Not posting a price for a item being auctioned, why?

[Petrified Wood]

As the title says I am just curious if there is a actual, reasonable explanation for not posting the price of a item you are trying to sell on the forums? Honestly tho I'm not saying its so wrong or anything of that nature. I always say, you do you and all. For myself being a very curious and inquisitive individual, knowledge is true power and it leaves me anxious to learn more and more. In Norrath or elsewhere this is the case for me.

I'd just like to understand if there is a point to leaving a price out or not. If anything I would think it would streamline a sale better if you did post a starting bid, that way you don't have so many people PM you with question that could of been answered without further communication and time wasted. They might not even be in the price range at all but if a price is not posted you will get many more PM that could of been avoided, saving time for the poster and the potential buyer.

Anyways, if you have anything you could add let me know in this thread. For all I know at this point each person could have a different reason for not posting a price so let me know what yours is and hopefully I will learn something new. Cheers!

[kitao]

https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/dealmaking-daily/resolving-the-first-offer-dilemma-in-business-negotiations/

Advantages of Using Anchoring in Negotiation

If you value only the economic outcome of your deal, make the first offer in order to anchor the negotiation in your favor. But if you value satisfaction with the negotiation process more than the outcome itself, you may want to avoid the stress and anxiety of making the first offer.

[sacman08]

because the wiki lists a lot of recent prices of items. Also I assume when someone does not list the price they might be open to negotiation.

[Lotxi]

By not posting a price there is a chance people will offer you more than what you would have asked for. Also if you post a price people will almost always offer you less than your asking price because people like to feel like they got the better end of a deal.

[Videri]

Sometimes, people do that if they aren't sure how much they can get, or they are fishing for a random high offer. They also do it to avoid the stress of choosing a price to post, posting it, and possibly getting a counter-offer that is lower than they want, then being forced to say "no" (hard sometimes) or "how about X" (also hard) or "ok fine."

Rather than be annoyed by auction posts without price, you should use them as opportunities to practice making an offer that you would be willing to pay. You could lowball to some extent.

[Daldolma]

If you post a price too high, you may discourage otherwise interested buyers. If you post a price too low, you leave money on the table. Rather than trying to play Goldilocks, you’re better off getting in contact with everyone interested in the item and then starting the negotiation process.

[the_coyote]

Because i'm lazy : I log on my mule , link stuff in my bag , hang around a bit and if no one is interested i log out. I dont want to check on wiki the average price on those 20 items, send me a tell asking for the price and i'll go take a look.

[Arcticflava]

Personally, i will send one tell asking for the price sought, if the reply does not include a price i never respond again.

[Jimjam]

I’m not much of a trader, but generally I like my customer to feel like they paid a good price (low), but without diminishing their purchase by making it feel like a handout (many players seem to want to feel they ‘earned’ it, so not ‘too low).

Usually I only sell things to clear inventory slots and if it feels like the item would be too useful to another player to just vendor/destroy (I’m too sympathetic on such things and will feel bad if i destroy something someone might have wanted) so really am generally happy to just be rid of it for a good cause, and make at least the vendor value, you know?

Sometimes i’ll sell rarer items and I might throw on a higher price tag just because I want to make sure the person getting it really wants it.

[Dogma]

If I posted a price I wouldn't get unsolicited EC pro tips for free:
"PC Item?"
"Reasonable wiki average"
"LMAO good luck"

[Vexenu]

Have you considered that perhaps the seller wants you to PM them to inquire about the price? Maybe they're feeling lonely and are looking to make a new friend. Or maybe they'd just like a little smalltalk about the weather, or to trade some golf tips.

Just PM them and find out. Here, I've created an example for you to follow:

Seller auctions WTS Golden Efreeti Boots
You tell the Seller, How much for the GEBs?"
Seller tells you, "1k OBO"
You tell the Seller, "Ok thanks. You feeling ok, need to chat with someone or anything? And how's your golf swing these days?"
Seller tells you, "Thanks for asking. I'm ok, golf swing is coming along nicely."
You tell the Seller, "Cool man, cya around."
Seller tells you, "Thanks bro"

You have the power to socialize with a stranger on the internet! Use it wisely.

[LazyHydras]

Have you considered that perhaps the seller wants you to PM them to inquire about the price? Maybe they're feeling lonely and are looking to make a new friend. Or maybe they'd just like a little smalltalk about the weather, or to trade some golf tips.

Just PM them and find out. Here, I've created an example for you to follow:

Seller auctions WTS Golden Efreeti Boots
You tell the Seller, How much for the GEBs?"
Seller tells you, "1k OBO"
You tell the Seller, "Ok thanks. You feeling ok, need to chat with someone or anything? And how's your golf swing these days?"
Seller tells you, "Thanks for asking. I'm ok, golf swing is coming along nicely."
You tell the Seller, "Cool man, cya around."
Seller tells you, "Thanks bro"

You have the power to socialize with a stranger on the internet! Use it wisely.

This would be in stark contrast to those who post "WTS Fungus Covered Scale Tunic 55k" and, by the time you send them a tell, they have camped and are in the process of uploading their logs to the wiki's auction tracker. :rolleyes:

[Evia]

As the title says I am just curious if there is a actual, reasonable explanation for not posting the price of a item you are trying to sell on the forums? Honestly tho I'm not saying its so wrong or anything of that nature. I always say, you do you and all. For myself being a very curious and inquisitive individual, knowledge is true power and it leaves me anxious to learn more and more. In Norrath or elsewhere this is the case for me.

I'd just like to understand if there is a point to leaving a price out or not. If anything I would think it would streamline a sale better if you did post a starting bid, that way you don't have so many people PM you with question that could of been answered without further communication and time wasted. They might not even be in the price range at all but if a price is not posted you will get many more PM that could of been avoided, saving time for the poster and the potential buyer.

Anyways, if you have anything you could add let me know in this thread. For all I know at this point each person could have a different reason for not posting a price so let me know what yours is and hopefully I will learn something new. Cheers!


I'll explain it. Its pretty easy to understand.

People who auction without a price are hoping to catch someone looking to buy it and willing to pay top platinum for it....maybe even over pay.

You don't want to undersell yourself by auctioning something for 2k when someone is in the zone willing to pay 3k. Give that person the opportunity to message you inquiring about the item and giving you their offer VS taking 1k less because you already said you would take 2k.

If you see someone place a price next to their item, they're eager to sell it and likely don't care if they maximize the value.

If you see someone not place a price next to their item odds are they're not overly motivated to sell it and are likely after max value.

Hope this helps.

[NegaStoat]

Evia above explains it perfectly. The only issue I've come across are people that are adamant about you being the one that makes the first offer when they're advertising something they want to unload. For me, it usually goes down like this in a /tell.

(Me) "I am interested in the X item. How much did you want for it?"
(Them) "Make me an offer."
(Me) "Actually, that's not an answer to my question. You obviously have an idea of what you would want for the item. Go ahead and name it."
(Them) "Make me an offer and I'll tell you if it will work."
(Me) "Thank you for your time."

At this point I've had sellers waste about 6 to 8 /tells to me asking what my problem is or why I wouldn't make an offer if I wanted the item at all. I guess being polite about refusing to play the "the first person that makes the offer loses." game isn't acceptable to some folks.

[Jimjam]

Offer them services of a value roughly equivalent to the item (quillmane farm or something), then when they say they want plat then you can say as they have an amount of plat in mind perhaps they can number it as you already made your offer?

[Old_PVP]

Evia above explains it perfectly. The only issue I've come across are people that are adamant about you being the one that makes the first offer when they're advertising something they want to unload. For me, it usually goes down like this in a /tell.

(Me) "I am interested in the X item. How much did you want for it?"
(Them) "Make me an offer."
(Me) "Actually, that's not an answer to my question. You obviously have an idea of what you would want for the item. Go ahead and name it."
(Them) "Make me an offer and I'll tell you if it will work."
(Me) "Thank you for your time."

At this point I've had sellers waste about 6 to 8 /tells to me asking what my problem is or why I wouldn't make an offer if I wanted the item at all. I guess being polite about refusing to play the "the first person that makes the offer loses." game isn't acceptable to some folks.

I've always done something similar. I can't stand the "make an offer" bullshit. So once they start that game, I either give them a lowball offer, or just reply with a simple "nah". Once a couple minutes go by and they start to realize they are about to lose a potential buyer they usually cough up a price.

[Frug]

Evia above explains it perfectly. The only issue I've come across are people that are adamant about you being the one that makes the first offer when they're advertising something they want to unload. For me, it usually goes down like this in a /tell.

(Me) "I am interested in the X item. How much did you want for it?"
(Them) "Make me an offer."
(Me) "Actually, that's not an answer to my question. You obviously have an idea of what you would want for the item. Go ahead and name it."
(Them) "Make me an offer and I'll tell you if it will work."
(Me) "Thank you for your time."

At this point I've had sellers waste about 6 to 8 /tells to me asking what my problem is or why I wouldn't make an offer if I wanted the item at all. I guess being polite about refusing to play the "the first person that makes the offer loses." game isn't acceptable to some folks.

"When I walk into a store to buy things, they don't ask me what I'm willing to pay. Good luck!"
/ignore

[Jimjam]

“If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it” - A Fat Cat (presumably)

[Znakebite]

Retail 101; If an item is not priced, shoppers assume it's too much $.

[kaizersoze]

Sometimes, people do that if they aren't sure how much they can get, or they are fishing for a random high offer. They also do it to avoid the stress of choosing a price to post, posting it, and possibly getting a counter-offer that is lower than they want, then being forced to say "no" (hard sometimes) or "how about X" (also hard) or "ok fine."

Rather than be annoyed by auction posts without price, you should use them as opportunities to practice making an offer that you would be willing to pay. You could lowball to some extent.

i recently had someone offer me an entire bag of garbage for a tola robe. Like 800 plat and a menagerie of gear worth like 150pp insisting it was "good stuf". Dont be like this guy.

[aaezil]

They are either trying to con by withholding info or they are new and prob have no idea what its even worth

[Toehammer]

Some people have the right idea... however I think the reason why people do/don't list prices is 1) very different on the forums vs. in-game/EC tunnel and 2) more about behavior.

1) I rarely sell things on the forums, but when I do they are either big ticket items, items I have had trouble selling, or large volumes/lists, where I am trying to reach outside of EC. I usually list the price so I can meet up in game quick and make the transaction.

When listing things in EC, I usually don't put a price, because I am just listing what's for sale. Usually the question is "how much for XYZ" and I reply with a reasonable price, and the sale goes through. I usually set things under wiki value to get in and out of EC. Therefore interested parties buy the items.

2) Problems arise when either the buyer or seller is cheap. A cheap buyer will whine about making an offer because they want to pay less than the approximate value. A cheap seller will be annoying with the "make an offer" so they can squeeze more money out of the buyer. All these are fine and personal decisions that affect your time spent selling/buying.

I list prices on the forums to simplify the transaction, and I usually don't list prices in EC because I am auctioning a list to see if people logged on at that specific time are interested... if no I get out of EC and try again next day or later in the week.

I value my time much more than excess plat, so I buy a little high, sell a little low, except on the big ticket items. Supply and demand weighted by cost of time spent tunnelquesting really dominates all EQ trading decisions, at least for me.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

The reason is quite simple: You cannot edit forum posts after 30 minutes of posting it.

Let's say I make a thread: "WTS X Item for 2k!"

An hour later, someone else makes a thread: "WTS X Item for 1950!"

I would lose out on the sale, because it is trivial to slightly undercut someone.

Since you can't edit your forum posts, you cannot change your thread to something like: "WTS X Item for 1940!".

By leaving the price out, you maintain your ability to adjust the price based on the current sellers.

In EC specifically, you can adjust your price dynamically. However, it is a lot more effort to keep an eye on everything everyone is selling. You might miss a person selling the same item for 50pp less, after they see what you are selling the item for.

I don't agree with the people on this thread assuming the lack of a price tag is mostly caused by the hope of getting more money for the item. It is mostly to prevent the undercutting scenarios described above.

Most people who play P99 know about the wiki prices. It isn't like the days of live, where people tried to screw you all the time. Not to say that never happens, but it is much less common.

If someone is really hungry for an item and is willing to overpay, they will probably overpay anyway, just to guarantee the seller doesn't decide to sell to someone else first.

[Topgunben]

https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/dealmaking-daily/resolving-the-first-offer-dilemma-in-business-negotiations/

Advantages of Using Anchoring in Negotiation

If you value only the economic outcome of your deal, make the first offer in order to anchor the negotiation in your favor. But if you value satisfaction with the negotiation process more than the outcome itself, you may want to avoid the stress and anxiety of making the first offer.

Pretty dead on about making the first offer. Occasionally I run into someone that is as stubborn as I am, and we walk around for 30 minutes trying to figure out what the other person wants for the property/service.

But when it comes to tunnelquest, just post the price that you want, and drop it 10% of its original sale price every so often till it sells. Higher price items take longer to sell of course.

[kaizersoze]

Just offer them a decent amount (can try to do the lowest general auction lately and if they want a quick sale youre good) or just offer the median. its not that big a deal. worst case they say no and come crawling back like a bird on their belly if they change their mind.

[Jimjam]

Do people negotiate on this server, or is it more a make offer y/n?

If there is an element of negotiation, I don't think you can offer a number given by the wiki, as the numbers are advertised anchor point values, not actual time of sale values.

That's if you care about conserving your pennies.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

People do negotiate. That is one of the benefits of Everquest over MMO's with auction houses. It's always a race to the bottom with auction houses.

[Danth]

Do people negotiate on this server, or is it more a make offer y/n?

Both. Some folks treat CommonsMart like a third-world slum and argue over a few cents on the price of some bananas. Then you have people like me who are more apt to take the take it or leave it approach.

Danth

[loramin]

Do people negotiate on this server, or is it more a make offer y/n?

If there is an element of negotiation, I don't think you can offer a number given by the wiki, as the numbers are advertised anchor point values, not actual time of sale values.

That's if you care about conserving your pennies.

My dad's "job" for years was buying stuff at garage sales, public auctions, etc. ... and then re-selling it at the flea market. If I learned one thing from going with him on countless such trips (and trying to pick up NES games for myself or whatever), it's this simple bit of advice:

It never hurts to ask "Would you take X (a reasonable lower amount)?".

Worst case scenario they're like Danth and they say no ... and then you're only back to the same place as if you hadn't asked. But if they say yes ... you just saved X plat by typing four words :)

[Snortles Chortles]

would you care to admit, that you're feeling a little silly right now?

[loramin]

would you care to admit, that you're feeling a little silly right now?

Not on this one. I've sold enough items at asking price over the years to know lots of people really need to learn the above.

[sacman08]

Another reason I don't list prices in auction is to reduce other sellers from undercutting me. I want to be in EC for the minimum amount of time possible so to be there listing something and have someone else run in an slash plat off the same item is annoying.

[Topgunben]

just wanted to throw out some good advice from a purchasers stand point. I always ask the seller, "what is your rock bottom price?" More often than not, I am surprised how much people are willing to come down. This doesnt seem to work in EQ tunnel though.

[Snaggles]

I’d like to say it’s strategy but 9/10 times it’s probably just people being lazy. I’m usually two whiskeys in. Type numbers?? Pshh.

[Tethler]

Evia above explains it perfectly. The only issue I've come across are people that are adamant about you being the one that makes the first offer when they're advertising something they want to unload. For me, it usually goes down like this in a /tell.

(Me) "I am interested in the X item. How much did you want for it?"
(Them) "Make me an offer."
(Me) "Actually, that's not an answer to my question. You obviously have an idea of what you would want for the item. Go ahead and name it."
(Them) "Make me an offer and I'll tell you if it will work."
(Me) "Thank you for your time."

At this point I've had sellers waste about 6 to 8 /tells to me asking what my problem is or why I wouldn't make an offer if I wanted the item at all. I guess being polite about refusing to play the "the first person that makes the offer loses." game isn't acceptable to some folks.

You stick it out longer than I do. I'm more like this:

(Me) "I am interested in the X item. How much did you want for it?"
(Them) "Make me an offer."
(Me) "10p"
(Them) "..."
(Me) "Too low? Okay, your turn."

That, or I never respond to their "make me an offer"

[Petrified Wood]

Great answers to the question I posted. Seems like I got both sides of the coin and then some. Most of it makes perfect sense and is more or less what I was thinking would be the answer(s) given. Thanks for the replies, I now understand something more then I did before and that I appreciate :)

[fastboy21]

Whoever speaks first in pretty much any negotiation is at a disadvantage. It is a strong move if you can force your adversary to accept his role in the relationship as dependent on you, rather than the other way around.

It usually is easily side-stepped by knowing the market price fluctuation and being sure of the value the item has to you.

Buyers on p99 generally have an advantage in most of the items for sale. If only because of the published average prices on the wiki. That sort of confidence didn't exist in classic EQ...you actually had to figure it out (by observing the market for yourself or asking people you trusted). I view the common practice of not listing prices on p99 to be a way for sellers to re-assert a little bit of power in the market...not that it matters in anything except super high end items.

[Jorgam]

Because putting text in there for pricing takes up space and you can't add as many items to your message. I hate having to put commas in even.

That's my reason anyway.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

Because putting text in there for pricing takes up space and you can't add as many items to your message. I hate having to put commas in even.

That's my reason anyway.

That is very good point. When you are selling 50 items or so, that is quite a few messages you have to keep track of, update, and re-send. From my experience, you can only really fit about 7-10 items per message, depending on the length of their name. The less text you need to write per message, the less total messages you have to write, and the easier it is to remove an item from a message when it is sold.

[eqravenprince]

I don't bother buying something where they are too lazy to put a price. It's annoying.

[kaev]

I find ridiculous lowball offers more likely when I don't price items, but I often get convos with possible buyers much quicker that way.

With common items people will usually offer something within 20% of the "usual" price, I'll take it or counter offer or stick to / name my price (get annoyed by chisellers when I've already put a low price on something to sell it quickly).

BTW, there is no accurate one-size-fits-all motivation for human behavior or anything close to it. Sellers can be lazy, sellers can put up the items on an auction line and then edit the line later to put prices on it, sellers can be tired of -10% (or whatever) offers. All you wannabe mindreaders above are really shit at it and should give it up.