Keep price same or raise it?

[dereksbicycles]

Let's say you're selling a guitar.

Monday------customer asks you how much you want for the guitar. You quote $85. Customer tells you "I'll think about it and let you know."

Tuesday------you do a little bit of research. You realize that you would get $125 for the guitar.

Wednesday-----customer let's you know he'll like the guitar. Do you sell it for $85 or do you tell "sorry, I did some research and saw that I would get $125. Now I want $125."

So couple of questions----

1. Will this make a difference if this person is a repeat customer or not?

2. Will it make difference if you plan to sell guitars for rest of your life or you've gotten out of the business and this is the last guitar you've for sale?

What would you do if this was you?

[Rover]

Personally, I would walk out and probably not come back. That's just shady business. If you didn't do your research and offered a price that was low that's your own fault. Now had you said something (That I usually do) like "I can't promise that it will be the same price for long" and then raised when I came back, how could I be mad? I would be disappointed but I have no grounds to be angry. In this type of situation you quoted a price, to go and raise it will defiantly make anyone mad.

My guess is your still making a profit selling it at 85, while not as much as 125, and still making that customer happy.

I deal in cellphones, buying used and selling them back at a reasonably high mark up (sometimes as much as 150%) but I make sure that my customer is getting a deal. I do my research on the phone and see what the bottom dollar is and top dollar and try to price it in between. Now if I had someone walk in on Monday and ask a price and I replied "$85 dollars dear sir" then they came back on Thursday with $85 and I said "Oh it's $125 now", that customer is going to spread that to his friends and family. It also makes me look incompetent, the salesman should know more than the consumer (in my opinion). I would just eat my mistake and try to make it up on a different product.

[huggytree]

you set the price at $85, you quoted the price at $85

its YOUR fault you didnt research it first.....why should the customer lose when its your fault

if you raise your price your dishonest and a turd

this one is black and white and an easy call....no one here will tell you to ask $125 now

[Pack-Secure]

I would suggest giving written quotes in the future with expiration dates and no guarantee on availability if it is a one of a kind product. Research before quoting. Honor your quote. If the quote goes beyond the expiration, the customer is SOL if they decide to purchase. . In the meantime price the item at the $125.00, if you sell it for that before the customer comes back and makes up their mind, their loss (But honor the $85.00 if they come back before the quote expires, even though your sticker now says $125.00).

[MJKBIZ]

Well if it was me, I would sell it for 85 dollar since the customer is already preparing for that price and may have only gathered 85. If it is a first time customer they may be turned away by the increase in the price (if you plan to continue to sell guitars). If it is a loyal customer, they may believe that you may have decided to give them a discount due to their past purchases. Even if you don't get the full price for the guitar, its better to get 85 dollars for it than to get nothing because the customer was dissatisfied with the change in price. I don't know if their is a website that can give you the current market value on guitars but if they are, and if I was in the business of selling guitars, I would do my research before pricing my guitars.

I hope this helps!

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[GreaterVisibility]

Sell it for the $85 that you offered it for. Let the guy know that he's getting a deal, because you made a mistake, but that you're honoring your word. That may cost you the $40 more that you *think* you can get for it, but it will earn you respect and people will tell others about you. Who knows, maybe the guy knows what it is worth and meets you in the middle on his own. Believe it or not, we've had people do similar things in our businesses over the years. People know when they're getting too good of a deal, and some of them will make up for that. Others may not, but will be impressed at your integrity and it will pay off later.

[ArcSine]

At some point, given the existence of sufficient criteria,

Offer to sell at explicit price + Offer accepted by buyer = Enforceable contract.

This definitely ain't my bailiwick, and it's really one for the attorneys (is BA in the house?). But if my wispy memories of Biz Law class serve, that offer and that acceptance are two key ingredients in establishing an enforceable agreement. If the price quote of $85 was not given an explicit expiration time, I think the buyer has some reasonable time to accept.

But again, I'm not so much stating an informed opinion, but rather raising a question that might have relevance.