Do you tell people buying your stuff that you got it for free?

Why give out more information. If I am giving somebody an exceptional deal, I might mention that I got a great deal on it and am just passing down the value.

No! My 85 year old father in law would always find and fix up bikes, we were having a yard sale and a neighbor asked him for a lower price and said I know how you get these! He stated to her do you know how much I have to buy to fix up these bikes?

NO, do you think car dealers disclose how much they paid for used cars on trade ins?

i dont think you need to tell anyone that.
its not like the other thread-where the guy gave a member a pump & told him it was working

I do if they ask.
I do a little research to identify, price, grade condition and date the items and drop my price as low as needs be to beat other sellers to make sure it sells in a reasonable time frame.
more than half of my customers are resellers and become repeat buyers.
I hardly ship anything so having buyers have to travel to me or meet me locally which makes it worth selling for less.
Most buyers don't care where it came from as long as they are getting the best deal they can find.
Also I only list the more unusual items I have so I don't bother the common item sellers.

Haha, kinda reminds me of one time while looking through a Thrifty Nickel/Dollar Saver, or whatever it was then. One ad stated, "We Buy Junk!" and gave the phone number. The following ad, right beneath it, stated, "We Sell Antiques!", same number ; )

Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

As an aside to the other thread currently ongoing, I'm curious about something.

When I sell items I have acquired, I generally do not disclose that I operate a junk removal business and I either got the item for FREE, or I was PAID to take it.

When I tell people that, they seem to think THEY should get a better deal, as though the way an item is acquired somehow changes the value of the item.

Any thoughts?

In my experience, when people are asking you how much you paid for something or "how much do you have in it", they are trying to gauge how low of an offer they can get away with. No need to make it easy for them.

Maybe it's just me, but when people ask me how much I paid for something, I consider them to be super tacky.

I have no problem telling people that I got it for free. If someone is in the market to buy something and is willing to pay a certain price, it should not matter what it cost me to acquire. Most of the time there are other costs involved such as the gas you used, your labor/time, your employee's time, cleaning the item, testing it, listing it on ebay/craigslist, storing it, and the list goes on.

Originally Posted by AuburnEwaste

aand the list goes on.

haha yeah, such as recognizing it in the first place, then probly knowing how to tweak it ; )

I don't see why you should. You are offering it for a set price, and they can take it, refuse it, or negotiate you down. If they really cared where you got it and if you are a listed company like Burly is, then they can get the general idea of where you got the item on their own.

I will tell the guy at the antique store after the deal is done. I enjoy the look on his face he already knows that if it is in my jeep that I paid nearly nothing for it. Otherwise no one needs to know.

Originally Posted by Jonniebrass

I will tell the guy at the antique store after the deal is done. I enjoy the look on his face he already knows that if it is in my jeep that I paid nearly nothing for it. Otherwise no one needs to know.

Lol..I do that to my buddy that runs a pawnshop. After we strike a deal, I'll tell him if he asks an he's always like.."why do I ask..".

An to stay on topic..no I don't. Really none of their business, is way I see it. Walmart ain't gonna tell me what they pay for their stuff, why should I disclose that? An nothing is ever free. My gas, time, blood, sweat, elbow grease, and other things are expended when I go pickup/breakdown/etc items.

Sirscrapalot - I once saw a forklift lift a crate of forks. And it was way to literal for me. - Mitch Hedberg

I wouldn't lie if asked, but I wouldn't go out of my way to mention it either. Usually I set my price below market for a quick sell, and would rather not waste any time haggling.