5% minimum for sending an offer to a buyer is a rip off.

[comics_from_mars]

Why should eBay get to decide a 5% minimum for sending an offer? There should be no minimum, and I should get to decide, not eBay. Anyone else agree?

[katzrul15]

@comics_from_mars 

I do think if the item is already "on sale", having to do another 5% atop a 10% or 15% discount can add up. 

5% total stand alone as a discount is typically not much. 

[maxine*j]

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@comics_from_mars wrote:

Why should eBay get to decide a 5% minimum for sending an offer? There should be no minimum, and I should get to decide, not eBay. Anyone else agree?

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I do not agree.   Most offers I get are an mere annoyance.  Somebody bothering me with an offer of a discount of less than 5% would be an actual insult.

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[yuzuha]

Because an offer should be an actual discount. Unless what you're selling is in the thousands of dollars range, anything less than 5% is laughable. A 3% offer on a $150 item would be a $4.50 discount. At that point why even discount it at all? As a buyer I would be very annoyed to get "offers" like that cluttering up my messages.

[whitewaterford]

@comics_from_mars @katzrul15 

I agree that 5% isn't much for lower priced items.   However, if the item is already heavily discounted  (i.e. marked down), sometimes I'd like to simply give a watcher a little nudge if it is something I'm trying to move.

Also, the minimum offer discount is on a sliding scale according to the eBay help page:

• The amount must be at least 5% less than the Buy It Now price for items under $200, 3% for items between $200 and $1,000, and 2% for items over $1,000
• Shipping will not be included in this price

[worldwidetreausures]

I agree. Moreover, sending offers is almost always non-paying bidder and a waste of time and opportunity to sell to a legit buyer. Or, a buyer thinks a seller is desperate to sell and demand a higher discount. 

[itsjustasprain]

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@comics_from_mars wrote:

Why should eBay get to decide a 5% minimum for sending an offer? There should be no minimum, and I should get to decide, not eBay. Anyone else agree?

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Aside from all the reasons already given for why a 5% minimum discount is not unreasonable - how is any of this a 'rip off'? Who is getting ripped off?

[meme6253]

I have alway's hated it!, It's MY item I should be able to offer whatever I want

[transamcc]

As a buyer, if you send me an offer for LESS THAN 10% discount I will ignore it and maybe never even look at your listings again. 

[meme6253]

But when you lower your asking price, They will come at you to send an offer!

[meme6253]

What's wrong with a $1 Off?

[coolections]

I have never sent a best offer to a seller for less than 20%. With that said typically the seller using best offer is already asking 30% or more above market price so anything less than 20% off would not be worth it. An example is the Op's Lennon Two Virgins CD. Sold results show it can be purchased for approximately $17 shipped. The OP wants $30.

[sierras1160]

Recently I had a certain item on my watch list. The seller sent me an offer, and I accepted it. I thought it was a fair price.

[slippinjimmy]

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@meme6253 wrote:

What's wrong with a $1 Off?

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If it's a $5 item it would be just fine (and it would be a 20% discount).

On a $500 item it would lead me to think the sender of the offer is either a fool or a jerk (or both?).

[timzbiz]

Maybe OP is already running a 25% off sale and just wants to send an additional 1% off to get the buyer to bite. That would be a total of 26% Off!

[mybigsale]

I believe eBay would be much better if it was guided by seller feedback.  Since eBay does not share it's reasoning with sellers, I have no idea if some designer randomly picked 5% or if eBay decided based on data analysis of the mountains of data they have amassed.  

It does seem strange eBay won't let you make a 1-4% offers, but eBay will let you pay a 100% ad rate.