How much below 'asking' is "lowballing"?

[Dan Verdi]

Long time follower, first time poster.

I'm interested in a small-point contract that has its points stripped in 2025. As I've bought and sold a few contracts, if I really want the contract, I try to make a fair offer.

Let's say this contract is $145/pp (asking) and I offer $135/pp to the seller. The $145/pp is the average 'ask' for what I've seen available lately, for a contract of this nature. I don't view it as 'inflated' or greedy. It's not excessive, in my opinion.

You might compare it to a 50-point contract at VGF going in the low $170's/pp.

I'm offering a little under a 7% discount from the list (price) at $135/pp. Would you consider that a "lowball" offer?

I'm thinking it's a stripped contract in an unstable economy, a buyer's market.

Now, in my book, I definitly think there's a level below "lowball", something along the lines of "outrageous". Say I offered the seller, on the $145/pp contract, oh, $115/pp. And again, I'm looking the sellers $145/pp as standard fare for the contract in question. I would think $115/pp would be in the "outrageous" realm, but that's me.

I know some people have the idea of "throw it at the wall, see if anything sticks", and on occasion, it does.

I guess what I'm asking, in a roundabout way, is, how do you qualify a "lowball" offer?

 

[JackosinDIS]

I usually offer around 15% below the asking price (assuming it’s an average price to start with). I don’t consider that a ‘lowball’ offer. Most of the time sellers will either accept or make a reasonable counter offer.

If the asking price is way high to start with, I usually don’t bother making an offer.

 

[sethschroeder]

If I am selling its anything below asking because I set my price I am not looking to decrease it if I wanted to then I would lower the listing price.

Flip side if I am offering then I go to the ROFR thread here look at the lowest priced accepted offers and go based on that.

If someone thinks I am low balling they don't need to take my offer. They can also instruct the agent to not show them offers below $X amount.

 

[DanCali]

I guess what I'm asking, in a roundabout way, is, how do you qualify a "lowball" offer?

This is a question for @GrumpyInPhilly - my hero when it comes to buyer perseverance!

Post in thread 'NEW Rejected Offers Thread'

Dec 7, 2024

Resort: SSR
Contract Size: 130
Asking: $105
Rejected Offer: $87

I may singlehandedly keep this thread active in the coming weeks as we’re aiming to become first-time DVC owners but are not at all in a hurry. We’ve done our homework and have amounts we think are fair at SSR and BLT depending on points status and will wait patiently for someone to accept an offer. Helps that we’ve just returned from a 6 day WDW trip and have no immediate plans to return, so again, not desperate.

This was me in 2023. Made 34 SSR offers over 9 months before getting a 200 point loaded contract @ $80...

• GrumpyInPhilly

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[GrumpyInPhilly]

Two years ago I started looking for an loaded 200 point SSR contract. I figured I wanted to pay $80 pp. A number of buyers paid even less than me. The average sale price around that time was $100 with listing prices a bit higher. I made offers on 34 contracts before a seller accepted. The offer process took 6 months. The $80 was a 25% discount off the listing price. So it depends on if you're willing to wait a while. I don't think 25% off of list is unreasonable. 50% off is lowball IMO.

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

This is a question for @GrumpyInPhilly - my hero when it comes to buyer perseverance!

Post in thread 'NEW Rejected Offers Thread'

Dec 7, 2024

Resort: SSR
Contract Size: 130
Asking: $105
Rejected Offer: $87

I may singlehandedly keep this thread active in the coming weeks as we’re aiming to become first-time DVC owners but are not at all in a hurry. We’ve done our homework and have amounts we think are fair at SSR and BLT depending on points status and will wait patiently for someone to accept an offer. Helps that we’ve just returned from a 6 day WDW trip and have no immediate plans to return, so again, not desperate.

This was me in 2023. Made 34 SSR offers over 9 months before getting a 200 point loaded contract @ $80...

• GrumpyInPhilly

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• 
• 

Haha. I just posted and then saw your post.

 

[disneylandtour]

10% to maybe 20% off at most is OK. Over 20%, it's likely not going to get a good response, in my opinion. But in your example above, $10 off seems super normal.

 

[davidhr]

In my opinion, lowballing is not a fixed %. Anything that’s is unreasonable or unrealistic is lowballing in my opinion. If I’m selling I’m not offended by those, but I’m not going to waste my time countering. If it’s low but still reasonable, I consider that a fair offer and might entertain making a counter offer

 

[VGCgroupie]

I dont think it has anything to do with asking price. Brokers/agents will disagree. To me lowballing is going 10% below the lowest you seen similar sell for.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Also to add I offered $97pp on a contract that was listed at $150pp some would say that is extreme lowballing. But the going rate was worth more like $120-125pp. They accepted my $97pp offer

 

[disneylandtour]

I dont think it has anything to do with asking price. Brokers/agents will disagree. To me lowballing is going 10% below the lowest you seen similar sell for.

Completely agree that it ultimately doesn't have to do with asking price. But asking for a 30% discount on a wildly overpriced contract probably isn't getting you anywhere. I think my last offer was 14% below asking. The one before that (which was better priced) was 8% below. For me, that's a fairly comfortable range, where I'm pretty sure I'll get a response, even if it's a counter. When things are 30% too high, I think it's just best to push on and look elsewhere, usually because the seller has unrealistic expectations and an offer probably isn't going to change that.

 

[disneylandtour]

Also to add I offered $97pp on a contract that was listed at $150pp some would say that is extreme lowballing. But the going rate was worth more like $120-125pp. They accepted my $97pp offer

That is truly amazing. But also, wasn't that on a sorta wonky site?

 

[VGCgroupie]

That is truly amazing. But also, wasn't that on a sorta wonky site?

Yes lol. But the agent didnt give me any guff, he just said I will present the offer.

 

[Genie+]

Two years ago I started looking for an loaded 200 point SSR contract. I figured I wanted to pay $80 pp. A number of buyers paid even less than me. The average sale price around that time was $100 with listing prices a bit higher. I made offers on 34 contracts before a seller accepted. The offer process took 6 months. The $80 was a 25% discount off the listing price. So it depends on if you're willing to wait a while. I don't think 25% off of list is unreasonable. 50% off is lowball IMO.

So let’s see… If list prices were around $105pp and offers of $97pp were typically getting accepted, and your offer of $80pp was accepted after 34 attempts…

That puts your savings at around $3,400 on a the 200pt contract.

Not bad! It’s like you earned $100 for each attempt

 

[disneylandtour]

Yes lol. But the agent didnt give me any guff, he just said I will present the offer.

Still, pretty awesome.

 

[disneylandtour]

PS A while ago, I made some offers to that same site--and looked up the brokers beforehand (including a tiny one-person shops somewhere in Florida that I've never heard of)--but I never heard back from any of them. I think one of the firms only had a facebook page, not even a webpage. I think it was three offers in total, to different places, but maybe just two. It was a couple years ago. After that, I just decided that this should be below my acceptable level of risk for a purchase that would be many thousands of dollars. LOL.

 

[VGCgroupie]

PS A while ago, I made some offers to that same site--and looked up the brokers beforehand (including a tiny one-person shops somewhere in Florida that I've never heard of)--but I never heard back from any of them. I think one of the firms only had a facebook page, not even a webpage. I think it was three offers in total, to different places, but maybe just two. It was a couple years ago. After that, I just decided that this should be below my acceptable level of risk for a purchase that would be many thousands of dollars. LOL.

This one was one of the ones that was handled by their in house agents so it was a "verified" listing.

 

[Sandisw]

I always offered what I wanted to pay. When I found things that fit, I offered..sometimes it was well below and other times it was not.

Last year, I decided that if I could get RIV for $100x I’d buy it! No one took it. Which was fine because it worked out that I really didn’t need them!!!

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

I always offered what I wanted to pay. When I found things that fit, I offered..sometimes it was well below and other times it was not.

Last year, I decided that if I could get RIV for $100x I’d buy it! No one took it. Which was fine because it worked out that I really didn’t need them!!!

If there's anyone on this board who can find ways to use RIV points...I would put money it would be you!

 

[Genie+]

A few VDH made their way into the resale market. Some asking $180 to $215pp. $150 might seem lowball yet I can’t imagine anyone offering more other than some random unicorn buyer/masochist.

The west coast is a different ballgame but still, VDH restrictions are harder to swallow than RIV. Locked into to one resort and that resort has a fairly significant ToT cost. On average per night they add: $50 Duo, $70 Studio, $125 1BR, $190 2BR, $400 GV. That’s an albatross. No lucking into VGC or occasional jaunts to WDW that avoid and offset those ToT expenses.

I’d say 10% under asking is totally fair game. Even 15% fair game if your intuition thinks a specific resort or type of contract is trending down. For VDH 20% does not seem lowball.