Stop the "shady used car salesman" BS

[MarkoD]

Lately I've been seeing for sale threads with people selling things without a price and saying "make me an offer"

I think those threads should be deleted without warning.

It's like these people are expecting to trick someone into paying more than what it's worth.

What's worse is "send me an offer, but I won't tolerate low balls"

Ugh drives me bananas

/rant

[FishyFishy!]

YOU KNOW WHAT REALLY GRINDS MY GEARS!!!?????? <<Family Guy reference>>

I also hate when people ask retail for something used. Or entire setups for more than they are worth.

If they don't post an asking price, it should be deleted.

If they ask more than it's worth, we should be able to flame without consiquence lol.

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by FishyFishy!

YOU KNOW WHAT REALLY GRINDS MY GEARS!!!?????? <<Family Guy reference>>

I also hate when people ask retail for something used. Or entire setups for more than they are worth.

If they don't post an asking price, it should be deleted.

If they ask more than it's worth, we should be able to flame without consiquence lol.

I know what you mean. Even selling brand new things (not from a store) for the same price as retail at a store is stupid.

There are obvious benefits to buying from a store. Like a return policy, warranty support, post purchase support, etc.

[marie]

Geez, it's not like you are being forced to buy anything. If you think they're asking too much don't buy it.....simple

[MarkoD]

But if I'm interested and there's no price and it's asking for an offer?

[marie]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

But if I'm interested and there's no price and it's asking for an offer?

So make a fair offer, one based on research and what you are willing to pay for it.

[sphelps]

I think the make me an offer tends to come from inexperience with the seller having little idea what something is worth in the used market. It comes from fear of asking too much or too little or perhaps an attempt to gauge the market. I don't think it's a shady scam type method.

Asking too much comes from a few mistakes. One is the false assumption an aquarium is an investment or really holds any initial value what so ever. An established aquarium no matter how well established it not really worth any where near its original cost. Another common mistake is the price asked for custom aquariums, these are far more costly to build than standard units however they are really only custom to the original buyer and this value rarely transitions to a second owner. The last mistake I'll mention is total money invested, often listed it rarely serves a purpose as we all know what we invest and what we end up keeping and using are usually completely different things. I think a good bench mark for used price point is half retail with exception to some higher end equipment that sometimes holds better value.

On the topic we can also make a note regarding package deals. This happens all the time and people are constantly harassed for doing this. First those people harassing, just stop, it's against guidelines and honestly more annoying than the original post. If you're actually interested in components then PM the guy, if not you have zero business posting. Even if you really want to help with your vast knowledge of sales then again PM the guy, you're only causing grief to mods to have to continuously delete your posts and clean up such threads. In regards to sellers if you insist on selling a package make sure it's a deal, this should be in the ball park of half retail for all equipment unless condition and quality in no doubt justifies more value. When livestock is involved you might want to consider it a bonus for a quick sale, it's very tricky to purchase a fully operating system from someone and transport everything safely which is always left to the buyer. If time permits selling livestock first piece by piece is best approach to insuring best possible return and the safe relocation of your collection.