If you're gonna take $20 why did you list it for $25.

[steve_stuff]

Talking about taking offers. "Everybody" says

1 - 'don't do auctions, list it as a BIN at lowest price you'll take/be happy with.'

and 2 - 'most of your auctions sold for one bid. just do BINs'

We say to the first statement people - "If you started at the lowest price you'll take/be happy with, why then did you take an offer for less."

2nd statement - "At least I got the lowest price that I would be happy with."

As I said [really typed]  - If you're gonna take $20 why did you list it for $25.

[monica-sells]

I suspect we all do it different....but almost everytime I do add "Make an Offer" I raise the List Price on the item, and many times will accept the offer for the "original" price I had it listed for......

(after a couple weeks of "off the market"...not immediately on a relist)

just a strategy that sometimes works, with the buyer feeling they got a deal

[adamcartwright]

Because someone will buy it for $25.

I've had people use BIN without utilizing OBO on a number of my sales.

[a_c_green]

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@adamcartwright wrote:

Because someone will buy it for $25.

I've had people use BIN without utilizing OBO on a number of my sales.

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...especially if they are convinced (rightly or wrongly) that you have underestimated the value of your listing, so they don't want to waste time haggling a Make Offer when someone else may swoop in and hit the full BIN price right away.

[chevymontecarlo88]

I think many flippers get items for much less than the perceived value and would like to get market price, but will also take a quick sale that still gives them great margin.

I think auctions are not as exciting as they once were so i don't do them. Typically i will price an item without a best offer for a period of time. (14-30 days or so) If there are some watchers, i will reward them first with an offer before i add the best offer to the listing. (maybe a week before adding BO 30 days) Of course it depends on the item and how much demand is for it. IMHO

[fbusoni]

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@adamcartwright wrote:

Because someone will buy it for $25.

I've had people use BIN without utilizing OBO on a number of my sales.

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Bingo.  There are plenty of people with money and they are prepared to spend it.  

But there are far more cheapskates. 

So one must be patient.

[m60driver]

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@steve_stuff wrote:

As I said [really typed]  - If you're gonna take $20 why did you list it for $25.

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I will take offers depending upon my cash flow needs and just how long an item has been in my inventory.  And many times a widget sells for full price after I have sent an offer for less.  You just never know.

[femmefan1946]

Because people like to think they got a bargain.

More customers will buy on a BOGO sale than on a 50% off sale. (And Buy One Get One usually means they will be charged the full price of the higher value item.)

More people will buy at a We Pay The Sales Tax  sale than a 25% off sale -even if the sales tax is 5%.

There are hundreds of ways to ensnare the customer, without cheating.

Did you know that most people turn right on entering a store? Did you know that if you enter the carpeted part of a sales floor, the clerk will approach you? Did you know that manufacturers pay to have their goods on the end caps of supermarket aisles?

[brightlightbookseller]

We add Best Offer after a listing has been active a while, but don't change the price right away.  Many people buy our items at full price even when we have Best Offer active, and those that make an offer (that is accepted, which is probably less than half at this point, sadly) think they got a great deal.  Then after an even longer time, we begin lowering the price in waves based on the age of the listing.

[adamcartwright]

@a_c_green 

Yes, exactly -- or when they know it's a high demand item and they're willing to pay pretty much whatever, within reason.

[buyselljack2016]

So I can be "beaten down" to the amount that I want.

what buyer doesn't like to give the seller a beat down?

What seller doesn't like to get the amount that they wanted?

win-win

or so perceived.

ETA.............  I don't list with "offers", but sometimes get the beat down by message request/reply.

[yuzuha]

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@m60driver wrote:

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I will take offers depending upon my cash flow needs and just how long an item has been in my inventory.  And many times a widget sells for full price after I have sent an offer for less.  You just never know.

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I do the same. There have been plenty of times where I have turned down an offer and the item sold for full price a few days later. Other times when it's something that has been sitting around gathering dust for a while, if someone messages me to ask if I'll take a bit less for it I'll happily say yes just to get rid of it.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi @steve_stuff 

I would likely never advise a seller to list an item at fixed price at the lowest amount he or she can live with. But I would advise them to start the bidding at auction for the lowest amount they can live with if they get only a single bid.

For fixed price, it would be better to set one’s item price based on multiple inter-related factors like cost of goods, desired profit margin, eBay fees, competition’s prices, market factors, etc.

If “everyone” says setting a fixed-price format item “at [the] lowest price you'll take/be happy with, ‘ “ then everyone is rather short-sighted.

[despatch]

In the stamp world, there is the Scott Catalog.  Almost all show dealers sell stamps at a discount from the listed price.  They also buy lots of stamps at auction based on the total catalog value.  Everything is based on a percentage basis.  Did you see the post from another seller that showed they list items higher so the buyers think they got a good deal?  What irritates me more are the sellers who send things by First Class mail and then charge $3 and up for something (that now) costs 73 cents to mail.  Be honest and put the item up for what you want for it instead of making money on the back end of the sale.

[frecklesfinery88]

If it has been listed awhile someone may want to just loosen up the inventory, depending on their storage.  Or they maybe downsizing & want to just sell out what they have currently. (Living that out now)  Every seller is different.

In 2024 many of us are grateful for our sales and keep listing and selling.

Most buyers just want a deal and even a $1 off makes them happy.