I found an ad in a local paper that read "cake pans for sale many available must sell all together" then the phone number. So as i am trying to get as many cake things as i can for as cheap as possible, i called the number. This is how the conversation went...
Hello
yes i'm calling about the ad for the cake pans
yes
how much are you asking for them?
well,...i just want someone to make an offer...
ok, well what kind of pans do you have?
oh, i have a bunch, some novelty, and some 1/2 sheet cake pans, and some pans for wedding cakes...
ok, ... you dont have a base price you want from them?
no i just want someone to make an offer...they're all fairly new, i have to move and cant take them with me
ok well where do you live? can i come look at them on my next day off?
sure just give a call



ok now i have been baking for a few years, but never had to wheel and deal for things, i have always just went and bought things from the store or made do with what i had. I dont know how many pans this woman has or how much they're worth and i want to go look at them today but i dont want to make an offer and her get upset that its too much less than what she wants, but i have no idea how much she's wanting out of them. Everytime i have sold something and told ppl to make an offer i have had a base price that i wanted in my head, but with this i dont know how much those novelty pans go for or anything like that, but i really need to get some more pans. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I buy all my novelty pans used. I pick them up at yard sales etc. I get to look at them for dents, yuck and just general condition. I usually pay no more than $2.00 per pan. (at least in Florida) On average, they are about a buck.

I have bought other non-novelty used pans from people but I'm VERY picky on those. They should be good aluminum pans w/o a ton of wear and tear. Again, no more than $2 or $3 per pan depending on size.

Sounds like the person doesn't have a clue to what they are worth. Start low and let her negotiate. If she has to get rid of them, you could be in for some real bargins. Good for you!!!!

Barb

Offer low. You can always go higher. Judge by her reaction . If she thinks you are way too low she'll give you a "don't be rediculous look. When you make your offer consider how many of the the pans you will really use and if you can resale the ones you don't think you will ever use. When I go to garage sales I pay anywhere from 25 cents to 43 for a pan depending on how much I'll get out of it or how much I like it.

she must have a price in mind, I mean if you offered her $50.00 for them all I am sure she would say "No Way" but with her giving you no idea, I would suggest, that you check out Wilton's year book as to the cost of the novelty pans, Magic Line, and Fat Daddio's for other pan shapes, and offer her 20 to 25 % of the new price. If she turns that down, at least you have a basis from which to work. If she accepts you have a great deal.

Oops! That was supposed to read I pan anywheres from 25 cents to 3 dollars for a pan not 43.

You could also check Ebay and see what the going rate is on used pans.

i just dont want to say ok i'll give you i dunno say $30 and her get all upset and not want to negotiate with me. it just seems odd she wont say a price, even if it is a higher price then i could bargain from there.

ok so i drove 40 miles and got lost to get to this ladys house to look at the pans. She had 14 12 and (2)10 in round pans 1/2 sheet pan and 9x13 pan a wondermold? doll pan minnie head 3d bear bunny and lamb, book, bell, winnie the pooh a cowboy boot a doll type mold pan a flat teddy bear pan and maybe 3 or 4 more i cant remember and then a box of plates pillars and little plastic things to decorate with. I asked her again how much are you wanting for these?? She says oh i dunno, theyre all in good shape and they do cost a lot new. I said yes i know they do but as these are used, how much are you wanting? She then starts talking about her life and yada yada then says oh probably $150 is that too much?? I say well its definitely out of my price range. She then says well so and so came in and said i have over $200 worth here so i really want $150. I then am thinking to myself, well why the french didnt you tell me this BEFORE i wasted my time getting here! So i tried and tried to bargain, even tried to get her to sell them seperately. No dice. She wouldnt budge i told her i probably wouldnt use most of them so i only really wanted the round pans and the sheet pan and the 3d bunny and bear. Then she says well what would you pay for them. And the whole time she kept acting like because i dont normally use novelty pans that i dont know what i'm doing. I tell her i would give her $10 each for the 3d bear and bunny. Nope not enough. So i left....empty handed and rather frustrated. And yes these pans were in very good shape, but used all the same, had they been new then i would definitely said ok to the asking price, but she knew before hand that i was driving that far and she knew how much she wanted, she very well could have told me the price before hand.

I think thats why she never gave you a price. She thought if she got you there you would buy no matter what. Keep looking for pan deals. I get the unusual ones from ebay and there cheap. stick to the price you want to pay if you get outbid so what there will be another one soon. I got lucky and found a auction for a bakery that was going out of buisness. I got all kinds of pans and cake boards. Two truck loads of stuff all for cakes and I only spent $100. I had so many 8" round boards I gave some to my kids for target practice for thier 4-H projects.

keep looking the deals will come.

Sorry it didn't work out. She wants WAY too much for that stuff. She should have been asking no more than 2-3 bucks per pan. You can get used bakeware cheapier at auctions etc.

She should have also given you an inventory over the phone so you could determine if it was exactly what you needed/wanted.

Maybe next time it'll work out ok.

Some people just try to nickle and dime you at every turn.

Sorry you didn't get them, that was a lot for used pans.

you can get them cheaper than that with shipping on ebay! I'm sorry that happened to you!

if she wants that kind of money from those pans she needs to sell them one by one on ebay.

If you have an idea when she will be moving, it might be worth calling her up right before and offer $40 or something lowball to take the pans off her hands. I can see how she thinks oh, these are worth whatever new, so take 10% off the new price and what a deal, but to anyone else, they are just some used pans and worth 10% OF new price. My aunt is a master garage saler, and she bought some great prints for her living room at a garage sale. New they were something like $200, and the seller wanted $160. My aunt offered $40, they declined, and she said she would come back the next day to see if they would be willing to sell at her price. She came back in the last hour and they were grateful to her for buying them!

I have bought all of my cake pans except one from ebay sellers. They were all in great shape and very cheap. I have about 120 pans or more.
That's really bad the way she handled that. Hope U find what you are looking for.

The lady was way off. Good for you for leaving empty handed. 25% off the new price is not a deal for used pans! Yard sale items should be much less than 50% off, and should be 75% or more off.

I'm lucky to live within a few miles of AC Moore, Michaels and Hobby Lobby. They all take each other's coupons, and there is always a 40% or 50% off coupon every week, which can also be printed online. I always have a few in my purse. The character pans are $13 each, so I can pay $6.50 for a new one. I get almost all my supplies this way, rarely paying full price for anything.