their sick grandmother is faring, or what they think of me as a seller. If I accept less than my minimum, I lose.

I absolutely won't negotiate with a person I have no respect for but when wheelin' n dealin' is the game, I have no problem naming a price. It signifies time to "git down to business." Damn foolish to spend excess time trying to outwit or out angle the other guy when the point is pretty clearly to buy / sell an item. It's rare that I enjoy that game but I can and will play it. I know I'm human and I have entertaining stories both on the "win" and "lose" sides.

I completely agree with whunter and others who feel no need to put up with insults and poor attitude in order to make a sale. There is far more at stake than money when people approach me that way. If a person chooses to insult me or my sense of value in the pursuit of better pricing he is invited to go elsewhere. I have also raised my asking price (or lowered my offer) when pressured to negotiate and like others, have found interesting successes after very entertaining reactions.

Here's a story. I have a '67 Chevelle. The body and frame have very little rust and are in fair shape. There's no engine or trans, the interior is minimal, and the hood is missing. I have plans for it that do not include selling it. When asked if it's for sale, I say something like this: "I want a '67 Chevelle. Since I already own one that I can build I'd be foolish to sell it and buy another project. If I sell it, I'm going to get enough to buy a finished version. With that in mind, my selling price is $25k." Including the logic allows people to understand what would otherwise be an outlandish price. It sounds like whunter's reasoning behind his "sell for" price is similar. Very understandable.

As I previously mentioned, with commercial items where a comparable is available, there are very few cases where the seller will offer up a price BELOW what the buyer is willing to pay. It might happen in rare cases, but, realistically, this possibility can be dismissed.



You would be in a weakened position negotiating up from $3500. Negotiating down from $6500. is far more preferable.

If you want to educate the buyer, you give him a high price and educate him on why he should pay it. If you want the buyer to educate you, you take the low price he gives and now fight to bring it up.

Again, you've got it backwards.

My reasoning is applied at every used car lot in the country. There must be some method to their madness. None of those salesman wait for the buyer to lowball them.

The point of "zero interest" means that you don't really want to sell the vehicle. Therefore, any discussion regarding the fine points of selling is somewhat moot.

If you strongly desire to sell it, standing on a "firm price" is never the best approach, despite the fact that it is the simplest and causes the least stress to the seller.