The method suggested above, « your offer is too low to be taken seriously, » yields good results more than half the time. This morning, I was first offered €90 for a book priced at €150 (a rare item, with an autograph). The transaction was concluded at €135, with no further exchange than the remark above.
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Last time I tried another technique
I just refused the minimum offer
The person told me, « Aren’t you going to make me a counter-offer? »
I told them: I’m sorry, but I thought it was disrespectful to make you a counter-offer, given that you couldn’t afford it. I was afraid you would find my counter-offer insulting, so I preferred not to send anything.
I expected to be insulted in return, but that wasn’t the case. I didn’t close the sale either 
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The other day I came across a Facebook discussion where some buyers kept repeating that it was abnormal for a seller not to accept negotiation, that it was normal on Vinted to lower prices as much as possible, etc. … Okay, so in that case, I don’t even know why you need to set a price, might as well set it to 0 and indicate « make an offer, may the best win ». Especially since we see that the consequence is that many report that they are implementing a strategy where they overvalue the price a bit to have room for negotiation, so in the end it’s strictly useless except that everyone wastes time.
Anyway, I don’t know, as a buyer, when it’s a good price I take it as is and when it’s too expensive I pass, I’ll find it cheaper elsewhere or by force of circumstance the seller will be led to lower it himself.
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Of course, as a seller, we are obliged to inflate the price we would like to get.
All the latest offers I received for already small prices were with a 1 euro discount. Fortunately, on the price of a book at 5 euros they don’t dare to ask for more, although I did get an offer for 2 euros on a book at 3 euros. For a lot, I would have said yes, but printing a label, putting it in an envelope, and dropping it off, no thank you. It has become a religion to negotiate. A friend even explained to me that she had negotiated a dress at the market!!!
I know, I had that all weekend:
On this item, online store price: €27.90
In physical store: €34.90
I just checked, I’m selling it cheaper than wholesalers (obviously I got it from a clearance sale much cheaper than the normal price).
Knowing that as a professional I sell with exactly the same guarantees (14-day withdrawal period, 2-year warranty, etc…). And that requires €5.
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@mlamiche : when I’m asked for a 1 euro discount, I accept, even if it means going from 3 to 2 euros. And… I also do it because I know that most other sellers refuse => so that’s what sets me apart and allows me to win the sale 
After all, it depends on why we are selling. It’s my livelihood, so personally, selling for €2 and thinking about having to make an announcement, reply to messages, pack a parcel, spend on bubble wrap… for me, I don’t see much point.
On the other hand, I can list things where there’s potential for them to be sold as a lot or to trigger other sales.
But often, what I could sell for €2 (which I would have only paid a few cents for) I prefer to keep to slip in as little gifts for nice buyers, for sales without offers etc…
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I have taken this policy seriously.
My initial price is inflated, I accept offers up to a price I have set in advance.
The person who is not happy, it’s not a big deal, there are other sellers… just as there are other potential buyers for me.
Afterwards, concerning the stupid reports… Group actions… Nothing surprising, friends, we French are the kings of incivility, if we have time to waste harassing and harming others for no real reason, we do it… (I’m trying to be ironic about it, but it’s sad and unfortunately it’s a very present mentality in France and increasingly so).
I agree that this amount doesn’t allow for much. I thought that with a lot of small transactions, it would eventually add up to a non-negligible sum. But that’s not true.
Still, I’ve accumulated a lot of listings at these prices, and even if I don’t add any more, I’m happy when someone finally takes items off my hands. A little dopamine hit each time.
And then there are the rare cases where a buyer takes 10 of these books at once.
Yes, I agree.
Sometimes, it’s good to get rid of stock to start fresh with something else.
Another thing that can be interesting with low prices is to have items from the same range and make bundles directly. For example, I sometimes sell complete sealed boxes directly.
Exactly, that’s what’s happening to me.
I tend to focus on low-priced items, so I very, very, very often sell in bundles. It’s 75% of the time 2 or 3 items… my biggest bundle was 47 items.
Curiously, with books, I have always failed to sell by advertising multiple titles together, even from the same series. For manga, for example, they only sold when offered one by one. People were looking to fill gaps, not to buy the whole series. The same happened, for instance, with the classic crime novel « Millennium »: the volumes had to be separated for them to sell (at a low price, incidentally); no one thought, « I’ve read the first one, I’ll buy the next three right away. »
The only exception: if there’s a box set.
I know that when I used to buy a lot of books for my wife, I tried as much as possible to get complete series or lots to limit shipping costs. When I collected comic books, same thing, if I could find a complete series directly, I didn’t deprive myself of it.
We’d go back to auctions
For the rest, I do exactly as you do. Even when I used to go to flea markets, I didn’t negotiate; I told myself that the people who came also had to make a profit, and that they were my livelihood.
An option like on eBay where the seller decides the % discount they deem acceptable, or even not to negotiate.
However, I sometimes accept 40%.
And it’s the same at flea markets. By trying to haggle too much, you lose out, and in the end, it’s the buyer who loses out the most. Because some sellers, often those who are not in need and can give things away, stop coming.
This applies to everything, provided you can consider the long-term consequences of our actions. It’s not far from the fable of the cicada and the ant, a matter of stock and supply management.
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Yes, when the price is right, I don’t see why I would try to haggle. And above all, it maintains a virtuous cycle where the seller sold at the price they wanted and I bought at a price that seemed good to me. When everyone is happy, it encourages us to continue. I know quite a few people who no longer want to hear about Vinted because of people’s behavior and who say that to bother packing a €1 t-shirt only to be criticized for a loose thread, it’s better to give it to Emmaüs.
that would still solve quite a few problems.
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I agree with your reasoning about « economic agents. »
But I also see another motivation for negotiating, even on small amounts: it’s fun. Yes, fun.
and even cultural sometimes
But at flea markets, haggling wastes a lot of time, and you have to go as fast as possible in the first few hours. Saving a euro on one side can mean missing out on great deals at the next stalls. Not to mention always having change = big time saver. When I was an ice cream maker, the thing that wasted the most time was taking payment and giving change.
Haggling for 10 minutes for a euro and the person pulls out 50 euros saying times are tough. haha…
Then we must not forget that Vinted is basically second-hand, so in itself it’s a bit like a giant flea market…
Theoretically, we have customers looking for used items at a lower cost and theoretically also sellers looking to get rid of things.
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mouai; the seller is primarily looking to earn (a little) money.
Getting rid of something is giving it away, there are plenty of charities, and that’s what I do with Emmaus.
Customers are of all kinds: those looking to find a vintage piece, professionals who do business, those who will take it to « the homeland », those who don’t have money (young people, old people, single-parent families), those who don’t want new for ecological reasons, those who collect, etc.
Before, about 20 years ago, there was a good differentiation between buyers and sellers, but it has narrowed, narrowed a lot. Among sellers, there weren’t those who scavenge and use trash to earn a few euros to eat, and among buyers, there weren’t elderly people or students who are barely able to make ends meet.
There are always exceptions, but flea markets have become a survival system for several years now, on both sides. I’ve seen a profound change because I’ve been going for over 20 years, from Toulouse to Marseille. (and I stopped this year). The quality of products has degraded, and the population, on both sides, has changed.
A flea market or second-hand market, you have to make an effort, get up early, travel, rummage, talk to another human being.
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Right now it’s the armada of the 40s.
40 percent! not you?