I've been thinking about how much the wording of a for sale listing can influence my willingness to make an offer at full asking price or to move on without attempting to buy. I've realized that, at least for me, the terms FIRM and OBO send powerful signals about the seller.

I always pass by sales that include the word FIRM, always. Whether it's pins, craigslist, or the antique shop, when a price tag says FIRM, to me it signals that:
(1) the item is likely overpriced,
(2) the seller is very, very proud of it, and
(3) the seller is likely a tool and won't be pleasant to work with.

As for OBO, no matter how fairly it's priced, if the term OBO is included I'm not going to offer asking price. It signals that:
(1) the seller doesn't know what the true value of their item is and they are fishing,
(2) desperation to sell, pure and simple

Am I way off base here?
For me, negotiating is one of the more fun parts of buying/collecting anything and I think it's interesting that subtle cues in wording play such a powerful role in influencing my willingness to buy/offer.

I agree with all of the above comments. For me though, when a price is marked as FIRM, it doesn't matter what the price is, fair or otherwise, I end up passing because of how I perceive the seller.

Well, TZ is not my favorite game, so I would have to say yes, I would pass on that. Thing is, in my experience, the majority of sellers indicating FIRM in their listings, and I'm not just talking about pin sales, are priced high to begin with. It is seldom that a FIRM price is a cheap or fair price--again anecdotal experience.

Who sells or buys anything without some expectation of negotiation? It's not a hassle to negotiate. In the end, a successful negotiation makes both parties feel better about a transaction than otherwise. It's a scientific fact

How many FIRM sales do you come across that are priced well below market value? My experience has been that those types of sales are the minority.

It may be. I'm not trying to argue that my behavior is right or another person's behavior is wrong. I'm observing that when a seller indicates FIRM it conjures up for me perceptions of the seller--none of which are particularly favorable.

I think I may've sidetracked the conversation by mentioning that I enjoy negotiating. My question, for those of you who are using the word FIRM in your sales, do you think it helps you more than simply indicating the price, without indicating FIRM, OBO or anything else?

If the item is priced fairly, you're going to get full asking price anyway, so why bother to indicate FIRM, which may send some people an unfavorable signal?

Why get personal? I think it's interesting to discuss how these terms may influence buyer/seller perceptions and behavior. I also recognize that others may not be interested or may completely disagree.

I don't know how talking about the perception of "a hypothetical seller" is personally directed at anyone.

How does my discussing the interpretation and intent of the term FIRM have anything to do an ebay listing having a Buy it Now price?

Who knew this would be so provocative? The observation I was trying to make is that the inclusion of the terms FIRM and OBO in a for sale listing may influence buyer perceptions above and beyond what those terms literally mean. In that regard, the phrase "buy it now" (at least for me) is nothing at all like the term FIRM, even if the hoped for result on the part of the seller is the same.

Ha! As many have already suggested in this thread, it doesn't matter much if I get offended (which I don't). I'm just some schmo. I was just wondering if it helps any to add the word FIRM. When I sell something, I tend to just indicate the price without any additional language. But I don't really care if I get lowballers, so I'm not concerned with language to try and weed them out. If it's priced right, it sells at the asking price. I thank lowballers for their offers and move on.