Offers and asking for free shipping messages.......

[jerzee908]

Should I put a message in my listings stating "don't send me any offers" and "no I can't ship something for free"?  It has got to a point where every single day, multiple times a day that I am getting messages to lower a price or if I could ship something cheap.  Mind you, 100% of the time, someone comes along and just buys what I am selling that someone previosly tried to get at a much cheaper price with some crazy offer.......

I ignore every offer message and every "can you ship for free" (I love when they tell me they will pay for it right away..........you're darn right you would have to pay right away I tell myself, but you are still going to have to pay for shipping).

Anyway, would a nicely worded message work or has it worked for anyone else?  I'll work with someone if they are buying multiple items or if they have bought from me before, but I do not owe a one-time shopper a steep discount or "free shipping" which is not free whatsoever to me........

(I'll add that I have close to 2000 items listed in total on here......98% is listed as "Buy It Now" only).

[pingpong517]

all i can say is that yes people will ask for everything...

BUT  i would say that the idea that you are getting views and offers and traffic...is a good thing..there are alot of us who don't get much..and lately a "slowness" has settled in...

so what i'm saying is do as YOU think is ok, but don't look a gift horse  either...might be a hassle or a bit of work to decline...but it a better sign , then nothing...for days....

and as ebay has mentioned and suggeste "free shipping" is what buyers are looking for...SO a raise in price to offer free shipping..maybe worth it...especially if you are geting lots of views...just saying .

[tellmemama]

In my listings I write under the description that sorry there is no best offer and shipping is non-negotiable.  In 14 point red letters.  And yes, I still get them.  But I will say that ever since I started adding that line, they have significantly decreased.  I will say it gives me a chance to check out their feedback left to see if I even want to do business at full price.  It also tells me they likely haven't read the description.

Unless you can live with the offer, just delete it.

[jerzee908]

Ebay pushes the "free shipping" thing a lot, but when you are selling car parts that weigh 50lbs.+ and oversized, free shipping is not feasible.  Places like Jegs and Summit can ship stuff for free because of the volume they ship..........but Jegs and Summit doesn't have NOS 1950's-1980's GM parts.  I also shouldn't get nasty messages from buyers saying how they can get something else shipped for free or how they can get it cheaper......

I just wish there was more of a mutual understanding that if an item isn't listed with a "Best Offer", why bother messaging a seller? 

[pingpong517]

oh yes i see that wouldn't be workable.... ebay trys to make policy that covers everyone..but that's where it goes wrong..ebay is small/medium/high sellers...with all sorts of stuff....

good luck to you

[thallidguy]

---

@jerzee908 wrote:

Should I put a message in my listings stating "don't send me any offers" and "no I can't ship something for free"? 

Sure, if you want to alienate the good buyers who won't make unreasonable requests of you. It makes you sound like you assume that every single buyer who approaches you is going to be a pain in the backside before they have had a chance to establish what kind of buyer they are. If I was looking at your listing, I would take offense at that and assume that you will be an unpleasant person to deal with. And just move on.

Badgers tend not to make successful retailers.

[jerzee908]

Anyway, would a nicely worded message work or has it worked for anyone else?

I agree, but I would word it differently if I were to put something.  I don't wan't to alienate good buyers, but I also do not want to be alienated with messages.  

Just looking for input from sellers that have messages within their listings stating they don't want offers........

[fashunu4eeuh]

Like you, i prefer not to use BO but i get offers regularly anyway. Since we serve a global community and knowing some cultures see haggling over price as a socially accepted practice, i don’t get annoyed but instead just respond with

      “I am not accepting offers on this item, but thank you for your interest.”

[Anonymous]

you should offer free shipping and raise the price on the listings to cover the cost for free shipping

[thallidguy]

---

@jerzee908 wrote:

Anyway, would a nicely worded message work or has it worked for anyone else?

I agree, but I would word it differently if I were to put something.  I don't wan't to alienate good buyers, but I also do not want to be alienated with messages.  

Just looking for input from sellers that have messages within their listings stating they don't want offers........

---

It would still bother me, even if you stated it politely. As a respectful buyer who would not do those things that bother you, I would get the sense that I was carrying the load left by other buyers who created drama for you. Not really how you want to start off a relationship with a buyer.

[fashunu4eeuh]

---

@jerzee908 wrote:

 “...Just looking for input from sellers that have messages within their listings stating they don't want offers........”

---

Like another poster said, putting such terms in a listing can be a turn-off. Some ebayers fail to even read the descriptions and others hit the back button when faced with a wall of seller’s terms, often unenforcible, sometimes unnecessary. It sends a message to potential buyers that the seller lacks confidence in the transaction and anticipates problems with it, having little trust for the buyer.

Getting unsolicited offers is a pain at times, but ebay no longer frowns on buyers doing it as it once did. In fact, ebay is supporting the practice by offering buyers the ability to negotiate the price in My Ebay Messages. Also, Ebay has made Best Offer a default setting when listing with mobile or the quick listing tool. So this problem isnt going away.

I would recommend making additional terms as brief as possible. Something like “Prices are firm.” might work in place of a negative statement like “Offers not accepted.”

[jason_incognito]

You have someone who is showing interest in your item, who sends you a message. Why not turn that around and try and make a sale? Even if maybe only a quarter bite, that's still more sales.

You could send back an email tellingthem how great it is and how confident you are that it will sell at that price. Show them that there is value in your stuff.

As for the shipping, something like "I understand how much shipping costs, but rest assured that I only charge what it costs to ship this to you. The post office gets the shipping charge, not me"

But why is it that all too often the standard response around here is to scream NO! GO AWAY! YOU'RE BOTHERING ME! TAKE YOUR MONEY ELSEWHERE!

[castlemagicmemories]

---

@jerzee908 wrote:

Ebay pushes the "free shipping" thing a lot, but when you are selling car parts that weigh 50lbs.+ and oversized, free shipping is not feasible.  Places like Jegs and Summit can ship stuff for free because of the volume they ship..........but Jegs and Summit doesn't have NOS 1950's-1980's GM parts.  I also shouldn't get nasty messages from buyers saying how they can get something else shipped for free or how they can get it cheaper......

I just wish there was more of a mutual understanding that if an item isn't listed with a "Best Offer", why bother messaging a seller? 

---

That used to be the rule; if the listing did not have Best Offer, then the seller was not interested in a Best Offer and it was a policy violation to make one.

In recent years, Ebay completely changed that to anyone can message any seller with an offer whether or not the listing had Best Offer on it, and has begun automatically adding Best Offer to listings independent of seller preference or implementation.

[swenson8781]

The bottom line is if the buyers could REALLY get the item for cheaper somewhere, they would.  But they cannot, so they send you a message hoping that you will bend.  And like another stated, people will always try, they have nothing to lose by trying/asking.

My best advice is leave your shipping the way it is, and simply accept that you will have to respond to the messages.  A simple message with 'dear buyer, sorry but I don't offer free shipping' and/or 'dear buyer, sorry but I'm not currently accepting offers on my items' should do it.

But I would take the time to respond to the messages, and I read somewhere (no idea where or when), that responding to messages within 24 hrs is important.

[jerzee908]

---

@jason_incognito wrote:

You have someone who is showing interest in your item, who sends you a message. Why not turn that around and try and make a sale? Even if maybe only a quarter bite, that's still more sales.

You could send back an email tellingthem how great it is and how confident you are that it will sell at that price. Show them that there is value in your stuff.

As for the shipping, something like "I understand how much shipping costs, but rest assured that I only charge what it costs to ship this to you. The post office gets the shipping charge, not me"

But why is it that all too often the standard response around here is to scream NO! GO AWAY! YOU'RE BOTHERING ME! TAKE YOUR MONEY ELSEWHERE!

---

I've tried conversing with people years ago.  When they made a low ball offer, I said I'd ship for free.....no sale.  Hey will you take $200 for the item you have listed for $500?.........I send them screen shots of the item being sold for $600.....no sale.

I simply don't respond anymore.  Now if you bought from me before and if you plan on buying more than one thing, you have my attention.   Like I said, 9 times out of 10 the people are demanding things on high demand items that sell at the price I was asking to begin with.

The shipping thing.......I think people are getting accustomed to not paying for shipping on big retail sites and when they buy something for .99 from China.  I'm none of those people and I offer what they don't have. 

And again, I am just looking for feedback from people that do have messages within their listings and if it helps them get less offers when they don't accept them.