seller best offer

[mikeh880]

Can somebody rationalize to me why as a seller, if i recieve an offer from a "potential" buyer.  If i counteroff i no longer have the option to change my mind and accept their low ball offer? is it ebays goal to punish my customers?  I make a counter, after which i get filled with the xmas sp[irit and decide to gift the person for no profit if for no other reason just top move the item but no its too late. there is no recourse. i have no option to accept the offer. i can not send an offer. i can not even send the buyer a message in regard to the item.  i have to send them a random " not about an item" message to even get through to them. from my angle it is absolutely ignorant that ebay should be blocking the sale. They are the ones losing money since since ii make nothing either way. its all for them with their 13.5% + 22% proted listing fees.  I understand etiquette and this does not fall under etiquette. if i were a buyer going around retracting offers because i decided i didnt want to pay what i offered that is an etiquette situation. but im trying to bless the buyer as the seller holding the item. and its BLOCKED. its ignorant. Ill add what i think should be obvious, I am talking about a situation which the buyer has not responded to my counter offer. they have not declined it or countered back. so im not trying to go back after getting turned down. that would be an etiquette issue... the counteroffer was never responded to before i retracted it to simply accept the original offer. 

[house*of*paws]

Hi @mikeh880 

It’s simply the way the Best Offer system works:  A buyer’s offer is Declined automatically when a seller makes a counteroffer.  [And a seller’s counteroffer is Declined automatically if the buyer sends another offer.]

The buyer may have made an offer to another seller after receiving your counteroffer … and would end up with two accepted offers (for a similar item) if you could double back and accept the offer you declined by making a counteroffer.

[mikeh880]

no and yes i know what youre saying and im not sure i made my question clear enough because i think youre missing the point.  An offer is good for 24 hours. by your logic the buyer may have made thousands of offers thats irrelevant.  a offer is ssent to me i receive the offer . maybe its an hour later already. i respond to thge offer.  then i decide the original offer was fair i need to get the item gone. at this point the buyer has not accepted nor declined my counter offer. if they had the question would be moot simply foir etiquette if nothing more.  but while as far as the buyer knows ( because they havent responded, maybe just lazy or maybe just havent seen the counteroffer)  as far as they know while they are cooking dinner, they are just waiting on me to accept their offer. so at this point the fact i ever even sent a counter offer is not relevant . now i am not afforded the oppurtunity to accept the original offer. I  feel im being gaslighted here. i dont ask stupid questions. lets try to picture this in our minds. ok  offer.... resppnse from me (no thank you how about this offer) offer sent back to buyer.  buyer could be doing anythin other than sitting on ebay waiting for a response because its good for 24 hours.  i figure i reacted to quick,  since THEY HAVE NOT DECLINED OR ACCEPTED OR COUNTERED its a likelyhood they did not yet review the counter offer i sent. aty this point i  think phuckit merry xmas i will take your low ball offer that i make 20 cents on after ebay fees and shipping  but before income tax and overhead.  but im not allowed to now  i can only retract and retracting is frowned upon.   i never intended to express that i meant after the buyer responds. that would be a real dick thing to do, some people lack in any sort of concept of social etiquette so i realize that is necesary. i dont know if i painted that a little clearer. my brain goes all over the place when trying to explain situations.

[house*of*paws]

@mikeh880 

I actually did understand you the first time, as many sellers have expressed the desire to accept a buyer’s original offer after having sent a counteroffer. 

The Best Offer process simply doesn’t allow it.  There can only be ONE offer/counteroffer in play on an item between a buyer and seller.  The sending of a counteroffer automatically DECLINES the buyer’s previous offer.  The buyer is TOLD this when they receive the counteroffer.

I don’t understand why you feel gaslighted.  What I had said earlier is that the buyer may have purchased the item from another seller … OR sent an offer to another seller …immediately after receiving your counteroffer.  eBay won’t put the buyer in the position of having to pay for an item they thought was no longer in play … and they no longer want.

[I said nothing about the buyer making multiple offers to different sellers before receiving your counteroffer.  

[A buyer would be reckless making multiple offers to multiple sellers on the same item … since they’re responsible for paying for every offer that is accepted (or accepting a nonpayment strike if they don’t pay).]

In short, what you would like to do sounds reasonable … BUT would require several changes to the rules involving offers.

[mikeh880]

ok its possible i was projecting. lol. I see what youre saying and i understand kind of. it seems to me and im no authority on the matter but it seems to me this could be resolved it would be slightly more complicated for the developers to program i imagine. For some reason i feel like im leaving something out. like something in the thought that prompted me to post here is missing.  i hate forgetting important points. but do you see the "frustration"? it has alot of limitations for maintaining contact and negotiating even though in my experience people dont often seem to negotiate anymore. maybe for that reason its really not such a pressing matter. It would save headaches if id just accept to begin with but obviously we are human and go through reasoning processes and sometimes we change our minds.  \

  another thing this is random it just came to mind and its weird. so i had my first local pick up on the 24th. the buyer drove 4 hours. In trying to arrange meeting i discovered ebay would not allow me to share my number with the customer.. i am a service or product provider to the public you could call it a store i suppose. there are several places that  give me the option to provide my numbver on like invoice or what not. as well as customers having their phone numbers available on their accounts... there are alot of things i find quirky about the ebay seller interface but maybe im the quirky. 

[mikeh880]

ok and to the feeling gaslighted part.. i understood what you were saying and i didnt mean to say that i make multiple offers.  im saying the buyer never recieved my counter offer.  physically the offer is good for 24 hours. if they do not respond because they are not avaiulable to then they have not recieved it. their inbox may have but they havent so the accepting other offers is irrelevant. the offer is still open when im talking about accepting their previous offer. and thats the same for everybody.  so technically his original low ball offer could theoretically be open on my end because its in the 24 hour period. i have a hard time simplifying things sometimes for explanation im terrible at it.. im trying to think of how to put it.  if the BUYER or BIDDER actually opens and  recieves my counter offer and elect not to decline accept or counter that is the only place there would be a possible catch. because the situation hasnt changed until they literally open and review my counter offer. the variable of me having ever ssent it doesent even exist in their reallity until they know i countered... until that time they are only waiting on my response possibly unaware i already responded. now since they have not engaged with the counter offer it is assumed they dont know its their. then i say poo poo that ill give it to them, all i am doing is hypothetically erasing the counter offer from history.  i get there could be a problem with if they simply opt not to respond by accepting declining or countering. but it would be in their wheelhouse to do so. simple etiquette would prevent any issue but i guess this is 2023, whats etiquette. 

[mikeh880]

i think we are beating the same mule just seeing it through a slightly different lens. where my idea would be dependent on the customer to do their diligance to actually engage with the counter offer which they might not do. in that case and considering its 2023 maybe my expectations of adults is too high. it is a possibility.

[house*of*paws]

@mikeh880 

#1. You will be able to share personal information with a buyer once they’ve paid you.  eBay is just trying to keep members from completing sales off-eBay.

#2. I totally understand the value of a seller being able to accept a buyer’s offer after sending a counteroffer.  [I’m sure many buyers would be absolutely delighted if that happened.]  It would require a MAJOR alteration in the rules and computer programming to keep an offer and counteroffer ‘open’ at the same time between a buyer and seller, however.