A tremendous scene to start off this post. One trend I’ve noticed recently is people not getting enough money for what they perceive is a fair asking price. Since I’ve been in a business of wheeling and dealing on a daily basis, I see a lot of transactions. There is an urge to want to sell an item or service for the lowest (and presumably fairest) price but this is usually not the smartest way to go. Some examples:
A girl, who is friends with Jeff, takes care of people’s dogs as a side business when they go on vacation. The transaction is brokered by a website and she collects $30 dollars a day for watching a person’s dog. I assume her reputation is pristine and has developed a fine rating from the site. My thought is that 30 bucks is hardly compensation for having a dog invade your daily life. Me, not being a dog owner, probably looks at this as a bigger deal than it is but I’d want $50 bucks a day min to walk a dog and clean up after it if accidents occur. Even that seems generous to me.
My main man Wayne asked me to sell his dining room set on Ebay. Being a nice guy, I said I would. He wanted to sell a 5 piece set that included a china closet, a server, custom table pads, and some chairs for $580. I don’t know shit about furniture but I know it’s big and probably costs a lot. In my own mind, and going by this idea that the blog is about, I put it up there for $690. Anyone want to buy it?
I needed to order more Stortz T-shirts so I called up Custom Ink and said I’m looking to buy 60 shirts but I can’t pay $12.45 each, let me know what you can do. She came back and said we can lower the price by $50. I said, “thank you.” What she didn’t know, is that I most certainly could pay $12.45 each but I didn’t want to. If she stood pat, most likely I would have bought them anyway, thus proving my point.
Money is relative. To someone who has negative money, any positive dollar amount is a lot of money. To someone who has a million dollars, they spend hundreds of dollars like people spend 1 dollar. Everyone has their own perception but what I’ve learned is that price is only half the battle. People care more about getting the correct product or having it done right and are willing to pay more for it. Now don’t forget this when you go into your next transaction involving money. Straight Cash Homey!
Your description on the eBay dining set listing is atrocious:
“Dining Set: Includes China Closet, Server, Custom Table Pads, Leaf Extenders and 6 Chairs, China and dishes are not included. All but chairs are in good condition. Some chairs are less than decent. ”
Do you like your main man Wayne, or do you hate him and want his dining set to collect dust and then be donated away?
I didn’t write it. Dining sets aren’t my specialty. I sort of figured it would sell itself. I’ll post my update.
You should certainly include what type of wood the set is made of.