"What's Your Best Price?" and Other Negotiation Traps
(Our 2008 Scion xB is up for sale but we keep getting the same annoying negotiation strategy from callers.)
The callers always seem to ask the same thing. Here I am advertising our 2008 Scion xB on Craigslist for $13,900 and they always ask, "What's your best price?"
What irritates me about this is that they haven't even seen the car yet. Naturally, once they come and inspect it they might offer me less than my asking price. But to ask, over the phone, for me to reduce my price, is really annoying. And it happened probably 10 times last week.
It seems like, if I drop the price over the phone, sight unseen, then they'll go even lower once they see the car.
"I have a really long drive to see that car," one caller said, "So I need to know you best price now."
That didn't work. So here's what I told them.
"This is my asking price," I say. "Once you come and see the car, then we can talk about the price."
Another real slick tactic is when the caller asks a few token questions and then blurts out, "I'll give you $10,000! Cash! Today!" And that's with me asking $13,900.
No thanks.
Still, I'd like to move this car so I took it to Carmax for a quote. They offered $11,500 and their offer is good for a week. I relisted the car on Autotrader and got at least one good call. Unfortunately, he backed out because he hated the color.
Anyone out there know any snappy lines to handle these kind of callers? Or should I negotiate on the phone? It doesn't feel right to me.
- Posted by
- Philip Reed February 8, 2009, 3:00 AM
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- Autotrader, car buyers, Car selling, Carmax, haggling, negotiating
When I'm tire kicking to buy a new car, I always tell the seller that I work for Edmunds and that I'm contractually forbidden from paying more than TMV.
Hasn't worked yet and I'm still tire kicking. :-)
That always makes me laugh when people say "Cash". As opposed to what, a few dozen head of cattle? Bushels of Wheat? A Star Wars action figures collection?
All kidding aside, I know they typically mean cash as opposed to a check, like that's going to have extra negotiating power. But smart sellers will only take a cashier's or bank check anyway, which are as good as cash, not a personal check.
The first call like that, I say "Because the listing just went live 5 minutes ago, let me see what other offers come up and I'll get back to you."
After that, I try to pit potential bidders against each other by saying something like "Someone has already expressed interest in it, but I'm waiting for a better offer and I'm hoping you can beat it." Of course, I don't use those exact same words, but try to tailor what I say to the situation to try to convince the caller that while he has a good chance of buying my car, he's a competitor and not the judge.
When they ask you over the phone what your best price is, you tell them that your best "over the phone price is (whatever you want, perhaps $500 under the asking price). They you tell them that the in-person price will be lower.
I advertised a car a few years ago for ...
"$3000 OBO OR $2500 firm".
Worked surprisingly well.
Great suggestions. Sounds like you all have gotten these kinds of callers before. And do you think, if I reduce the price on the phone, then this type will just grind lower in person when they see the car?
leescott - that's exactly what I've done before. i advertised my last car for $4500, told a caller if you just want to talk over the phone $4200 is the lowest I'll go. Sold it for $4000 cash when he came to look at it. I'm sure he came with that amount specifically (and I actually would have taken $3800), so everybody wins.
> vacagrande
I had exactly the same numbers when I sold my '02 sonata last year :)
Anyway, my approach is to advertise for a little more than you are ready to accept. This way you can reduce the price for the callers without feeling that you'll get less than you want...
Welcome to the world of car sales.
I hear the whole "best price" question from probably 40-50% of the people I talk to, and usually it's before they've cracked a door on something.
I usually point out the sale price and tell them that my job is to help them settle on a car and then the folks inside will help them with pricing information. It puts them more at ease talking to me (they know I'm not going to try and rip them off) and lets them focus more on picking out a car.
With a caller over the phone, your best bet is to point out the asking price and ask what their best offer is. That way they're the ones committing to a number and not you. Then you can work from there to get to an agreeable number. But giving them a lower initial price just shoots you in the foot.
My managers always say that its alot easier to come down than to go back up, and it's true. Once you drop that $500 off the price, you're never going to get that person to agree to pay it.