Bottom Feeders

[homegoods2u]

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!

[chapeau-noir]

I've been selling/trading on and off for most of my life. Bottom feeders are nothing new, trust me on this. They're also not in the majority, they're just annoying time wasters so it seems like they're everywhere.

[slippinjimmy]

With the attitude you seem to display I would suggest you stop putting Best Offer on your listings.

[fbusoni]

I don't think that this phenomenon has anything to do with the economy.

I think that the miracle of the internet -- and of all of its spinoff applications -- has shaped human behavior and accelerated / concretized certain negative traits inherent to our species to a far greater degree than we currently understand.

I too get lowball offers; I tend to view them as a (mild) form of mental illness, quite honestly.  They are disrespectful, show a lack of self-awareness, and are not remotely congruent with reality -- three qualities that I think we can trace directly to having come of age behind an electronic screen with minimal contact with other members of our species. 

(Anonymity -- another hallmark of interaction in the virtual world -- allows the prospective buyer to be as obnoxious as he wants.  And there are no consequences.)

I am reminded of a video I saw on YT the other night, in which a guy was standing next to a woman and explaining to his audience how one goes about expressing interest in a female and how one then makes conversation with her.

I thought it was parody, but then I realized that this was a very sincere instructional video -- intended for a generation (or two) of young men who have grown up behind computer screens and smartphones and have been deprived of the human-to-human, sensory interaction that those of us of a certain age grew up with in the 1960s or earlier.

Put another way, tens of millions of us have never really learned how to behave or to coexist in the real world with others.  regards

[theteamsetguy]

@homegoods2u ,

Instead of allowing offers on your items why don’t you change your to Buy it now at the absolute lowest price will accept? 

Problem solved No more low ball offers! I’ll bet you will sell a lot more items while you are at it.

[iart]

I've seen an increase in the last year or so. They're doing you a favor. If we counter a firm price and they continue to send lowballs (x3) we block and probably avoid a bad customer.

[gurlcat]

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@homegoods2u wrote:

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 don't really understand the purpose of your post.  You state that you know the solution to receiving lowball offers, yet you refrain from using it out of curiosity and the chance to block those who satisfy your curiosity in a negative way.  If you want the reason why any buyer makes a lowball offer, why not ask THEM?  

[chapeau-noir]

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@fbusoni wrote:

I don't think that this phenomenon has anything to do with the economy.

I think that the miracle of the internet -- and of all of its spinoff applications -- has shaped human behavior a far greater degree than we currently understand.

I too get lowball offers; I tend to view them as a (mild) form of mental illness, quite honestly.  They are disrespectful, show a lack of self-awareness, and are not remotely congruent with reality -- three qualities that I think we can trace directly to having come of age behind an electronic screen with minimal contact with other members of our species. 

(Anonymity -- another hallmark of interaction in the virtual world -- allows the prospective buyer to be as obnoxious as he wants.  And there are no consequences.)

I am reminded of a video I saw on YT the other night, in which a guy was standing next to a woman and explaining to his audience how one goes about expressing interest in female and how one then makes conversation with her.

I thought it was parody, but then I realized that this was a very sincere instructional video -- intended for a generation (or two) of human beings who have grown up behind compter screens and smartphones and have been deprived of the human-to-human, sensory interaction that those of us of a certain age grew up with in the 1960s or earlier.

Put another way, tens of millions of us have never really learned how to behave or to coexist in the real world with others.  regards

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Cheapskates pre-date the internet.  We see more of them with the internet simply because the internet enables communications. No complex explanation of 'enabling' is necessary. Some of the worst are old fartes my age who have sob stories.

ETA: As for the YT video - a great deal that's on YT is egotistical rubbish. It's on us to decide if it's worth bothering with or not.  Just because it's on the internet doesn't make it true or of any value whatsoever (adjacent with all of the etiquette manuals printed down through the last centuries, or "how to pick up chicks" mansplaining books that came out in the  70s, etc. etc. )

[squinkercat59]

It's not just on Ebay. It's the "flea market mentality" that pervades all of the antique malls and shows as well. I've been dealing with it for over 40 years. Some people feel they just have to try to get a deal they can brag about (or go and sell it in their own booth for twice as much). There are those that think everything we offer came from a garage sale for  10 cents. It's just the nature of the resale business, and I don't think it's ever going to change.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Ebay sellers rarely get any respect except for those who list and love specialty items which their buyers also love.

If you are offering a readily available product, many people think it must have fallen off a truck or been picked from a dumpster if you are selling it on Ebay.

Some rely on the automated offer handling. Others no longer enable make an offer. Still others of us ignore virtually all offers which arrive via Ebay messaging.

I don't respect a great many Ebay buyers, and we can see from the posts of many Ebay sellers they do not either.

I'll settle for the respect of the buyers I respect, and can ignore the lowlife, bottom feeders.

[inhawaii]

My thoughts...

If you are offended by low offers ... you shouldn't accept offers.

Offering best offers attracts these "bottom feeders".

[femmefan1946]

You can set parameters for  Acceptable /Not Acceptable offers when you opt to allow Best Offers.

Not Acceptable offers get a polite letter from eBay encouraging the lowballer to try again.

You never see those lowball offers.

[chapeau-noir]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

You can set parameters for  Acceptable /Not Acceptable offers when you opt to allow Best Offers.

Not Acceptable offers get a polite letter from eBay encouraging the lowballer to try again.

You never see those lowball offers.

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OP wants to know who they are - personally I'd just as soon spare myself the aggravation.  I know there used to be a way to look at those offers which failed to make the cut, with attendant messages, but since I stopped using best offer (I was using it for a period of time), I'm not sure if that's still possible.

I'll have to admit, though, some of the messages were entertainin' but I only had to deal with it if I felt like it.

[hartungcards]

"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.

[dhbookds]

I agree with those that say best offer invites a lower bid......I think most "bottom feeders" are just those who are looking for a really GREAT deal........  Labeling them greedy/entitled goes a bit far in my opinion.    If their low offers got them a GREAT deal at some point...they have a reason to hope it may work again.....

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........