Originally Posted by
katsup
This probably comes down to your list price, but as a buyer I usually negotiate over the phone / email as the seller will have a strong advantage if I have already driven 30min or more to see a bike...
Fair enough. I set prices where I intend to sell. If a prospective buyer starts out by negotiating down, I know that I won't be selling to him or her. Regardless or drive distance or any other mitigating circumstance, my answer is "no". This seems to work out fine.
If I'm buying, money doesn't matter that much to me. So, I'll willingly pay a fair price. I recently gave $100 to a fellow who had intended to give the bike to me for free, as I felt that he could/should have at least asked for money.
I will be prepared to walk away from a purchase if it isn't exactly what I thought that it was from the description or photos, and I explain why to the seller. If he comes back with "well, I want to sell it today. what will you offer?", then all bets are off. I then take into account the costs to bring the bike to where I had believed it was, and offer accordingly. Often, they say no, and I'm good with that. But I don't initiate...