Basically, yes it has. The internet and phones have just made it easier to be a tool. This is precisely why I still have a pile of parts to sell. Just don't want to deal with the BS.

The lowballing after agreeing on a price is a fun one. Had that happen a couple times selling cars. The problem is, a lot of people are really stupid. Most of this stuff, what to do and what NOT to do, is obvious - but people do it anyway. Stupid.

 

I don't bother with CL anymore. I'd rather get 20-30% more for the product on ebay. Sure, ebay and Paypal take a cut, but I don't have to haggle or meet up with anyone.

My favorite CL tactic is when they meet you and claim to be short 5-10 dollars, even though you settled on a price... Which is why I met people in front of banks!

 

Yep. Meeting in front of the bank is a great idea. As a kid, I went around with my dad a lot when he would sell used cars or buy/sell parts and stuff. I remember him dealing with this crap back in the 80's and 90's. The only real difference is without phones and the internet, it just takes a little longer.

I have been lucky in that, usually when I would have a car for sale, someone from my friends or family would buy it. The last few cars, I sold on CL. The last car, I traded in and basically gave away because of the last few I sold on CL. Not doing that anymore at all. Never wanted to punch so many people simultaneously. I never want to speak to another SAAB enthusiast again!

 

I still don't see how you can expect to get the price you bought it for even if you never installed it. Simply the fact that you bought it, it's used. Even if it's not. I would never pay full price for a part that somebody else paid.

I will agree, 50% less is ridiculous though.

 

Its your area


nor cal


-___-

 

I agree with this. By selling a part, even if it's brand new, the warranty will be nullified, if there's anything wrong with it, 99% of sellers will fall off the face of the earth, and with all the cheap knock offs, there's always a risk of getting a complete crap part. Just because you know you have legit parts and are a legit person with a conscious, doesn't mean everyone else knows that.

CL is the place to get lowballed. Most people post stuff on craigslist with a significant mark up to combat lowballing, which is probably why lowballing is just as prevalent as it always has been. It's a FREE site, it attracts people who are cheap.

 

hahaha thats hilarious you mention it, so true..

 

I don't think the header is new. It doesn't look new. What someone paid for something that they have for sale has nothing to do with what you should pay for it. This concept, and marking up stuff artificially high because you know people will lowball, is stupid, and has probably helped create this effect.

Seriously, if I win something and want to get rid of it, am I required to give it away or sell it at a really low price because I got it for free? Absolutely not. That is ridiculous. I usually price stuff I have for sale as fairly as I can, and it's nice to give good deals, but to have a policy where you base what you are willing to pay on what someone else paid at another time in different circumstances, doesn't make any sense.

Yeah the 50% is pretty crazy, but I got those when I had a car for sale for $6k. People emailing "u take 3000" and crap like that. Someone emailing offering half of the asking price is really just emailing you and asking if you are an idiot. It's really not such a bad thing, because people like this are reaching out to you, letting you know that you should not deal with them. It does suck to get a bunch of idiotic emails when you are trying to sell something, but that is the way it goes.

So... Something should be sold even cheaper because the buyer doesn't know if it's real or that I am an honest person? No. If you are worried about that, you buy a new one, and pay sales tax and shipping and wait for it.

So... Because CL is a free site, you are required to pander to idiots that email you when you have something for sale? I'm thinking "no" here too. It also attracts people looking for fairly priced items, who are confident enough to inspect the device and not expect a used item to have a warranty.

Marking things up artificially to "combat lowballing" is basically reverse-lowballing. I would even think that this sort of thing helped inspire people to lowball. Things like that RS with the blown motor for $4k someone posted. That person probably doesn't think they are going to get $4k for it, but even if I were interested in that sort of car I would not approach them because I would not want to deal with a person like that. Both artificially high prices and lowball offers are extremely ridiculous.

In my humble opinion, of course.

 

I list stuff on craigslist %10-30 higher than my true asking price because people will lowball a higher number

Example- I have X product that I want $100 for.. ill list it on cl for $120 and someone will offer $80 instead of $60

 

I usually sell stuff for slightly less than average price since I hate dealing with this **** too. that also means that when people try to lowball me I just tell them

"well, i just posted it so I'm going to let it ride at $XXX the rest of the month, if it doesnt sell by then, i might lower it $10."

they know it wont last till the end of the month at what Im selling it for, now its on them if they want to get it at the full price, works every time

 

Or you could just advertise it for what you want for it, and not deal with the idiots. But that's not so bad. At least it's not an RS with a blown motor for $4k! Haaaaa.

That makes sense. If I have something for sale, I usually search for the item and price it slightly less than all the others. I also get lowballed but just delete the messages. Your idea seems better to me.

 

I'm comparing brand new parts, for the reasons I already explained. Convenient how you skip over the first and most important reason. If you bought it used, and are reselling it after you never used it, that's a different story. However, parts lose value if they just sit on your garage. 50% loss? No, but just because you paid X amount for something doesn't mean someone else will pay X amount for yours.

I never wrote anything about required. I said CL attracts cheap people, because of the way it works. You don't have to use CL, you are not being forced to use CL, you should know the risk of using CL, so why ***** moan and whine about it? It's a fact of CL, there are people that lowball. It's not difficult to click the block email or the delete button, nor is it difficult to respond with a "HAHAHAHAHAHA." While CL can attract competent people, because I agree they're out there, think of what you're doing from an outside perspective. You're trying to sell a very common part that fits cars 6+ years old, to a very specific market, whose competent owners have probably already modified the manifold if it was in their modification plans. Not to mention that Gruppe-S doesn't have the best quality behind the name. That being said, I still wish you the best in getting your parts sold.

I agree, it's a self fulfilling prophecy. However, I can only think of 2 ways of dealing with lowballing: ignoring lowballers or artificially raising prices. There's a reason I rarely ever use CL to sell anything, unless I don't mind it taking up space for a while or it appeals to such a big market, as Krinkov said, it'll sell within a month.

Oh yeah, to the people who ask if it fits certain models, I just link them to lmgtfy.

 

No, that is this story and the topic of this thread. The OP is talking about a used header that is for sale, that he purchased used, and never installed. I think someone might have thought that he was selling a new part that he did not install, for the new price which I agree doesn't work, and I do not think is the case here.

That being said, if I had a brand new header that I never used and was still packaged and I wanted to sell it, I would advertise it fairly close to the new price. I would not be willing to make someone a killer deal just because I lost money on sales tax and shipping and stored it for a while. That's just me. Someone who actually wanted it would see the value.

I don't think I *****ed and moaned about CL. I think I talked about dealing with selling my cars (which could have been *****ing I guess), ways to deal with it, and lowballers in general. Either way, I understand that it is what it is, and only use it when absolutely necessary, or I feel like getting some emails from douchebags. Thank you for the well-wishes for selling my parts. I just need to make ads and such. I also hope the OP sells his header without more hassle!

I dealt with 3 jerks who wasted time/money and loads of lowballing when I sold my SAAB 9-5, but ultimately sold it to a really nice guy who is now a friend. So, hey. M4M? Now that I think about it, I have dealt with jerks and lowballers, but ultimately anyone that actually bought any of my cars turned out to be a pretty nice person, many of which I have stayed in contact with. Have to think about that for a bit!

Incidentally, my Gruppe-Sex header has been on my car since it was Vishnufied in 2002, 61k miles ago. No problems. Now that I typed that, it's probably fallen off the car...

 

Lots of interesting opinions here.

Moral of the story perhaps is to look more before I leap - I finally decided on a complete setup someone had for sale, negating the need for all the parts I'd been collecting. And I'd like to make up what I got for them. I feel I paid fairly for them, and want to pass that fairness along (again, I see no reason to take a hit for having parts just pass hands, when they were already used).

The OBO aspect of the sale is to allow market flexibility, if either values overall have dropped for whatever reason, or if it's back in style and people are throwing money at me, in which case highest bidder gets it.

On the good side of things, the people I have traded with have been very nice, helpful and generous individuals. I often get freebies alongside what in particular I'm buying, and again, I like passing that good will along.

People not being in on playing nice like that, well, suck a tailpipe I guess.

I'm texting a guy who seems to know his $hit right now, we'll see where that goes.

 

Andddd.... sold the header finally. Thanks the Lard Jebus.