craigslist. Trying to sell a jotul wood stove and get a guy...
 

who calls asking about the stove. I have it listed at $500 with 20 feet of insulated polished chimney. My wife and I refinished the stove with a new coat of stove black and it looks real nice. So the first thing the guy starts hinting at is he doesn't have allot of money but is real interested in the stove. I tell him I won't entertain offers and the price is firm. I truly believe it is a heck of a deal for the stove and chimney especially since heating cost are very high.

What is up with people trying to lowball when the ad says "firm" and it is priced very fairly?

Speedy:)

Just the nature of the beast I think. Just as you can't have Evil bay without sniping, you can't have Craigslist without lo-ballers :)

Actually, remember the Fiat that was in the shop last year for the tension party? I sold it on Craigslist... A couple of times :( I have actually found that selling cars is faster on Craigslist, you just have to deal with more headaches! I had the car posted for 2 days before I had over 30 replies to the add. I had it listed for a reasonable price for a complete restoration (around 10k). I of course had a boatload of "tire-kickers" stop by that had nothing better to do than waste my time with no intentions of buying. Finally I had someone call and claim they were very interested! He came over and looked at it 2 days in a row, on the second day he pulls the "I really like it, but I only have 7k, can I make payments on the rest..." Um, no. Do I look like a dealership??

Finally I got a real buyer. He came over, checked it out, test drove it and he counted out the cash. Of course I have almost the exact same car in there now, only it's a year newer :) Once this one is finished, I only have one more Fiat to restore, then I will be Fiat FREE :) I am practically counting the days!

Hang in there, I'm sure you will get a buyer!
-Nick

You need some thicker skin...It's part of buying/selling. You will always have people negotiating a price down. I only wish you could do that anywhere, grocery store, computer shops etc...

Depends on how much you buy. Anything is negotiable, but 2 cans of soup along with a few other groceries is a hell of a deal most of the time if you figure all the overheads.

i would lowball as well

the worst you can say is "no" and he might get lucky and you accept

A guy listed a perfect-condition Viking 6 SS stove (6 burners, 2 ovens, and griddle) which he bought for over $7,000.00 before tax and delivery.

Guy #1 low-balled him and offered him $1,900.00; he was so upset that he offered to sell it to Guy #2 for $2,000.00. True story.

If I'm open to negotiations, I'll say so (or I'll put "O.B.O."). If it says "firm", that's what it means. People that try and haggle when I have something listed in firm get me VERY irritated (wasting my time). I usually get somewhat short and curt with them in response to their blatant rudeness. I've flat-out hung up on a couple of them.

Here's a hint people - if an ad says "$2,600 firm" or whatever, do not come to me with an offer of $2,300, $2,400, $2,599 or trading for some used living room furniture and a set of snow tires, a car that's been sitting in your driveway for the last 5 years because it "just needs a head gasket" or whatever else. Come to me with 26 Benjamins or take a walk. "$2,600 firm" means "$2,600 firm" gawddammit. Learn to f*cking read.

Just say you've already had a better offer.
But put your asking price at least 5% above what you want (list it too high and you won't get any calls). It's just part of the game some buyers like to play.
Jim

i paid $2500 3 years ago for my Jotul...what model is it? how old? post up some pictures! i might be interested!

Here is a link to the ad...

http://madison.craigslist.org/hsh/595899982.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1208279312.jpg

It has 1978 cast into the casting but I think it was actually cast in 1983. It is a solid stove but is to big for my 1400 sqft house.



Speedy:)

Any time I see a post about craigslist, I think of this:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1208281156.jpg

We have a local online classifieds that puts me in pretty much the same state of mind.

Firm for you may not mean the same thing as firm for someone else. EVERYTHING in life is negotiable, IMHO.

Hopefully, I won't ever buy something from you that you have a firm price on.... :eek: So tell me - if you still have said stove thing a year from now, will the price still be "firm?"

Now don't get me wrong - I hate low-ballers as well, and I've done plenty of garage sales to see them in action (they seem to flock to garage sales.) But is you're selling a stove for $2600.00, and someone tells you they will give you $2500.00 or $2550.00 for it, don't tell me you're not going to consider that deal...

That said, I once left a car at a dealership because we were $25.00 apart in the price... true story.
-Z-man.

Lots of ads say "Firm," but it's amazing how unfirm they become after a few weeks of not selling.

You see it in the Porsches for Sale section here on PP all the time.