I buy alot  

Hear hear
I totally agree with you. It would be interesting to hear from a few dealers what the thought behind it really is. You would realy think that people would get with the times and do business out in the open.
I even had one dealer tell me that he wouldn't reveal the price as I probably wouldn't buy the chair anyway :O Well I did the old Pretty Woman stunt. I informed him of the endless possibilties to do all the comparison research beforehand on the web in a global market, I told hilm where he could stuff his vintage Eames rocker and walked over and bought a similar one at another shop, where the price had been displayed. Hah!

Reminds me of the time I aske...
Reminds me of the time I asked a dealer if she knew the name of the company that sold replacement pots for my old espresso machine...she seriously told me she would sell me the phone number.
I do understand the 'poa' thing when it comes to new or bespoke furniture though. When the sources and costs of materials can vary or a manufacturer can produce something in ash or walnut, kvadrat fabric or 'customers own', provide discounts for quantity it gets too complicated to list, even so to quote a price range would still be preferable to 'poa'

I would not buy from anyone w...
I would not buy from anyone with POA or no prices. Period. Whatever the legitimate reasons, it smells of trickery and seems a bit too salesy. You immediately get the feeling that you will be doing some haggling.
I don't mind paying a fair price, so a seller shouldn't mind selling an item at a fair price. And if it's fair, there's no reason to hide it or be ashamed of it. Put it out there. Even if it is a tad on the high side you will be surprised that more people will respond.

Occasionally I email...
Occasionally I email business-folk who advertise their items Price On Request, and when and/or if I receive their letter back, I offer them fifty bucks or so.
I don't exactly feel good about this (it sucks to be me sometimes I know just about better than anybody) but I do my best.

POA
I try my best not to use POA, but because of where I'm located, most of my sales are on the internet. Either directly to dealers and designers out of state, on eBay or to local clients. The local clients make up the least amount of sales, but because of the amount of work that goes into online and eBay, they get the "best price" - there is no shipping involved, advertising fees. The items on eBay have the "highest price" because the fees to sell there are high, as well as the payPal fees.
Its all very confusing, but the last thing I want is an eBay client seeing a smaller price on my website (however small the difference may be) and getting upset, or even leaving negative feedback.
Also, designers and dealers, its normal for them to get a "trade discount".
Often times I include free shipping - but you would be surprised how much shipping changes month to month with gas prices, etc - especially freight items. This is another reason for POA
Long story short. There are many reasons dealers use this... it turns a lot of people off, so I like to avoid it for the most part. but there are some legitimate reasons to use it, and it shouldn't scare someone from getting a price quote.
and PS. I'm only referring to websites, I would never use POA in person, aka, in a shop, etc.

A buyers perspective
Okay, i'll bite. First I'll state my relation to the topic: I am a buyer, and have not been a serious seller yet.
I think whitespike perfectly voices the opinion of the average vintage buyer. That's how most buyers reason and how they'll consequently behave. I don't think I have behaved much differently.
However, I have loved reading spinario's post talking things through from a seller's perspective. It's very informative to me: I have not thought about most of the things he's mentioning. And it sounds logical to me. But as a buyer I still feel much more attracted when a price is mentioned, I can't help it. (PS Even if it's just a non exact indication of price range, such as "Previous xxx have sold for xxx and xxx" This at least gives you an indication of price size).
But I guess that that is exactly the point: most buyers are buyers only, not buyer- sellers. Hence most buyers will think like a buyer - I think whitespike voiced perfectly how it comes across for buyers-, not like a seller - see Spinario?s enlightening post for a seller's perspective.
Hence I think sellers that can see a buyer's point of view will attract more customers than sellers that expect buyers to intuitively -without explanation- grasp seller's logic. And I am sorry, I think it is unfair of a seller to say that the majority of buyers are wrong or "have trust issues" when they simply act as a buyer only. How are they expect to know all the background information ? Tynell, do you put a link to this thread under the "POA" so they have at least a chance to know ?
Sorry, but I feel it is unreasonable not to explain, and then to become miffed when someone does not know or understand.
I have simply discarded all POA things - I search among the priced items and buy from those.
I guess my feeling as a buyer is: if you can't tell me how much your item costs, then I can't tell you whether I am interested. I truly feel this is a fair perspective. After all the seller is trying to sell, why should I go courting him if I want to date his artichoke lamp ? :oD

tynell
Funny how you single me out as having trust issues. Or not believing that man landed on the moon. And you use words like "idiot" etc. Because none of this is true.
I am telling you how I, and many buyers feel about this method. What you think about it as the seller doesn't mean anything (the customer is always right, remember). You'd be smart to follow the preferences of the buying public. And bc your arrogance keeps you from realizing this very simple idea, you come across as an idiot yourself. If anything, you should listen to buyers, not other dealers, or even yourself you judgemental twit.
I find how my preference for shopping leads to comments about my issues. Amazing.
BTW - my collection hasn't suffered one bit from my methods. I can guarantee I would never buy from someone like yourself.

why not provide a price...
why not provide a price range? I understand transport costs etc fluctuate but even an estimate would be handy, and you wouldn't have buyers pestering you about the price.
I think it just comes down to trade price versus man in the street price and sellers don't want to piss the man in the street off too much. I get things a little cheaper sometimes, usually becuase I'm a regular customer or there is an expectation I'll be able to do something for them in the future.

tynellbuyer, you wrote a few...
tynellbuyer, you wrote a few posts back
"It is rather humourous how some people get all upset about something that doesn't really affect their lives ... "
That's kind of funny, I guess.
Who is upset?

I know you aimed the "idiot"...
I know you aimed the "idiot" comment at Hudson. Just bc you don't like his actions, it doesn't warrant that title from you.
I wasn't saying that that POA definitely involves trickery. I was saying that it can make it seem that way for some people. For me, it makes it feel out of my price range.
Exact words:
"Whatever the legitimate reasons, it smells of trickery and seems a bit too salesy."
Smells of trickery. Too salesy. But I also implied that there are some legitimate reasons. The two statements prior are just feelings .... not facts and are stated as such.
Bottom line. You're just a mite offensive.
And of course your opinion matters on this forum. I was saying that in the marketplace, the buyer's opinion matters more. That is, if you'd like to stay in business and/or do well.

Call me old fashioned
but I find POA a mite offensive too.
I'm not a paranoid person, per say, but there's nothing more annoying than wondering if the POA price you get quoted is the same price someone else gets quoted.
Regardless of the price, sellers should proudly and honestly post their darn prices for all to see. Period.
Many of the sponsors here at Design Addict have fallen into the POA syndrome, and it's an instant turn-away for me. Something has to be of amazing interest for me to inquire.
hiding prices in POA-land is just as bad as those NYC ritzy-titzy Madison Avenue antique shops that you have to knock to be buzzed in. They get the chance to look you over and judge your financial worth before opening the door. Ain't it awful?

Thank you, Barry.
Nuff...
Thank you, Barry.
Nuff said.

I didn't mean for a price war
I didn't mean for a price war...lol
I know what I want and I am generally an impulse buyer and at that particular pulsation money isn't an issue....but should I have to email for a price and wait by the computer it kinda of kills it for me.
And I put this out there as it may influence some dealers to give more thought to their buyers as as buyers we have a plethroa of choices Ebay, online auctions, sites like this, and I don't discriminate unless I see POA!
And as for the ol' saying of 'if you have to ask blah blah' what a load of bullocks! As a long time gone dealer I never assumed that the person that walked through my retail shop doors was a browser, buyer or wanker! Their money was all the same to me.
Interesting to see that I'm not alone as I thought I may have been
It's been educational!

Barry - I agree that the "buz...
Barry - I agree that the "buzz in" shops in NYC are intimidating, but its not so that the seller can "judge", etc. I'm a girl and I'm often threatened by people in the neighborhood. There happens to be a bus stop in front of my gallery, which I myself often use. I've had very scary people come in, and sometimes I WISH I had a buzzer. Its more about safety then anything. You would be surprised how many drunk people wander around in the middle of the day. If I could keep these people out, I would. It happens several times a week just in Mpls. I would imagine NYC is harder.