Receiving offers during an auction listing

Question

Can I end an auction early if a buyer sends me a valid buy it now offer? If so, how do I go about doing that, and what are the eBay fees? Thanks.

woodland_gnome · Answer

If you mean you got a "Message from a member" containing an offer, you can (if there are least 12 hours left to run*) but it is usually not in the seller's best interest to accept such unsolicited offers. They are frequently made by scammers but even at best are made because the offeror a) doubts that the amount would win if the auction goes to the end and/or b) is 1) chronically and/or 2) situationally impatient. To accept it if there has ever been a bid, you have to cancel all bids and end the listing early without a winner (ticking off your existing and prospective bidders and incurring an extra fee) and then relist the item in a manner that allows the offeror to buy it properly at the correct price, with no guarantee that s/he will do so (it is likely s/he has made multiple such offers), and of course paying the Final Value Fee for that sale if s/he does (with no credit for what you paid to end the first one).

*If there has never been a bid you can revise the listing to add a Buy It Now or amend the existing BIN (but it can't be lower than 30% over the Starting Price) or add Best Offer (if there is Best Offer or a BIN, ask yourself why they didn't use it) up until the 12 hour deadline. Or you can end the auction early without penalty if it has never had a bid up until the end.

an-57470 · Answer

You can end an auction early and sell to the highest bidder. Are your sure this is a valid buyer? Let the auction run its course. New sellers are targets for scammers.