Comments on: What do you do when someone has priced an item way too low?

By: Clair of Frugal Living Freedom

Clair of Frugal Living Freedom — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:09:56 +0000

There are a couple of basic rules here that we need to recognize.

First, there is no such thing as a bad deal. If the seller accepts the price and the buyer accepts the product (and no fraud was involved), then it was a good deal for both parties. If it weren’t, then one of the parties would object and the deal wouldn’t take place.

Second, we often hear people say, “Do you know what that’s worth?” I always tell them, “Yes, whatever someone will pay you for it.” You see this at auctions all the time. Sometimes people pay more than retail – way more than retail. And, sometimes things sell for pennies on the dollar. It’s worth what you can get someone to pay you for it.

Clair

By: Mr. Not the Jet Set

Mr. Not the Jet Set — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 03:53:27 +0000

I’ll offer the fence riding position of: it depends.

On one hand, that’s why you go to garage sales – for the deals. And yeah, maybe they don’t know what they have or what it’s worth. Would I hesitate to snatch up a deal. No way. If I don’t then that pushy lady with the big SUV will.

But, on the other hand, if the person selling the item seems less than capable of researching an items value or may have mis-marked it, then yeah, I’d consider helping them out.

The point is not for one party to get hurt. It should be a win-win.

By: mbhunter

mbhunter — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:06:20 +0000

Thanks everyone for the comments! (My apologies for being slow in approving them all.)

David: You’re right that judging prices from unfinished auctions on eBay isn’t the best. I checked the completed auctions and didn’t see any recent ones.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:31:25 +0000

You could be cool and tell them it was too low. if they didn’t knwo what they had or you could, just buy it and chock it up to a great deal found on Ebay yet again. like that camera I find a while back. 2am and suddenly theres a camera listed for some incredibley low price. well I bought it. great deal. what can I say. It’s ebay.

By: Liz Kay

Liz Kay — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:40:50 +0000

I agree it’s fair to tell people who might not know better that their knickknacks are worth more than they’ve priced them. I’ve overheard used book dealers who have been kind enough to tell would-be sellers that they were pricing items too low.

However, different factors also affect the economics of how people set prices, particularly on items that can be difficult to sell/ship/move. I was shopping for wedding dresses through Craigslist and often gowns that cost some brides thousands were being offered for much less just because they had no room to store them or were moving. Some had had found another dress that they preferred and wanted to recoup any of the money they spent in exchange for a dress that was new-with-tags. They could try to sell it through other means (eBay, for example) but didn’t want to go through the hassle of shipping it.

Same thing holds true for furniture, camping equipment, etc. that sometimes is barely used … it’s only worth the price that someone is willing to pay to carry it away.

By: usedvans

usedvans — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:49:38 +0000

Personally I’d most likely tell them, unless it was someone who was likely to be scamming people….maybe I’m just naive though.

By: Len Penzo

Len Penzo — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:38:12 +0000

I am firm believer in “caveat emptor” (i.e., let the buyer beware). But I also believe the free market is a two-way street, so let the seller beware too (otherwise known as “caveat venditor” in Latin)!

That’s my $0.02 (after taxes),

Len
Len Penzo dot Com

By: Chris Osborne

Chris Osborne — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:18:50 +0000

I’d buy it at the cheap price. I have no idea why the seller decided to go with a lower price. I’ve seen plenty of yard sales where items were for sale in order to get them out of the house, not to make a profit.

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:22:02 +0000

For me, it depends on the situation. If it’s an artist, I will generally let them know they’re selling their work too cheaply, unless I think they might get angry.

If it’s in a store like Walmart, I won’t say anything because generally they have ripped me off in the past. (Didn’t give me my $60 cash back at the register and then claimed the cashier didn’t have an overage when they reconciled at the end of the day. Also, things that ring up for more than they’re marked, that I don’t catch till I get home.)

At a garage sale or something similar, then it depends on whether or not I like the person. If they’re a jerk, then too bad. Sweet little old lady, then yes, I’ll tell her.

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:10:22 +0000

I think it’s less ethically ambiguous now than it would have been 20 years ago. It is not hard to get an idea what the going price for something is now, for most items. By pricing things without checking, they are saving effort, at the cost of missing out on the occasional score.

They have gained something by opting for the lower price that they would not have gained had they gone for the higher one.

20 years ago, most people, with most items, would not have had a choice.