Off topic story8 Mar 2026 14:42
Online, I generally operate in a way which works for me, list the item careful to pick out condition any glaring faults, so no surprises after all some items are not new, my starting price is a well researched price based on what has sold before plus condition etc, I don't have a reserve but the starting price won't give me a loss.
Listed an item a over a week ago, within around 3 hours of listing, someone was trying to offer me a less than start price, money now, saying I don't have to wait, the item I was selling was an old model and not that popular anymore, probably won't reach the reserve etc. I responded that my start price I felt was accurate for the time and situation the item was in, I was not in a rush to sell etc and was happy to wait and take my chance.
The week went on, the potential buyer kept pushing at the well documented photos of a slight dent, a slight scuff, saying he could not possibly reach the start price based on these conditions, in the mean time the number of followers of the item was steadily increasing, so I had a fair chance a few of those might turn into bidders before the week was out happy to go for my start price and then some. A few more began to message with questions about the item, not focusing on me selling right now, very much aware of its faults, asking and receiving answers to the technical questions about the item which mattered to them.
I held my ground with the potential buyer, answered his questions in a professional manner, despite him trying to get the item at a much lower price I did not sell it to him, I could have blocked him for the annoyance as I have done with others before, however they probably knew the item was worth the money I had started it at and very much just trying their luck.
I got the feeling he probably knew at the reduced price he was going in for they could indeed sell the item themselves at a later date for a profit again, perhaps that was why they were so keen to try to push me to sell the item lower, they would not be so keen to point out its flaws and message so much if they were not interested after all they were not doing it to "help me" surely to notice things I seemingly hadn't, there were hundreds of similar listings he could try and get a lower price for with his strategy, perhaps it worked some of the time.
After a week of the item being listed, it reached its final 12 hours (actually most bidders bid within the last 10 minutes of an auction) low and behold the fear of missing out, they were the first bid, the third and the fifth, now well above the original starting price, if they were so concerned about the item age and condition why were they chasing it, after all they basically tried to encourage me to sell at a lower price earlier in the same week.
They lost out in the end. End of off topic story, it like many others very much true. Children like stories don't they