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

[Tethler]

Originally Posted by NegaStoat [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

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"

[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?

[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 $.

[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.

[aaezil]

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

[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.

[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.

[Danth]

Originally Posted by Jimjam [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

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