"Sold for a Special Offer"

[fasster]

What does "sold for a special offer" mean? I just saw a listing that sold for a huge amount over what it was listed for. It was something that there were others listed just like it and it didn't seem to have any special qualities. What gives?  The bid was around $7 then the next bid was the special offer of $191.

[soh.maryl]

There had to have been other bids between $7 and $191.  Did you click on "Show hidden bids"? 

Or maybe you could just show us the item number?  

[evry1nositswindy]

They had 3:  1 sold for $7.69, one sold for the special offer, and one is available at 191.99.  It is fixed price not auction.  It's a mega book seller, so they might be out of this item and put in a high price so the listing doesn't end, or maybe they will drop ship it from elsewhere for this high price.   Maybe it's the new wording for an offer made by a buyer? 

[popblox · Accepted solution]

A special offer is when a potential buyer contacts a seller about their fixed price listing and the 2 parties privately negotiate a price. The seller can reply to the message with an offer, and the potential buyer can purchase the item at the discounted price. eBay refers to these as private offers, custom offers, and/or special offers.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/selling-buy-now/adding-best-offer-listing?id=4144