Potential buyer asking (by eBay message) for lowest price you will accept on best offer listing

[billythekid16]

I received this eBay message today from a potential buyer (exactly as written by him/her):

"Would you happen to know what the lowest you would go on this by chance"

The listing this person was interested in is already set at best offer, so I don't know why they are directly asking me how low I will go to part with the item, when he/she could have just entered their offer in the listing.  (Only thing I can think of is that he/she is afraid of getting auto-declined when they enter their offer.)  This is not the first time.  Three weeks ago, I had another potential buyer do the same thing on a different best offer listing.

When you get messages like this, do you respond or not?

[ebooksdiva]

I don't respond to those types of questions. If they wanted to make a best offer they would have done so within the listing. 

Personally I don't use Best Offers. I do get messages to lower my prices occasionally, I ignore those too I introduce those buyers to my blocked buyer list. 

Ultimately the choice is yours.

[1tuna]

I cant take these kind of ebayers

I rarely get offers since they are mostly auctions

what I feel like saying "cat got your tongue, come on spit it out, what is your offer"

some ebayers just want to talk about an offer instead of making one

I do get the psychology though

if you are asking 300 for an item and you will take 200 then if they offer 225 they have thrown away $25

turn it around and ask for best offer

@billythekid16 

[m60driver]

I would reply with my lowest acceptable price for that particular listing.  I mean what do you have to lose?  It is better than when someone sends an offer below your shipping costs like an offer ($8) I got last week.  I did not even bother to respond.

[postcardcountry]

I don't have best offer on most of my items.

I do get the 'will you take' offers via message and 99.9% I decline. 

Right now I have a message sitting from 'a disabled navy veteran on a limited budget'.   I do not intend to accept his offer.  I am on a limited budget too - it just means my husband and I have agreed I need to move more inventory before I purchase any more.   Of course, the other side of this 'offer' is the fact he is offering more than the 25% off sale I am running.  So why not just buy it at the cheaper/discounted price?   I think his offer is cut/paste, pull the message trigger without doing the careful consideration of a 'limited budget'.  I don't go for attempted sob stories.   

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

Depends a little on the item (and I'll usually take a look at the buyer's "feedback left for others" first), but I'll often respond with an offer. If it isn't low enough for them, they can always send me an even lower offer, and who knows? Maybe I'll take it. My "lowest price" isn't written in stone. 

I had a buyer offer x on an item recently, I countered, he added $10 to x and said "This is my highest offer". I countered again. Eventually he came up another $20 or $30, I don't remember which, and I took it. So, just because someone says This is my highest (or lowest) offer, doesn't mean they can't change their mind LOL

[fashunu4eeuh]

I view this as an opportunity to make a sale, and would respond with my best price. Would not consider blocking a potential buyer for simply for expressing an interest in my item.

Why didn’t they make an opening best offer? It could be they want to cut to the chase. I don’t use Best Offer, but there used to be a limit on how many offers a buyer could make on an item. Perhaps they are leery of that. Or they may not have ever used Best Offer before. 

The ball is in your court now to respond as you see fit. Good luck, and hope you make the sale.

[havlicekstoletheball22]

I received a similar request not long ago, and responded that the lowest price I would accept will be determined in part by the offers I receive (the offers provide a look at the current market, which in my category changes dramatically in short periods of time, sometimes fluctuating during a 24 hour period). I encouraged the person to make an offer and we could see where that falls in relation to other offers. I hesitated to mention a specific price as that could be less than others were willing to offer. Selling with best offer is pretty straightforward, so there’s no need for this sort of message. Chances are those who send them are low ballers anyway.

[gagnon234]

Dear Buyer,

Would you happen to know what the HIGHEST you would go on this by chance? Thanks! Seller

(. . . . hopefully, we can meet somewhere in the middle.)

[eburtonlab]

Only thing I can think of is that he/she is afraid of getting auto-declined when they enter their offer.

Getting auto-declined is not the worst that can happen to a buyer, though. Some sellers will actually permanently block buyers that make what the seller considers a "low-ball" offer, and the buyer may want to avoid that.

In many cases both buyer and seller have a number in mind; if either can get the other to reveal that number first, that can provide an advantage in negotiation if the numbers are not too far apart.

Asking the seller for a number can help save the buyer money if the seller is actually willing to respond with a number. If the seller's number is much higher than the buyer wants to go, that saves the buyer from a potential block for making a low-ball offer; if the seller's number is lower than the buyer's number, the buyer can save the difference compared to making the explicit offer first.

[goebelbuyer2]

I usually just ignore them.  I get that people want the lowest price, but why does someone who offers less than half price the listing cost think their offer is reasonable?  I mean, if I really wanted to sell it at that price, I would have listed it closer to that.  Those are generally the people that send a "what's the lowest price you'll take" e-mail.  Most people are just looking for a really great deal, but the ebay fees and shipping costs prevent most of that. 

I've also found that dealing with low-ballers generally leads to more issues.  Those people will be the first to claim item not as described, will want further discounts, and will leave negative feedback just because they thought it was too expensive, etc.  

[wastingtime101]

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@eburtonlab wrote:

In many cases both buyer and seller have a number in mind; if either can get the other to reveal that number first, that can provide an advantage in negotiation if the numbers are not too far apart.

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This right here. The buyer is hoping to gain a negotiating advantage.

As far as I'm concerned, the seller has already put out the first number (the price on the listing) and they should not negotiate against themself.

I would invite the buyer to use the "make offer" button on the listing if they were genuinely interested in making the purchase. Unless it was something I really wanted to get rid of in which case I'd mark down the listing, remove offers, and tell the buyer the price is available to everyone - first come, first serve.

[janet9988]

It could be a way to for a scammer to start with the fake payment process.

[s.scharmu0]

Hi!

         I did not ask you that. However I do ask people that. WHY YOU ASK???   Because,  I am so polite & never want to hurt anyone. I never want to make a lowball offer. Some of the offers I have received make me laugh. I am watching an item for over a year now, I did ask them if they would/could knock something of the price $400.00. I would have bought it if they said sure they would take $5.00 off. They never answered me though. Yesterday, I asked 3 people who are dropshippers the same thing. 1 answered the other 2 have not. I will give them 48 hours to answer then they go on my blocklist. I answer all questions asked of me except the smart ass ones😊🏈

[toomuchstuffagain35]

It's possible these are buyers who have been "selected" to be in the new pilot program whereby when they make an offer they enter payment info and their funds are held for a time even if the seller declines.

By messaging to find out what offer you'd accept they stand less chance of having funds held for no good reason.