Reminds me of the time I asked a car salesman what he would give me for the heap I drove up in. He answered, smoothly and politely, "By the pound.....? A very old joke, of course, but my point is that he did it in such a way as to quickly jolt me into reality without devastating my fragile adolescent ego, therefore paving the way for me to return when I had a much better concept of what I could and could not afford. I never did buy a car from that guy, but I have always thought of him as a textbook example of a good salesman. I'll bet he could even sell guns.
How Do You Politely Tell Someone You Don't Want To Trade?
- Thread starter Spreadfire Arms
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Mikul
Member
Honestly, what you've got is worth $500, but I can't give you that because they would take a long time for me to sell. I wish I could help. You might be able to do better elsewhere because the best I can offer you is $250 in trade toward the Kimber. You'll have to make up the rest in cash.
I've seen that done several times. The guy took the deal every time. I nearly passed out the first few times.
I've seen that done several times. The guy took the deal every time. I nearly passed out the first few times.
Which is exactly why many of them are going out of business!
I think you did good. I was once young, dumb, and broke. Now I'm old, dumb, and make a decent living, much of which I spend on guns. He may not have money now but he will remember how you treated him (good or bad) when he does. Hey, at least he was smart enough to want to trade out of a bunch of junk for one good firearm.
David
Actually reading this thread has got me thinking.
I hate LOWBALLERS. If I bring a firearm to a show to sell, I want to get a decent price for it. I'm not looking to make a killing, maybe a little profit from what I bought it at would be nice but I'm also willing to take a loss if it is acceptable depending on the condition of the gun and the customization involved.
But come on....some of the lowballers are just plain insulting. Example: I once brought my Remington PSS (rare one with a factory fluted 24 inch barrel and not the regular 20 or 26 they come in now). This PSS had a Harris bipod, $300 for the premium mount and rings (didn't bring the scope) and a $300 10 round detachable magazine setup, not to mention the crap load of money spent on trigger jobs, and extra customization.
Darn gun had been only fired less than 300 rounds in the last 10 years and was in almost NIB condition. Some guy asks to see the gun and after fondling it for a while offers me $250 for it. Jeez dude, I really don't mind negotiating but not with such a low starting price. This thing will consistantly shoot 5 shots in one ragged hole @ a 100 yards I told him. "Well, these things sell for $450 new all the time so $250 is the best I'll do". I told him politely no thank you" but in my head said to myself "if I wanted to get screwed, I'd go home to my wife first".
I actually took it a little personally as my guns are like my babies. I've spent many hours holding them in my arms and polishing them and cleaning them so they sparkle. But enough of my sex life.
Either way most people think that if you bring a gun to a show to sell, that it means automatically they can take 50 to 70 percent off the value of the gun. But then again, lots of dealers of used guns put 50 to 700 percent markup on the guns on their tables. When it comes down to it, an uninformed buyer/seller will always get screwed in the end. Kinda a shame.
I hate LOWBALLERS. If I bring a firearm to a show to sell, I want to get a decent price for it. I'm not looking to make a killing, maybe a little profit from what I bought it at would be nice but I'm also willing to take a loss if it is acceptable depending on the condition of the gun and the customization involved.
But come on....some of the lowballers are just plain insulting. Example: I once brought my Remington PSS (rare one with a factory fluted 24 inch barrel and not the regular 20 or 26 they come in now). This PSS had a Harris bipod, $300 for the premium mount and rings (didn't bring the scope) and a $300 10 round detachable magazine setup, not to mention the crap load of money spent on trigger jobs, and extra customization.
Darn gun had been only fired less than 300 rounds in the last 10 years and was in almost NIB condition. Some guy asks to see the gun and after fondling it for a while offers me $250 for it. Jeez dude, I really don't mind negotiating but not with such a low starting price. This thing will consistantly shoot 5 shots in one ragged hole @ a 100 yards I told him. "Well, these things sell for $450 new all the time so $250 is the best I'll do". I told him politely no thank you" but in my head said to myself "if I wanted to get screwed, I'd go home to my wife first".
I actually took it a little personally as my guns are like my babies. I've spent many hours holding them in my arms and polishing them and cleaning them so they sparkle. But enough of my sex life.
Either way most people think that if you bring a gun to a show to sell, that it means automatically they can take 50 to 70 percent off the value of the gun. But then again, lots of dealers of used guns put 50 to 700 percent markup on the guns on their tables. When it comes down to it, an uninformed buyer/seller will always get screwed in the end. Kinda a shame.
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iiibdsiil
Member
Yeah, but maybe he didn't know it had all that stuff. To him, it was a $450 gun new, so what he offered you was on par for a used gun, okay, a little low, but you know what I mean.
spacemanspiff
Senior Member
dont you mean that if your wif...., ya know what, never mind. i dont want to know.
The reason gun sellers have the reputation they do is exactly because of some of the responses here. there is no reason to get emotional or personally insulted by a trade offer. All you have to do is politey..but firmly so that there is no question that it is open for discussion....that you just plain don't deal at all in the type of stuff he has offered and that while you'd love to sell him a gun, he would do better selling them to someone who specializes in the type of guns he has. Don't make it worse by lowballing him back on his trades. He probably didn't think he was lowballing you..and if he did he will realize it didn't and won't ever work on you and he'll move on. If you have any interest in his stuff, tell him what it's worth to you and again mention it may be worth more to somebody else.
There is no reason to insult the guy or his guns...other than if it somehow makes you feel better about yourself. That of course is a whole other problem if that's the case. If you can't firmly refuse a trade offer without being a jerk about it, you should fold up your card table and get out of the retail business.
There is no reason to insult the guy or his guns...other than if it somehow makes you feel better about yourself. That of course is a whole other problem if that's the case. If you can't firmly refuse a trade offer without being a jerk about it, you should fold up your card table and get out of the retail business.
Wayne D
Member
This is a very good point, I've walked away from tables because the seller was a jerk to someone else.
Deavis
Member
50Freak, I think that your post brings up some good points that are usually not realized by afficianados. No matter how much you have spent on your Remington PSS (insert whatever gun you want), the customization is of absolutely no value to anyone but you or someone who shares your exact tastes. This is no different than someone customizing a car and getting mad that nobody will pay them $30,000 for their tricked out Supra that blue books for $12,000. The reason is simple, you are selling a commodity and not a rarity.
Translation: Remington PSS, 99%, blah, blah, blah, and blah.
That guy's offer was exactly what it should have been for a gun that he can buy new for $450. Now, if you can find someone who appreciates the things you have done to it, then that gun might be worth more money to them but only to them
Your gun, car, house, or whatever is only worth as much as someone else is willing to pay for it. Since 99% of the people out there don't care what you did to that gun, it can't be worth more than the hundreds of other examples out there. The downside to a commodity market is that it drives prices down and the good thing about a commodity market is that it drives prices down. Your take on that fact depends entirely upon which side of the cash register you stand during a transaction
Translation: Remington PSS, 99%, blah, blah, blah, and blah.
That guy's offer was exactly what it should have been for a gun that he can buy new for $450. Now, if you can find someone who appreciates the things you have done to it, then that gun might be worth more money to them but only to them
Your gun, car, house, or whatever is only worth as much as someone else is willing to pay for it. Since 99% of the people out there don't care what you did to that gun, it can't be worth more than the hundreds of other examples out there. The downside to a commodity market is that it drives prices down and the good thing about a commodity market is that it drives prices down. Your take on that fact depends entirely upon which side of the cash register you stand during a transaction
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