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Haggling when Selling Online: Good or Bad? Compatible or Unethical?

by ERPLeadsWriter
11 replies
Now while I'm still in the process of getting a credit card for this little ebay trading card shop I got planned, I remembered something that I thought I should share here.

At the local joint where they sell cards, I'm actually encouraged to negotiate and haggle. At the moment, I'm still just posting my cards up for sale on the facebook page of the local group so you can say the advice regarding haggling might carry over.

What do you think? Is haggling too old school for internet marketing? Should I keep it to when I just stop by the shop and people want to talk to me about what I got available?

I'll post a poll but I would appreciate some responses.
#bad #compatible #good #haggling #internet #marketing #unethical
  • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
    What do you mean? Like an eBook is being sold for $20 and you haggle by offering them $10?

    This isn't a flea market or trading cards so I would just ignore you if you were haggling me on my prices.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
    It's an interesting idea, but it seems to me that offering a haggling option makes it seem like your not confident in your prices/product.

    A good many people don't like to haggle, but they'll think they shouldn't pay full price because you'll obviously take less, so there's a good chance they won't haggle and won't buy.
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    Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

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    • Profile picture of the author ERPLeadsWriter
      Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

      It's an interesting idea, but it seems to me that offering a haggling option makes it seem like your not confident in your prices/product.
      You might be right but there can be other factors. In my case, some cards lose their value when there's a new banlist or a certain format is getting popular somewhere. I may have a hard time holding on to a single price for too long.

      Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

      A good many people don't like to haggle, but they'll think they shouldn't pay full price because you'll obviously take less, so there's a good chance they won't haggle and won't buy.
      I'm not sure that applies to my crowd. Like I said, haggling is actually encouraged (though I will say I didn't like how some players kept insisting/scolding me for not haggling hard enough). No offense to the other ones here who don't like dealing in something that sounds like a flea market but you'd be surprised at how a trading card shop can be like one.
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      • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
        Originally Posted by ERPLeadsWriter View Post

        You might be right but there can be other factors. In my case, some cards lose their value when there's a new banlist or a certain format is getting popular somewhere. I may have a hard time holding on to a single price for too long.
        Isn't that addressed by sales mechanisms, i.e., January Clearance Sale, It's my Birthday Sale, etc.?

        I'm not sure that applies to my crowd. Like I said, haggling is actually encouraged (though I will say I didn't like how some players kept insisting/scolding me for not haggling hard enough). No offense to the other ones here who don't like dealing in something that sounds like a flea market but you'd be surprised at how a trading card shop can be like one.
        I love flea markets and haggling, but maybe I don't understand how you plan on implementing it. Are you posting that you'll haggle, or just do it if someone comes to you with a haggling mindset?

        Another thing to consider is a loyalty discount. You can mark anything down to any price and call it a loyalty discount to qualified customers. You can set what the qualifications are.
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        • Profile picture of the author ERPLeadsWriter
          Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

          Isn't that addressed by sales mechanisms, i.e., January Clearance Sale, It's my Birthday Sale, etc.?
          Hmm... I'm not sure how I can implement that (not with those names at least ) when it's the company that owns the game really calling the shots. I'll try to do some research though and see if they actually have advice for sellers when cards change value.

          Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

          I love flea markets and haggling, but maybe I don't understand how you plan on implementing it. Are you posting that you'll haggle, or just do it if someone comes to you with a haggling mindset?
          More of the latter. I post something on the net (be it on Facebook or Ebay) and say I'm selling it. It just so happens that I know some people IRL who might see it and want to negotiate since we go to the same LGS (Local Game Store).


          Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

          Another thing to consider is a loyalty discount. You can mark anything down to any price and call it a loyalty discount to qualified customers. You can set what the qualifications are.
          Oh yeah! I'm surprised that didn't occur to me! And to think I've already seen this done in action (guys give lower price to friends and stuff). Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author BloggingPro
    I think you are getting "sales" and "marketing" mixed up.

    With sales, one often needs to haggle, whether its on the selling end or the buying end. As a seller you name your price, if the buyer disagree's and you need that sale you'll haggle with them to get the sale and still make a profit.

    A marketer is something else entirely. A marketer doesn't worry about haggling. That's not their job. Their job is to find a market and promote to that market.

    You like widgets? That's great, check out this fantastic advertisement for widgets.

    A salesman will haggle with you to sell that widget, a marketer simply tells you about it.

    As a marketer I could care less if you have the money to buy something. I know you want it, I know you love it, and I'm putting it right in front of your face. It's then a salesmen's job to figure out how to get you to purchase that something.

    Haggling and marketing do not go together. but rather sales and haggling do.

    If you want to haggle than maybe you should look into a sales job, rather than a marketing one.
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  • Profile picture of the author mywebwork
    OK, I'll admit I'm confused (if I only had a dollar for every time I had to utter that sentence!).

    You said it's an "eBay Trading Card Shop". So how is "haggling" different than just having an eBay auction?

    Or is this something more along the lines of Priceline, when you make an offer and the system either accepts it as a done deal or rejects it?

    :confused:

    Bill
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    • Profile picture of the author ERPLeadsWriter
      Originally Posted by BloggingPro View Post

      I think you are getting "sales" and "marketing" mixed up.

      With sales, one often needs to haggle, whether its on the selling end or the buying end. As a seller you name your price, if the buyer disagree's and you need that sale you'll haggle with them to get the sale and still make a profit.
      Originally Posted by BloggingPro View Post

      If you want to haggle than maybe you should look into a sales job, rather than a marketing one.
      Originally Posted by mywebwork View Post

      OK, I'll admit I'm confused (if I only had a dollar for every time I had to utter that sentence!).
      Okay sorry for the confusion guys. I tend to confuse the concept of marketing with the whole concept of selling stuff on the net.

      I suppose what I'm trying to ask is whether is it good idea to try and say your stuff is for sale on the net but open yourself up for negotiations (especially when the person who wants to negotiate is actually someone you meet on a regular basis).

      I'll try and change the title, does replacing "internet marketing" with "online business" make more sense?


      Originally Posted by mywebwork View Post

      You said it's an "eBay Trading Card Shop". So how is "haggling" different than just having an eBay auction?

      Or is this something more along the lines of Priceline, when you make an offer and the system either accepts it as a done deal or rejects it?
      This is how it works. I post a list of stuff I'm planning to sell (whether it's on a facebook group or when I finally manage to put it up on Ebay), but then people tell me I should open myself for haggling.

      The question is: Is that a good idea?

      I don't know about Priceline but the problem with auction is that it only raises the price. It doesn't give the buyer a chance to convince me to go lower or (in the case of trading cards) might even offer a bit of trade to go along with the lower price. (Happened to me once or twice already offline.)
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  • Profile picture of the author nm5419
    I haven't really heard the term "haggling" referenced in IM. "Negotiation" is probably more like it. Even still, it's a rare occurrence as far as I've seen, even though it's a perfectly acceptable part of any business.
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  • Profile picture of the author onSubie
    If you want to let people offer less than you want, you can add OBO to an ad or eBay listing.

    Mahlon
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