Best Offer Question

[jpgranton]

I would like others' input (from a buyer's perspective) about Best Offer when used on a BIN vs. on an auction listing.

When an item is listed with BIN and also offers Best Offer, I would take it that the seller would accept something less than the BIN price if an offer they received was within a range they considered reasonable.  Would most agree with that?

But what is the thinking when a seller lists an item in auction format and includes the Best Offer option?  Would most sellers, as in the BIN scenarios above, usually be accepting of an offer if it was less than the starting price of the auction, but within what they'd consider a reasonable range?  Or...is it the expectation that a Best Offer made on an auction-format item be MORE than the starting price?  Or are seller expectations split about equally?  The question of course pertains to making an offer prior to any bids having been made on the item.

The reason I ask this is because twice this year I've made an offer on an auction-format item that was not accepted.  In each case, the amount offered was just slightly lower than the opening bid; for example, making an offer of $28 on an item with an opening bid of $30.  I could understand that a lowball offer would be ignored, but offering just slightly less seems like it would be acceptable in most cases if Best Offer was an option.  But perhaps for auction-format items, the Best Offer is expected to be higher than the starting bid.  That's what I'm trying to find out...what is the expectation of Best Offer when used on auctions?

Thanks for your help.

[alcoforever]

If it were my auction, I would expect the best offer to be above the starting bid.  In fact, I would expect the best offer to be way above the starting bid.   The starting bid is the least I will accept so any offers below that will be ignored.

[soh.maryl]

Generally speaking, I think the majority of items that have Best Offer would imply that the buyer might accept somewhat less than the opening price or might not.  Every listing on eBay has its own little unique history.  Sometimes the seller attempted to sell the item previously but had no takers, so he waited awhile then relisted. 

Sometimes he's pretty firm about how much he will take and that amount becomes exponentially less as the auction nears its final days. And there is also the fact that eBay sometimes adds Best Offer to a listig without the seller's knowledge or consent.  

A best offer that's higher than the starting bid would be a bid, not a best offer. 

[woodland_gnome]

First the presence of Best Offer on a listing doesn't necessarily mean the seller is at all amenable to accepting any Best Offers.   eBay makes it the default in many circumstances and doesn't make it easy to opt out of it.  And even if a seller jumps through the hoops to opt out, eBay will sometimes add it back in without regard to the wishes of the seller.

eBay, at least when BO on auction format listings was rolled out, seemed to thing that it would be used to sell below the Starting Price, but that ignored the almost universal advice of those who know that the Starting Price should be the true minimum the seller is willing and able to sell the item for, and therefore the seller would not be inclined to accept a lower offer.  

[7606dennis]

When used in connection with an item being sold at auction once a bid is received  any offer that has been made but no yet accepted becomes void and can no longer be accepted by the seller.  Frankly, I believe that the placing of the BO option into auction format listings was ill advised.

With regard to your making an offer below the minimum starting bid on an item being sold at auction makes little sense.  The starting bid is probably the lowest the seller is willing to take for the item.  It is the starting point for the bidding and there is no reason for a seller to accept something lower.

A fixed price listing is an entirely different matter.  In that case it is expected that offers would be below the asking price.  Whereas, in the case of an auction the starting bid is a starting point and not the actual asking price of the item. 

[jpgranton]

Thanks for all your replies - they were helpful.  I hadn't considered the possibility that eBay adds Best Offer to listings that were not listed in that manner by the seller and would thus be ignored.

It also makes sense that, in most cases, the opening bid is the least the seller would accept, so a Best Offer lower than that would be ignored.  I would bet, though that some sellers would be willing to take less than their opening bid if the amount was still acceptable.  My reasoning on that take is this:  a seller might set a fairly unrealistic price on an item in hopes of getting a Best Offer for something less by an eager-beaver buyer, and still take it because it's more than they might get otherwise.  Today I came across a set of two sauce dishes in a pattern I collect that, on the best of days, might bring $16-$20 for the pair, but the BIN was set at $60, a price only an idiot would pay, but there are idiots out there and maybe one would offer $45 and the seller would gleefully accept it.

And to give a little more perspective on the $28/$30 example I used in the opening post, it was for a mundane item that I would have liked but didn't "need", so there was no urgency and thus no impetus to offer more than the opening bid (and, I have found out in this discussion, rather futile to offer less).  If it was something I wanted a bit more, then I'd probably just use the auction format with a max bid and cross my fingers that it'd be one of those items that gets a single bid.  And if it was something I REALLY, REALLY wanted, then I'd make a best offer of more than the opening bid hoping that it'd be enough to secure the item, but hopefully less than I'd pay if the auction were allowed to run the full time.

So thanks, everyone, this has been helpful!

[mudshark61369]

@jpgranton,

In addition to what the gnome posted about forced Best Offers being placed on listings.  There is one other thing you may not be aware of.  That is; In order to put a Buy It Now (BIN)  price on an auction listing, That price has to be 30% higher than the starting bid price, at minimum.  Some sellers, mostly inexperienced ones,  will lower the starting bid price in order to keep the BIN close enough to trending prices so they get a sale. 

Do keep one thing in mind when making offers on any listing.  The price you offer a seller is not the amount they receive.  eBay and PayPal take a combined 12.9% + .30 of the selling price including the shipping cost if it is given.