Gun Buying on Calguns

[squeeze]

This is a heads up to buyers. I sell stuff on CL so deal with all types of people. 90+% turn out to be really nice people.

Never go through a bunch of back and forth e-mails before asking for a discount. State your discount request in your 1st e-mail. Last month I had a guy who wanted to keep negotiating even when $1 apart; played his game down to the dollar then never got back to him. Usually I go dark on people who are only looking for a deal not the item.

SELLERS AD:

The 1st line of your ad should be: "If you can read this; then it is still for sale"
The 2nd line should ask them for a call back # (eliminates endless e-mails) OR put the request in your e-mail response.

If the buyer ignore this then they probably are not serious.

I have only sold 1 thing on CG and it went perfectly: but never got an itrade from him.?

Good luck

[jsclimbs]

This is a heads up to buyers. I sell stuff on CL so deal with all types of people. 90+% turn out to be really nice people.

Never go through a bunch of back and forth e-mails before asking for a discount. State your discount request in your 1st e-mail. Last month I had a guy who wanted to keep negotiating even when $1 apart; played his game down to the dollar then never got back to him. Usually I go dark on people who are only looking for a deal not the item.

SELLERS AD:

The 1st line of your ad should be: "If you can read this; then it is still for sale"
The 2nd line should ask them for a call back # (eliminates endless e-mails) OR put the request in your e-mail response.

If the buyer ignore this then they probably are not serious.

I have only sold 1 thing on CG and it went perfectly: but never got an itrade from him.?

Good luck

All he had to do, was to answer yes or no, I would have bought the guns with or without the discount.
His loss...prices will come down and stock will get replenished.
Maybe, next time, add Firm next to the price.

[Erion929]

All he had to do, was to answer yes or no, I would have bought the guns with or without the discount.
His loss...prices will come down and stock will get replenished.
Maybe, next time, add Firm next to the price.

Well, that’s just the chance you took.....bluffing for a $50 discount. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don’t. He didn’t *know* you’d still buy it....he chose not to continue.

As was stated, asking for a discount several steps into negotiations is not a positive thing....usually viewed by the seller as wasting his time.


.

[joeymfd]

Doesn’t take much time to just respond. I’ve had low ball offers or is it still available. Or take a trade, I always respond even if it’s a no thank you. Always nice to know that the PM made it through

[bubbapug1]

Be careful what u ask for OP. My itrader is close to 3 hundred. Half the deals I’ve done didn’t file feedback. Imagine what that does to your bank account!!?!. There are plenty of great guys to deal with who are punctual on Calguns. I’ve only had two bad experiences in 14 years and close to 600 transactions.

[M76]

I blame the CA roster; imagine if it didn’t exist...

there would be better deals to be found

[SkyHawk]

All he had to do, was to answer yes or no, I would have bought the guns with or without the discount.
His loss...prices will come down and stock will get replenished.
Maybe, next time, add Firm next to the price.

You think stock is going to get replenished on Mk23, P7, P320 or P365, or a hundred other desirable off roster guns?



Eventually you are going to tire of the pedestrian or nanny-state stuff on the roster and want something next level - that is when you need to come correct and convincing.

[Colt]

Yes, sellers should be courteous. Sometimes that is difficult.

I had a couple different pistols listed last year - very rare/special. Off roster, but that’s not what made them special (actually, one was C&R, not due to age). Anyway, the DM’s I got ran about 1:10. For every serious inquiry, I got 10 that were not. Seven of the ten were telling me the pistol was way overpriced, that they were selling elsewhere for $X (a lot) less than my price. The others were either trade offers when I said no trades, or Complete annoying BS responses.

One pistol sold here, and the other sold through another site, and to out of State buyer (too bad the pistol left CA - it is unlikely to return).

Hang in there - good thin gs will work out for you.

[jyo]

Actually, I've reached the age of my life where it's time to sell-off a few things---guns being some of them (I have too many)---things are going well on the CalGuns want-to-sell section---buyers have been nice and respectful---I'm doing my part by pricing things in the new higher values, but not crazy super high like I'm seeing in some ads---I'm actually amazed at some of the prices I'm seeing, but I guess it's just a reflection of our crazy times! But then I've always found the buyers on CaGuns to be good and reliable...

[CharlesV]

From another angle,

Why not we all agree to drop the question "is it still available?" Personally I hate the question and if that is all I get from the person, especially when I have stated in the ad to NOT ask that because the presence of the ad speaks for its availability, I wont answer or if im feeling snarky, my reply will reflect that. I have ads running for various things and thats all I get (is it still available) and i answer and never hear from the buyer again.

A lot of people dont want to buy but love to shop. Asking availability makes them feel like they are making progress without sticking their neck out at all, including the time it takes to say something real. Sellers know this and dont want to waste time.

Drop the question and say something else---permanently.
"Hi, I see you have a Kitchen Aid mixer for sale and im very interested. Its in the range of my budget and I like the color. I dont see attachments in the photo, are any included or would I have to pick them up on my own?"

Me, I would respond right away to that. I know what you are thinking, that you dont want to write all that if its already been sold but therein lies one of the problems about non-replies. So, sorry, you have to put the effort and if he writes back and says, "oh its sold, thanks for reminding me to drop the ad," well thats life.

To me, asking availability is the shortcut to a lack of reply, creating an annoyance and even possibly making an enemy. Time to change tactics.

You can be real and also make an enemy. Here is the shortcut:
"Hi, im really interested in your pistol, ive been searching for one for quite a while and yours looks great. Thing is, ive gotten to know the prices and i went to this site where there was one like yours except that it was way cheaper and then I went on a forum and everyone voted that your price is waaaay out of line, a ridiculous price, so are you ready to talk reality or what?" You know what, you better pray i dont reply to that.

There are many ways to approach a seller, including ways to persuade the seller to see your point of view. Learn some! The bottom line involves the premise of the OP. No legit complaint against, or response to, can be made to the question,"is it available?" A better way for progress is to just restate the problem: "How can I improve salesmanship and marketing skills as a buyer or seller?" Now its a worthwhile topic to get at whats ailing it.

Last thing, to answer the second OP question, if you wrote a good note and there was no reply, give it 10 days and nudge. "Hi, i know you might be busy, did you have a chance to see my first enquiry about the pistol? Im still interested and happy to talk to you about it whenever you are free. If its easier for you to call, my number is 823-350-9037. Thanks." If no reply to that, drop it, there is no need to be an aggressive pest. After all, many times the seller isnt selling anything, just testing the market for number of enquiries and price sensitivity. And dont start with, "well thats not fair!" Just dont.

[Erion929]

Why not we all agree to drop the question "is it still available?" Personally I hate the question and if that is all I get from the person, especially when I have stated in the ad to NOT ask that because the presence of the ad speaks for its availability, I wont answer or if im feeling snarky, my reply will reflect that. I have ads running for various things and thats all I get (is it still available) and i answer and never hear from the buyer again.
t.

LOL.....agree

The laughable Marketplace in-thread responses:

— “Is it available?“
— “Interested”
— “Are you firm on price?”
— “What is your best price?”


.

[-hanko]

How so?

Do expound, good Sir.

Spend some time on the Equipment Exchange on ar15.com or the falfiles.com

It should be clear to you in not more than a few minutes.

[boattail]

I have never bought anything off this site or sold anything for that matter. I do sell buy and stuff online all the time and nothing turns me off more than someone responding to my very detailed ad with only "still got it", or "whats your bottom price", or "what are the known issues". The ad gives all that info.

When I respond to an add I put in some effort....."Hello, my name is Earl, I'm interested in your item............I can meet you.........you can reach me at XXX"

I always respond to ads with the tone that the item is still available and I want it. If the item has been sold the poster will respond back with it's sold or not respond back at all.

When I am selling an item I never answer back those folks that cannot form complete sentences. I have an item for sale right now and I have ignored four messages asking "still got it?", "what are the issues with it?", etc. The ad states everything they need to know and their questions are answered in the ad.
One guy followed directions perfectly and wanted to come see the item. I called him to tell him where to meet me and he asks me if the item is a certain brand. The ad gives the brand and more......so, I tell him "no, it's XXX" and he responds back with "oh, I was hoping for XX brand and are you sure it's not an XX?........holy hell dude! the ad says it's XXX do you want me to paint XX on it and sell it to you? I wasted three days with that guy between emails, texts and phone calls.....and he did everything right up until I realized he has no reading comprehension.

I had a bunch of stuff listed inline for free, big stuff, a full pickup worth of stuff. I had a lady call me and say she wanted it all and that we come by to get it. I agreed and she then said "ill be in a blue convertible Mustang can you help me load it?" I said" your going to put all this into a car?" she said yes. I told her not to bother coming as I'm not loading a 200 pound radial arm saw, mirrored closet doors, and everything else into a car.....

People are stupid and you have to weed them out. If you want a response make an effort, your not texting you buddy asking what's up.... Sup?

[Bansh88]

"Is this still available?" is a garbage message especially if something was JUST listed. I get that all the time on Facebook marketplace minutes after posting something. I ignore them.

Like everyone else is saying, messages should be specific, with contact info and not be a hassle for the approached person.

[SkyHawk]

"Is this still available?" is a garbage message especially if something was JUST listed. I get that all the time on Facebook marketplace minutes after posting something. I ignore them.

Like everyone else is saying, messages should be specific, with contact info and not be a hassle for the approached person.

I think on Facebook marketplace, Facebook is the one that is actually generating those 'still available?' messages. Potential buyers can click a button or something to signify interest and then Facebook generates that stupid message to the seller.

The first time I ever listed something and it started happening to me I was blocking people left and right and then I figured out what was going on.