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Post by stardiamond on May 24, 2019 14:18:43 GMT -5
I've been selling for 3 weeks and I expected this would come up. Potential customer is asking for my best price on a listing. On ebay there's a make an offer option. I didn't see anything on Etsy. I will respond to the conversation, but assuming I was willing to lower my price, how is this accomplished? It doesn't seem to be within the existing framework.
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Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,972
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Post by Tommy on May 24, 2019 14:34:28 GMT -5
I get requests like this all the time - as well as "I buy a massive amount of cabs" intros. The majority of the time they are just blowing smoke up my arse and nothing ever comes from it.
What I have learned to do is just shoot back a generic note thanking them for their inquiry and giving them a 10% off coupon code.
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Post by MsAli on May 24, 2019 14:45:37 GMT -5
You cant do the make an offer with etsy like you can with ebay
Tommy gave you some good advice at offering them a coupon.
You can set this up in the sales and marketing section
I have one set up just for this reason. All you do is share the code with them
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Post by stardiamond on May 24, 2019 15:11:17 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. I created a code and responded with thanks for the interest in the message.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on May 24, 2019 15:14:25 GMT -5
I use the codes but I make them a percentage off if criteria is met. Like 10% off if they spend $100 and so on. That way you are rewarding bulk purchases and not just discounting individual items.
You can also set it to automatically send a coupon after each sale as a thank you. You can customize your thank you coupon to be whatever you like. I like this option. Going to set it up on mine now.
Chuck
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Post by stardiamond on May 24, 2019 15:27:57 GMT -5
I did it as a fixed amount, $10 off a $55 cab and made a quick sale. Pricing has been the most difficult part of selling. I look at listed similar items but cabochons can be unique and sometimes I am ignorant of why something is priced high. What I got for the cab might have been what it should have been listed for originally.
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Post by rockjunquie on May 24, 2019 16:18:31 GMT -5
I did it as a fixed amount, $10 off a $55 cab and made a quick sale. Pricing has been the most difficult part of selling. I look at listed similar items but cabochons can be unique and sometimes I am ignorant of why something is priced high. What I got for the cab might have been what it should have been listed for originally. Trust your gut. I have gotten messages like that before. I do like Tommy and thank them with a coupon for 10% off. I usually never hear from them again because what they REALLY wanted was like 50% off. LOL! There's a lot of schemers out there. Now, if someone has bought a lot from me and really wants something that is above their price comfortability, I'll help them out and gladly. But, I don't play well with rude people- which most of them are. |
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Post by stardiamond on May 24, 2019 16:36:30 GMT -5
I did it as a fixed amount, $10 off a $55 cab and made a quick sale. Pricing has been the most difficult part of selling. I look at listed similar items but cabochons can be unique and sometimes I am ignorant of why something is priced high. What I got for the cab might have been what it should have been listed for originally. Trust your gut. I have gotten messages like that before. I do like Tommy and thank them with a coupon for 10% off. I usually never hear from them again because what they REALLY wanted was like 50% off. LOL! There's a lot of schemers out there. Now, if someone has bought a lot from me and really wants something that is above their price comfortability, I'll help them out and gladly. But, I don't play well with rude people- which most of them are. My father was in retail sales and his advice to me was stay out of retail sales. The salesmen had a name for people who were actively looking for a discount. The way the game was played was the salesman offered the deal and it was up to the customer to accept, decline or counter offer. Working with customers like that usually wasn't pleasant. I have little experience as a seller but a lot of experience as a buyer. What irked me was when an item was listed as make an offer, I would offer what I wanted to pay and the counter offer was little movement from the original price. A discount should be meaningful, but not huge. |
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Post by rockjunquie on May 24, 2019 16:59:31 GMT -5
Trust your gut. I have gotten messages like that before. I do like Tommy and thank them with a coupon for 10% off. I usually never hear from them again because what they REALLY wanted was like 50% off. LOL! There's a lot of schemers out there. Now, if someone has bought a lot from me and really wants something that is above their price comfortability, I'll help them out and gladly. But, I don't play well with rude people- which most of them are. My father was in retail sales and his advice to me was stay out of retail sales. The salesmen had a name for people who were actively looking for a discount. The way the game was played was the salesman offered the deal and it was up to the customer to accept, decline or counter offer. Working with customers like that usually wasn't pleasant. I have little experience as a seller but a lot of experience as a buyer. What irked me was when an item was listed as make an offer, I would offer what I wanted to pay and the counter offer was little movement from the original price. A discount should be meaningful, but not huge. I recently won a good deal on a saw for my son with make an offer. My offer was declined, he made a counteroffer, I made a counter offer to that and he came back with 9.00 off a 200.00 ticket. So, I emailed him and asked him why he even bothered with make an offer. 9.00 didn't even help with the shipping costs. So, he said, OK make me another offer. I did and it was reasonable. He accepted and was very nice about it. I saved 30.00.  But, yeah, I expect make an offer to be a discount of more than a few dollars. |
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Post by stardiamond on May 24, 2019 17:19:29 GMT -5
Realistic expectations are also important. I had some 16 ounce coffee cubs that I got as a free bonus with another purchase or really cheap and came with free shipping. Over time, a lot of the mugs broke. An ebay seller had a listing for 5 of the mugs and make an offer. I made an offer and it was decline. A few weeks later the listing was still active and I made another offer. What I didn't consider in the transaction was free shipping. The mugs are heavy and I have shipped enough packages to know the shipping cost. The seller pointed this out in his latest response and we came to an agreement.
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Don
Cave Dweller 
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on May 24, 2019 19:22:45 GMT -5
I've been selling for 3 weeks and I expected this would come up. Potential customer is asking for my best price on a listing. On ebay there's a make an offer option. I didn't see anything on Etsy. I will respond to the conversation, but assuming I was willing to lower my price, how is this accomplished? It doesn't seem to be within the existing framework. Easiest way is to just setup a coupon for the % discount desired and give the buyer the coupon code to use when checking out. |
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Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on May 24, 2019 19:24:45 GMT -5
Trust your gut. I have gotten messages like that before. I do like Tommy and thank them with a coupon for 10% off. I usually never hear from them again because what they REALLY wanted was like 50% off. LOL! There's a lot of schemers out there. Now, if someone has bought a lot from me and really wants something that is above their price comfortability, I'll help them out and gladly. But, I don't play well with rude people- which most of them are. My father was in retail sales and his advice to me was stay out of retail sales. The salesmen had a name for people who were actively looking for a discount. The way the game was played was the salesman offered the deal and it was up to the customer to accept, decline or counter offer. Working with customers like that usually wasn't pleasant. I have little experience as a seller but a lot of experience as a buyer. What irked me was when an item was listed as make an offer, I would offer what I wanted to pay and the counter offer was little movement from the original price. A discount should be meaningful, but not huge. If you ever start selling in person at shows...get used to it. Everyone wants a "deal" these days. Just set your limits. You can always say no. |
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Post by rockjunquie on May 24, 2019 19:29:48 GMT -5
My father was in retail sales and his advice to me was stay out of retail sales. The salesmen had a name for people who were actively looking for a discount. The way the game was played was the salesman offered the deal and it was up to the customer to accept, decline or counter offer. Working with customers like that usually wasn't pleasant. I have little experience as a seller but a lot of experience as a buyer. What irked me was when an item was listed as make an offer, I would offer what I wanted to pay and the counter offer was little movement from the original price. A discount should be meaningful, but not huge. If you ever start selling in person at shows...get used to it. Everyone wants a "deal" these days. Just set your limits. You can always say no. I am the world's worst haggler. I am not and never have been comfortable with it. My dad traveled the world and considered it a sport. He loved it. That didn't rub off on me. Not in person, anyway. |
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Post by Rockindad on May 24, 2019 20:05:42 GMT -5
While I think it is fine to offer a discount if you feel comfortable doing so, there is also nothing wrong with a reply that states your listed price is fair and therefore no discount can be offered. I have sold automobiles, woodworking tools, high end musical instruments, etc. with this strategy. Just because many people look for a discount does not mean one has to be offered. I will say my refusal to discount was always very respectful.
I will also admit to not like haggling and will not go beyond "Is that your best price?". Just not in my DNA.
Al
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Post by Garage Rocker on May 25, 2019 8:16:08 GMT -5
If you ever start selling in person at shows...get used to it. Everyone wants a "deal" these days. Just set your limits. You can always say no. I am the world's worst haggler. I am not and never have been comfortable with it. My dad traveled the world and considered it a sport. He loved it. That didn't rub off on me. Not in person, anyway. Haggling is definitely one of those where you're either in or out. Nobody just somewhat likes doing it. I detest it myself. Auctions, that's the other one I hate. If I want it and can't 'buy it now', I'm moving on. But a lot of people swear by it. |
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Post by rockjunquie on May 25, 2019 8:17:47 GMT -5
I am the world's worst haggler. I am not and never have been comfortable with it. My dad traveled the world and considered it a sport. He loved it. That didn't rub off on me. Not in person, anyway. Haggling is definitely one of those where you're either in or out. Nobody just somewhat likes doing it. I detest it myself. Auctions, that's the other one I hate. If I want it and can't 'buy it now', I'm moving on. But a lot of people swear by it. Same way. I look for BIN. |
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Post by toiv0 on May 25, 2019 8:49:13 GMT -5
While I think it is fine to offer a discount if you feel comfortable doing so, there is also nothing wrong with a reply that states your listed price is fair and therefore no discount can be offered. I have sold automobiles, woodworking tools, high end musical instruments, etc. with this strategy. Just because many people look for a discount does not mean one has to be offered. I will say my refusal to discount was always very respectful. I will also admit to not like haggling and will not go beyond "Is that your best price?". Just not in my DNA. Al I love to haggle, guess I got that gene. If I like the person and they won't give me a reasonable price and they say make an offer I always say I wouldn't want to insult you and good luck. If they say insult me ..game on. I love a deal |
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on May 25, 2019 11:10:52 GMT -5
Haggling. Pretty much a part of the rock show world we deal with.
First time we went to Q together I started "working out" a price for Imperial Jasper rough with a guy. Robin went as far away as she possibly could in that big double booth space.
She told me afterward that it just wasn't how they'd done things where she grew up. I was just glad she didn't keep on going when she got to the far end of that booth... . |
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Post by fernwood on May 25, 2019 16:28:28 GMT -5
When at craft shows I have sometimes posted a sign for 10% off purchases of $50.00 or more. Someone asked if I would discount a $100.00 purchase by 20% and I said no. They ended up purchasing about $50.00 worth of items.
Another time someone talked me down on about 25 tumbled stones. Their child really loved them, selected the ones he wanted, so I figured they were for the child. I later was walking around and saw the stones they had purchased for sale at their booth for about 5 times what they had paid.
So, offering discounts can be beneficial or it may not.
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Post by Rockindad on May 25, 2019 18:03:52 GMT -5
When at craft shows I have sometimes posted a sign for 10% off purchases of $50.00 or more. Someone asked if I would discount a $100.00 purchase by 20% and I said no. They ended up purchasing about $50.00 worth of items. Another time someone talked me down on about 25 tumbled stones. Their child really loved them, selected the ones he wanted, so I figured they were for the child. I later was walking around and saw the stones they had purchased for sale at their booth for about 5 times what they had paid.
So, offering discounts can be beneficial or it may not. I'd bet the kid was in on it!  Seriously though, I know some people would find nothing wrong with this, but to sell them at the same show!?!? I couldn't do it. Al |
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But, yeah, I expect make an offer to be a discount of more than a few dollars.
Seriously though, I know some people would find nothing wrong with this, but to sell them at the same show!?!? I couldn't do it.
