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Just got the following question from a buyer:
Hello,
What is your minimum?How do you all typically respond to that? I have offers on all of my items, so they can just make an offer and see what I do. Why take the time to ask me? I honestly don’t think of minimums – I tend to just think of maximums (what is the most I can get for something), and then go from there. I feel like I’m at a garage sale, which is why I sell on eBay and don’t have garage sales – I hate that question.
Sorry, I know it’s harsh – it’s a fair question. Just curious how you all respond to it. Thanks
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At least with garage sales you can get an insight into the state of mind of the customer. Online you’re kind of engaging in a Turing test- you don’t know whether the interlocutor on the other side of the conversation is a person who’s impaired chemically in some way, a Wikipedia editor* or a dog with opposable thumbs.
Maybe write back “My minimum is the same as your maximum, plus a certain margin”.
*A stoned person is going to be unstoned at some time of the day, a Wikipedia editor is semper eadem.
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My answer depends on the item, my state of mind, and how they phrase the request.
If I want to sell the item quickly, I’ll give them my bottom dollar. That bottom dollar will likely be higher than if they negotiated in good faith with an opening offer, I can tell you that much.
If I want to maximize profit I will respond reminding them that they are welcome to make an offer.Back to how the buyer phrases it. If I get a message that says something with minimum effort like a two word message of “Bottom Dollar”. I will flat out ignore. If a buyer can’t take the time to talk to me like a human being then they aren’t worth the time.
There was this one time on facebook yardsale a woman messaged me “What’s the least you’ll take?”. I responded by saying “What’s the most you will give?” She thought my response was insulting . Lol!
“What’s the least you’ll take” is the worst! It triggers me something fierce. -
I always have to take a deep breath when I get an irritating 3 world question from a buyer.
Remember, the great thing about eBay is you can sell to all types of people from different backgrounds, who have different approaches to life.
I am not a stickler for grammar (obvious from posts), but it pushes my buttons when I get a message like “What least price?” The worst is people who ask questions the way Donald Trump Tweets “Too expensive – Sad! Should be lower. Unfair!”.
For many people, text speak is short and curt and comes off rude. I hate it, but I still like taking the customer’s money when they buy from me.
So when you get a message like that, pretend it was in a mysterious foreign language and mentally put it through your own mental google translate algorithm.
“What is your minimum?” magically becomes “Hello, I really like your widget, and I am considering making an offer. What is your best price? Hope you have a great morning :)”
or just ignore it.
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Some of these questions come in from good buyers but many are problem buyers. Poor grammar and spelling seem to correlate with the problem buyers.
At this point you have their buyer ID, so I check their feedback, especially what they have left for other sellers. This may help you decide how to proceed.
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@Timo very good point. When my hackles go up over any communication- I always check the feedback history.
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“So when you get a message like that, pretend it was in a mysterious foreign language and mentally put it through your own mental google translate algorithm.
“What is your minimum?” magically becomes “Hello, I really like your widget, and I am considering making an offer. What is your best price? Hope you have a great morning :)””
I think this is fantastic advice for almost every interaction with a customer/human.
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When I get one of those questions I got through a whole range of emotions in about 30 seconds. I start off being annoyed and angry but these days I usually arrive at “tolerant” and I’ll send back an offer. As MyCottage suggested, I will often throw out an offer but I don’t always give my bottom dollar. At least it continues the discussion. Once in a great while I actually get a sale from taking the time to respond. Most of the time it doesn’t go anywhere.
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Mathematical calculation to come up with a number:
Current asking price, less the minimum you would actually accept, divided by half, and add 10%.
If you have a calculator handy, add 7% instead of 10%.
It results in a whackadoodle number that makes the buyer think you actually thought seriously about it.
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