I totally agree with the original poster’s point.
I buy and sell lots of vintage bicycles. Often times I will post a bike for sale knowing the price is bit high, but I’m never in a rush to sell and I usually factor in a little “wiggle room” into the price.
Very often I’ll get the typical emailed reply with someone pointing out all of the flaws (that I’ve usually already listed in the ad) and then making some really low offer (usually half of my asking price of less) because it is in such “rough condition” and they need some “meat left on the bone” so they can make money reselling it. The last guy that did this I was very blunt with. I informed him that it was not my obligation to help him make money off of what I was selling. I agree 100 with the original poster, if I was clever enough to find all of this stuff I can certainly find someone to sell it to that is willing to pay a good fair price for it.
I kind of blame shows like American Pickers for bringing the concept of reselling for a profit into common, current negotiations, especially the concept of leaving the buyer “meat on the bone.” Sorry. Not my obligation and not my problem. Why wouldn’t I just seek out the same buyers and sell directly to them?
The only time I really see this kind of thing working is when someone is looking for a quick, hassle-free sale. Normally that isn’t me. If whatever I am selling is out of the way and I don’t need the money I’d always prefer to be patient and be top dollar myself instead of giving it away to someone else.
