Buy/Sell/Trade Forum

As someone who buys and sells, here is my take:

As a buyer, I want to pay as little as possible for as much (cards and/or perceived value) as possible. That's the sign of an educated consumer (anyone remember Sym's tagline of "an educated consumer is our best customer"?). You offer 100 cards for sale and I say "I'll pay $3", well, what do you expect? I know that paying 3 cents a card is a decent price (for me, the buyer).

As a seller, I research and figure out what I want to get back for what I'm trying to sell. Unlike the local supermarket or warehouse store, prices in the hobby are not "fixed". (Kind of like buying a car, prices are negotiable.) Unless I can't go any lower on a price (which I will state in my message to the buyer), there is room for negotiations. Now, as a seller, I'm going to try to get as much as I can for what I'm selling. Again, it pays to be educated about what you're dealing with.

The balance is finding that price that both parties are going to be okay with. If you were hoping for $1 per card (100-card lot example still) but the buyer only offered $3, well, there's a lot of room in there, and the two sides probably won't meet happily. But if you as the seller start out with "I'm hoping to get about $1 per card in this 100-card lot", then the buyer knows where they stand from the very start. It won't eliminate low ball offers, but it will reduce them. It may increase people "walking away" without even offering, but hey, that saves everyone time - and as the saying goes, time is money.

So to all the sellers out there, I'm starting my offer at $1 per 1,000 cards. Any takers? :) 

Depends on thier profile.  Some people have 1000s of cards on thier wantlist and not a single card on thier for trade/sale list.  
Also, depends on how available the cards are.  I collect alot of 90s junk was hockey which is plentiful on this site.  There is no way I am buying it unless I am paying a 2 cents a card shipped.  On the other hand, I have some wants that are on only a few for trade/sale list and I would be more open to buying.

I agree almost completely with everything you've said, the only exception being that if it is a wax era card which would complete a set, I would consider buying, but that's just me being impatient for completing sets.

I would say message away. Read the profile if they dont like soliciation know that and dont message them. But, also know you will get turned down and it is what it is. Someone may not know they are looking to buy until you tickle their brain and they realize they want to.

I don't usually buy on here when i get offers like that, but I recently added a non-sport tobacco set to my wantlist. Somebody on here who has the whole set messaged me, offered a good price, I said yes, and in a few days, I will have my first complete set from the 19th century.  So it never hurts to try.