A trend I've seen a few times... everyday occurrence or dodgy behaviour?

[Vanessa]

Hey gamers. I've never been super involved in the trading scene but I do flog stuff on backpack occasionally and in the last year or two I've seen something happen:

 

I always list my items as non-negotiable - 'please only offer the buyout' - and sometimes I get trade offers from people offering exactly 5 keys less than what I listed it for. Is this just to be expected? My best guess is that, since 5 keys is one row on the trade offer screen, they're hoping the seller will miscount or just take a glance and go 'yep that looks right' and accept. 

Maybe experienced traders will have a different read, though, and the 'only offer the buyout' thing is considered a guideline and not a rule so lowballs are expected.

[duskfen]

As much as most people wouldn't like to admit it, a LOT of people that make "firm" listings are still likely to budge at least a little bit if you wave pure in their trades. I've had firm listings and probs 4/5 of the offers I'd get are people trying to negotiate at least a little off it, and even tho it's kinda disrespectful, I don't blame them since I've also budged when I thought I wouldn't.

TL:DR it's most likely just trading stuff, not people trying to scam

[RussellSproutz]

41 minutes ago, Vanessa said:

Hey gamers. I've never been super involved in the trading scene but I do flog stuff on backpack occasionally and in the last year or two I've seen something happen:

 

I always list my items as non-negotiable - 'please only offer the buyout' - and sometimes I get trade offers from people offering exactly 5 keys less than what I listed it for. Is this just to be expected? My best guess is that, since 5 keys is one row on the trade offer screen, they're hoping the seller will miscount or just take a glance and go 'yep that looks right' and accept. 

Maybe experienced traders will have a different read, though, and the 'only offer the buyout' thing is considered a guideline and not a rule so lowballs are expected.

I mean I kind of do that as well when I was trading seriously. I mean if someone offers pure. We traders take it. Pure is king after all.

[Vanessa]

17 minutes ago, duskfen said:

As much as most people wouldn't like to admit it, a LOT of people that make "firm" listings are still likely to budge at least a little bit if you wave pure in their trades. I've had firm listings and probs 4/5 of the offers I'd get are people trying to negotiate at least a little off it, and even tho it's kinda disrespectful, I don't blame them since I've also budged when I thought I wouldn't.

TL:DR it's most likely just trading stuff, not people trying to scam

 

Fair enough. That was my initial thought, it was only the fact that it's been exactly 5 keys several times that made me go, "Is this a scam thing then?" But yeah, while I'm firm on my trades I totally get why people would take a lowball if it's pure.

[ajdislikesyournamingpolicy]

[Vanessa]

21 minutes ago, ajdislikesyournamingpolicy said:

 

I hope I don't disappoint by telling you that you weren't the first person to think of this

[ajdislikesyournamingpolicy]

31 minutes ago, Vanessa said:

 

I hope I don't disappoint by telling you that you weren't the first person to think of this

Damn, here I was definitely thinking how original my shitpost was

[Flaim]

Sounds super sketch. The fact that all of them happen to be 5 keys makes it seem like there's some new gang of scammers going around lowballing by 5 keys, scamming you out of those 5 keys. What should we call this new scam method?

[Sir Spoon The Second]

my rule of thumb if possible is list higher then I want and work my way down to more of what i want, people will think there getting a deal by negotiating but they actually fell into my trap (ig you could say) 

like ill list the item for 20 but i want in the ball park of 16-18 and most people will offer 17-19 for it

iv had people offer me just under my listed, like ill have an item listed for 20 keys and some one will offer me 19.99 keys on the dot cus they wanna get that one up (I ghost people that do this cus its so petty and stupid, do you want that one up that bad)

[Vanessa]

2 hours ago, Sir Spoon The Second said:

my rule of thumb if possible is list higher then I want and work my way down to more of what i want, people will think there getting a deal by negotiating but they actually fell into my trap (ig you could say) 

like ill list the item for 20 but i want in the ball park of 16-18 and most people will offer 17-19 for it

iv had people offer me just under my listed, like ill have an item listed for 20 keys and some one will offer me 19.99 keys on the dot cus they wanna get that one up (I ghost people that do this cus its so petty and stupid, do you want that one up that bad)

 

 There are very honest people who do not think they have had a bargain, unless they have cheated a mechant.

- Anatole France

[Colonel Johnson]

6 hours ago, Vanessa said:

Hey gamers. I've never been super involved in the trading scene but I do flog stuff on backpack occasionally and in the last year or two I've seen something happen:

 

I always list my items as non-negotiable - 'please only offer the buyout' - and sometimes I get trade offers from people offering exactly 5 keys less than what I listed it for. Is this just to be expected? My best guess is that, since 5 keys is one row on the trade offer screen, they're hoping the seller will miscount or just take a glance and go 'yep that looks right' and accept. 

Maybe experienced traders will have a different read, though, and the 'only offer the buyout' thing is considered a guideline and not a rule so lowballs are expected.

 

You can never be sure in the BackpackTF scene, especially in a world where people list items that are labelled as "Not For Sale", and this is one of the biggest contradictions here, in my opinion.

What I do is adding the seller, ask if their price is really firm or if they can apply a discount/can go lower if they get a full pure offer or in whatever other condition and wait for their answer.

Being 5 years here and dealing with traders, I have learned that you simply cannot fully determine their intentions or what they can allow in trading by reading their listings description only; you have to communicate with them.

[AwesomeSause]

that aint the only thing thats dodgy behaviour sadly

[Goldman Sachs]

If someone says "Please offer only the buyout" then I only offer the buyout, any other situation where that isn't mentioned I will likely negotiate for expensive items, its only a scam if they offer less than buy orders on bptf.  It isn't personal, it's just business.  If someone declines my offer without a counter offer I just move on with my life.

[Aysentaro]

10 hours ago, Flaim said:

Sounds super sketch. The fact that all of them happen to be 5 keys makes it seem like there's some new gang of scammers going around lowballing by 5 keys, scamming you out of those 5 keys. What should we call this new scam method?

 

[Apo]

even when people say the price is firm, it often isn't.

 

there's no harm in trade offers that are just a couple keys lower. It's not dodgy at all, it's just someone looking for a slight discount.

 

being negotiable in trading lets you move items a lot faster. If you had something listed for 20 keys of profit at buyout, and someone offers you 5 keys less, still could be worth taking.

[eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee]

17 hours ago, ajdislikesyournamingpolicy said:

someone is buying sniper unu?!

[eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee]

16 hours ago, Flaim said:

Sounds super sketch. The fact that all of them happen to be 5 keys makes it seem like there's some new gang of scammers going around lowballing by 5 keys, scamming you out of those 5 keys. What should we call this new scam method?

owe me a fiver scam