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Is there a way to stop receiving offers on viewed items (not watched)?
Getting offers on items I've simply viewed (and not watched) is irritating—it takes several steps to remove those from the “My Ebay†page. (Clear the notification, check the offer, reject it, confirm rejection, select, delete.)
I've seen that you can turn off emails and notifications for those unsolicited offers, but I'd like to turn off receiving them altogether.
Any steps or ability to do so?
51 comments
jimmy1000000
·1 year agoEbay is desperate and they know this affects mostly sellers looking negatively because it's sellers who are looking items up and complaining the most about the offers being sent out since there is no interest in actually purchasing the item. ebay hates sellers since they have more sellers than they need for the few buyers that the are able to generate. So they just don't care what a seller thinks or says. They also enjoy it when a seller purchases on ebay just to flip on eBay. That's on par with the amount of buyers they actually have since a good amount of them are sellers flipping recycled ebay items.
They've pretty much just failed at e-commerce and when they push stuff like this and make their site so it's almost not bearable for sellers because they want more sellers not to use it. Every year doing listings gets a little harder and a little harder and a little harder. It just shows how terrible they are at what they do.
ebay does not care until they start losing money at that bad ideas and they make money on offers and the lowball culture they created mostly just affects the sellers.
There should be a beat an executive day where you get to just take any but especially ebay executives and beat the tar out of them. Traction life support more than likely will be the only way they're ever going to start listening because it's all about making a tenth of a cent for the board of directors and their bonuses. We should be able to call it supply and demand. They supplied the nonsense we don't like so they demanded the beatings that the earn.
Free enterprise could be so much better especially if there was no more ebay.
stantheman201188
·1 year agoYeah. After 17 years with eBay, they’ve gone too far. I’ve watched them care less and less about the user experience and force more and more upon us that we neither want nor ask for. I’m just not going to use eBay anymore. That’s the only thing I can do at this point. They force our hands. Either turn off all notifications, or get a bunch that you don’t want. Either delete your account, or deal with the stuff eBay is forcing on you. Nanana-boo-boo pretty much.
kennybmedia
·1 year agoEbay doesn't care about its user experience anymore. They force unwanted offers in an effort to encourage buying but it is having the opposite effect. People (like me) are **bleep** off that they have to spend time deleting and declining offers and reminders on items they are NOT WATCHING.
Why in the hell would I want to be bothered about things I passed on? Nowadays if you just look at something you will be sent an offer. This has totally ruined the experience of shopping on eBay.
It is a stupid idea that says to me that their sales are weak and they need to do anything to increase activity even if its annoying and blatantly deceptive.
eBay has lost all credibility. This is a pure money grab.
reb-lo
·1 year agoSearching for a pair of shoes, and the listing has no size in title. I click on listing to see if the size is in the description or pics. Wrong size- NOT interested. However I atill will get an offer at some point ... An offer will not tempt me into buying a pair of shoes that's the wrong size.
Worse than that- I have lately been receiving watched item reminder notifications for items that are not on my watch list. I click the notification to see the items so that I can remove it from my watch list and it's not even on it.
mountaingigi
·1 year agoForgot to add - clear cache and cookies for ebay on that "secret" browser.
mountaingigi
·1 year agoI have two eBay bookmarks on two different browsers. I'm signed in on, but not on the other. The latter is what I use when I want to research solds and browse incognito. No "new for you", no "recently viewed". Works for me.
sdfivestar
·2 years agoTHERE IS NO WAY TO TURN OFF "SELLER INITIATED OFFERS" because eBay makes money by selling this service to Sellers.
BUT there is a simple way to avoid [or at least minimize] receiving them.
When you are doing an item search for "price comparison" to figure out what price you should list your own item for make sure before you search the item that you click on "advanced search" (you'll usually find this to the right of the search bar). Once in "advanced search check the box that says SOLD and your search will not search active listing so you will not receive offers from sellers.
This is also a much more accurate way of establishing a "realistic sales price" for your item because you will only receive data of items that have actually sold and you won't see all those ridiculously high listings that will never sell but can skew your evaluation of an item if you are trying to factor in an average.
Ebay isn't perfect but it is still one of the best auction sites available to us... as long as we take the time to learn the nuances of the platform - EDUCATION IS POWER
Good Luck in all your transactions whether buying or selling!
SD Five Star
buyer01923
·2 years agoI've opted out of ALL ebay notifications just to get rid of approx 10-15 of these daily annoying "Seller is offering because you took interest" emails that find their way to my desktop Outlook, my cellphone because they are synced and clog my ebay messages. Maybe eBay and sellers will figure out that not providing a way to opt out of these annoying email notifications it will blunt buyer activity. At this point I'm blocking EVERYTHING from eBay. My Outlook/cell fills with this useless number of emails and I'll allow the message volume on eBay messages to accumulate and let them spend more money on storage.
Frankly an 8% discount on an obviously used item hawked as "New" or "Rare" doesn't spur me into buying. I shop ebay find something I'm interested in, send seller message of best offer and let them act. I then check back on the item in a day or so and if no banner on page indicating seller sent offer I move on.
Just go into your preferences and edit. Think ebay will get the message?
biz-duluth
·2 years agoWould it work to just search using a tab in "incognito" mode?
campanaelia
·2 years agoI just bought 2x 24" monitors from offers I received from viewing them only. I prefer not to put items on my watch list having to show my interest to other buyers. I love this and hope the offers continue.
kingshearer
·2 years agoI can understand the idea, like someone window shops and occasionally they might buy an item they never thought of, but in the real world they generally don't buy it and walk off. The options should be simple here, send us an offer by flashing it up on the screen if you like, but allow us to press NO straight away if we're not interested rather than all the faff of rejecting offer then refreshing and deleting.
idealworldltd
·2 years agoGlad to see I am not the only one who is annoyed by this. Been on the platform 22 years now and not used to this sort of aggressive salesmanship. Their take may be it helps sellers, but, it just dumbs down the website in general. I am here because I like quiet, simple, reliable buying and selling. This feature doesnt really fit that and I hope they ditch it.
dks202
·2 years agoCan't find this below, Where is "Seller Offers"? Did eBay remove this option? "Account" is actually under your name at the top LEFT ...
1. Go to the "Account" dropdown menu in the top right corner of the eBay homepage.
2. Select "Account settings".
3. Scroll down to the "Communication preferences" section.
4. Under "Seller offers", toggle the switch to "Off".
5. Confirm the change.
atticandanvil
·2 years agoI think maybe it is under Account Preferences -> Communication Preferences -> Buyer -> Buying Activity -> Offers to Buyers.
But I'm not entirely sure. The language they are using on these preference pages is really obtuse.
boxofhappiness
·2 years agoI agree. It makes it sound like you'll be tuning off notifications for ALL offers, including for items you're actually watching.
boxofhappiness
·2 years agoIt sounds to me though like that would turn off ALL offer notifications, including ones for items you're actually watching. I don't want to do that!
calamari1963
·2 years agoI got my first ever, and I have been on ebay since 2001. Just saw this response elsewhere and it makes sense because I try never to click on "Sponsored" -old habit leftover from Googling- and I think this one time I accidentally did:
"You will receive Special offers anytime you click on a Sponsored listing, from a page with a similar item you did open. They do not always generate an immediate offer, but one will be sent out once I believe 30 people have viewed it, which then triggers offers to be sent to those people. Since sellers pay for that to be done, I'm not sure if changing your preferences will work."
hiker49
·2 years agoThe worst thing is that you can't delete them until the offer has expired, so they're in your face for days every time you go into My eBay. It seems there's no way to stop them in the first place. I don't expect to get them just because I've viewed an item.
campanaelia
·2 years agoThey are very easy to delete, after you decline the offer or it expires you can delete it from the "offers" list.
xtreamdev
·2 years agoThis needs to stop member for 20 years and this is the worst I get offers all the time now. How do I stop this I want no offers if I want to make an offer I will start it...
campanaelia
·2 years ago"To opt out of seller offers on eBay, follow these steps:
1. Go to the "Account" dropdown menu in the top right corner of the eBay homepage.
2. Select "Account settings".
3. Scroll down to the "Communication preferences" section.
4. Under "Seller offers", toggle the switch to "Off".
5. Confirm the change.
This will prevent sellers from sending you offers based on your browsing history. Note that you may still receive offers if you've previously expressed interest in a seller's items or if you've purchased from them before. To stop all offers, including those based on purchase history, toggle the "All purchase-related offers" switch to "Off" in the same "Communication preferences" section."
Credit to member: ten_o_nine
artnel97
·2 years agoUnder Communication preferences there is no "Seller offers" button? where to find?
indigo_monsoon
·2 years agoI also find this irritating and a privacy violation.
I did not find a solution that allowed offers on watched items only in the various threads, so I contacted ebay customer service.
1. I was informed, these offers are called "seller initiated offers."
2. The only way to stop them is "to not view an item." Absurd and counterproductive to business!
3. I requested info on how to register a complaint.
Here is the link: feedback.https://www.ebay.com/srv/survey/a/myebay.bidsoffers
Everyone who is unhappy/frustrated should send a complaint. You can optionally provide your email address which I did, but got an autoresponse on screen that said, I wouldn't be contacted.
4. I was told I could also go to the bids and offer page and "look for 'tell us what you think'." I did not see that option.
5. I did get an email re my customer service interaction that allowed more of an opportunity/more characters to review my experience and detail the reason I contacted customer service. So reaching out to customer service about the issue provides another way to inform ebay of our discontent.
I hope this is helpful and if enough thoughtful complaints are registered perhaps something will be done. The solutions certainly cannot be receiving no offers at all or not viewing items, both are bad for business.
indigo_monsoon
·2 years agoSorry, just realizing the link is not working and you might need to request a link from customer service chat yourself to register a complaint
pinepig
·2 years agoI'm going to avoid viewing sponsored listings because of this **bleep**, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Which will defeat the purpose of paying extra for the listing! But at some point ebay will figure that out and make the sponsored listings "stealth" so you can't avoid them. I used to love ebay, but this is beyond the pale.
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@njcarpetbagger,
"It's like constant spam. I look at tons of different things as we are sellers. Wish ebay would fix this, as I DO want to see offers on items I actually watched!"
As as seller you should know, that sellers pay to have their listings sponsored, which generates the Special Offers. So if ebay gave members a way to stop receiving the offers, the sellers who paid for sponsored listings would be paying for nothing.
If you are looking at listings as a seller to compare your item's condition and check pricing, If you did that by doing advanced searches of sold items, you would not receive any messages/offers, and get a better idea of what the items are actually worth.
njcarpetbagger
·2 years agoWell we could get into a whole thing where i disagree with the ethics behind sponsored listings, but the fact is I look at current listings to know how to price things. It's even more important to check than than sold items.
It is annoying and honestly invasive to send people offers on things they just looked at and did not watch.
jimmy1000000
·2 years agoEbay doesn't care how much people hate them. I think they are trying to make as many people hate them as they possibly can. It's a strange business motto but that's what they have been doing for the past 15 years trying to get every eBay member to hate them one way or another.
There stupid shills on these platforms will give you horrible advice like just go turn off the option, I mean regardless how they lie about it they are paid shills for eBay, they know there is no option to do that but yet they line up to tell you to turn it off on settings.
The only thing that works is to have your phone block all notifications from ebay. I sure would like to know when I have a sale or question, but I'm thinking screw ebay they don't get to win just because they are the biggest desperate losers. So I am now going to have to block all notifications because of this **bleep**. So be it.
They have to be not just be the most dishonest business based out of the United States but also they are pushing to be one of the most hated business by its users and they are fine with this. It's their failure we have been watching for the past 15 years as they creatively craft their books to stay out of chapter 13 year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year....... And that my friends is the real problem we're dealing with a business that should have gone bankrupt years ago.
campanaelia
·2 years agoAs a buyer I like receiving the offers and have purchased many items this way even if I only viewed it. I prefer not to put items on my watch list to let other buyers see my interest in items.
On the other hand, as a seller like yourself, who is looking at similar items you want to list, you could simply use a different browser not logged into your account to do the searches
instylebeautybarn
·2 years agoYES, but sellers look at other similar item to list, we use can't even do that, can't copy from other "like" listing, its annoying and a turn off.
field_d
·2 years agoThis has been going on for months, if not years and will never be removed.
A 'fix' is not required as nothing is broken. eBay are doing this deliberately.
jabarhead
·2 years agoBuyers should ONLY get offers for items they watch or have in their cart.
Watching an item means a buyer is interested. Putting an item in their cart means a buyer is interested and has intent to buy.
But a Buyer merely looking at an item means they looked at it and left without showing interest or intent to buy.
Buyers shouldn’t be bugged about those dumb items.
There’s no other buying service that has such an annoying, unsolicited, money-grubbing feature. But leave it to eBay to infiltrate your devices and shove more unwanted crap in your face to buy so you’ll give them even more money. As if the ridiculously high seller fees aren’t enough already.
Its BROKEN.
It’s annoying.
It ruins the buyer experience.
It should be FIXED.
Bye
joshulil_6
·2 years agoIt's like being chased down the street by a salesman in a 3rd world country, you're pretty sure he's trying to distract you while someone else robs you. I'm so glad they digitised this experience so that archaic harassment can be brought into the 21st century. Next update I hear that eBay are adding a physical assault button where the seller can send thugs to mug you after you view an eBay item. Should be a laugh.
djk1
·2 years agoWE HATE THIS EBAY. STOP IT!
campanaelia
·2 years agoSince I can't make offers myself anymore because I refuse to use auto-pay, receiving the offers still gives me a chance to still buy an item for less so I hope ebay never stops it.
As for stopping the offers for yourself you can simply opt out from receiving them. There is no reason to force your opinion on others.
To opt out of seller offers on eBay, follow these steps:
1. Go to the "Account" dropdown menu in the top right corner of the eBay homepage.
2. Select "Account settings".
3. Scroll down to the "Communication preferences" section.
4. Under "Seller offers", toggle the switch to "Off".
5. Confirm the change.
This will prevent sellers from sending you offers based on your browsing history. Note that you may still receive offers if you've previously expressed interest in a seller's items or if you've purchased from them before. To stop all offers, including those based on purchase history, toggle the "All purchase-related offers" switch to "Off" in the same "Communication preferences" section."
siujoey
·2 years agoAs has been said on here several times already, that only stops the notifications and communication to mobile and email, not the offers from clogging up your eBay message inbox. No one is forcing their opinion on anyone, we just want an option to not be spammed with messages in our eBay inboxes about stuff we aren't interested in. Not too much to ask, eh?
njcarpetbagger
·2 years agoSO ANNOYING. It's like constant spam. I look at tons of different things as we are sellers. Wish ebay would fix this, as I DO want to see offers on items I actually watched!
selsa84
·2 years agoI get a "reminder" twice a day on an item I looked at and didnt watch but it says I'm watching it.
belluscioformals
·2 years agoI agree. I am so sick and tired of getting offers everyday, all day on things I am not watching. These are not sponsored items!! in they are items I've only browsed, trying to get an idea of prices for my own things. As a seller , I always check how many watchers are on my items. If there are no watchers I do not send an offer! It's like cold calling or anything unsolicited. It's irritating. It's at the point I hate to look for things because nearly every single thing I look at I am sent an offer. It's like trying to browse peacefully, on a used car lot. 🫤. EBay should only allow offers be sent if there's actually watchers on the item. As it used to be. I wish eBay would take notice of this, because I hear people complaining about this more and more often.
djk1
·2 years agoI COULDN'T AGREE MORE!!! IT REALLY IS SPAM SINCE WE DIDN'T ASK FOR THESE EMAILS.
planginc
·2 years ago1000% agreed - we're not allowed to spam people yet we can't find a way to stop sending notification on items we've VEIWED? If I were interested in it, I'd add it to my watchlist. I want these to stop as well.
simba6
·2 years agoYou could log out of eBay and clear your cookies before you search.
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@cardsandfigs,
You will receive Special offers anytime you click on a Sponsored listing, from a page with a similar item you did open. They do not always generate an immediate offer, but one will be sent out once I believe 30 people have viewed it, which then triggers offers to be sent to those people. Since sellers pay for that to be done, I'm not sure if changing your preferences will work.
All you have to do on your my messages page is scroll down the list and check the box next to a message then delete the ones you don't want to view, or you can just ignore them. If you do not want offers sent to your regular emails that can be set up by going to your My Account > Communications preferences.
cardsandfigs
OP2 years agoThat it comes from sponsored listings makes sense.
But as I've said twice now, I'm aware that you can opt out of receiving emails and app notifications for these. I would like not to receive them at all (deleting the messages from your Inbox is two clicks and a page load. Rejecting the offer and clearing the notification from your dashboard is seven clicks and three page loads). But it sounds like there's no way to do it.
house*of*paws
·2 years agoHi @cardsandfigs
You can opt out of receiving offers here:
My eBay > Account > Communication Preferences > Edit.
Unfortunately, we eliminate offers based on our Watchlisted items … along with those related to Views.
cardsandfigs
OP2 years agoThanks for the response but could you clarify? I'm fairly certain the option you're referring to only stops you from receiving an email or app notification. You can still receive the unsolicited offer in your My Ebay dashboard.
"Offers" under My eBay > Account > Communication Preferences > Edit is currently and had always been unchecked for me but I'm still receiving the offers (two in the last few hours) .
pls-consignments
·2 years agoUnless I'm missing something, there doesn't seem to be a place to opt out of these. Please extend this further if you can. "My eBay > Account > Communication Preferences >...."
belluscioformals
·2 years agoI have been on ebay for nearly twenty years. Every time I even browse items now I get tons of offers. I find it incredibly irritating when it's an item I am not watching. I liked it much better when I only received offers on the things I am actually watching and interested in. The listings I have looked at are not sponsored and not in my watch list. Anymore, any item I have even briefly looked at I get offers on. For the average consumer that's incredibly irritating. It's like being badgered.
djk1
·2 years agoDoesn't it seem you (ebay) are shooting yourself in your foot by eliminating items we are looking for to purchase? Would love an answer to this. I detest the spam of "oh boy, something you looked at."
ca_cornwall
·1 year agoWould be really helpful if you could separate offers from watched items v viewed items!!!
champ7001
·1 year agoThese directions are inaccurate. There is no communication preferences tab to click on.