[TheDopp]

lowballing is something I hate people up in arms about. Most of the 'lowballing' I've seen is from basic negotiating tactics.

If you ask somebody what they want to pay they're SUPPOSED to lowball (within reason*) because they expect you to come back with a highball for a counter-offer and generally you'll work something out in the middle of that.

*within reason is generally about +/- 30% of the item's total value.

The issue is it's rarely in reason with this economy. I'm a firm believer in Hanlon's law, but with offers outside of the sphere of SOP where anonymity is closer to possible (and offers tend to range from 10% to 60% actual value, almost all the time) it really makes me question that belief.