Too shy/afraid to make offers?

In_Gabriel_We_Trust · Post by **In_Gabriel_We_Trust** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 2:04 am

I'm with the people who don't see making offers as a problem nor receiving them.

There only has to be one general rule : all parties involved must act nice, or the deal is off.

So what if someone makes a lowball offer? You just tell them nicely that the price you had in mind was higher.

You made the lowball offer? (by accident or on purpose). Then you should receive a nice email stating your offer was too low.

The excuse given by rude people that they aren't going to waste their time responding to mails who aren't interesting enough is downright stupid.
Here's a tip :
You write down two or three standard nice replies, depending on the situation, and save them.
When a mail has to be send or replied to, you use one of those pre-pared statements to send or reply.

With all the options made possible by computers, there is no need for rudeness on either of the camp.

vapalla · Post by **vapalla** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 8:00 am

Kira wrote-

*looks at vapalla's post**blinks*

you mean someone actually did that?

Yup! Pretty amazing. huh? Not even politely asking if the cels were for sale, but just ordering cels from my gallery.

It was actually pretty comical. It was written as if it was a note to a dealer with all the cels listed with links. The list includeded my Fuyuki with wings, blushing Sara, and favorite Raphael cel among others. I actually did write this person back and politely pointed out this statement on the main gallery page that has been there ever since the gallery was started:

Please do not ask if we are interested in selling any of our collection, as it is a family heirloom and is ultimately my daughter's.

Some people are so strange, and the internet seems encourage them.

HotIce · Post by **HotIce** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 8:02 am

vapalla wrote: people are so strange

*reminded of the Doors song*
*sings said song*

People are strange when youre a stranger
Faces look ugly when youre alone
Women seem wicked when youre unwanted
Streets are uneven when youre down
When youre strange
Faces come out of the rain
When youre strange
No one remembers your name
When youre strange....

*runs away before getting thwacked for being off topic*

Krafty · Post by **Krafty** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 8:34 am

vapalla wrote:One [person] actually wrote a shopping list of all my best TnN cels and said they would be purchasing them "if the price was right." I didn't know I was selling them!

That is really funny! I think I've had a similar email in the past and I laughed it off, I assumed the person was joking with me anyway.

I'm with the minority here who don't mind making or receiving offers.

I've made several offers, most were turned down and have received several- most were turned down.
Receiving them doesn't bother me, I've not had any offers for a few years now- except when I've made it clear I'm accepting offers on particulr artwork [when I don't know the market value for such items].
Since I've had my RS gallery, noone has made offers so I wonder if it's down to my front page disclaimer- "none of the artwork here is for sale" or if noone really wants anything I have.

If I make offers I like to throw in a mid-range offer to begin haggling. My concern is that most people might think that offer is final when I'm up for working out a deal. That's something I aim to clarify in my correspondance.
I need to get a good deal whilst not making the seller feel insulted or uncomfortable; that can be difficult with many people but it depends how laid back they are.

As everyone says here, when making offers you must be polite, considerate and honest. Simple things, but important for convincing the seller to trust you.

wELCOME cONSUMER · Post by **wELCOME cONSUMER** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 8:35 am

HotIce wrote:
vapalla wrote: people are so strange
*reminded of the Doors song*
*sings said song*

People are strange when youre a stranger
Faces look ugly when youre alone
Women seem wicked when youre unwanted
Streets are uneven when youre down
When youre strange
Faces come out of the rain
When youre strange
No one remembers your name
When youre strange....

*runs away before getting thwacked for being off topic*

I love you, you big goober!

vapalla · Post by **vapalla** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 9:09 am

krafty wrote!

That is really funny! I think I've had a similar email in the past and I laughed it off, I assumed the person was joking with me anyway.

I woud have thought it was a joke if the letter writer hadn't put such an effort into the descriptions and links. What it had in details it totally lacked in politeness; no "please", or "if you are interested in selling" that is usually there. Just um... strange.....

*tries to dislodge Doors song from brain*

SME · Post by **SME** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 10:12 am

wELCOME cONSUMER wrote:I do get extremely ticked off by people who get all pissy about "low offers" or emails asking about their cels. If those emails really irritate you, then don't display your cels online. And please don't assume everyone has your standard of value. I have no clue what you paid for your cels.

If someone emails you about your cel, consider it a compliment. I still
can't figure out why such emails incite violent and venom laden reactions
from the owners. Can someone please explain this to me?

Why do I have a feeling that this quote was directed toward me?

I know you hate me Toni, but do you have to make it so public!?!?!

Hehehe I love picking on you.

As for what was mentioned in Toni's quote, I understand her frustration, but from my POV I have cels that are marked NFO/NFS (Not for offers/Not for sale) and I still manage to get at least 20 e-mails a week (NO joke!) asking about my wishlists and whatnot. Even on my front page in my disclaimer it says my cels are not for sale. I did take it as a huge compliment for quite a while, but after several months it really started to irritate me. It's like, I will let people know if I'm taking offers...some don't have to hound me every other day about the same cel that I still said I'm not willing to sell. Luckily it's only a few that do that.

But I've always been polite in responding to people who ask for cels. Only maybe a few times did I never reply back (because the e-mail was like "ZOMFG! U hve SM cells! like totally COOL! TOHE"), but if you've ever e-mailed me I've either IMed you, talk to you in chat, or wrote an e-mail back. I always try to be polite no matter what. Some still take it as a personal insult which I don't understand...it's my cels and I didn't want to sell them. I once got an offer of $1100 for one of my cels and politely declined stating that "that cel is not for offers but I do thank you for making an offer." The e-mail I got back was really rude, saying that I was stuck-up for not accepting their offer and how dare I want more for it...um...hello? Did I say I wanted more for it? And how am I stuck up for not accepting your offer when I said the cel wasn't for sale? I don't understand...

As far as MAKING offers, I hate them. I know sometimes I tell people to make offers on my cels, but I'm always polite to them. Sometimes it's easier than trying to go back and remember how much you spent and compare it to the cel market, so usually I just tell them to make offers. But there are a lot of people who are rude about it. Have I bought from them again? Nope...I don't care how much I like your cel, if you are going to be rude, you aren't seeing my money. Since most cels have sequence mates I'm positive I'll find another one like it someday...you just have to have patience in this hobby.

Good luck with what you decide to do! Everyone has thrown out very good opinions on this subject, and I know how this could be a touchy area.

wELCOME cONSUMER · Post by **wELCOME cONSUMER** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 10:30 am

I see what you mean, SME. Your situation is a little different than mine, since
SM collectors can be... let's face it... CRAZY. My comment was in regard to
the best case scenarios only (polite email, only once). These examples of
rudeness don't merit a polite reaction, in such cases, I totally understand your
annoyance with those emails. I'm kinda shocked that those disclaimers don't
do any good

People are pretty friggin' amazing sometimes

bran-chan · Post by **bran-chan** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 12:54 pm

I've been lucky, the two offers I've done have both been accepted. It's hard to know what to offer and to know if what you've offered is decent enough.

I've also never been on the receiving end of an offer yet. I don't know how you deal with all those unsolicited e-mails, SME; it would have driven me crazy.

majinuub · Post by **majinuub** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 1:27 pm

bran-chan wrote:I don't know how you deal with all those unsolicited e-mails, SME; it would have driven me crazy.

That would frustrated even me.

If someone has a cel I want I ask that they remember me whenever they decide to sell that cel. I was lucky a few times since the person was willing to sell it and would give me a fair price for them.

wELCOME cONSUMER · Post by **wELCOME cONSUMER** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 6:57 pm

^ Above is an example of someone I've bugged before, hehe.

She was having a sale/offers period. I inquired about a few cels that were not
up for sale, just in case. She replied promptly and politely that they were not
for sale. I appreciated it very much.

RalphVboy · Post by **RalphVboy** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 7:26 pm

I don't mind making or recieving others. On each occassion that I've made an offer, I've been met with either a polite reply or no reply at all. Though I must add the ones that I did not recieve a reply from were "un-solicted" offers (ie. they didn't say they were accepting offers, but they also didn't say they WOULDN'T entertain them). Sometimes I get lucky and snag a cel, other times it just doesn't happen. But the important thing is I'm not left with that "what if?" scenario playing through my head because I went through and made the offer

When I'm on the recieving end of offers, I make it my perogative to reply to each one. Nothing's worse than never hearing back from a person whom you've made an honest offer to. I've sold some cels this way, and declined a few offers as well. Everyone's always been polite & courteous though, regardless of my descision.

IGWT really nailed the essential ingredient to successful offers:

There only has to be one general rule : all parties involved must act nice, or the deal is off.

So long as everyone's civil in their offers and responses to offers, everything will be fine

- RalphVboy

sugarcels · Post by **sugarcels** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 5:47 pm

Hm... I guess after 4 or 5 days you can assume they're ignoring you?

Well, I gave it a shot.

Wow, there are a lot of approaches to doing this!

wELCOME cONSUMER · Post by **wELCOME cONSUMER** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 5:58 pm

Aww, that's too bad Sugarcels

Don't let that prevent you from making offers in the future, tho.

Lynxa · Post by **Lynxa** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:08 pm

I'd send a follow up offer if they don't respond

I, for one, am a TOTAL spaz and tend to forget that someone e-mailed or pm'd me, and a lot of RS feedback probably gets eaten by spam filters. I always appreciate a follow-up just to remind me!

Plus, if they ARE just being rude, what's wrong with being a little annoying back?