And in the meantime you pissed off a motivated buyer who probably assumed that your “firm” position was a negotiating tactic, and who might have met your price that much sooner if you hadn’t been a jerk because your agent, not the buyer, pissed you off. Sorry, but from the point of view of the buyer, you were being scammy.
Well its the agent being a bit scammy. They want to encourage the buyer to offer a bit more , and the seller to accept a bit less. Going against your instructions, knowing it will annoy you, is one way. Perhaps they test the waters the first time.
Perhaps they call when they know they can leave a message rather than talk to you directly…
But why else does an agent exist , except to bring the buyer and seller closer together…
OK, I could have handled it differently. But it sold! 
In a hot market you are going to sell easily anyway. It is in a slow market that auctions are beneficial. The auction house will usually advertise widely and there will be a good many serious bidders. It is true, however, that most bidders will not be people who want to buy the house and move in. They will be buying as an investment; either for rental, or to ‘do it up’ and sell it on for a profit.
Prices at auction are generally lower than with private sales so it may depend on whether you have time to hang on for the better price. There are other factors too - For example, it is incumbent on a private seller to disclose any problems with neighbours. This would not apply at auction.
IIRC an agent is required to present all offers. If she says “the price is firm” and they insist “I don’t care, offer them 5% less” she has to tell you.
If say, 6 months down the road, the house hasn’t sold and you sue her because she never told you about the offer, a judge may have to analyze the instructions (if they were in writing) and decide whether you really meant it or it was a bargaining ploy. I’m sure every seller starts with “my price is firm” and goes from there.
Also, another ploy IIRC from the “Million Dollar Deal” RE porn on TV - was to drag the seller into a month or more of negotiations so they just want to unload the place. Then, they drag out the home inspection with all its picky minutae and try to use each point to ask for a reduction in price. Eventually, they hope to wheedle a few percent off the price - “the furnace is old, that will cost me $4,000 in the next few years”; “The shingles are old and I will need to spend $10,000 re-roofing soon.” They probably never do these (until the furnace dies, etc.) but they cut the price.
Plus the fact that if I set a price on a house and the buyer doesn’t try to negotiate I would expect a scam to be in the works like, “Can I use a cashier’s check to buy your house?” or “You would pay the shipper out of the extra money I am paypalling you.”
Agents spend all day hearing “absolutes” from buyers and sellers that turn out to be not-so-absolute. IMHO it was well within the agents purview to present the discounted offer. They needed to test the absolute that kayaker stated. So, they found out their answer! …The more you know…
Where did you read that? I don’t even know if the seller is required to give this information when asked - around here he certainly isn’t required to volunteer it. In any case, one person’s problem might not be another.
My neighbor plays the drums all afternoon.
Awesome! I’ll invite her over to jam in my garage!