I haven't been collecting very long so I've never seen a sealed Dragon Warrior IV actually go on eBay or GG...

If he has no idea of the price, why the hell would you offer him $200? That would be a real red flag and possibly tip him off that it is worth big money!
I'd offer the guy $5 and work my way up from there. Maybe offer $10 and make it seem like that's a lot since the game is so old.
Why would you want to pay more than you have to?

If you offer someone $5 for a sealed game, 9/10 times they will probably blow you off and think your just wasting their time. Maybe offer $100 for starters. Say you see the game w/ box sell for like 50 so you figure another 50 for unopened is fair, or something like that.
Good luck!

I'd strongly advise against the $5 initial offer. If the guy has any "collector" in him at all, that'll probably infuriate him so much that you won't reach a deal period. If someone lowballs me, I will never sell anything to them simply out of spite. No matter how high their offer may eventually become.

But conversely, if $200 is really the price that you want to pay, you can't start there either. Initial offers are rarely accepted, try starting lower at $100 or $150. Then in negotiations when you move up to $200, it makes you look flexible and the seller has better odds of accepting.

Good luck with this. Haggling is like walking a tightrope.

I'd offer like 50 dollars which is "what they cost new". See what he says. Its not such a lowball offer as to infuriate him, but kind of makes sense. I'd definately verify that seam though.

I never understood this. Why can't you just say no and move on? If he changes his tune and gets closer to the real value of the item that he was originally lowballing you on, why say no? I don't see anything wrong with lowballing whatsoever. The seller can simply say "no," and then no harm is done. There's no way to find out what kind of deal you can get from someone if you offer FMV right away.

$1500-$2000. Condition dictates value.

But yet you have no problems sending someone a lowball yourself?

I think DWIV might have been one of those oddball games that debuted at $60 or $65.
I know DWII was something bizarre like $63, when I got it new.

Yeah, if I remember correctly, Dragon Warrior IV was $60 new. But on the topic of negotiations, yeah, I'd start him at $50 or $60 and move up from there. Triple digits off the bat would almost certainly be a red flag.

agreed with above posts. shoot something like 50-75 for starters and be willing to work your way up. make sure it's a legit seal first though - brush up on some of the older ezines.

any latest info on this? did he take $75?

$125 as an initial starting offer is a lowball on a Harvest Moon CIB?  Apparently our definitions of lowballs differ.

When I sold Sculptor's Cut CIB one of the first offers I got was $60.  That's a lowball, that person was placed on my ignore list and I would never sell to them again period.

Same in this case, a $5 or $10 offer on a $1500+ item is just a wee bit of a lowball I'd think. 

Offering 75% of an items value isn't a lowball, that's a good starting position.

I think that's a really unfortunate attitude.

Somebody offering you original retail, regardless of the item, shouldn't warrant being placed on an ignore list.

It is unfortunate, if I were trying to squeeze pennies out of my items.  But I usually price my items quite fairly and there's always at least one person, sometimes multiple ones that will offer well and I give them priority.  NA isn't a yardsale, if you want to be taken seriously at least present a somewhat realistic offer.

Businessmen don't waste their time with window shoppers. 

Original retail for collectibles? C'mon Arch, you know better than that!

Ha!

I'm not suggesting you sell it at that low price, but I just think it's petty to permanently ignore them.
Inform them of a more realistic price range and move on.  To do otherwise, just comes off as arrogant, self-important, and generally rude.

It's a starting offer, not a selling price.  C'mon Batty, you know better than that!

Wellp. So long, thread. Nice knowing you.

If I offered you a penny for a 1943 wheat penny, would you not be offended?

It's one thing to be offended when people lowball you on something you created (art, games, whatever), since that represents your creative output, and in a sense your personal worth.

But to offer something low on a physical item that a person just happens to possess and is selling...why be "offended"?

Regardless, a 1943 wheat penny is only worth $0.50 if you're lucky, unless you're talking about one actually struck from copper.

Yeah well some sellers value morals and ethics more than dollars.  I'd rather sell a $100 game for $80 to a member who has been very polite in their offers than take $125 from someone who treats me as a joke with a starting offer of $25.

Lowballing can work great when dealing with the unknowledgable but when you do it to a collector you run the risk of pissing them off.  Maybe some people are more forgiving than me, but if you waste my time with a piss poor offer then you can take your business elsewhere and keep your money. 

Maybe you're offended because you don't do a lot of buying and selling of moderately valuable stuff ($100+ per item).  When you've sold plenty of items at that level you quickly realize who's wasting your time trying to grab a bargain and who's a collector with legitimate interest in your item. 

You're absolutely right that you do more volume of higher priced items than I do.

But I don't think it involves treating anyone like a joke. A person is stating a price they'd love to get the item at, and you simply reply and say "No thanks...try $XX".

You make this whole thing sound way more person than it should be for someone who says they're a businessman.

^yes, shutting people out because they "lowball" in your eyes is pretty poor business. You have got to give some people the benefit of the doubt, especially new collectors. If people are sending lowball offers on purpose, knowning that the value is WAY more, that is one thing, but a $60 offer on a what... $130 game... that isn't lowball in my book. I've sent lower offers on ebay auctions that have been accepted.

With that said, it is always okay to offer whatever you are willing to pay for an item without harsh treatment or ridicule, especially if you are not 100% sure of the value. Or maybe you want to score a good deal for your collection. Collectors LOVE a good deal and hate paying market value. Show me someone on here who doesn't like a good deal and I will sell them my collection today.