Low-ball Offers and All That

[bovinehost]

Listen, someone has to clear this up and being the moderator, I guess it really should fall to me.

Some folks already have a bit of a reputation around ye olde internetz as people who make lowball offers and then frequently turn the instrument around at a higher price. Some people don't mind the lowball offers and some people do. Some people will tell you 'no thanks' and others - with a lot of experience around the internetz - will choose to ignore the offer and might even get a little offended.

Me, I'd probably ignore it, too, but then I've been at this a while.

The thing is - there's a sense of community and, well, brotherhood, as hokey as that might sound about a bunch of people that for the most part have never met each other, but it's true nonetheless. So there aren't many of us who are in this to turn a profit. God knows I never have. And I don't think there's anything wrong with making a buck, either, but maybe not off someone who's selling a bass to fund a kid's playground.

Especially not if the bass is priced right to begin with.

I think this is good for everyone to understand. This isn't eBay. Everyone here, for the most part, understands what fair market value is for any given used EBMM bass (or guitar).

Hell, a bunch of us may even know what any particular used bass sold for and where it came from and who had it along the way.

So let's not lowball anyone. If hard times are upon you, that's one thing. If you're looking to sell the bass for a profit, this ain't the place.

Jack

 

[Big Poppa]

Amen I dont know the background but someone tries to mess with a family member is going to be in deep doo doo....

Especially on the bass Rex is selling........Here is a forum member that has helped more people out and keeps it quiet...now he is selling a prized bass to fund a playground and you think you can take advantage of that?///////

 

[strummer]

That sucks, don't mess with our family!

 

[Smakbass]

The prices I see up there are all more than fair.

 

[RitchieDarling]

amen i dont know the background but someone tries to mess with a family member is going to be in deep doo doo....

Especially on the bass rex is selling........here is a forum member that has helped more people out and keeps it quiet...now he is selling a prized bass to fund a playground and you think you can take advantage of that?///////

+1

 

[powersM3]

I'm confused......(as usual).

What is the phrase "more than fair" meant to convey?

1. A resoanble price.
2. Higher than "market value".
3. Lower than "market value"
4. something else.

John.

 

[Smakbass]

Somewhere between 1 and 3.

 

[five7]

I had a good friend who was in the banking business for 30 years. He handled bad loans the bank had made. He told me the value of something is what someone is willing to pay for it at that moment. During these hard times, what is the value of something. It is what someone is willing to pay for it. Cash is cash! So, if you only have one potential buyer and he offers you cash that is what it is worth! Now, if you have several potential buyers and one of them offers you half of what everyone else offers, that would be considered a low ball offer! Don't sell it to them. I buy and sell stuff all the time and I get plenty of low ball offers on things I am selling. It doesn't make me mad. I believe there is at least one right buyer for everything. I just have to find them and then be ready to sell it to them or plan on hanging on to it for a long time. If someone offering you money makes you mad, you need to get a new outlook on life.

 

[mynan]

Cash is cash! So, if you only have one potential buyer and he offers you cash that is what it is worth!

So I offer you $10 for your bass. Is that all it's worth? Not sure I follow your logic.

 

[Russel]

It's like a clip on necktie. You know better.

I hate it when this stuff happens.

 

[bizmarckie]

So I offer you $10 for your bass. Is that all it's worth? Not sure I follow your logic.

+1
There's always someone out there who wants to pay a bicycle price for a car, but that doesn't determine the value of the car... it still has an intrinsic value based on market, comps, etc; hence Bluebook.

 

[johnfrazier]

So I offer you $10 for your bass. Is that all it's worth? Not sure I follow your logic.

If you offer him $10 for his bass, and he accepts $10 for the bass, then the bass is worth $10 to both of you. $10 may not reflect the actual value of the bass, but it represents the value of the bass to the two parties involved in that particular transaction. That's how I interpret what he's saying.

However, lowballing Rex when he's trying to do something good is just bad news. Why not pay the asking price and revel in the good karma every time you pick up that Stingray?

 

[Bassmanslap]

if you offer him $10 for his bass, and he accepts $10 for the bass, then the bass is worth $10 to both of you. $10 may not reflect the actual value of the bass, but it represents the value of the bass to the two parties involved in that particular transaction. That's how i interpret what he's saying.

However, lowballing rex when he's trying to do something good is just bad news. Why not pay the asking price and revel in the good karma every time you pick up that stingray?

+1

 

[RobertB]

It's interesting that this has come up. I've currently got a bass listed in the FS thread, and have listed a few others there before. Every time I've gotten lowball offers (and it's happened with every bass, of course), I've gone through a similar sequence of thoughts/reactions - something like this:

1> "Dude, don't waste my time and insult me, my bass, and EBMM with this bs lowball offer. Have some dignity and self respect."
2> "Oh well, guess you can't blame a guy for tryin, but ... DENIED"

I like the idea of just ignoring them altogether - I think I'll do that if/when it happens again. I typically reply though, usually just saying "no" and skipping any further comment. A few times (because the offers were so ridicuous), I've said sorta passive-aggressively that I'd much sooner keep the bass than ever let it go at that price, no matter how badly I wanted/needed the money.

Point is, I've felt compelled to post and see how other folks felt about this issue, but didn't (or just hadn't yet). On the one hand, it's kinda like, it happens and it's no surprise.

But dammit I'm glad Jack posted this, cause it IS lame and offensive, and especially in a case like this.

 

[MrMusashi]

his price for the blue dawn was more than fair enough!

MrM

 

[MrMusashi]

aight.. ive given this some thought..

the good mr silverburst once organized a chip-in for jack, maybe its time for karma to do its thang??

ive sent some money to rex' paypal account.. for those interested in doing the same thing give me a pm.. not sure i want to post his paypal in public..

MrM

 

[five7]

If I needed to sell my bass to feed my family and I had no other offers I might consider $10. My bass is not for sale at the moment, but I do appreciate your offer!

 

[silverburst]

Hello

Thank you for the offer, but I do not want to turn this into a campaign.

I've pulled my ad, and am really sorry about all of this fuss.

Peace.

aight.. ive given this some thought..

the good mr silverburst once organized a chip-in for jack, maybe its time for karma to do its thang??

ive sent some money to rex' paypal account.. for those interested in doing the same thing give me a pm.. not sure i want to post his paypal in public..

MrM

 

[bovinehost]

The Wise and Powerful Silverburst was not responsible for the content of my original post, nor should he feel responsible in any way for any of this.

It's not ONE incident. It's a number of them.

Jack

 

[Big Poppa]

LEts try to keep this thing in perspective...exxtending the argument is just a waste of time. we arent talking about a $10 bass.

I am market driven....Im never upset that someone wants to give me money or attempt to take advantage of me......Im free market. But Im also believe that sometimes a stupidly low offer for a good cause is bad karma.....thats all folks