It does seem kind of silly to think that somebody thinks that they can get a mower and a tractor for $1,500, but then I'm a big believer that it never hurts to ask. Obviously some people get offended by it, but sometimes my low ball offer is the only one they get. I've offered half of the asking price of things, including homes and land. In most cases, I never hear from them again. Sometimes I do. I've also offered full price if I know it's a good deal and the person selling it is really nice. One time I bought a hot tub from a lady on craigslist. She wanted $250 for it. The tub was in great condition, but it didn't work and she said t also had a leak. I figured I could get it for $200 if I tried, but she was really nice and I knew that for her asking price, I was getting a good deal. When I picked it up, her husband helped load it. While we were doing that, the asked what I did for a living. I told them and gave them my card. About six months later, they called for me to bid on a bathroom remodel. It was a high end job and I made a good profit on it. Then her dad needed a deck built, so another good payday. Her boss needed some work done, then a friend of hers and then another friend. Her family has turned into good friends of mine, and her referrals have made me tens of thousands of dollars. I have another very custom, very fancy bathroom job coming up in July from her!!!
I had a Honda that I wanted to sell. It was just a few years old, but I had bought an SUV and didn't need it anymore. I wanted to sell it quick, so I listed it for what I owed on it. Of the calls I got, everybody wanted to low ball me and offer a few grand less then I wanted. I also didn't get very many calls and only two test rides. After that add expired, I raised the price two grand. I think I was too cheap and scared serious buyers away. At that price, I got allot more calls and sold it to the first guy that showed up to test drive it for just a little under that higher asking price.
I bought the land I live on for less the half the asking price. I've bought and flipped homes for less then half the asking price twice now. I was the only person who made an offer on those deals. Of course, they were so bad that I think everyone else who looked at them walked away, but that's just a guess.
I've also called on ads in Craigslist and the American Classifieds that were too cheap to believe just in case there were for real. The person on the phone said it was a misprint. One guy told me that it wasn't even for sale and he thought somebody was playing a joke on him. I figure it's just a phone call on my part, it can't hurt to find out and see if it's for real. What really kills me is when I call right after the ad comes out and it's already sold.
Eddie
