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I want to call your attention to this article from one of my favorite sites, Lifehacker called Get Better Deals Online by Breaking the Seller’s Confidence. While not a scam in the truest sense of the word, this money saving advice does involve playing a physiological trick on the seller and is a bit, well, shady.
To quote the article,
If you see something you like on Kijiji, Craigslist, or whatever equivalent, try using two (or more, if you have the patience) email accounts to make the poster think their item is worth less. Make a really low-ball with the first account, and if they decline shrug it off and respond saying it isn’t worth it. Then, offer a better but still low-ball price with the second account.
So there’s nothing illegal going on, just a little mind game where you make the seller think there is a demand for the item at a lower price when that demand is really just you on another account. If a person had more then one account on a site like eBay or Bonanza, they could do this same thing just as easily.
Is it moral? Would you, as a seller, fall for this?
You can read the article in full here.
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Nah, my price is my price, so if I’m falling for it it’s only because the second offer met what I needed. Shoot, I hope some ambitious buyers give this a go, it can only mean more sales in the end!
I think, especially for people like you and I who sell the same stuff all the time and know what it’s worth, it wouldn’t work. But I’m thinking about those times when I get something random that I have no concept of and my BIN price is a totally shot in the dark anyway. I’d probably go for it.
But if that’s what I’m willing to sell it for, is that really a scam? Didn’t I just sell it for what I felt like selling it for?
I’ve seen an increase in disdain and a general lack of respect for those who sell, especially businesses. Not a day goes by where I don’t see blog comments demonizing businesses or suggesting ways to “screw” them in some way. Like the fact that they’re a business makes them inherently evil somehow or making it less of a crime to steal from them. It’s kind of sad.
…OH Joy…Yet More Ways To Torment The Unaware…As If Anyone Needs To Be Taught Yet More Ways…
My first comment here: Awkward!!! I kind of did this once. Back in the early days of eBay, I was out scouring garage sales and came across a woman who had several sets of Fisher Price Little People toys lined up in her driveway. I knew what they would sell for, so I offered her about half of that. She said no, politely explaining that she knew what they were worth, so I left my number and invited her to call me if they were still available at the end of the sale.
I went home and told my husband that I was bummed about missing the buy, because there was an easy $100 sale there. He asked where the house was, drove over there and offered her $10 less, thinking that perhaps would motivate her into calling me as the day began to wind down. Instead, she sold them to him!
haha, that’s classic, Angela!
It’s absolutely moral! Most sellers overprice items anyway!