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I posted a solid wood storage coffee table. The lid houses a glass top but the glass is gone. $10.
Complete text of reply to ad: "$5?"
My response: "No, for $5 I'll throw it away first."
Her response: "That's rude. You could have just said 'no.'"
... because offering 50% of the asking price isn't rude?
Off to the dump it goes.
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Well, yes, she was probably more rude than you were, however, keeping it out of the dump is worth more than five bucks. It would save you a trip, keep crap out of the dump and you could buy a foot long at Subway!
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I wouldn't have even responded. $5 isn't worth it to wait around for someone who may or may not show up and then let a stranger into your house and of course they'll try and haggle it down to $3 after seeing it.
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I'll side with the would-be-buyer on this one. She was stupid, but not rude. You responded to the stupidity by being rude.
Offering half the asking isn't rude in general IMHO, but offering $5 less than asking is silly. Personally I don't sell low dollar value items on CL-- just not worth the time.
Have you ever posted in the FREE section? I do it frequently. Much better than a trip to the dump, both for the waste of resources and waste of time. Put the item on the curb, list the address but no phone number or email. Item will disappear. Very little of your time expended.
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Frankly I don't see either side of this as rude. Offering 1/2 of what is asked for something without seeing it is plain silly, but that's the way most things go on Craigslist. Responding honestly to the offer with an explaination is much better than not responding at all or responding with just a "No". The buyer at least has some indication now of the value the seller places on the item and on his/her time. I've had similar experiences with buyers on lists similar to Craigslist and I feel exactly the same way as this seller does.
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I don't know whether to have a yard sale, or just take everything to the dump and avoid the aggravation. If I do have a sale, I will post a notice that people have to sign in on, that gives a grumpier version of what deckeda said: no bargaining. every price is a bargain and viewed as firm. if you take the effort to insult me by trying to haggle, I will get more enjoyment of destroying it in front of you than I would from the money it gets me.
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Stuff like that I just put on the curb. Someone takes it. I don't care who.
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I don't think it's rude, silly, or stupid to offer $5 for a $10 item.
Clearly the item isn't of much value, and you are trying to sell it, so why shouldn't the buyer offer $5? If the seller doesn't want to sell it for that little, she/he can counter-offer, or simply say no (or say that they'd rather dump it--personally, I'd take cash over dumping it any day!).
To me, Craigslist is like an online garage sale, and trying to get a deal on stuff is what many people do at garage sales.
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I hate when that happens, and I would have done the same thing.
I especially hate when people make offers on items they have not seen! I usually write that I don't take offers without seeing the item.
I'll add that the person offering $5 would never have shown up. I've done this too many times not to know the pattern
