tire kickers

[ferro39]

Re: tire kickers

dont even get me started on craigslist. id say that for every 10 emails from people telling me that they will take an item, that maybe 1 or 2 actually come through. that's how bad it has become.

it's kind of a necessary evil for large items or for items that simply cant be shipped economically.

after my grandmother passed, i helped my family get rid of some of the contents of her home because they're not very computer savvy an it turned into a poop show. her house was about 15-20 minutes from mine, so whenever someone would set up a time to go over there and not show up, id basically wing up killing like 2 hours between travel time and hanging around.

one mook called me en route telling me that she would be there in 15 minutes and simply never showed up after that, and stopped answering her cell phone. this was after she begged me to sell her the item.

[Shipp_96]

Re: tire kickers

I am not sure what everyone else is selling, but when I do sell on ebay very rarely, I do try to sell some measure of higher end game used which is rare but on occassion I do this.

I will be honest, I really, really get annoyed when I have a BIN or BO and lets say I have a BIN price of $5000 and kid you not, I get BO of $500 - $800.00. I am not even going to waste my time countering on that ridiculous offer. It is one thing to put in a reasonable offer up front that is negotiable but if you are stupid enough to think anyone is going to accept a price at 15 - 20% of your BIN you probably should not be left out of your cage. Again, I don't know everyone else's selling practices, however I price my items even at BIN competitively with all other items of that type which have sold via major auction and or ebay over the past 12 - 18 months. I know some sellers way overprice items, I do not. My items are all premium highly graded and authenticated and quite frankly it is ridiculous to me that you as a buyer do not understand the market that you would insult a seller with offers like that.

I find that probably about 50% of the time, I actually get very competitive offers on premium items and often I am able to work something out when we are not far apart.

It really is as simple as you cannot account for stupidity and some people are either misinformed, trying to be funny, or just as mentioned kicking the tires and wasting their time and yours.

Joe

Being I try to clear the closet once a year, take a loss on some stuff and buy new items in my ever redefined collection, I see ebay also as a necessary evil. I share your point of view as well.

I had a GU helmet on there, and I paid $325 for it, had a BIN for $275 with free shipping, and honestly would take $230. I am very flexible with best offers, if someone comes close I will also work with them. Some clown out the gate offered me $99. I mean, I cannot make that up! WTF? I will not even amuse contacting someone like that, either.

Then I get the inevitable "why won't you pay customs, fill out a 6 page form and ship it overseas for me FOR FREE?" Even though I state do not even ask me to ship out of the USA. Again, why waste my time with the emails? Alot of time, they get testy, asking what is my justification for not selling to them in Japan, or the UK? I do not need to tell you my reasons!

I really loathe ebay, and am happy I only use it as little as I do these days.

[commando]

Re: tire kickers

Everyone loves to make a fast buck, and I think that more often than not these tire kickers are going for the quick flip (I'm talking about the ones who give ridiculous offers). They scan the eBay countryside, finding the GU items that catch their eye, and might toss offers to many sellers at the same time -- playing a numbers game (we all knew guys in high school like that.... Put yourself out there to 30 girls and maybe one will take the bait!)

So when you don't take their insulting offer, they're already contacting the next batch of sellers. They weren't really serious about your item in the first place.

As bad as this sounds, I do continue to hear stories about how this plan gets results for these lowballers from time to time. Another scenario is the serious collector who simply does not have the money for the item, but decides to go for the "hail mary" just to see what happens.

[ferro39]

Re: tire kickers

Then I get the inevitable "why won't you pay customs, fill out a 6 page form and ship it overseas for me FOR FREE?" Even though I state do not even ask me to ship out of the USA. Again, why waste my time with the emails? Alot of time, they get testy, asking what is my justification for not selling to them in Japan, or the UK? I do not need to tell you my reasons!.

not too long ago, i had a guy send me a long email wondering why i wouldnt send an item to canada. he made it sound like him buying the item was only a formality and that me not shipping to him was the only thing holding him back. he even made it a point to tell me how he lived in the town that the player grew up in so that it would be the perfect place for the jersey. it was a failry high-ticket item, so i didnt want to risk getting ripped off. we went back and forth a few times

finally, i relented and said that i would send it global priority with tracking and cover half of it. at that point, i never heard from him again.

[cohibasmoker]

Re: tire kickers

Maybe the "Items Wanted" section of this website could be changed to "Tire-Kickers". Is it me or has any member of this site ever had any success answering a thread in the "Items Wanted" section?

Just a thought - hope I didn't offend anyone.

Jim

[R.Mansfield]

Re: tire kickers

For those who are insulted by “low ball offers”, I have to ask why you accept are using the best offer feature on eBay? Just let the auction run its course or set a buy-it-now price?

I recently was watching a bat on eBay that started out with a $3400 or best offer price. This bat was way overpriced, but it was a bat that I wanted it with not too many on the market so I offered $1000 for it.

Well this offer set the seller off; we went back and forth a few times, personal attacks, vulgar language… Anyway I did not buy the bat, but kept an eye on it. Slowly over a period of 6-8 weeks the bat went to a buy-it-now price of $ 2800, $2400, $1800, $1600, $1400, and then back up to $1600 with a best offer option.

I ended up making a deal with the seller, using my wife’s eBay account and bought the bat for $1150. I would have been willing to buy the bat for more than my first offer of $1000, and I would have paid more than $1150, but by being patient I feel I got the bat for a good, fair price. Mike Specht was kind enough to complete a record check through his certification service and I am very happy with it.

For all of the tire kickers out there, there are just as many crazy sellers who are way out of touch with the market.

Just take a look at this thread, where I am considered a low-baller, by the same person who started this current thread.

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=22050&page=2&highlight=ruben+sier ra+bat

I remember at the time, Sierra bats were going for the price I offered. With the market now, I am glad he didn’t accept my price!

Russell Mansfield
batdna@sbcglobal.net

[Mark17]

Re: tire kickers

Maybe the "Items Wanted" section of this website could be changed to "Tire-Kickers". Is it me or has any member of this site ever had any success answering a thread in the "Items Wanted" section?

Just a thought - hope I didn't offend anyone.

Jim

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=41284

One of the fastest, easiest transactions I've ever completed was the sale of a beautiful 1973-75 Garvey GU8 bat to a forum member who posted in "Items Wanted."

[xpress34]

Re: tire kickers

Maybe the "Items Wanted" section of this website could be changed to "Tire-Kickers". Is it me or has any member of this site ever had any success answering a thread in the "Items Wanted" section?

Just a thought - hope I didn't offend anyone.

Jim

Jim -

Ask Ben (Gorilla777) about my Items Wanted post (which I just updated). I purchased a beautiful BiCentennial Larry Parrish LVS from him through my Wanted post.


- Smitty

P.S. - No Offense taken....

[CampWest]

Re: tire kickers - sellers too

I think this goes both ways... Has anyone been "tire-kicked" by sellers?

A lot of people know I collect certain players or am shopping for certain bats, so I get solicited to purchase items quite frequently. There have been more than a handful of times somebody has approached me with an item to sell and I've been dragged along for upwards of two or three years on a couple of items. They've said they want to sell an item, I review it and make an offer, the seller agrees the terms were fair and accepts the terms, but they have just never decided to part with it. I send payment and its refunded, I ask to confirm their paypal address and they tell me to hold off. Every few months they check back in and ask if I am still interested and I indicate the offer stands and I am ready to pay and they back out of selling again.

[ironmanfan]

Re: tire kickers

Maybe the "Items Wanted" section of this website could be changed to "Tire-Kickers". Is it me or has any member of this site ever had any success answering a thread in the "Items Wanted" section?

Just a thought - hope I didn't offend anyone.

Jim

I recently had a smooth transaction with someone who had posted they were seeking Corey Patterson items in the "Items Wanted" section....

[frikativ54]

Re: tire kickers

I recently had a smooth transaction with someone who had posted they were seeking Corey Patterson items in the "Items Wanted" section....

I've had great transactions on Items Wanted before. I actually have worked out many deals as the result of posting Want Ads.

[ferro39]

Re: tire kickers - sellers too

I think this goes both ways... Has anyone been "tire-kicked" by sellers?

i recently had a seller email me about an item i was looking for. when i asked for a price, i got the old, "i havent thought about it yet but feel free to make an offer" response. it was somewhat off-putting, so i was in no rush to do so (especially because the seller hadnt even given any specifics about the item). the next email i got was informing me that he had contacted a few people who were also interested in the item.

at that point, i asked for pictures and additional details. still havent seen them or even gotten a response back from the seller.

on the other end of things, i had one buyer negotiate a price with me on a jersey, ask for all kinds of pictures, and asking if i could mail the jersey out today. he sent me nothing short of 15 emails in a 24-hour period. after i went to sleep on saturday night, i even woke up to 3 different emails from him.

after it came time to buy, he hasnt emailed me in over a day

[frikativ54]

Re: tire kickers - sellers too

I think this goes both ways... Has anyone been "tire-kicked" by sellers?

A lot of people know I collect certain players or am shopping for certain bats, so I get solicited to purchase items quite frequently. There have been more than a handful of times somebody has approached me with an item to sell and I've been dragged along for upwards of two or three years on a couple of items. They've said they want to sell an item, I review it and make an offer, the seller agrees the terms were fair and accepts the terms, but they have just never decided to part with it. I send payment and its refunded, I ask to confirm their paypal address and they tell me to hold off. Every few months they check back in and ask if I am still interested and I indicate the offer stands and I am ready to pay and they back out of selling again.

This has happened to me more than once from various sellers. I am led to believe that someone has a game used item to sell; therefore, I make an offer. When I give someone a price, that individual doesn't reply or says they are thinking about it, often for months. Then, in many cases, you never hear back from the "seller."

While it's fine to change one's mind, I don't like to be jerked around as to if I am getting something. I think if a buyer makes an offer, he should be given the common courtesy of a reply in a decent amount of time. Sometimes these things go on for months. In a few cases, for years. So I definitely agree that sellers aren't the only ones being tire-kicked.

[Number13]

Re: tire kickers

As a newbie I hope I don't sound like one. Just trying to learn a bunch of stuff. At this point I hope I am ok. I'm just try to be as up front about things as possible. Thanks for everyone being so helpful so far and look forward to establishing great relationships on here.

[ferro39]

Re: tire kickers - sellers too

While it's fine to change one's mind, I don't like to be jerked around as to if I am getting something. I think if a buyer makes an offer, he should be given the common courtesy of a reply in a decent amount of time. Sometimes these things go on for months. In a few cases, for years. So I definitely agree that sellers aren't the only ones being tire-kicked.

that's pretty much it. what does it take to say that i changed my mind or that im no longer interested in dealing? and in what universe do people think that ignoring emails or simply never responding is an ok thing to do?

it literally takes 15 seconds to tell someone that you're going to pass.