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?

[comics_from_mars]

Everyone is competing on here, which drives down costs. Sure, you have some greedy people, who charge outrageous prices. But, this 5% minimum takes away from the seller. eBay already charges us too much to sell on here as is.

[comics_from_mars]

Exactly.

[hkfever456]

thats just part of it. you know that going in. The trick is coming up with strategies to make the most you can, but not over price anything. for example, the stuff you have i can buy locally at cover price. and after so long, the rest of the inventory sits, and it gets marked down. why would i come on to ebay and buy a book above cover price, plus pay shipping, plus pay sales tax? i wouldnt. i would drive 10 minutes down to the store and buy the book at cover price plus tax and be done with it.

You may try to bulk your items up, but as it stands, the non essential stuff is luxury items. gas and groceries are up and overpaying for items on ebay is not on a lot of peoples radar at the moment. tax returns have come and gone. This is where it is at the moment.

[meme6253]

It would be more foolish to take a $1 off a $5 Item, by the time it's all said & done there's nothing left

[meme6253]

Then you would be very upset with me, The Problem here is the Imbedded discount theory, That to many buyers now expect discounts, The whole system on ebay is give it away & ship it for free, of course great for the customer, but in the long run not at all for the seller!

[itsjustasprain]

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@comics_from_mars wrote:

Again, as I said in my previous posts, it's a lot when you sell really expensive items, especially over $1000.00 or more. I should decide, not eBay.

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5% of $1000 is fifty bucks. Offering even less than that as a 'discount' is just going to look silly and borderline insulting to buyers who are on the fence about whether to buy.

How is any of this a rip-off?

[2013grotz]

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@theteamsetguy wrote:

As far as I'm concerned any discount of less than 10% isn't going to sway most buyers including myself.

That's the problem especially on lower value items (mainly thinking books/music but some other smaller trinkets I've sold on here).    You can make a 10% discount, but it won't register with most buyers just because that doesn't amount to a lot of cents.  I even recall someone on here complaining about that.   "Seller offered me such a small discount."  I responded with something like "But hey, that's a 15% discount."

The catch is it's going to depend on what it is before a particular discount is a "rip off".

[itsjustasprain]

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@2013grotz wrote:

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@theteamsetguy wrote:

As far as I'm concerned any discount of less than 10% isn't going to sway most buyers including myself.

That's the problem especially on lower value items (mainly thinking books/music but some other smaller trinkets I've sold on here).    You can make a 10% discount, but it won't register with most buyers just because that doesn't amount to a lot of cents.  I even recall someone on here complaining about that.   "Seller offered me such a small discount."  I responded with something like "But hey, that's a 15% discount."

The catch is it's going to depend on what it is before a particular discount is a "rip off".

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I agree with your reasoning but I am still not seeing where a 'rip off' comes into this.

[2013grotz]

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@itsjustasprain wrote:

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I agree with your reasoning but I am still not seeing where a 'rip off' comes into this.

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The title of this post is "5% minimum for sending an offer to a buyer is a rip off."

[luckythewinner]

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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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If you are talking about the "send an offer to interested buyers" feature, these offers are unsolicited communication, which annoys some buyers who consider it spam.

So I suspect eBay set a minimum to keep sellers from spamming buyers with trivial "offers".

Personally, I would like to see eBay increase the minimum to 10%.

[comics_from_mars]

Meaning, sending offers to watchers on your items. 

[comics_from_mars]

Unlike some sellers on here, I don't sell things for crazy high prices. Mine are already good deals. If you're expecting more, than you may be one of those who send crazy low offers. Again, the 5% minimum is hurting sellers, and for many reasons.

[comics_from_mars]

You're wrong. Like I said in my previous response to another post, I'm not selling my items for crazy high pries like some people on here. My prices are already well within reason. In fact, I try to sell for a little lower than everyone else. Which is precisely why the 5% minimum offer system is only hurting good sellers like me. It's not as black and white as you think. 

[comics_from_mars]

I'm referring to a 5% minimum offer for watchers on items. Yes, it is eBay's rules. But, it only hurts them, and good sellers. Both make less money. It makes no sense mathematically. 

[comics_from_mars]

Again, I don't sell for crazy high prices. My items are always a little lower than everyone else's. Which is precisely why the 5% minimum is a broken system.