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Is this a change to how seller-initiated offers work? (PLEASE SAY YES)
I just received a seller offer for an item I'm watching, and I don't recall ever seeing this phrasing about how the first person to COMPLETE CHECKOUT gets the deal. It could be that I just never noticed it before, but I've also don't recall ever receiving a notification that an item I sent offers for was accepted by Buyer A, but then paid for by Buyer B (because they actually paid, while Buyer A only "pledged" to pay sometime in the next 4 days). I thought the way it worked was that as soon as Buyer A accepts the offer, the item is not just "in their shopping cart" but a contractual pending purchase, locked in for them, same as if it was an auction and they were the highest bidder.
I have more questions, but they would depend on whether there's actually been any change at all.
kh-shakhib
·1 year agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
artphotodude
·1 year agoEverything in Ebay now is about elliminating customer/seller negotiation in favor of impulse buying. It is such a shadow of how good it used to be 10+ years ago.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoI guess this shows that the only change is in the wording of offers as well as the "lie" to create a sense of urgency that "others" (plural) have received the offer when in fact, there might only be one person who gets the offer.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoHa I've already been doing that for years, changing the personalized message to "Offer sent to all watchers and shopping cart holders of this item, so get it before it's gone!" -that way even if there is only one watcher and they can see that, they can't see if someone has it in their cart.
evry1nositswindy
·2 years agoI put something on my watchlist tonight and got the exact same offer screen you are showing. I know I was the only watcher, but the wording was the same. Sticking with my original thought--I like it! And I bought it!
turtles-trading-post
·2 years agoI recently got an offer on a $12 hat I looked at. I hadn’t watched it. Seller offered $11 but left the counter offer open. It would have been silly to just accept so I countered with $10. (There is a lesson here- leaving the counter offer open only insures you won’t get your asking price)
I didn’t get any eBay messages, later noticed I had bought and paid for the hat. I’m wearing the hat right now!
When I do Send Offer I have my own paragraph to make it a bit more personal. And I don’t accept counter offers.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoOkay @albertabrightalberta you're up to bat. Please accept the offer, then as soon as I see it (should get an audio notification on my phone), I will check how it appears on my end. Then we'll see if itsjustasprain still has the ability to accept/pay.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agodone
gurlcat
OP2 years agoThank you.
So from my view this looks the same as ever, it's in my Sold list, and the order page is the same I think.
Alright @itsjustasprain is it still an available offer? Even if you can't find the offer notification, check the listing and see if it says Ended at the top.
itsjustasprain
·2 years agoOkayyyy... No. It is not still available. If I look at the listing it says that its sold. If I click the Review Offer link in the offer message it takes me to the same page and still says that its sold. We know that @albertabrightalberta has not paid - I assume - but I am already blocked from buying it now.
itsjustasprain
·2 years agoHere is the original offer as received:
Key phrase above is 'first person to complete checkout gets the deal.' From our test here it looks like the term 'complete checkout' does mean to accept the offer but it does not mean that payment has occurred (or will occur). It just means that @albertabrightalberta now has first refusal on the item (pay or cancel or let it time out with an Unpaid slap) and no one else can buy it.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoWell, POOOOO!!! So why the heck DID they change the verbiage then? Just a bluff to make buyers think they better pay fast, or embrace auto-pay if the seller uses it? The only other thing I can think of is maybe it will be a feature change, but they are doing it in steps, with the easiest part first. Who knows.
Well anyway, thanks so much @itsjustasprain and @albertabrightalberta . At least we know firsthand now. Alberta, I just realized I don't know if you can cancel an offer acceptance before paying.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoI did request to cancel.
These are the options I was given. (I've never asked to cancel so I don't know if there's any change there.) I thought there'd be a "changed mind" choice.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoI saw the request and accepted it. Thanks again. My background is science so I really enjoy testing hypotheses even when they get the 'well poop' result, lol.
sodelight
·2 years agoMakes sense to me. Why would anyone expect to get 'the deal' if they haven't paid (checked out).
Ebay is even requiring buyer payment info (in advance) when you submit an offer to a seller nowadays. If the seller accepts, your payment goes through, if seller rejects it doesn't.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoThat auto-pay feature only applies if the seller has the requirement turned 'on' in their seller preferences. A lot of us have opted out of it, because even though it's nice to know we'd get paid immediately, it is problematic for buyers who want to buy multiple items and get combined shipping. Also it appears to anger a lot of buyers (check out how many threads are up about this in the Buyers forum), and a lot of them are saying when they see that popup they just close it and don't buy from that seller.
There are certainly better ways eBay could deal with the slow/non payer problem. Like shorten the amount of time given to pay (I say 24 hours is plenty, and 4 business days is just beyond absurd) ... OR ..... let them have as much time as they want, but keep the listing up for others to buy at the regular price if they want. It makes me mad when someone "rewards" getting a deal by then holding the item hostage, especially if they don't even write to say when they'll pay.
gurlcat
OP2 years agookay @itsjustasprain and @albertabrightalberta who wants to be the acceptor and who wants to be the payer (IF the offer is still available after the acceptor accepts). Remember, as soon as you pay, assuming you don't actually want the necklace, just request a cancellation and I'll do that as soon as I see it.
BTW, there's a possible fly in the jam -the listing now has THREE watchers, lol. I would not be surprised if the algorithm is programmed to make listings more visible if they're already getting attention. So, I will make the offer as lousy as it will allow, so hopefully that other person won't accept.
itsjustasprain
·2 years agoI nominate @albertabrightalberta to be the acceptor. 😠I will then see what happens if I try to accept (and pay) as well. I will catch screenshots if anything interesting happens.
ed8108
·2 years agoI suppose the new wording is being sent when auto pay checkout is not in place
On autopay when you accept, haven't you purchased, & ebay purports to complete the checkout, like it or not
itsjustasprain
·2 years agoI'm on autopay for Make Offer. I think the way it worked when accepting a seller offer or counteroffer was that I had a confirmation screen pop up saying that my account would be charged if I accepted it. In other words it was not the usual payment screen that I could have left until later (or never) after accepting the offer. If I did accept the offer then payment would happen right away. If I did not accept then someone else was still free to grab it. I did this as recently as last week.
If I originate the offer then I have to confirm my stored payment info first (before sending the offer). At that point Ebay completes the checkout if the seller accepts my offer.
ed8108
·2 years agoThe auto pay process I originally encountered has changed, no screens of any kind appear, nothing to confirm, ebay automatically completes checkout payment
asset_liquidators
·2 years agoNo, just received an email for an item that I sent an offer on about 5 minutes ago:
"Your buyer hasn't paid yet. A reminder will be sent to them to pay within 48 hours and you'll receive an update when it's time to ship your item. "
albertabrightalberta
·2 years ago@gurlcat
I put your item on my watchlist last night but it looks like I'm still the only watcher.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoOkay @itsjustasprain and @albertabrightalberta heck yeah, let's do this! Unless either of you would prefer to be the seller, this little necklace has relisted repeatedly with few views and few or no watchers, has none right now. So if yall could both put it on 'watch,' we'll proceed from there. FYI, my auto-pay requimrement is OFF, so we won't have to worry about that.
I need to hit the hay right now, but will check back first thing tomorrow. This is item # 126208378118
itsjustasprain
·2 years agoHi - sorry - had to go out this morning but I am back now and have marked it for watching.
gloryglorygifts
·2 years agoThis is great and answers a question I had last week. I was wondering how customers receive offers that I send out to watchers, but last week I noticed that there were more watchers than available products.
Answers my question. Thanks for sharing it!
reallynicestamps
·2 years ago@devon@ebay
So does the first to accept get the Thing or does the first to pay get the Thing, if two customers accept the Offer?
Is an accepted Offer still available to others until paid?
Are these Seller Offers like "immediate payment required" and as such remain available until someone pays?
I realize this is the same question three ways.
gurlcat
OP2 years agodevon@ebay to be clear, I've already tested and found that an accepted seller-initiated offer DOES remove the listing from the main eBay search results, so what we're wondering is whether the new language in the default message sent with offers means that those people have equal crack at getting the item, not the first who just hits 'Accept'.
devon@ebay
Hey @reallynicestamps! The buyer that is first to checkout and complete payment will be the one set to receive the item.
gurlcat
OP2 years agodevon@ebay Thanks for the reply, but just to be clear for the back of the room, this IS a change in policy, correct? And is it site-wide or gradual roll-out? Was it announced anywhere and was the wording changed in the policy page?
carlmarxx
·2 years agoYou left out that buyer may have other items of sellers in a shopping cart wanting combined shipping besides doing IPR in make offer that Ebay placed in seller's listing without asking . which again is offensive act . Which eBay got a ear full from us sellers when they did same thing with Global shipping program and we sellers that didn't ask for it, And had to go in and opt out. My point is the seller has more FVF's and buyer has two orders or more do to the IPR make offer ,when it should be one full order .
gurlcat
OP2 years agoPlease don't complain to the employees who are only here to check on information at our request, and please don't turn this thread into a general grievance about fees, shipping, etc.
If the actual topic of this thread turns out to be true, it will be an IMPROVEMENT for sellers.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoEXPERIMENT RESULTS:
The seller accepted my counteroffer, so before paying I went to see if the item was still available to the general public. I searched on a different browser, logged into my other account, just in case eBay might show me results biased by my having the item in my cart. Unfortunately, the item was NOT still in the seller's items, nor did it show up by using the exact title in search. So at least in that aspect, an accepted offer still "belongs to" the acceptor, whether or not they're going to actually pay. 😥
I suppose the 'The first person to complete checkout' thing could still apply to only the subset of people who received an offer, like the Person A/B scenario I laid out in my original post, but I can't think of any way to test it.
a_c_green
·2 years agoI think in that regard, the people who have received an offer but not bought it yet (i.e. paid for it) are much the same as everyone else who's looking at a BuyItNow item with Immediate Payment Required.
I've often said in the past that a BIN/IPR setting ensures that no one can snatch your item off the market without actually paying you for it first. I had one instance in my buying account where I learned how precise that is.
Someone had posted an item I wanted at a killer price, something that our family calls a lunge-for-the-keyboard moment, to grab it before someone else spots it. It was Immediate Payment Required, so I hit the BuyItNow button, was all the way through my payment screen, credit card number on file, etc., I hit the Pay button, but then there was this... pregnant pause... and a grim message appeared, saying something to the effect of, "Sorry! Someone else has purchased this item." Aaargh... 😠I was, like, ten seconds too late, at most, but that was all it took for someone else to grab it instead of me.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoAww, I know that stung. There have been times when I did a search and sorted results by 'Most Recent' and saw one of those keyboard-lunge listings in the top 10-or-so on the page, then when I'd click the thumbnail to take a closer look, it already said it was 'Ended'. Other times I've found the item still available, but with 1 or more Watchers, and I'm like, 'What are you watching for, this to get even CHEAPER?' LOL, I guess maybe they intended to buy just put it on Watch while taking a quick look through the seller's other items to see what other treasures they had underpriced. -Not this Gurl. BUY IT NOW, ha!
farmalljr
·2 years agoOnce a buyer accepts the offer, it's theirs for all eBay cares. Now if they pay or not is another matter.
Like I said, offers still work the same. Your item is not still for sale until paid for, when offers are involved. Is it several people doing it? Could be. I have not received an offer with those words yet. Could also be some testing done by eBay or a glitch of some sort.
Point is, offers are still working the same.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoDevon answered that offers are NOT still working the same. Your speculation about a "glitch" is not very compelling.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoI just checked and the other 2 offers I received to day also have the new message. What are the odds that all 3 of these sellers saw the same youtube video or whatever, and used the exact same words?
Alright you guys, I'm going to take one for the team and in the name of science. I'll accept that offer (actually counteroffer because 5% off is just silly). Then I'll go to their store and see if this item is still an active listing, before I pay.
Welllllllll ......... ASSUMING they don't have 'auto-pay' enabled.
Wait, if they do, I'll find that out when I make a counter-offer .... I think.
Bah, we'll see.
Stay tuned.
EDIT: Counter-offer MADE, with no card account required! Now to see if they accept my offer. It's almost 1:00 AM where they live, so probably no update until tomorrow.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoLOL I don't know who to believe! I wish eBay weren't so dang reliably unreliable with informing us about site feature changes. But now here's another question -IF it's true, then when a buyer clicks 'Accept offer' but doesn't pay immediately, presumably the listing does not show as 'Ended' to the other buyers who received the offer (therefore they could also accept it, and whoever actually pays gets the item) .... but does it also remain visible to ALL buyers, like still an active listing, viewable in search results, at its' original non-offer price?
THAT
WOULD
BE
SO
AWESOME.
hartungcards
·2 years agoThis means that accepted offers aren't actually "sold" until they're paid for. No more of this, "Congratulations, your item has sold, but the buyer hasn't paid yet" mumbo jumbo. This is cool.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoSo, are you SURE? Like did you hear about this somewhere other than this post I made?
Here's what my Send Offer popup template looks like, screenshotted just now. The "Here's your chance....." is the same default message I've always seen. So unless you know for sure there is a platform-wide change (either fully active now, or rolling out gradually), I think it may just be that the seller who sent that offer to me changed the message to make it sound like you don't get the deal unless you pay for it, and someone else could get it while you wait.
hartungcards
·2 years agoBecause it's on all the offers I've received lately, I seriously doubt all these sellers are sending out the same message.
farmalljr
·2 years agoI can about guarantee it's what the SELLER is adding. Unless eBay is making you pay the second you accept with a card on file, it's still the same process of waiting for payment.
Likely, some youtuber told their viewers to add it to encourage faster payment,
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoNope, seller is NOT adding it.
I just experimented by sending an offer (from my selling ID) to my buying/posting ID.
This is the offer I sent:
And this is the offer I received. Notice that although my offer only went to one watcher/buyer, the offer received by the buyer indicates that multiple watchers/buyers received it.
gurlcat
OP2 years ago3 of us could sort this out once and for all, with an experiment. Two pose as buyers and watch an item of the third person's (preferably an item that doesn't already have any watchers). Third person sends them both an offer. One of them accepts .... then the other checks to see if the offer is still available to them.
I would also be curious to know if there is any difference in the wording of what the seller gets as a notification, also does the item still go to their Sold page after someone accepts but hasn't paid yet.
I'm willing to be the seller or one of the buyers, anybody else? The actual paying buyer could just request cancellation if they don't want whatever item it is.
@albertabrightalberta @reallynicestamps @evry1nositswindy @hartungcards @a_c_green anybody game? @farmalljr you want to take part in proving us wrong?
itsjustasprain
·2 years agoI am a frequent buyer and would be happy to take part in this test. Send me a PM if you like. Just for the record I am also in the buyer group that must now provide their payment info before making offers - if that is a factor.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoI'll play too! I've also had my payment information ready to pay should an offer be accepted.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·2 years agoFor what it's worth, I received an offer tonight. I had looked at this item, but had NOT put it on my watch list. The message text reads:
"Because you viewed this item, here's a special offer. A few other interested buyers also received this offer---it won't last long. Hurry and take advantage right away."
IF I click on Review Offer, I then see:
Review offer
You received an offer!
Others received this offer, too. The first person to complete checkout gets the deal.
Mine had no further message from the seller, but that could be because the seller does not send messages, not even the default message.
allthings-collectible
·2 years agoI think that's the note that the seller can include with the offer. I will often erase the default and include something like "Buy Now - Offer Expires Soon". However, I may use this one 😉
hartungcards
·2 years agoNo, that's not a seller generated note. That verbiage is standard on all offers now.
rugerskick
·2 years agoYes thats correct.
4pawsup*
·2 years agoThe first person to accept the offer gets the item. Ebay is letting you know there were other members interested and received the same offer as you.
hartungcards
·2 years agoNo, this is new verbiage. The first person "to complete checkout" gets the item, not the "first person to accept."
4pawsup*
·2 years agoSame thing talk about splitting hairs.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoAccepting an offer and completing checkout are absolutely not the same thing.
cardsforauction
·2 years agoExactly, before you could make multiple offers and then pay within a few days, but not anymore. Now you must accept the offer and pay immediately in order to get the item, but if someone else accepts and pays first you don't get it. Also, if you make multiple offers for many items from a seller you won't get combined shipping under this new offers method. Bad for buyers and great for sellers who want their money immediately.
gurlcat
OP2 years agoIt's only bad for buyers if the seller:
1. Has their preference set to require auto-pay, and
2. Unwilling to refund buyers for the overage amount paid for shipping.
Such sellers are pretty rare and not thinking ahead. They would have to pack and ship each item individually which is just more work, or combine the items and pocket the extra money, which would likely get them a negative feedback or worse, like a retaliatory return or chargeback. I buy here all the time including multi-item purchases, and I have yet to run into a seller foolish enough to ignore reason in this matter.
sin-n-dex
·2 years agoMy setting is not set to auto-pay, but they are requiring buyers pay to accept an offer sometimes anyway... for some buyers it's on every item, others it's a gamble whether they will or not for each item I send an offer on.
C.
farmalljr
·2 years agoI think a lot of sellers have switched to autopay. I also think that will screw with their sales. Plenty of times I have backed off making an offer, when I wanted more than one thing from a seller because of autopay. I don't like messing around waiting for a refund. I shouldn't have to.
Some sellers are good about combining shipping (most of them) but I have run into sellers who will bend you over on combined shipping, giving hardly no break. There is getting to be a certain segment of sellers who are the "get off my lawn" types. As a seller I am smart enough to know what shipping costs, and when a seller "combines" shipping and charges you more that twice of the costs, they are just screwing over buyers. I think that leads to people just shopping elsewhere.
sin-n-dex
·2 years agoI'm having issues with this being "turned on" even though I don't have it "turned on" in my preferences. I sold 12 stamps to a guy who paid for each stamp one at a time, then I spent 45 minutes going through his sales orders and refunding unnecessary shipping charges. Nice that he trusts me, but I have better things to do with my time than refund money because eBay rushes to make me receive payment.
I have another token buyer who I send offers to (just to her, in response to an eBay message). Half the time she has to pay right away, so more shipping to refund, the other half it can get added to her cart. I have around 100 tokens to mail her this week and 40 sales invoices for all the "paid individually" ones.
I've given up on this when someone wants a deal on multiple items and started combining their items into a single listing. I know eBay likes their 30 cents off each sale, but sometimes the offer is $2 so 30 cents is a big bite when ordinarily said buyer would purchase 10 such $2 items to save on shipping.
It's getting annoying, but as you can see from my solds, there are numerous deals that were put together by combining things to be less annoying for both me and the buyer.
C.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·2 years ago2 different things.....you and I could both accept an offer but if I pay first then you miss out
evry1nositswindy
·2 years agoI like that!