How to handle possible customers who

Ok,I get some people who either do not read the full ad I've posted or just plain don't give a hoot.

I've posted ads for boas for great prices. Ad states cost plus shipping. Price is firm. Then I get will you take $150 for your albino shipped. To tx no less.

I put firm,but I guess some just don't understand English. I sometimes get very frustrated with that person. Which,than I won't even deal with the person because I feel they will be a problem buyer since they didn't respect my ad in the first place.

What would you do? I could use some advice. In the long run,being rude will get me into issues here. I just don't know how to handle these type of people.

It's a known fact that most people either don't read, or disregard, information posted in the ad. You can say: "LOCAL SALES ONLY - NO SHIPPING", and people will still ask you to ship. A "FIRM" price will get lower offers.
The best response, IMO, is to politely restate your information, and decline their offer.
As indicated in my ad, my price is firm. I feel that the _______ is well worth the posted price; so I am not considering lower offers at this time.
Thank you for your interest.

Personally, if I post the price as firm, I don't include a counter offer of any sort in my reply. If my ad says $200, shipped - FIRM; I will decline an offer of $190...unless, of course, it is somebody asking about the option of local pickup

Originally Posted by hhmoore

It's a known fact that most people either don't read, or disregard, information posted in the ad. You can say: "LOCAL SALES ONLY - NO SHIPPING", and people will still ask you to ship. A "FIRM" price will get lower offers.
The best response, IMO, is to politely restate your information, and decline their offer.
As indicated in my ad, my price is firm. I feel that the _______ is well worth the posted price; so I am not considering lower offers at this time.
Thank you for your interest.

Sometimes that's hard when you feel like they just disregard your ad that has all pertinent info in.

I'm sorry I had to ask this,but it's just really annoying that people do this ALL the time.

Are you suggesting if I take out the firm price I might not get those "pushers" ?
And Ty Harold. I know you have some serious patience as some others on here.
So I had to ask and I value your opinion. Not kissing but!!

Oh, without the firm price statement, you'll get some seriously insulting offers.
I hate the marketplace - too many people wanting something for nothing...or, worse, expecting you to pay out of pocket to get rid of your snake (ie $40, shipped, for a hypo female).

Luckily, I don't really care if I sell to anybody - so the people tossing out offers of half (or less) my posted price simply get a no thank you....and I probably won't open their subsequent messages/emails. An offer like that is NOT a "starting point for negotiation" with me - it's the end of discussion. If I'm going to offer wholesale pricing, it's going to be to somebody buying enough to make it worthwhile. No single animals at wholesale prices. Discounts for friends and repeat customers - sure...but not 35+% (I simply don't inflate my prices that much, which is why I don't have much interest in negotiation)

I have no interest in being the lowest priced. I price my animals fairly, and according to quality. I might post one snake at a lower price than a littermate of the same morph; simply because I don't think it looks as good. Some customers totally understand the concept of buying quality...others see only pricetags.

Originally Posted by allreptiles1966

I won't even deal with the person because I feel they will be a problem buyer since they didn't respect my ad in the first place.

You have a good point. I'd be tempted to simply not respond at all.

I have been being nice and just saying no thank you. Sometimes just a no.
I can't believe some people have the nerve to ask such low offers. I do discount for buying more than one. And honestly,I'd give a slight discount for just being polite when responding to my ads with a "hello' . I think maybe 1 out of ten people start the reply with hello or hi.

What happened to manners?

Thanks Harold and Lucille. I feel a bit better knowing this is common place.

I'll buy from you. I start all my inquiries with hello so I'll be expecting that discount

Seriously though a simple polite no thank you is all that is required but if you want to go the little extra what Herald said is nice too. The key IMO is to resist being rude back no matter how rude they may get. Its just not worth the potential backlash if they decide to spread it around.

An example of my response to an add that doesn't have firm in it may be as follows.

Hello,
I saw your ad on fauna for the XXX for sale for YYY dollars. I was wondering if you would consider ZZZ for it. If not I understand and good luck with your sale.

Steve Schindler


I always put my complete name in any response and the ZZZ will NEVER be less than 75% of the asking price. Sometimes what a seller thinks the animal is worth just isn't what I think it is worth so I don't feel bad offering less but anything more than 25% off is out of line IMO. If you want $200 and its only worth $125 to me I'll skip it.

Bottom line be nice about your refusal and realize that there are people out there who will lowball you and there is nothing you can do about it and let it go. If you let it bother you it will drive you more and more crazy with each reply.

I go one step further, Steve. I won't reply to an ad asking for a discount at all. I feel like the asking price is what the seller expects and anything less (particularly an insultingly low amount) is a slap in the face. If the seller is truly over priced he will be listing it again at a lower price. That's when I grab the sale.

Rich, my wife and I own three businesses. None of our products and services are bargain bin quality and therefore we command higher prices for higher quality and customer service. Harald gave an excellent example of a polite way to decline an offer. Don't sell yourself short or give a less than friendly response. You and your business are better than that.

Every business has tire kickers. Be nice and send them packing.

If it's a gotta have snake - exactly the look I want - I usually won't waste time dickering, out of fear of losing it. The difficulty that arises is if the seller is somebody I don't know...I've gotten burned too many times; so I'm more likely to pass than take a chance. I might ask for references; but, realistically, they're only useful if I know/trust the person to whom I am referred.
There was one snake I really wanted a couple years ago, but it was some random new seller with no history. I offered to pay 50% up front, and upon inspection of the animal I would either send the balance or ship the animal back (at my expense) for a refund. I wouldn't have tried that with an ad found elsewhere; but I felt it was reasonable here.
1) I make a pretty good reference on this site; so me giving a new seller positive feedback could make things easier for them.
2) I stood to lose a lot more than the seller if I defaulted.

I never expect anybody to accept that offer - some do, some don't. I don't get upset if it is declined...but I don't purchase the snake, either.

Not sure why I went off on that tangent....
Back to the original topic:
If I do feel inclined to dicker, I usually just ask how firm the seller is on the price. Most will respond with a price, some will ask what I had in mind (I prefer the former, honestly)

Well,I'll be honest,it's hard to take a slap in the face as I think this person did ,by asking me to ship an albino to Tx for a total of $150 shipped. The albino is $150. It would have cost me $70 to ship there. So,you see why I just had to get some advice. I'm known to handle things poorly sometimes. But,I enjoy this site enough to come here to get answers so I don't become that marked bad guy.

I agree with you all. My response could get me into some issues by being rude,so I will use your replies to keep me on the right track.

It's just frustrating people would offer such a low ball offer. Thanks for your wisdom guys. I'll apply it.