eBay

homegoods2u · ‎07-30-2024

Anyone else noticing an EXTREME number of bottom feeders (those who send RIDICULOUSLY low offers) recently?

Example: I currently have some Brand New in the Box items for sale for $249.00. The lowest current price for these items anywhere on the Internet, whether it be Retail or Wholesale is $719.89! Yet, I get offers for less than $100.00!

Yes, I know I can set minimum prices with BIN but I’m always curious what responses I get and it allows me immediately block the buffoons!

I’m just trying to determine what to attribute this ‘bottom feeding” phenomenon to. I don’t think it’s the economy. The reason I say that is because when I’m out and about whenever I hear someone complain about the economy I watch them get into their $65,000 F250’s (or Dodge Monstertrucks, etc) and guzzle gas all the way to their $500,000+ suburban lairs where they undoubtedly have 2-3 other vehicles (read BMWs, Audis, Teslas, etc) parked in the driveway!

WTH? My wife and I earn a grand total $40-$45,000 a year (dependent on eBay proceeds), yet we own 2 vehicles outright (both Hybrids which average 40-45mpg) and we have a mortgage which we been paying on for 27 years. In 8 years we will have paid it off entirely. We are able to vacation 2 (and sometimes 3x) a year, we dine out 1-3 times a week and we have both been able to put together decent retirement accounts. We live modestly otherwise with very few “extravagant” purchases and the last thing either of us would do is offer less than $100 for an item that has already been discounted by 65%!

So other than the fact that most Americans are Self-Centered, Greedy and feel Entitled I’m just wondering if there are any other obvious clues regarding this descent into oblivion?

Your thoughts would be appreciated!

farmalljr · ‎07-30-2024

You certainly didn't pay $249 for them. What makes you think buyers don't want a better deal too? No seller is not bargaining for a better price on their merchandise. Even the bottom feeders who haggle over a 5 or 10 dollar yard sale item, they are going to list for 100+ bucks.

What? Because you are a seller you are immune from being the bottom feeder when haggling benefits you? LMFAO.

I will RARELY buy ANYTHING on eBay unless I can haggle the price. Sellers abound here crying and whining about no sales. Good. I hope they go bankrupt if their attitude is they are the only ones ok to be greedy jerks. As a seller YOU have the ability to head off any offers you don't want. If you don't do that, you have no right, no moral high ground, to complain about buyers offering you "low ball" offers.

Resellers here are not the only ones looking for deals. No one who has money, has it because all they do is overspend their money. They buy smart. The make deals. Most companies who sell stuff, do it on MUCH smaller margins and employ WAY more people. While home based sellers here are not those companies, the 100-500-1000 percent profit margin is NOT sustainable, especially now. A small profit is better than junk on a shelf collecting DUST.

soh.maryl · ‎07-30-2024

Cannot agree with your assessment that most Americans are self-centered, greedy and entitled.

Maybe your eBay experiences are the reason you think that.

gurlcat · ‎07-30-2024

@dhbookds wrote:

Hardest thing for people to realize is that not everyone thinks the same way they do...... Some think nothing of taking a chance with a low offer........because the rewards may be great........

-Exactly. They may have had lots of sellers accept their lowballs, so they figure it's worth a try.

It is also possible that some are resellers themselves, looking for the kinds of items they like to sell, offering TONS of lowball offers to tons of eBay sellers, with hopes of getting acceptance on at least a few. They can do it in seconds for each listing, so it might well be worth their time, as well as considering counteroffers. Cast a wide enough net, you're bound to get some fish!

selsa84 · ‎07-30-2024

I've had some real low balls lately. One offered 6$ on an item marked 135. Declined the offer and told him congratulations you've been added to my blocked list.

pickapaper · ‎07-30-2024

I know a reseller who buys almost all of his inventory exclusively on eBay. He looks through listings and makes lowball offers, sometimes dozens a day. He said it is pretty amazing how many times his offers are accepted. Myself, I don't have the patience to sit down and do what he does, but it works for him.

gurlcat · ‎07-30-2024

@pickapaper wrote:
I know a reseller who buys almost all of his inventory exclusively on eBay. He looks through listings and makes lowball offers, sometimes dozens a day. He said it is pretty amazing how many times his offers are accepted. Myself, I don't have the patience to sit down and do what he does, but it works for him.

I get most of my inventory here. I just look for people who don't know what they're selling. I make offers once in a blue moon but for some reason I just don't have much of a 'haggler' nature. I would feel icky if I started doing it a lot.

yuzuha · ‎07-30-2024

@hartungcards wrote:
"I’m just trying to determine what to attribute this ‘bottom feeding” phenomenon to."

It's attributable to you having "Make Offer" on your items.

Exactly. That's a great big neon sign saying "My listed price is not my actual price and I'm willing to go lower." Can you really blame people for wanting to find out just how much lower "lower" is?

baydealz · ‎07-30-2024

Scumbags are everywhere. Just smirk and delete, don't think about it. I sell more locally (entirely now since this place is not conducive) and used to counter, with knowledge of market/prices and why it's priced...it's not worth it, these just aren't real. They are either exploiters looking to flip something, scammers or robots. Ignore.

baydealz · ‎07-30-2024

THIS, if you know the market and reason for the pricing, there is no reason for Best Offer - it only brings in lowballers, often those who would pay full pop if not allowed to make offer. The other trick is they know you'll counteroffer, so like Mexico, they offer 50%, you counter at 75% and you just lost 25% for no reason. Don't be greedy, price where they sell and get a real buyer who simply wants that item (and knows where they sell). The market knows all, the rest is greed - which is corrected by the fact that if and when you sell something quick that is 10-25% higher than average (and naively think, I knew I'd find someone desperate)....expect a PITA with a return, complaint or chargeback.

fbusoni · ‎07-30-2024

Some of the worst are old fartes my age who have sob stories.

We are talking about two different types of individuals.

I'm old too and have known my share of cheapskates and know all about the sob stories.

I am talking about something different. The people I'm talking about don't have sob stories, and probably have never heard the expression.

With these individuals, it's a mentality of entitlement, of not respecting others, of egocentrism, of expecting others to bow to your whim because you have not been raised to consider the feelings of other human beings, and that's because you have not really been socialized. Like the poor specimens who have to watch a video to learn how to communicate with a member of the opposite sex.

The good news is that eBay gives us 5,000 such miscreants to block. Well done, eBay.

eBay seller since 1999. This is a posting ID.

ten_o_nine · ‎07-30-2024

Hey, people hear ads about winning a 70" TV for a $1 or a computer for $3 and think that's how it works.

ittybitnot · ‎07-30-2024

With these individuals, it's a mentality of entitlement, of not respecting others, of egocentrism, of expecting others to bow to your whim because you have not been raised to consider the feelings of other human beings, and that's because you have not really been socialized. Like the poor specimens who have to watch a video to learn how to communicate with a member of the opposite sex.

@fbusoni

What you are describing is called poor social skills, or at least it was years ago. The behavior you describe has been around WAY before the internet was even a thing. When you mentioned having to watch a video on how to communicate with the opposite sex it brought back many memories for me. I have been laughing for the last half hour.

I did the same thing....only I was a NOT a video, I was a teacher in a school for extremely behaviorally disordered teenaged boys. They were not of the low IQ variety, but quite the opposite. They learned Algebra, Geometry, loved Science etc., BUT were lacking severely in "how to get along with others" skills. Their idea on how to play a basketball game was to gang up on the guy with the ball and lay him flat on the court.

We practiced what to do in social situations of all sorts. They learned it was not a good idea to ask your daddy for movie money the minute he got home from work (and what to do instead) , how go to a job interview, and yes, "how to pick up girls". The time that two of the ten came back on Monday morning and said "Ms. Susan, you were right! It worked!!" was a happy day for all. And yes, they eventually learned how to play basketball! Watching a video of a basketball game just didn't do it.

Now you can watch a video instead and learn appropriate situational dependent responses? Maybe you can, but I was way more fun. Many people don't learn well by just watching.

farmalljr · ‎07-30-2024

@gurlcat wrote:
@dhbookds wrote:

Hardest thing for people to realize is that not everyone thinks the same way they do...... Some think nothing of taking a chance with a low offer........because the rewards may be great........
-Exactly. They may have had lots of sellers accept their lowballs, so they figure it's worth a try.

It is also possible that some are resellers themselves, looking for the kinds of items they like to sell, offering TONS of lowball offers to tons of eBay sellers, with hopes of getting acceptance on at least a few. They can do it in seconds for each listing, so it might well be worth their time, as well as considering counteroffers. Cast a wide enough net, you're bound to get some fish!

I suppose you could use eBay for arbitrage to resell. It comes with risks though. Lots of resellers buy on eBay and resell on other platforms. That too, comes with risks. Getting stuck with an item that doesn't sell quickly, is no fun.

I myself, make offers for items I think are a "deal" for me, but also in the realm of what something is really worth. Just tonight I bought a tool. Seller listed it for 249, dropped their price to 219, and I made an offer for 149. They took it. Lots of seller here would have cried about it being a lowball offer. The seller was happy to get rid of it and make a few bucks, however much that was. I was happy to get a deal.

I do NOT buy ANYTHING here without haggling. Sellers are free to store all that junk on the shelf if they want. Buyers want a better deal, or they aren't spending. Lots of the "get off my lawn" crybabies would call me a lowballer. Those same sellers are the ones crying about stagnant sales. You make enough offers, sellers will realize they aren't going to get that 5000% markup. The point of listing here is to sell. That concept seems to be lost on many posters of these boards. If making "lowball" offers didn't work with regularity, buyers wouldn't do it. It does work, because plenty of sellers are smart enough to know a little profit now, is better than waiting forever for a bigger profit that is UNLIKELY to materialize. eBay is not rewarding sellers who do NOT sell.

chapeau-noir · ‎07-30-2024

@fbusoni wrote:
Some of the worst are old fartes my age who have sob stories.

We are talking about two different types of individuals.

I'm old too and have known my share of cheapskates and know all about the sob stories.

I am talking about something different. The people I'm talking about don't have sob stories, and probably have never heard the expression.

With these individuals, it's a mentality of entitlement, of not respecting others, of egocentrism, of expecting others to bow to your whim because you have not been raised to consider the feelings of other human beings, and that's because you have not really been socialized. Like the poor specimens who have to watch a video to learn how to communicate with a member of the opposite sex.

The good news is that eBay gives us 5,000 such miscreants to block. Well done, eBay.

I was a female professional in the 70s - trust me on this, this sense of entitlement and utter lack of being able to communicate is nothing new. Nowadays it's actually a great deal better - only now we have to make sure our society doesn't get dragged back to the 1950s "The decade of being dumb on purpose" (Gracie Slick).

ETA: The block list is good tool to have, though, agree on that, even if I don't use it much.

Hell is empty. And all the devils are here.

rugerskick · ‎07-30-2024

First, its not just Americans. Everyone wants a better deal. There isn't anywhere on earth ebay folks don't want a better deal than you're advertising. The few small places on earth folks just pay retail sticker price, they probably aren't shopping much on ebay.

Many people who offer as low as you are describing are not normal buyers. They are sharks. They are looking for desperate sellers. Simply ignore and block them and don't let them take up a second more of your time.