# Springtime and Yardsales=Idiots **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 29, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689 "2006-04-29T01:46:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/61 "2006-05-01T19:10:02Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > The last time my mother bought a car, she got the price she wanted, the options she wanted, and the hat the saleman was wearing at the time. During negotiations, my father mentioned what a nice hat it was, and asked where he could get one like it. Mom got the man to throw it in. The thought of buying a car without haggling terrifies me. I prefer to do all my research before I walk in. As I couldn’t expect a salesman to give me his best price, I started out by stating that I don’t haggle. Here is the car I want, here is what I’m willing to pay, take it or leave it. It could be a 5 minute sale for someone. Not surprisingly, several didn’t get the point, nor did they get the sale, or even the chance to try to sell to me. Finally, through a dealer contacted via the internet, I got the car I wanted at the price I was willing to pay and the salesman probably got his easiest commission he was ever going to earn. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/62 "2006-05-01T19:45:25Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Measly? Three hundred pennies is measly? Twelve quarters? Thirty dimes? Measly? Yeah, it is. I just spent more on a sandwich and iced tea for lunch. It’s not the kind of amount I would haggle over. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/63 "2006-05-01T22:56:29Z")
I’m from PA originally, and yard/garage sales there seem to be behind in popularity only to cheese steaks and Penn State football, so I can sympathize somewhat with the OP. OTOH, I don’t get all the whinging from people who have held 'em and will never do it again. Guess you’ve gotta go in with the right attitude. I participated in a couple with my sister and a few of her friends, and things went as well as could ever be expected, really. We set up early in the morning, my sister’s then-husband and I politely ran off any early birds who showed up, priced things at whatever we thought they were realistically worth, accepted haggling down to 10-30% off on multiple purchases, didn’t have any assholes being rude to us over prices that I can recall, and didn’t have any known thefts of goods (of course, we had about eight people watching over everything, so maybe no one felt like really trying). No one made bags of money, but a couple of us made about $200 total for each day’s sale. The only downside, really, was that it gets boring to sit around the last couple hours because hardly anyone shows up after about noon. One key seemed to be having several families who knew each other well in on the sale rather than just one; each of the sellers kept an eye on each others’ goods, and everyone had a chance to goof off for a while at some point during the day. Nothing I’d want to do regularly (some years back I did the weekly flea market seller thing and lost interest pretty quickly), but good fun if one does it once a year or so, and if the weather’s nice. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/64 "2006-05-02T00:44:54Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > What the seller paid for the item is irrelevant. But the _value_ of the item certainly isn’t. If it’s already obviously a great buy at the price marked then you must be haggling for sport rather than a couple of bucks. > [@](#): > > Again, the goal is not to give the buyer the thrill of victory. The goal is profit. Even for a once a year garage sale, refusal to haggle results in decreased sales. This is just silly. If stuff is a great buy and the prices are not inflated but priced to move bargain hunters will not walk away over the seller not being willing to haggle. As others here have already testified. If the few compulsive hagglers want to leave great buys sitting there for someone else then fine. You can go away mad if you like as long as you go away. Decreased sales!! Ridiculous. > [@](#): > > Good will is generated by a seller who is willing to haggle. Good will results in trust. Good will is also generated by great prices and a friendly attitude. > [@](#): > > The prices are not padded to take advantage of poor hagglers. They are padded to allow for haggling, which is cusomary and expected, and creates good will, and thus trust. Yes prices can be padded to allow for haggling. It just seems so unessecary in a once a year yard sale if the prices are already great. Folks who can’t figure that out by looking at the prices marked are proably the haggle for sport type. > [@](#): > > Play the game because it is the custom. Or choose not to because you don’t care for it, and create your own custom. > [@](#): > > If in a morning of garage saling you only save seventy five cents, you either bought very few items, or truly do not know how to haggle. I guess that depends on why you’re shopping. If you only buy things you want, need, and intend to use then you might not need to haggle. Especially if you happen to stop at the yard sales of folks who don’t pad prices. If you’re shopping to resell or just for sport that’s a different matter. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/65 "2006-05-02T01:04:03Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > But the _value_ of the item certainly isn’t. If it’s already obviously a great buy at the price marked then you must be haggling for sport rather than a couple of bucks. The value of any item is what somebody will pay for it. > [@](#): > > This is just silly. If stuff is a great buy and the prices are not inflated but priced to move bargain hunters will not walk away over the seller not being willing to haggle. Some will. > [@](#): > > As others here have already testified. If the few compulsive hagglers want to leave great buys sitting there for someone else then fine. You can go away mad if you like as long as you go away. Decreased sales!! Ridiculous. So I imagined an earlier post where somebody admitted that their refusal to haggle left with them with a lot of unsold merchandise at the end of the day? > [@](#): > > Good will is also generated by great prices and a friendly attitude. True. But in my experience refusal to haggle results in people not buying. As I said, value is entirely subjective. Is the great price you refuse to lower really as great as you think it is? For example, I often find sellers who have priced an item based on something similar they saw on E Bay. They fail to notice that one on E Bay was mint, and the one they’re selling is in poor condition and missing pieces. > [@](#): > > I guess that depends on why you’re shopping. If you only buy things you want, need, and intend to use then you might not need to haggle. Especially if you happen to stop at the yard sales of folks who don’t pad prices. > If you’re shopping to resell or just for sport that’s a different matter. I would never shop for sport. I haggle regardless of whether an item is something I want, need, intend to use, give to a friend as a gift, or resell. Second, whether the prices are fair is independent of whether the seller will haggle. Just looking at the marked prices will not tell you whether a seller has padded the price to allow for haggling or whether this is their idea of a great price. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/66 "2006-05-02T14:30:40Z")
> [@EADGBe](#): > > As a veteran of several garage sales, I calmly look the early birds in the eye and say “Right now it is a Garage Event. Everything is $200. We’re having a Garage Sale later - prices will be impressively discounted starting at 9am.” > It gets better when you keep the threat up and someone grabs some books from the pile and you calmly tell them “Let’s see - 3 books. $600. Would you like a bag?” > > They get pissy at that point. Also very funny. I hope I get to try that. I occasionally will offer a slight discount or some token for free for those who have some emotional need for a better deal. When they complain that the deal isn’t good enough I occasionally will say, “I’ll gladly charge full price if you’d rather I do that” ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/67 "2006-05-02T15:53:12Z")
I ask again how anybody can tell whether a price is padded for haggling, or whether the seller truly considers that price a bargain, or priced to move? > [@Antigen](#): > > I was at a yard sale last year where the woman wanted 10$ for a Magic 8-ball. Um… no. At my yard sale, I’d have that at $1, max. Less if it was all scratched up. She was selling old beat-up furniture for far too much, too. Not antiques or anything. Cheap little Ikea-type side tables or coffee tables, $40 each. Bar stool, $30.Was she insane? That would be my guess. But most cases are not so obvious. I’d say a $10 Magic 8 Ball is padded for haggling. However, the woman would probably have been unwilling to accept less than $7, still an insane price. Had she initially marked it $7, she would have refused haggling as it was already a bargain. > [@CosmosDan](#): > > If stuff is a great buy and the prices are not inflated but priced to move bargain hunters will not walk away over the seller not being willing to haggle. A great buy is in the eye of the beholder. So is an inflated price, and a bargain. > [@Lissa](#): > > The padding of prices actually strikes me as a bit dishonest in nature. You’re asking more than what you really want, and I, as a non-haggler, will pay that price if I want the item. Do padded prices take advantage of non-hagglers? Yes and no. Yes, they do pay more. However, it’s generally an amount of money they don’t care about. > [@Lissa](#): > > Hell, if I dropped fifteen cents on the sidewalk, I’d probably not bother to pick it up. So, fifteen cents is an insignificant amount of money to you? > [@Lissa](#): > > it strikes me as demeaning to haggle over a quarter So, twenty five cents is insignificant? > [@Lissa](#): > > I suppose I could have dickered with the guy selling the stuff and got the tray for seven, or the flowers for four, saving me three dollars, but it’s simply not worth the hassle, especially when I’m already getting nice things for dirt-cheap prices. Really, what’s the point in spending ten minutes trying to weasle a measly three bucks out of the seller, when I could be spending that time doing something else? So, three hundred cents is insignificant? > [@CosmosDan](#): > > Sure, if you buy eight items and save a quarter on each you saved a very substantial $2 So, we’re back down to two hundred cents? If the price is only padded by an amount you consider insignificant, what exactly is your objection? ‘Padding prices for hagglers makes me overpay by an amount I consider measley and insignificant?’ So padding prices makes the hagglers happy, and overcharges the non-hagglers by an amount of money they don’t care about? > [@CosmosDan](#): > > If stuff is a great buy and the prices are not inflated but priced to move bargain hunters will not walk away over the seller not being willing to haggle. As others here have already testified. If the few compulsive hagglers want to leave great buys sitting there for someone else then fine. You can go away mad if you like as long as you go away. Decreased sales!! Ridiculous. Tell that to **MamaTiger** > [@MamaTiger](#): > > There’s a time and a place for bargaining, and first thing in the morning ain’t it. Of course, that’s also why I ended up giving away a bunch of stuff at the end of the day, because I was so offended by the so-called bargain hunters. A bunch of unsold items at the end of a day due to refusal to haggle. I find her refusal to haggle rather odd considering that she now sells her items at a deep discount > [@MamaTiger](#): > > These days I just have a freecycle non-garage sale. Works much, much better. I may not get any $$, but the stuff goes away much faster and with far less hassle and aggravation. > > . . .And that’s why I’ve stopped garage saleing and stick to freecycling these days. A lot less aggravation all the way around. You can’t get much deeper than a 100% discount. By The Way Due to a family vacation in the early nineties, I’ve also haggled at flea markets in Hawaii. My e-mail alerts pop up in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. All I see is “Springtime”. Everytime it happens I hear an orchestra and a chorus “For Hitler and Germany (dunt da dunt dah). Winter for Poland and France…” ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/68 "2006-05-02T20:16:36Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Do padded prices take advantage of non-hagglers? Yes and no. Yes, they do pay more. However, it’s generally an amount of money they don’t care about. It’s not the money-- it’s the principle. Is it a principle worth getting all worked up about? No, not really, but it is slightly distasteful, in my opinion. > [@](#): > > So, fifteen cents is an insignificant amount of money to you? Yes. > [@](#): > > So, twenty five cents is insignificant? Yes. > [@](#): > > So, three hundred cents is insignificant? Yes. > [@](#): > > If the price is only padded by an amount you consider insignificant, what exactly is your objection? ‘Padding prices for hagglers makes me overpay by an amount I consider measley and insignificant?’ > > So padding prices makes the hagglers happy, and overcharges the non-hagglers by an amount of money they don’t care about? As I said, it’s not the money-- it’s the principle. When I had my yardsale, I put prices on the items that I thought was fair and that I felt comfortable in accepting. It does not strike me as fair to inflate the the price so that I can play a mental game with people, making them think they’re “beating” me by subtracting the portion I slyly added. Why the ruse? Ask the price you want and leave it at that. There are way too many head-games in the world as it is without complicating what should be one of the most simple and casual transactions. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/69 "2006-05-02T20:25:35Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > Why the ruse? Ask the price you want and leave it at that. There are way too many head-games in the world as it is without complicating what should be one of the most simple and casual transactions. Why? Because it is (at least in many areas) expected. Because it increases sales. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/70 "2006-05-03T09:20:25Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > The value of any item is what somebody will pay for it. And will somebody will pay for it has to do with their perception of it’s value, or what it originally cost vs. it’s price at a yard sale. > [@](#): > > Some will. as I said. The compulsive hagglers. Not those seeing a great buy on something they want. > [@](#): > > So I imagined an earlier post where somebody admitted that their refusal to haggle left with them with a lot of unsold merchandise at the end of the day? > > True. But in my experience refusal to haggle results in people not buying. As I said, value is entirely subjective. Is the great price you refuse to lower really as great as you think it is? > > For example, I often find sellers who have priced an item based on something similar they saw on E Bay. They fail to notice that one on E Bay was mint, and the one they’re selling is in poor condition and missing pieces. Now your injecting random details to make your point. Sure people can misjudge what stuff is worth. If someone has a yard sale in order to make money then they could easily over price. What we were talking about is someone who prices stuff low in order to get rid of it. > [@](#): > > I would never shop for sport. I haggle regardless of whether an item is something I want, need, intend to use, give to a friend as a gift, or resell. And if it was an obviously a very good price and the seller said “prices as marked” you would…??? > [@](#): > > Second, whether the prices are fair is independent of whether the seller will haggle. Just looking at the marked prices will not tell you whether a seller has padded the price to allow for haggling or whether this is their idea of a great price. Don’t forget we’re talking annual or semi annual yard sale not people who sell on a regular basis. Looking at the prices marked and having a bit of common sense tells you if it’s a bad deal, a decent buy, or a very good or great buy. iF it’s already a great buy then the seller has probably not padded the prices. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/71 "2006-05-03T10:43:33Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I ask again how anybody can tell whether a price is padded for haggling, or whether the seller truly considers that price a bargain, or priced to move? I’d call it common sense. You speak of losing sales by not haggling. The opposite can also be true. Someone misjudging the value or over padding the prices can cause buyers to walk away as well. If I went to a yard sale I’d expect prices to be low. If they were inflated on everything I would be inclined to walk away rather than haggle over paperbacks and spoons. > [@](#): > > A great buy is in the eye of the beholder. So is an inflated price, and a bargain. Which is a valid argument for those who prefer not to haggle for a quarter. > [@](#): > > So, fifteen cents is an insignificant amount of money to you? > > So, twenty five cents is insignificant? They are to almost anyone with a yard to sell in or a car to get to a yard sale in. > [@](#): > > So, three hundred cents is insignificant? all perspective. As I’ve said before. It’s the compulsive hagglers who get pissy when you won’t haggle that annoy me. If I found something I liked that was $10 or more and the price seemed border line I might make an offer. If it was a working 13" color TV I’d feel like a dumbass asking if they’d take $7 > [@](#): > > If the price is only padded by an amount you consider insignificant, what exactly is your objection? ‘Padding prices for hagglers makes me overpay by an amount I consider measly and insignificant?’ > > So padding prices makes the hagglers happy, and overcharges the non-hagglers by an amount of money they don’t care about? Sure that happens. Or padding might cause a loss of sales if folks get the idea that the seller has things priced unrealistically. At my store we sell used musical gear. 80% of our customers will haggle over used gear. We take that into account when we mark prices and when we buy. The goal is not have things priced too high on the sales floor. You want people to get that first impression of prices being reasonable and you want to generate an acceptable profit even after haggling. Fairly often the prices are good enough as marked that a customer will just buy it without haggling. Of course I’m speaking of items that are generally over $100. When we have a working amp for $50 and some goon offers $30 because he thinks hes a bargaining whiz then he can piss off. There’s no need to mark it down 40% Someone will come in tomorrow and pay $50 and be happy. > [@](#): > > Tell that to **MamaTiger** > A bunch of unsold items at the end of a day due to refusal to haggle. I find her refusal to haggle rather odd considering that she now sells her items at a deep discount That’s assuming that refusal to haggle was the only reason. I’m skeptical. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/72 "2006-05-03T10:53:40Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Why? > > Because it is (at least in many areas) expected. > > Because it increases sales. I’m aware that haggling is an accepted practice in several arenas. You haven’t convinced me that padding prices and haggling increases sales or not haggling loses sales, especially in the yard sale format we are discussing here. I think in our culture where hagglers are plentiful it’s good to be up front if you have no intention of haggling and accept the responsibility of making sure your prices are good buys without haggling. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/73 "2006-05-03T12:24:26Z")
Honestly, is there some newsletter with a shitlist of non-haggling sellers? For my next yard sale I think I’ll try setting up the night before in the hope that thieves come and just cart all the crap away. I’ll even help them load. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/74 "2006-05-03T23:24:55Z")
> [@Hogwash](#): > > Buyer: Excuse me love, how much for this Van Damme video? > Kind old middle-aged woman: A pound? > Buyer: Give ya 75p? > KOMAW: Oh, go on then! > Buyer: Ta love. > KOMAW: Cheers. > (Transaction leaves everyone with a warm, fuzzy feeling) I love this example transaction. It’s so indicative of Britishness that I, as a Yank, have _no idea_ whether the price was eventually agreed upon and the video bought, or whether they cheerfully wished each other well and moved on. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/75 "2006-05-04T00:53:02Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > And will somebody will pay for it has to do with their perception of it’s value, or what it originally cost vs. it’s price at a yard sale. Why do you assume value is tied to original cost? > [@](#): > > as I said. The compulsive hagglers. Not those seeing a great buy on something they want. As I said before, a great buy is in the eye of the beholder. The non-haggler can set what they consider low prices, and the haggler perceives prices so high that they must have been padded for haggling. > [@](#): > > Now your injecting random details to make your point. No, now I am proving my point by mentioning something I’ve observed often over the years. > [@](#): > > Sure people can misjudge what stuff is worth. They often do. > [@](#): > > If someone has a yard sale in order to make money then they could easily over price. What we were talking about is someone who prices stuff low in order to get rid of it. Somebody who prices stuff at what _they perceive to be low prices_. > [@](#): > > And if it was an obviously a very good price and the seller said “prices as marked” you would…??? If it was what _I thought was a very good price_ I would buy it. > [@](#): > > Don’t forget we’re talking annual or semi annual yard sale not people who sell on a regular basis. Looking at the prices marked and having a bit of common sense tells you if it’s a bad deal, a decent buy, or a very good or great buy. iF it’s already a great buy then the seller has probably not padded the prices. You keeep using words like great buy, and low price, as if these things were universal standards and existed objectively. Neither is true. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/76 "2006-05-04T01:02:19Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > I’d call it common sense. You speak of losing sales by not haggling. The opposite can also be true. Someone misjudging the value or over padding the prices can cause buyers to walk away as well. If I went to a yard sale I’d expect prices to be low. If they were inflated on everything I would be inclined to walk away rather than haggle over paperbacks and spoons. Again, you speak of your perception of low prices and inflated prices. A seller’s inflated price might be low to you. Their low price might be inflated to you. > [@](#): > > They are to almost anyone with a yard to sell in or a car to get to a yard sale in. I wish I’d thought to tell mom, and the many hundreds of car and home owners we ran into over the years that. > [@](#): > > all perspective. As I’ve said before. It’s the compulsive hagglers who get pissy when you won’t haggle that annoy me. If I found something I liked that was $10 or more and the price seemed border line I might make an offer. If it was a working 13" color TV I’d feel like a dumbass asking if they’d take $7 While there’s no need to get pissy, I also can’t see why you’d feel like a dumbass. > [@](#): > > Sure that happens. Or padding might cause a loss of sales if folks get the idea that the seller has things priced unrealistically. > At my store we sell used musical gear. 80% of our customers will haggle over used gear. We take that into account when we mark prices and when we buy. The goal is not have things priced too high on the sales floor. You want people to get that first impression of prices being reasonable and you want to generate an acceptable profit even after haggling. Fairly often the prices are good enough as marked that a customer will just buy it without haggling. I think **Lissa** will want to have a few a words with you about ‘ripping off the non-haggler’. I, on the other hand, would like to thank you for proving me right. Your prices, although padded to allow for haggling, do not seem so to many customers who will buy at the marked price. Exactly what I do when holding a garage sale or selling at an antique or toy show. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/77 "2006-05-04T02:12:36Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Why do you assume value is tied to original cost? You stubbornly deny what is obvious. There is not one formula for all things but certainly original cost or the going price, is a least a factor when considering a purchase. Why isn’t an eight ball worth ten dollars? Or in our store. If a customer can buy a new one for $100 then $95 is not perceived as a great buy for a used one. > [@](#): > > As I said before, a great buy is in the eye of the beholder. The non-haggler can set what they consider low prices, and the haggler perceives prices so high that they must have been padded for haggling. I haven’t claimed everybody sees things the same but you refuse to acknowledge that there are some common standards. Certain items will be seen as a good buy by both. The compulsive haggler will still try to haggle. > [@](#): > > No, now I am proving my point by mentioning something I’ve observed often over the years. By ignoring the specifics of the subject. The only point being proved is that some people enjoy haggling and want to do it and some don’t. > [@](#): > > Somebody who prices stuff at what _they perceive to be low prices_. Sure , some people may perceive value differently. I experience that fairly regularly. Using the exception to the rule doesn’t make your case. In general on common household items the average person can tell a good buy when they see one. > [@](#): > > If it was what _I thought was a very good price_ I would buy it. Exactly the point being made. A compulsive haggler might walk away because the emotional attachment to haggling is more important than the actual buy. > [@](#): > > You keep using words like great buy, and low price, as if these things were universal standards and existed objectively. Neither is true. and you keep using varying perceptions to try and make your point. I have acknowledged that perceptions vary but when discussing yard sales and common household items the public in general has some concept of value. The discussion started out talking about haggling for quarters. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/78 "2006-05-04T02:47:11Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Again, you speak of your perception of low prices and inflated prices. A seller’s inflated price might be low to you. Their low price might be inflated to you. Yes yes. I have acknowledged that perceptions may vary. I don’t see that it makes your case one bit given the subject matter. If the average person sees an item at a yard sale that is a mere fraction of their original cost then they will perceive it as a good buy. Whether they want or need it is another matter. Paperbacks for a quarter is a good buy if it’s a book you want to read. > [@](#): > > I wish I’d thought to tell mom, and the many hundreds of car and home owners we ran into over the years that. The fact that they may enjoy haggling doesn’t mean they don’t see 15 cents as insignificant. If they yard sale regularly then that 15 cents might add up at the end of the year. In the same way a business prefers to save the 2% charged by CC companies because it adds up in the course of a year. The thing is that isn’t what we were talking about. It’s something you injected into the conversation in order to prove a point. It’s called changing the subject. > [@](#): > > While there’s no need to get pissy, I also can’t see why you’d feel like a dumbass. I’m not trying to be pissy, but since we’re in the pit I could if I chose to. I’m trying to remind you of the original subject matter. If you see my point here then I’m wondering why you’ve missed it all along and continued your argument. > [@](#): > > I think **Lissa** will want to have a few a words with you about ‘ripping off the non-haggler’. > > I, on the other hand, would like to thank you for proving me right. Your prices, although padded to allow for haggling, do not seem so to many customers who will buy at the marked price. Exactly what I do when holding a garage sale or selling at an antique or toy show. Actually it’s quite the opposite. I’m making the difference between a business which sells items for several hundred dollars and the occasional yard sale where items are priced to be gotten rid of rather than for profit. It’s the difference you’ve been missing or purposely avoiding for many posts now. Lisa acknowledged she would haggle over certain things if it was a significant amount of money. She might be interested in saving a $100 or so on a decent guitar or amp. She probably wouldn’t ask for a discount when buying two packs of strings. That’s where this silly mess began and for me where it ends. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/79 "2006-05-04T03:11:12Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > You stubbornly deny what is obvious. There is not one formula for all things but certainly original cost or the going price, is a least a factor when considering a purchase. Why isn’t an eight ball worth ten dollars? Or in our store. If a customer can buy a new one for $100 then $95 is not perceived as a great buy for a used one. But the amount by which the marked price must be lower than the original price varies. If a new one is $100 is $75 a great price? $50? $25? > [@](#): > > I haven’t claimed everybody sees things the same but you refuse to acknowledge that there are some common standards. Certain items will be seen as a good buy by both. I have never seen standards. I’ve seen an accepted range of prices. > [@](#): > > By ignoring the specifics of the subject. The only point being proved is that some people enjoy haggling and want to do it and some don’t. By “inject random details” I’m ignoring specifics? > [@](#): > > In general on common household items the average person can tell a good buy when they see one. Again, perceptions of a good buy vary. If they percieve the marked price to be slightly higher than their idea of a good buy, many people will haggle. > [@](#): > > and you keep using varying perceptions to try and make your point. I have acknowledged that perceptions vary but when discussing yard sales and common household items the public in general has some concept of value. The public in general has a whole bellcurve of concepts of value. Somebody haggling on what you think is a low price does not mean that they are a compulsive haggler. They may honestly see that price as too high. > [@](#): > > The discussion started out talking about haggling for quarters. No, the discussion started out with **DancesWithCats** talking about bad driving and pedestrian stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689/80 "2006-05-04T03:33:40Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > Yes yes. I have acknowledged that perceptions may vary. I don’t see that it makes your case one bit given the subject matter. > If the average person sees an item at a yard sale that is a mere fraction of their original cost then they will perceive it as a good buy. Whether they want or need it is another matter. Paperbacks for a quarter is a good buy if it’s a book you want to read. I’ll agree on a quarter being a good price for paperbacks. I suspect nearly everyone would. But, you’ll find a wide range of opinions on what a good price on clothing, television, microwaves etc is. > [@](#): > > The fact that they may enjoy haggling doesn’t mean they don’t see 15 cents as insignificant. If they yard sale regularly then that 15 cents might add up at the end of the year. In the same way a business prefers to save the 2% charged by CC companies because it adds up in the course of a year. The thing is that isn’t what we were talking about. It’s something you injected into the conversation in order to prove a point. It’s called changing the subject. **Lissa** said that three dollars was insignificant. I was stunned and wanted clarification. You agreed with her that this amount of money was insignificant. Then, you asserted that any one haggling over any amount of money that you considered insignificant did so for the joy of haggling. I did not inject it into the conversation. I was not changing the subject. > [@](#): > > I’m not trying to be pissy, but since we’re in the pit I could if I chose to. I wasn’t accusing you of being pissy. You mentioned that some hagglers became pissy when you refused to haggle. I was saying that I saw no point to becoming pissy. I was also asking why attempting to haggle would make you feel like a dumbass for offering $7 on something marked $10. > [@](#): > > I’m trying to remind you of the original subject matter. That the large amount of garage sales is causing **DancesWithCats** aggravation when he drives? > [@](#): > > If you see my point here then I’m wondering why you’ve missed it all along and continued your argument. Again, I utterly fail to see why offering $7 on a television marked $10 is a bad thing or in any way implies that somebody is somehow ‘in love with haggling’. > [@](#): > > Actually it’s quite the opposite. I’m making the difference between a business which sells items for several hundred dollars and the occasional yard sale where items are priced to be gotten rid of rather than for profit. It’s the difference you’ve been missing or purposely avoiding for many posts now. Actually, it’s a difference you haven’t bothered to bring up until now. However, if garage sale items are priced merely to be gotten rid of, and profit is not an issue, than what is the problem with hagglers? If profit is unimportant, shouldn’t it be “This is marked 5. Will you take 3?” “Sure. Making money isn’t the point.” > [@](#): > > Lisa acknowledged she would haggle over certain things if it was a significant amount of money. She might be interested in saving a $100 or so on a decent guitar or amp. She probably wouldn’t ask for a discount when buying two packs of strings. That’s where this silly mess began and for me where it ends. **Lissa** also said that padding prices for hagglers, but charging non-hagglers the full price was dishonest. In fact, she said so repeatedly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springtime-and-yardsales-idiots/354689.md?page=5)