I'm really going to have to bite my tongue on this one...

[inhawaii]

A little humor in tough times.  A buyer just messaged me...

I noticed the other sellers are selling the same exact item for $14.59 with free shipping.

Mine is $12 with $4 shipping.  

Do you know how many great opportunities there are for a comeback?

Yet i've somehow managed to sell 42 of them.

When you go shopping, is the same box of cereal the same price at every store?

Are you asking me or telling me?

Thank you!

Then you would be crazy to buy one from me!

Please tell the other sellers they should raise their price.

But of course i'm just going to block and move on.  😉

Have a great day and stay safe everyone!

[adkhighker]

Good stuff!  They were all good, but my favorite of your comebacks is the "Please tell the other sellers they should raise their price." Too funny!

[emerald_door]

There's some reason that this buyer contacted you instead of just buying from the other seller.  Could it be your feedback?  Your fast shipping?  

Maybe this is an opportunity to assure him that you offer excellent customer service.  

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

I would say that I list the shipping separately because most of your buyers buy multiple and you like to combine shipping to save them money.

[keziak]

This happens to me sometimes and I'm afraid I do not react dispassionatly, ie lower my price to get the sale (within reason). I tend to think but not say, "why don't you buy from them instead?"

I had a Canadian refusing to believe me about how much it would cost to ship a huge book by airmail to him. Finally he had the gambit of informing me that the publisher was selling it for much less. I said I'm glad you found another seller, welcome to my Blocked Bidder list.  He sent me two more messages which I ignored. Sold the book for full price shortly after. 

[moldy5]

I love your story-what a great comeback!

[byrd69er]

You are correct. Others ARE selling the exact item for $14.59 with free shipping.

When you have another $1.41, you will have enough to buy mine.

Yesterday, I raised prices 10%+ on eight items.  I really don't care when they sell.

Eventually they will.

You snooze, you lose.

[myboardid]

I have been known to reply with a variation of what Kesiak said - "Glad you found such a great deal, you should buy it quick before they are all gone" or "By all means, take advantage and buy it from them".

[pargran3]

All good replies.

I have never figured out why potential buyers send that kind of message.

When I get something like that with the type of items I sell, that would mean the seller with free shipping is going to LOSE MONEY. 

Can't figure that out either.

Radine

[zylor4200]

I like "Please tell the other sellers to raise their prices!" GREAT! I might use that if I decide to continue selling on ebay. OR: "Then why are you bothering me? - Take your silly-a** problem down the hall!"

[bar-29368]

---

@keziak wrote:

This happens to me sometimes and I'm afraid I do not react dispassionatly, ie lower my price to get the sale (within reason). I tend to think but not say, "why don't you buy from them instead?"

I had a Canadian refusing to believe me about how much it would cost to ship a huge book by airmail to him. Finally he had the gambit of informing me that the publisher was selling it for much less. I said I'm glad you found another seller, welcome to my Blocked Bidder list.  He sent me two more messages which I ignored. Sold the book for full price shortly after. 

---

I had a potential buyer who wanted a pint glass but the shipping was too steep for him. During the negotiations he tells me there's another seller with a larger glass and $2 shipping. I replied $2 shipping? Really? How many pieces do you want it in? He came back and LOLed and accepted my shipping offer.

[onlinecentral]

Protesters across the country want a $15.00 dollar living wage.
I will not perform a few dollars of unpaid labor to navigate through a dozen screens to save this would-be buyer $1.41 dollars.
Something is amiss with the other lower priced seller like few selling transactions, negative feedbacks, etc.
If the buyer wants the lowest price, they need to take the risk of buying from a seller inferior to my TRS service level.
I decline the "Unwanted-Best-Offer", encourage them to make the purchase from the other seller and add their user ID to my Blocked Bidder List.
The flaw in the buyers thinking is that you are required to meet or beat the other seller's price.

[bigdeals.etc]

Two replies came to mind:

"Sounds like those other sellers are suckers."

And if your item was a piece of candy or food:

"That's because the other sellers lick all the candy before they send it out so it's cheaper."

I've gotten a few messages like the OP received before. About over half the time the buyer is bluffing/lying. Sometimes when it's significantly cheaper, for instance my item is $20 and they say someone is selling it for like $5... I tell them to buy 10 of them from that seller and I'll take it from them for $15 each.

[boogiewiz]

Happens often to us, we always say then perhaps look at their feedback and buy from them.. They usually come back to us.. 

[dk0]

You weren't asked a question, so I believe no response is probably an acceptable response.  If anything, I would just say "Thanks for the info".

But I would not have blocked this buyer.  I know many sellers seem to look for any reason to block, but I am not one.  I've had several repeat customers over the years where the entire relationship was started by a question that would have sent many sellers running to their BBL.

I make money by selling, not blocking.