Featured It's time again for Let's Play a Game!!

Thanks for mentioning that. My philosophy is to never be pushy, instead I try to be super polite and convenient. When I have an item like this, if I don’t raise my offer, what’s the incentive for the person especially if they already have someone lined up to see it the next day? I have 100’s of experiences where it just doesn’t work out, but for this one, through a very short series of messages, I was able to get the item by offering $70 total. It doesn’t always work out that way, but it’s the best tool in my toolbox compared to someone just picking up the item which is always more convenient to the seller.

I think word choice is really important too, in this instance the seller stated that someone was coming to look tomorrow, they didn’t say that an agreement to sell the item was reached. That gives me wider latitude to make an offer and not worry about offending the seller. If I know a local deal has been made, I will always ask first if it’s okay if I make them an offer. If they aren’t comfortable with me making an offer, I move on to find treasure elsewhere.

 

You don't want them wondering why you're willing to offer a lot more money and figuring out what they've got! OTOH I've gotten bargains a few times from people who knew and just plain didn't care. Divorce jewelry comes to mind. Once I even offered a lady more money than she was asking, but she wouldn't take it. Her ex had given it to her.