Really, EBay?

[this*old*attic]

Sometimes you try even a cheerleader’s patience!

 I just got a half price Best Offer on a seriously hot 80s dress listed at $99.

So I start to counter at $84.99, which is a legit 15% discount... you know, like a sale in real life?

But, no. EBay throws up a little red advice flag.

”Counter with a lower offer to keep your buyer in the negotiations,” or something along those lines.

Um, no.  😑

Some items have their own merit, and they are special enough to sit and draw traffic if no one is willing to pull the trigger.

There are plenty of $25 - $50 vintage dresses on the site; this isn’t one of them.

And neither is my NOS SIZE 22!!!!! 

Ebay, do you have ANY IDEA how hard it is to find XXL vintage????? And deadstock, to boot?!?!?!

Stop telling me to lower my prices!!!!

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

So they want you to counter with a lower offer than the buyer made? That makes no sense. (even for ebay)

[this*old*attic]

They want me to counter lower than my reasonable 15% discount.

An $84.99 counter on a $99 dress wasn’t low enough for EBay.

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

Is there a "tell us what you think" button anywhere close by? LOL

[this*old*attic]

Right?

Ebay probably thinks I should have accepted the $51 offer.

You sell vintage clothing, too, right? Go look at my bronze 80s dress. I am NOT selling that for $50!!!

Especially not since I’ve dropped some cool stuff into the $65 range just to move it, only to realize my buyer was a dealer and now selling it for $150-250.

I don’t have the momentum to get those prices, but I’m not dropping any more legitimately special pieces down into the $50/60 range.

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

Nope - I won't touch selling clothing here with a 20 foot pole LOL

But if they want vintage they gotta pay for it.

[slippinjimmy]

It's only a suggestion generated by a computer....why take it so personal? I'd bet there are plenty of clothing sellers who would readily counter with something much closer to the original offer.

Maybe one day the computer will be smart enough to differentiate between a "hot" dress and one that is "stone cold".

[this*old*attic]

Personal isn’t really the right word, but this push to lower lower lower prices is idiocy! It’s annoying!

[mam98031]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

It's only a suggestion generated by a computer....why take it so personal? I'd bet there are plenty of clothing sellers who would readily counter with something much closer to the original offer.

Maybe one day the computer will be smart enough to differentiate between a "hot" dress and one that is "stone cold".

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I agree, while certainly this kind of stuff is annoying.  Personally I just ignore it.  Ebay recommends / suggests all kinds of things.  But that is all it is, a recommendation or a suggestion.  If I think it is out of line or something I don't want to consider, that is just what I do.  I don't consider it and I go on as if it never existed.

Ebay is just trying to promote more sales.  None of us is going to like every way Ebay tries to accomplish that.  I'm with you.  Just move on and forget about it.

[div_style]

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@myjunqueyourtreasure wrote:
Is there a "tell us what you think" button anywhere close by? LOL

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Generally the response should be

"Buwahahahaha.  No.  Not today, not tomorrow."

[tunicaslot]

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@this*old*attic wrote:

Right?

Ebay probably thinks I should have accepted the $51 offer.

You sell vintage clothing, too, right? Go look at my bronze 80s dress. I am NOT selling that for $50!!!

Especially not since I’ve dropped some cool stuff into the $65 range just to move it, only to realize my buyer was a dealer and now selling it for $150-250.

I don’t have the momentum to get those prices, but I’m not dropping any more legitimately special pieces down into the $50/60 range.

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Cross post - I get higher prices on another site and pay lower FVFs. Not everyone is in a rush to move inventory for little profit except BIN pickers who pick it up for pennies a lb. If that works for them fine - but it's not my business model and obviously not yours either.

I pretty much ignore all Ebay's suggestions as they are not profitable for me. Don't let it get to you.

[mypostingid15]

They want to drive traffic that way. They want buyers to get items almost free so they can tell their friends that ebay is such a great bargain site, and expecting sellers to pay for that word of mouth. Why don't they lower their shipping supplies prices instead of raising them, and why don't they accept offers?

[luckythewinner]

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@this*old*attic wrote:

Really, EBay?

But, no. EBay throws up a little red advice flag.

”Counter with a lower offer to keep your buyer in the negotiations,”

Ebay, do you have ANY IDEA how hard it is to find XXL vintage????? And deadstock, to boot?!?!?!

Stop telling me to lower my prices!!!!

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Here is what I suspect eBay is doing: 

• looking at the category
• looking at the history of counters in that category
• determining at which rate the counter is likely to get accepted
• suggesting it because eBay cares about eBay's income, not your profit

Here is what I suspect most sellers who disagree with the suggestion are doing: 

• ignoring it because they care about their profit, not eBay's income
• countering with an amount they choose
• moving on with their day

[m60driver]

You realize that your getting upset over a message generated by an algorithm programmed by some mindless millennial hired by a soulless corporation.

[this*old*attic]

Here’s why it got under my skin:

There have been SO MANY posts on the boards regarding Ebay’s decision to add uninvited BO onto peoples’ listings.

I’ve been really chill about that, and urged people to appreciate it as a conversation/negotiation starter rather than a time wasting annoyance.

But THEN EBay throws in a griping notice with OPINIONS on the merit of one’s counteroffer?

Nope.

Do buyers get one, too?

“Please consider that excessively low offers can stall negotiations.”

Hmmmmmmmmm?