Unable to make a followip up offer or purchase an item

[daocon_34]

 I was interested in an item that allowed buyers to make an offer.  I searched around for the item an came up with what U thought was q reasonable offer but the offer was declined Ed so I made a made a larger offer and again it was declined.  I made a third offer and this time it expired without a response.  So I tried to make another offer but I got a message saying that I was not allowed to purchase this item because I had made another purchase from the same seller within the previous 10 days 

1. I had never pur hated anything from this person. before.

.2. Why would previous purchases matter?

I sent the seller a message but haven't heard back so now what do I do?

[myangelandmyprincess]

If there are some for $60-$85 why wouldn't you just purchase those?  

A lot of times a seller won't counter offer because the offer is so far apart from what they will consider that they figure a agreed amount between the two of you won't happen making replying just a waste of time. 

[myangelandmyprincess]

Customers are most definitely not a sellers boss....and the size is what could make this item worth more.  Sometimes when sizes are harder to find it makes them worth more money.  

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@daocon_34 wrote:

Already answered but since you missed it, the other listings were not my size.  And I'm sure it doesn't surprise anyone that people come to ebay to get the best price possible.

Again, I wasn't bothered by his asking price but a lot of you seem to be bothered by my offer.  I came here to see if there was a solution to the hurdle I was experiencing with making an offer. 

I PLAYED BY THE RULES!

Do the rules apply to sellers or not.  And why the whining about low offers?  Do you think you are better than people spending their money here?  Just say no thank you... is that too hard?

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You played by the rules as did the seller.  If you were blocked by the amount of offers you were limited to make or If they blocked you they have followed the rules too.  

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@daocon_34 wrote:

You missed my entire point. 

Most of the comments here have suggested that blocking someone because their bid(s) are perceived to be unreasonably low is ok.   

The first option (A) above is the polite one. It doesn't have to offer a compromise but take out the free delivery and it is the response almost every business owner will give.  The second response (B) I offered is almost exactly the equivalent of blocking someone.

Only you are an anonymous seller.

Anonymity should not be a reason to use bad business practices but you are free to do as you wish.  I was being honest in my assessment of the value of the item.  The seller (presumably ) had a different assesment.  THAT'S IT!

And you are correct that I am not a seller here on ebay but I do have sales experience in other venues.  I learned a few things about this site from reading the responses here and I will keep them in mind on any future interactions here.

Have a blessed day

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Since you are not a seller this is one thing you're not understanding I guess.  

Many times when buyers offers are extremely low if they buy it at a much higher agreed price they somehow find a reason later that something is wrong with the item and want partial refunds.  Now not saying this would be something you would do.  But since many times these buyers who offer low offers either 1. We aren't going to come to an agreement on price or 2. They're going to be trouble down the road 

It then makes more business since to just block and wait for a buyer who is less concerning or less time consuming. 

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@daocon_34 wrote:

Simply, (the beginning of your tag not a slight)

Thank you for the response.  Not to dismiss anthing you said but here are some of my thoughts:

1. Ebay sent me an email stating that the seller was accepting offers on a product I had looked at.  I didn't (nor would I)  make an unsolicited offer.  If ebay is using dishonest methods then that is on them, not me. But, If that were the case (and this is just me speaking not a directive or mandate) the seller could have told me that when he declined my first offer.  I would have apologized and thanked him for the info.  Then we would not be having this discussion.

2. The value of an object is a subjective thing but in simple terms it's the agreed upon dollar amount that a seller and buyer agree on.  I did NOT send the seller other listings.  I didn't even get a response when I tried to contact him.  The other listing link I provided above was merely a comparison that I used to form an opinion of what I thought it was worth.  I mentioned seeing other listings at a range from $60-$80 to further justify that assessment. The fact that the other listings were not the size I was looking for was not a distinction that made much of a difference in my estimation of the items value.  At least not a 100% difference.

3. In another response above I acknowledged the  a seller has many costs that play into the price they ask for something.  I've said MULTIPLE times that I wasn't bothered by the sellers price or him not accepting my offers.  It is a free Country.  It is likely that he will sell the is to someone else but that's OK.  It is also probable that I will find the item (or one similar) for less than $170.00 (shipping included)

4. I do take issue with being called entitled for suggesting common courtesies.  Is saying: no thank you, that hard or time consuming? Is that expectation unreasonable?

Or put another way, if a seller fails to respond to a message who is the one acting entitled?  The only reason I emphasize my "playing by the rules" is the viewpoint that I did something wrong for trying to take advantage of ebay rules.  I was informed by ebay that I had two more offer opportunities and I would have offered more but I couldn't.  I came to this forum to see if there was something I did wrong or more importantly if tgere was a solution.  Having a difference in opinions about buying strategy or the value of an item is NOT acting entitled.  Calling someone entitled because of a difference in opinions is acting entitled in my opinion. YMMV 

Thank you sincerely for your response.

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No one said you weren't playing by the rules.  What they did was suggest why the seller likely ignored you.  Sure you played by the rules.  But that doesn't mean the way you do business makes the seller want to work with you.  Since you keep using in store examples.  And I'll even use a real scenario that happened at a store I worked at.  Someone comes in complaining that dozen donuts are on sale and they bought a half dozen that wasn't on sale.  They want a refund.  They talked to me, my manager and my managers manger trying to convince us she deserved a refund since she wasn't aware the half dozen were also on sale.  She wasted about an hour of employees time complaining.  She was repeatedly told no.  Now she didn't break in rules but she was asked not to ever come back.   She didn't break any rules but we certainly didn't want her business anymore.  If a business thinks you are going to waste their time or cause trouble even if you don't break any rules they will refuse service to you.   

So take in the reasons suggested for why this may have happened and consider changing your strategy so you aren't refused service.  We gave these suggestions of what it may have happened because we understand you are not aware of the sellers side.  So now you know it learn from it or don't. 

  Because honestly If the lady who had come in to my store had instead said can I just get another half dozen and pay the difference in price I would have agreed to that.  

[nocoolnamejane]

Anyway, I hope that what comes from all this is Make every offer as if it were your last!

[daocon_34]

Myangel,

Thanks for cordial response. I only used the store example once.  I referred back to it after someone else brought part of it up.   Undoubtedly others cut and pasted it so it mighz look like I said it more times.  The only reason I offered what admittedly is a different scenario is to make the point that anonymity is not a good reason to act differently then you would in a store.  Good will is good will regardless of the venue.  Also my hypothetical differed in one important aspect from your real experience.  My hypothetical person only asked once and did not complain or storm up the chain of command.  Your customer did

Somewhere in this thread if you look for it you will see several concessions and thanks I offered to people that were civil and informative.  I probably  should have limited the information I gave to keep the discussion from becoming a big argument about what a "lowball offer" is.  

I have found the item at another venue for 1/2 the price and almost exactly what my last offer was.  The individual will probably sell the item to someone else and I AM OK WITH THAT!  He'll have to decide for himself if the time he has to wait is worth it.  Regardless of how old you are or what type of selling business you have: time IS money..

One thing I do find interesting though is that a common response here was that sellers don't have time for a "problem buyer."  But you sure seem to have time to monitor this thread and write long comments.  Imagine if you were the guy that I tried to contact.  How much time could have been saved?  

I'm probably going to make this my last reply.  Thanks again to the people that responded in a civil manner and offered useful information or at least food for thought.

[myangelandmyprincess]

You mention monitoring this thread taking time I don't sell on eBay anymore so I have the free time just because I do does it mean another seller has time to waste. Like you said time is money and if it's directly related to my business costing more time than it's worth...well I'm not going to bother  I do customer service from home customers who are time consuming even not rude aren't worth the time for the money.  

[daocon_34]

The "you" was meant as a collective group... not you individually.