It's All In the Price
- This is one of the most obvious, but sometimes most complex issues to deal with when posting a classified ad. What should you list the price for on your new listing? Most of the time people will have a set value in mind they hope to receive from the sale and that the amount it will be listed for. It’s common and works quite often, but it does also have its drawbacks. It doesn’t usually set you up for being willing to negotiate and it also doesn’t make your listing stand out when it is in the middle of the pack. It can lead you to receiving the amount you want, but there are also other methods to consider.
- High Balling
- Should you list the price up high to have some room to have it negotiated down. This tactic can possibly have the price go down to what you actually wanted. Most of the time it can leave both parties happy by you getting the price you wanted and the buyer feeling satisfied thinking he negotiated you down. There is also always the possibility that someone can buy it at the higher price and you can make more than anticipated. One major drawback to this method is you can lose a lot of interest from some buyers thinking your price is too high and not even considering it. Some others might consider it but think it’s too high and you won’t be willing to come down any. Also, negotiating scares some people and they just will leave your ad alone altogether because of it. An interesting consumer reaction from high-balling is the perceived higher quality when something is priced higher. Most of the time people believe they are getting a better product when they spend more on it. This is a huge plus and greatly increases confidence in the listing.
- Low Balling
- So, the next tactic will be what if you low-ball it? This tactic will garner the most attention for your listing but also will have its own complications. For some reason, when people see something is cheap, they automatically assume there is something wrong with it. Be ready to field questions about the items quality and make sure to include details about its shape in the description. The next problem will come from people wanting to negotiate. Just like I stated in the earlier pricing tactic with people scared of negotiating, there are just as many people that won’t purchase something if they aren’t able to negotiate the price down. These people live off the feeling of satisfaction they get from thinking they negotiated the price down. If you low-ball the price, you will not be leaving yourself much room to field negotiations. One good tactic to use when low-balling is to state reasons for the cheaper price such as “you’re moving,” “trying to make a quick sale,” etc. These reasons automatically increase consumer confidence in your item just because they will feel as though the reason justifies your lower price.
- Never Put "Or Best Offer"
- Whichever tactic you decide to use, the most important thing to do is to actually set a price. Pick a strategy and go with it. Putting something like “Best Offer” can sometimes be the worst thing possible. The majority of people do not like dealing with this strategy. It will get you by far the least amount of responses because most people don’t know where to start with their offer. They don’t want to offer too high and think you might have gone lower and they don’t want to offer too low and think you won’t even consider. Having an actual price giving the potential buyer a starting point to consider is the only logical way to go.