Can someone tell me the reasoning behind the "Call for price" listings?

FloridaPilot

FloridaPilot

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I'm just curious what benefit does it provide? It could be a waste of time for both parties.
 
It's a trap.

Kidding. Kind of. People who post that typically think they can work their salesmanship skills to make a deal even if it's outside of your price range.

This kind of thing used to drive me nuts, but eventually I realized this was the kind of person I didn't want to deal with. Now I appreciate them weeding themselves out for me.
 
One time I called and the seller asked "What do YOU think the plane is worth". So I gave an honest answer based off bluebook value. The seller gave me multiple reasons why it was worth more including his mechanic is one of the best and you can't put a price on that.

I have never wasted my time on a "call for price" listing ever since and never will.
 
Eric Gleason said:
This kind of thing used to drive me nuts, but eventually I realized this was the kind of person I didn't want to deal with. Now I appreciate them weeding themselves out for me.
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Yeah, that. Works for non-aviation stuff, too. "Call for price" == "I'm charging too much but want to get you on the phone to try to convince you to buy it anyway".
 
They figure you have an idea of the value and they don’t want to put potential buyers off with a high price without an opportunity to discuss the value. If I see something I’m interested in I have no problem calling to check the price. I can get more and better intel in a conversation than from a print ad.
 
In my experience, 9.9 times out of 10 it's because they know they are asking for too much.


Only time I'll call one is after it's been on the market for a LOOONG time, same with people that list a crazy high price, I'll call, counter very low and try to reach a middle ground that makes sense for me, if we don't reach my target range and I really like it, I'll ask if I can call back in a month, I'll call back "still got it for sale". Got my motorcycle that way actually.
 
For the same reason that fitness places and other businesses never put their price online....
 
DaleB said:
Yeah, that. Works for non-aviation stuff, too. "Call for price" == "I'm charging too much but want to get you on the phone to try to convince you to buy it anyway".
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:yeahthat:
 
To me it means they are hiding something or asking too much. I ignore those ads.
 
I got my Comanche on a call for price ad. Offered the broker 25-30% under market value and within an hour the offer was accepted.

Not every home run is hit on a pitch right down the middle.
 
If you mean for an airplane, I have no idea.

If it's random stuff on the internet, sometimes it's to get around pricing restrictions. Dealers are sometimes restricted from advertising prices below a certain point. By not posting the price and requiring you to "see price in cart", they get around that restriction and are able to sell it below what they can advertise it for.
 
People do it for a variety of reasons.

I have found that ‘most’ of the time, when it is a broker listing, it’s another way of saying ‘serious inquiries only’.

They don’t want to waste their time answering a bunch of email questions from people who aren’t serious buyers. Whether it is true or not, they feel they can gauge how serious a potential buyer is by talking to them on the phone vs email. In this day and age of email/texting everything, someone who makes the effort to pick up the phone is likely to have a greater interest than an email or text.

Yeah, it obviously turns some people off, but if you really want or are interested in THAT particular airplane....you’ll call.

My Baron was a broker listed ‘call for price’. I called. We agreed on a reasonable price. I had no regrets and would do it again.
 
They want you to call them and then they try and convince you to buy it. If you aren't serious, they figure you wont call. Might work sometimes. Might not. Seems to me if someone is serious, they will call regardless of the price.
 
If it's a private sale it often means the seller isn't serious, even if the plane has been sitting for years and the spouse is pushing. I think some of the comments in the posts above fit well in the private seller situation.

However, a good, experienced broker on the other hand knows the first step is to qualify the buyer, and that's difficult to do other than in a verbal conversation. Some of the more reputable aircraft brokerages use "call for price" on some of their listings simply because they know if the plane you are calling about isn't the right one they may know of something that is a good fit. Unfortunately, there's far more lousy brokers out there than good ones, and that certainly taints the reputation of all of them.

I bought my Aztec from the listing broker in Missouri. He did a great job. Understood the market and the realistic value of the plane (which meant he had not raised unrealistic price expectations with his client by overpricing it to get the listing); facilitated getting log records & detail pictures to me and then getting the plane to my chosen company at KTUL for the pre-purchase. At the end of the day everybody went away feeling good about the deal that was done. Wish they were all like that.
 
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wsuffa said:
For the same reason that fitness places and other businesses never put their price online....
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Works that way almost everywhere except the car business! :D:D Ever look for a new boat? Almost none have prices listed on their websites! :rolleyes:
 
Along with the reasons given thus far, another reason is that if it is a dealer, they can offer you another plane more within your budget if the price of the plane you called about is too much.
 
I prefer to use e mail,after I have all the details and price,the I call for an in depth discussion.
 
I agree with the consensus that it is usually an indication that a good or even fair deal isn’t in the making.

That being said I bought my Saratoga on a “Make offer” listing. I bought the plane for nearly half what I figured the seller was looking to get and we’ll under market value. I could have flipped the plane within days for a nice profit. I had offers but wanted the plane.

Maybe “make offer” and “call for price” shouldn’t be in the same category?

I figure the overpriced waste of time adds are easy to figure out within one minute of a conversation. Although annoying it’s not that much time to waste considering the potential reward.
 
Whether the airplane is in my price range or not, we'll never know. I go looking for information. "Call for pricing" is a way of demanding that I invest yet more of my time just collecting information. Nope, not going to happen.

It irritates me and I'm less inclined to buy the plane. Been down that route.
 
I used to hate it, but I saw a couple of instances where is was a REALLY nice airplane that was worth much more than average. If a price was listed it would have scared off people. This way, only those that are relatively price insensitive will call and he will have a chance to present his case as to why it is worth more than you might otherwise think.

If the description and the pictures are what you are looking for, then I think you should call and investigate. Nothing says you can't just hang up.
 
there are many buyers that do not look at the price first. Obviously most here do.
For the seller it reduces the tire kicker calls and focuses time spent with high probability buyers.
For the buyer it reduces the competition by eliminating all those $$$ lookers that are afraid they will pay too much.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Along with the reasons given thus far, another reason is that if it is a dealer, they can offer you another plane more within your budget if the price of the plane you called about is too much.
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First job out of the military was sales. Hated it, but I did get considerable formal training. The “call for price” with a broker means “I’ve got more than one to sell and I’m building contacts”. With a private seller, I would agree it’s the pricing problem.

Either way, I ignore those. There are plenty of properly priced airplanes, boats, cars, and homes on the market from somebody who’s going to be reasonable to work with.
 
The reason people do it is they apparently don't want me to buy their plane. If I an add says call for price I won't bother with it.
 
"Call for price" along with "no tire kickers" weeds out a lot.
 
Meh.....sometimes I’ll call. Other times not. It probably is a good way to weed out potential buyers and tire kickers.
 
Does anyone ever pay the listed price from an ad? Doesn't everyone end up calling and discussing price at some point, anyway? This just gets the ball rolling quicker for some sellers, since, without a set ad price, every caller is already in the negotiation phase as soon as the phone rings. Every airplane sale is a "Call for price" sale, some guys just don't want to admit it. That's why some are called hookers, and some are called escorts. It's all how John wants to justify it. ;)
 
I agree with the poster above who said "call for price" ads help him sort through the fluff by adding them to the discard pile. Ads without prices are also discarded.

I once selected a realtor in a new town by flipping through the flyer from the grocery store and calling the one with the highest percentage of listings that actually had a price shown. Told them that, too. Ads without prices are worthless to me as a buyer . . . .
 
I never really thought of it before, but "call for price" really does sound like a broker preparing to do a bait and switch on you.
 
Lots of complaints about tire kickers. How do you find out if you want to go further with that plane? For example, when I was looking for a Mooney, I flew to Tulsa to look at a plane, claiming new paint and avionics. What did I find? A terrible, possibly illegal paint job and one 430 in an otherwise ancient panel. Paint runs everywhere and obvious the control surfaces had been spray right on the plane. He was upset I didn't buy on the spot. So yeah, I'll kick tires until I write the check.
 
Every time this question comes up (which is usually every 3-4 months) I see the some of the same people say they discard those ads.

Funny thing is: I haven’t seen those people actually buying airplanes....which is kind of the point. Call for price eliminates a lot of the window shoppers.
 
Bulldog573 said:
The “call for price” with a broker means “I’ve got more than one to sell and I’m building contacts”. With a private seller, I would agree it’s the pricing problem.
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Or, they have actually none listed with them and they're fishing for a list of buyers for a particular type and can use them for market research "what's your budget?".
 
Fearless Tower said:
Every time this question comes up (which is usually every 3-4 months) I see the some of the same people say they discard those ads.

Funny thing is: I haven’t seen those people actually buying airplanes....which is kind of the point. Call for price eliminates a lot of the window shoppers.
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How would that work in real estate?
 
When I bought two years ago, I called on those ads. Most were either brokers who wanted to rope me in to anything they had on the ramp or more irritating was "we sold that one a few months ago, but let me be your buyers broker and I'll find you the perfect plane.....for a small fee if course"

Next time I buy,......no asking price, no call. I will say I bought through Bartelt and it was nothing but honesty and fair dealings. I cold called on a plane and I liked what I heard. Larry was a straight shooter, good and bad details, and no surprises through the process.
 
The comments about "It weeds out the tire kickers" Doesn't that create more of them because they don't know what the price is? If it's REALLY too high we don't have much to talk about.

(IMO) If there is a justification about needing a higher price why not post the reason in the ad? or just describe how flexible you are in price? Call for price is just dishonesty in my opinion. Airplanes are not stocks they don't fluctuate in price by the minute.

I'm currently buying another car, I see those call for price Ads. I don't call them but spend more of my time with sellers that have a price listed.
 
Price is a quick way for me to screen out cars, houses, planes, electronics, bicycles, etc. If I have a list of thirty possibles to check out, how many could i eliminate if I knew the price? So i just eliminate every ad for everything that I'm shopping for that doesn't show a price. I don't have time to play phone tag with an additional ten sellers.
 
Funny, some of those who call on no-price ads seem to get good deals out of them.

EdFred said:
I got my Comanche on a call for price ad. Offered the broker 25-30% under market value and within an hour the offer was accepted.
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Fearless Tower said:
My Baron was a broker listed ‘call for price’. I called. We agreed on a reasonable price. I had no regrets and would do it again.
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I notice "call for price" most often in higher end aircraft, such as late model aircraft and turbine aircraft, typically sold by a broker. I figure they figure the real buyers know the ball park of what those planes go for and excluding a price just weeds out non-serious buyers.

And if you don't believe there are tire kickers, I used to know a guy who would call real estate agents about multi-million dollar properties just in case he hit the lottery. Sigh.
 
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