Best offer thoughts

[personalkreations]

Hi,  I've been selling for about a year now.  Still more of a hobby and I'm still learning so I'd appreciate some advice on Best Offers. 

I normally only list using auctions and I've noticed my sell through the last few months has dropped about 15% compared to the same months last year.  I've been wondering what kind of success people have had with best offers?  I sell a little bit of everything but mostly vintage and I like buying stuff under the list price like most people even though there are times I still overpay because I like it. 

I know what my break even point is, as well as my breaking point but that's a different story.

I tried posting this on Seller Central but evidently know one feels like responding yet so I thought I'd give this group a shot.

I appreciate any suggestions.  I'll also take suggestions on my listings if anyone wants to critique them and who doesn't like to do that!

Take care,

PK

[taadaa58]

Hi PK and welcome! We're the friendliest board around and I'm sure you'll like it here,so stick around! 😉 :^O

As far as BO I personally don't like them as a seller or buyer.As a seller I know what I want for my items and do not like dealing with low ball offers.I get enough of them on BIN items as it is,,but others love BO.It's a personal preferences IMO,but others will chime in with their opinions.

I'll give your items a look and be back. 🙂

[123papapatrick]

Since the elections my sales fell into the toilet. I also sell vintage stuff and pretty much have to give it away. Even getting entitlement buyers demanding full refunds but wanting to keep the items. Seriously got a neg feedback because I refused to give the item for "Free." Personally never have sold anything "buy it now" even though I keep a lot of unsold auction items in that category. Think best offer is a "no brainer" because buyers are always making offers, low balling my items after auctions and buy it now. Most items that I do let go, end up relisted for more then I wanted to start with or relisted auction style with 20 plus bids and I couldn't even get one watcher?

[moesgoodstuff]

I like the strategy of listing it for the minimum you are willing to accept. Let the market decide.

I have recently had offers ...although on BIN items (where they are verboten- thank you boardies) I have been politely rejecting them. One has translated into a BIN price sale.

With a best offer you are already telling folks you'll cut price. They'll send you an offer if they want to.

Listing for the minimum acceptable price is essentially the same thing as a best offer with a small difference.

Think of it like saying..." I'll take Ten Dollars for it.... unless someone else wants to pay more."

[theriverretail]

I have found best offers helpful for items that I have multiples of or ones that I'm offering free shipping. 

One item I offer free Priority shipping on.  It doesn't fit in a flat rate box so I pay zone based rate.  I have my BIN price at $35, but do have a Best Offer option.  When I get an offer from zone 8, I don't have as much wiggle room and I'll tell the buyer that due to shipping costs I can only go down to $__.  But then when I get an offer from someone in zone 1 or 2, I can accept a price lower than my listed price.

For multiples....I had 6 elementary math manipulatives.  They don't weigh much, but needed a box for shipping.  I also offered free shipping on this item.  I offered Best Offer and accepted a BO for someone who wanted to buy 3.  Less packaging and shipping was less than three individual packages. 

[mintrobmint]

Its all good till someone sends you an offer of $10 on a $100 item! I set my best offers to automatically accept / decline my price cushion.

But...the best part of BOs is being able to check the buyers history! You know right away what kind of buyer your dealing with if accepted or declined....because they rarely hit the BIN if a BO is attached.

The worse part about BO is the IPR is not effective if you accept...and trust me I have had non-payers even after accepting a BO!

[bronx-dog]

I tried Best Offer once. It resulted in my meeting many

of the swimmers from the shallow end of the gene pool.

They offered pennies on the dollar and get snitty if you

don't accept, what they believed to be a magnanmus offer.

[theposhmermaids]

On my auctions, my starting bid is my best offer.  I don't want to have to deal with all the bottom-feeders on ebay.  If I receive an unsolicited lower offer, I just BBL them and report them to ebay.

[taadaa58]

I tried Best Offer once. It resulted in my meeting many

of the swimmers from the shallow end of the gene pool.

 Love that analogy!!!   :^O:^O 

[personalkreations]

I appreciate the feedback.  My thinking is I know how much I like going to estate sales, flea markets and the like and getting the item under the listed price.  I thought if I listed higher then I'd accept and have the bot reject dumb offers it might drum up more business since auctions don't seem to be doing as well as they used to for me at least. 

I thought people might be more interested in purchasing if they felt they were getting a deal, whether real or perceived if you know what I mean.  I didn't think that it may bring out more people whom I'd prefer not to have to deal with.  Maybe I should lower my starting price as some have suggested and hope for multiple offers.  I don't jack my prices way up but enough where I'm making a small profit.  Maybe if I start closer to my break even amount it might be better.   

I appreciate all the thoughts and suggestions.

[scga912]

I have tried the Best Offer option several times, and personally I don't like it.  Not that I get low ball offers (as my auto-decline is set), but it just takes up more time than I can give.  I save Best Offer for items that have either been sitting around for a long time. ones I have multiples of, or for items that have a very high price (for me) to test the waters. 

As a buyer, I don't really like them at all.  I never want to insult a seller, but when their BIN price is so high and we are nowhere close in thought, I won't even make an offer.  I've made a few though, and they've always been accepted, but then I feel like "hmmmm... could I have gone lower??"  bleh

There used to be a seller who had everything at $1,000 or Best Offer for items that would normally sell from $25-$55 dollars... I just passed his listings. 

[kansas_gal06]

I was leery of best offers for a long while, but when ebay ran the listing special where the 30-day listings with BO option was free, I used it on everything on my other seller account. I jacked my prices up a little & used 30-day with BO. I sold a lot more stuff!

I would not pay extra for the BO option, though. Also recommend what minty does, auto-decline below a certain amount. There is also an option to auto-accept offers at a certain price, and I fiddled with that one, too.

I got a few really silly low-ball offers before I started doing auto accept/declines.  Seriously, I don't want to do biz with someone who offers $5 on a $70 item that has "free" shipping.

Yeah, why not I deliver it wearing a tutu with a balloon bouquet while I'm at it 😉

Those got put on my blocked bidder list.

As for what marzdirect said, if it's zone-based shipping I don't use free shipping - they can see the shipping cost, and it isn't included in the BO.

All in all, I have had fun with it! The back-&-forth of counter offers.

My advice is, try it when ebay runs another free special of it, and see if you like it.

[personalkreations]

Just an update if anyone's interested.  Ebay must have been reading my mind about best offers as I believe we all received the offer of free listings.

Just had  three offers and accepted my first offer on my new listings from Sunday.

One nice thing I learned is that when you receive an offer you can see their zip code.  That allows me even more leeway with the lowest amount I'll accept since I offer free shipping on everything.  This way I can know what shipping will cost me before deciding whether to accept the offer. 

Best Offer listings are like garage sales and flea markets and I enjoy trying to negotiate as low a price as possible - I'm Bohemian my mom says it can't be helped.

Take care,

PK

[personalkreations]

Or in this case the highest price I can.  Geez, read that three times before I posted and I still screwed it up.

[mosaics123]

I was doing best offer on my fixed price listings and got every kook out there, ones that offer a buck on items listed buy it now for 50,  it was irritating, so I decided to save myself the frustration of even having to click no to the offer. 

My thoughts when I did the best offer , was well if I set the price to automatically accept the offer and automatically decline what if I am missing sales by a penny,lol.   I think what I finally came to grasp with is most people who make the offer are just looking to lowball you, trying to see how low you will go.  Most if you put  fair price on the item will just do the buy it now.  I found that even with the best offer on the listing most if they wanted the item just went ahead and bought it and didn't bother making the offer.  So last time out I did not list any with obo as an option and my sales have not seemed to suffer any not doing the obo.