How do you guys feel about "Feeler" sales?

Just a curiosity thing. While I understand what feelers are, I don't really understand the purpose of them, although I'm not against people having feeler sales or anything like that! I'm just curious about them and how others feel about them. Are feelers truly just to judge if there is interest in the item, and have you ever shown interest in items that were feelers and the seller decided to keep? How do you guys act toward feeler sales? I'm typically super enthusiastic when I ask sellers about items, but I don't want to seem like I'm forcing them to go through, even when I'm really interested and hope that they do. Do you guys typically try to stay away from feeler sales?

Edited February 14, 2014 by Guest

Eh, if someone has a feeler, I don't approach them to buy the thing. Because they aren't sure if they will sell it, I don't feel comfortable asking. If I want something, I'd like to know that it's actually available, and not *maybe* available. Unless it's something I'm absolutely crazy for (like a rare doll), in which case, I might ask.

I've used the term "feeler" in a couple of situations:

- When I'm only willing to sell the item for a good price -- I'd like the money but I don't need the money, so I'm really not willing to sell unless it's worth my while (for most sales, I'll at least consider negotiating on the price, but "feeler" = no haggling whatsoever)

- When I need/want to sell only one of multiple items -- e.g., I have three things up for sale but really only need to sell one, so whichever sells first will go and then I'll keep the other two

- When I have no idea what the market price is of an item (and if it's way lower than I expected, maybe I won't sell?)

 

I'll approach a feeler sale if it's something I really want and am willing to pay premium for. If it's something that I'd buy only if I can get a good deal, I'll probably pass on a feeler.

"Feeler - Im not sure, well... if you throw your money at it, maybe"

I've done feelers a few times. Sometimes I'm on a fence about a doll, it's pretty but do I absolutely need it? My sales tend to be motivated by lack of space then funds so would I potentially like another doll versus one currently here? Or holy hell the shelves are looking crowded again maybe I should the thin the population a bit. I tend to HATE selling so I have little patience for keeping a doll up for sale for like months, the longer it stays up for sale the more likely it is for me to just decide to keep it. If I put up a feeler it's if someone offers me something reasonable in the next two weeks or so and they don't need a layaway (maybe a short one but I'm not doing a six month plus layaway) I'll sell, but if I don't get any reasonable offers I'll just keep it and buy more shelves for the dolls .

Everyone has his thought，so....maybe the reason of his feeler sales is to make some money for another favourite item. But I don't like the method.

I never would have thought people expected more money than usual for a feeler Why not just say the price you want to sell for? Another type of sales thread I avoid is one where there is no price listed.

I dislike feeler sales immensely, having had a bad experience one time where the seller backed out after we'd settled on a price, deciding that she wanted to keep the doll after all. It was very frustrating as I had worked hard to get the money together quickly to buy the doll! So now I don't bother with feelers at all. Either you want to sell the item or you don't!

I ran a feeler once. It wasn't terribly productive in getting good offers, so I avoid doing them now.

 

A feeler is a waffle; the would-be seller wants to be bribed out of the waffle--therefore they probably want high end dollar for their item. Even if they were to receive a good offer, they have a reason to back off built in.

 

I would not want to hand cash over with someone flaky in their decision to sell. Sell.. or don't. "Sort of" selling doesn't exist. I can't "sort of" buy something, after all.

 

I stay away from feelers. They are a waste of a buyer's time.

Sometimes I really don't know if something I have will sell, so I put a feeler up to see if there's any interest! Instances like that are when I see a lot of people selling the same thing (wow, lots of people are unloading ______, I wonder if there are even enough people on this marketplace to want to buy mine???) or that I haven't seen something being sold nor spoken about for a long time (dang, this item is pretty old... do people even want this anymore?). I think feelers are good as what they are, and I do ask about feeler items every now and then.

I also will tend to stay away from "feelers" for similar reasons.

 

Whether it is the case or not, "feeler" says to me that either:

1) the seller is not sure if they want to sell the doll and therefore may back out on the sale once arranged.

OR

2)the seller is saying they will sell if they great offer and therefore they are looking for quite a bit more money than they would get if they set a sale price straight away.

 

Either option is a negative for a buyer and I will avoid such a sale, just as I will not respond to "make an offer" sales. But that gets off topic.

 

I never really know how to approach feeler sales.

On one hand, since it seems the seller is unsure, I'd rather wait until the feeler because an actual For Sale post as once I've set my heart on purchasing a doll, I would feel really bummed if the seller changes their mind. I also wouldn't want to force them to sell it to me because they feel sorry/bad for me even when they aren't 100% positive they want to sell the item.

 

So I tend to not approach the seller of feeler posts. Unless it is a grail doll or something that has been on my WTB list for a long time and I've hunted everywhere for it. ^^;

it's funny, I have had one item listed as a feeler but I generally avoid any other feelers for other dolls because I'm not a fan of offering too much and being a sucker or offering too little and insulting the seller. lol

 

while I avoid feeler threads usually, I've only put up one item like that b/c I do love it, but until someone says "hey I want this for ____$" I'll still want to keep it. In all fairness I should just put up a high end price and say open to possible offers. A feeler to me reads as, I love this item *but* I know it is possibly in high demand, so if you've ever wanted it throw me a number to show you are truly interested. It's almost like an blind auction bid I guess?

 

Though truth be told, I notice with putting out a 'feeler' with no indicator on what your price is, you generally get really low ball offers.. so I'm just done dealing with it now, just doesn't show you're serious about selling - so it can turn off interested buyers.

I tend to stay away from them. I always get the same feeling with "feeler" sales that I do with "make an offer" posts.

 

I just hate them because I don't ever know what to offer for an item i'm interested in. I don't want to overpay, nor do I want to come off like a jerk by low-balling if I don't know the actual value of an item. I rarely do know an item's actual value.

 

I also feel like feelers and MaO threads try to gauge interest in an item to see how high they can get the price. I'm not talking about anyone in particular, but that's the overall vibe I get from the growing trend of feeler threads and sale threads without a price tag.

 

It's not hard to come up with a price for your doll. Figure out what your absolute minimum you'd be willing to let it go for and tack on a little extra to see if you can get a markup on it or get talked down to your minimum.

 

I view them as a good way to see what kind of demand there is for whatever you're selling, but also don't like the potential for wasted time on offering and bargaining, to have someone back out. I also don't like the blind auction aspect. I'm not trying to demonize anyone for putting up a feeler lol, I just don't like feelers in general or make an offer threads and try not to participate when I can avoid it.

I avoid feelers. To me it says the seller is fishing for offers, doesn't know what they want or don't know what their item is worth. That does not fill me at all with confidence as a buyer.

 

If you're not sure that you want to sell... then don't put it up for sale. (Call me cynical, but I would expect someone who isn't sure to back out of a sale.)