What do you say to a buyer who wants to make a deal and you don't want to?

[musicyouneed]

I have a series of time life CD's.  I sell them individually as it is not cost effective for me to sell as a lot.   I have a buyer in Canada who has asked me if I will make a deal and sell as a lot.  Buying at full price would be $163.86 US, free shipping within Canada.  I am just a small seller who bought these at full price.  I am not one of the large sellers who paid 25 cents for each CD.  

Although there are no lots for sale right now, he can get it way cheaper from a US seller than I would ever consider.  

How do I let him know I am not interested in selling as a lot, but to not offend him from buying from me in the future.  

Thanks

[pierrelebel]

"What do you say to a buyer who wants to make a deal and you don't want to?"

Take a look at my pricing policy on the frontpage of my eBay store.  This is the wording I use every time:

"Much time goes into fair pricing. Factors such as condition, scarcity, competition, acquisition cost, market conditions and operating costs are considered to offer you the lowest possible price. 

Great care is taken to provide customers with “five star” service for all aspects of every transaction. Stamps, booklets and souvenir sheets are packaged carefully then heat-sealed in plastic bag and affixed to sturdy backing for maximum protection while in transit.

In addition to my everyday low prices, some listings offer additional short-term promotional discounts from time to time. I urge you to sign up for my free newsletter (link above) to receive timely promotional information.

As a matter of long standing policy and in fairness to all eBay participants, offers at prices below my discounted listed prices are never entertained.  "

[musicyouneed]

Hi Pierre, that sounds very good.  But how can I say the same thing short and sweet to the buyer.  

[pierrelebel]

"As a matter of long standing policy and in fairness to all eBay participants, offers at prices below my discounted listed prices are never entertained. 

Please let me know if I can be of service.""

[momcqueen]

I say simply, "Thank you for your kind offer. I must, however, decline at this time. Thank you for considering McQueen and Mo Mater."

This is standard. I might sweeten it a bit if the 'offer' was, in fact, 'kind' but it rarely is. Sometimes, it is outright offensive. It's not like there are Best Offers on more than one or two of my 800+ listed items. But.... you never know. I set my prices high to discourage bargain-seekers because, in my limited-category experience, the truly hard-core bargain-seekers are rarely satisfied by whatever price you might eventually agree to give them. Once in awhile, I will agree to an offer that is unsolicited but usually, I don't touch the price. Instead, I'll mark it Free Shipping. That makes us both happy. They get a deal; I get an automatic five-star on it and no FVF on Shipping. 

[rose-dee]

Yes, it's always difficult to know exactly how to turn away a buyer, but you have to know what your "bottom line" requirements are, and if they are already reflected in your prices then there is no point in spending too much time on unworkable offers.  In my experience, such buyers won't be back anyway, but it doesn't hurt to be courteous. 

You may smile at this: I recently had a buyer ask what the lowest price was that I would take for an item!  Not an offer from them, mind you, but a fishing expedition.  

This was a hard one not to be snide about.  However I bit my tongue, thanked the buyer for contacting me but replied that the lowest price was, unfortunately, the price at which the item was currently listed. 

I also added that I always consider my pricing very carefully, in order to offer the best price I can for buyers but still cover my costs.  I said I would normally include "Best Offer" on a listing if there was a room to consider offers, which wasn't the case here.  Then I thanked the buyer for their inquiry. 

Maybe you can use some of this wording.  I believe buyers who make such offers are unlikely to be really satisfied with any sort of compromise, even if you were willing to negotiate.  And they may be the first to complain or leave low DSRs.  Better to wait for buyers who are happy with your prices as they are.  

[ricarmic]

I'm the same, normally I only consider negotiating if:
- the item is worth a lot (more than a couple hundred dollars) and it has been listed more than 16 months
-the offeror is a regular buyer that is for some reason wanting to negotiate on a specific item
-the offeror is buying a bunch of items and wants a discount of some sort for the full batch

Otherwise they get the: "Thank you for your note, I am sorry but I cannot offer any discounts on this lot" response.