Question from potential buyer

[pink_slippers!]

My listing has a make offer option, mainly because fees charged if make offer button not on listing. However I have excepted offers in the past. But this time instead of receiving a make offer from potential buyer, they messaged me with a question ( what's your lowest price) . So  my gut tells me to ignore this message. Any suggestions, my price is not unreasonable as the item is much lower than retail value.

[southern*sweet*tea]

Why would you ignore it? Message back a price you are comfortable with. If they're comfortable with it as well, they can make the offer at the agreed price and you can accept. 

[muttlymob]

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@pink_slippers! wrote:

So  my gut tells me to ignore this message.

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Tums can help that.

The buyer is limited in how many offers he can make.  The buyer may want to save time by finding out what he should offer up front rather than spend days of back-and-forth.  There's lots of inoffensive reasons to ask that question.  Is that all there was in the message or were there indications of obnoxiousness?

A potential buyer is showing interest in your item.  Do you want to sell?  If so then don't ignore the question.

[annasunicorns]

It takes me, as a buyer, three button pushes to contact the seller on ebay. 8/10 times, if they answer me, I buy it. I find this same ratio applies to buyers who message me as well. They want to know what a reasonable offer would be. Being as you have the thing listed in hopes of getting a reasonable offer, why not just tell them?

[7606dennis]

I wasn't aware of any additional fees involved for not having the Best Offer option in your listing.  Can you elaborate, OP?

While it is known that eBay has been adding the BO option to seller's listing without their knowledge or consent, I've not heard of any extra fees being charged sellers format having it.

Of course, you still have the options as a seller to accept, decline, counter, or ignore any offer made.  Up until relatively recently, eBay considered someone sending an offer if the listing didn't have the BO option in it to be an attempt to work an off-eBay deal.  

[lex-talon]

I agree with the 1st post. Message the buyer with the lowest price you will accept. I've messaged sellers before, asking them what's the lowest price they'll accept. 

[mrv71]

If you don't want to take offers, please write in your description that eBay puts the button there without your consent and you have no control over it, so your buyer won't waste their time making offers.

[div_style]

For inquirers who ask what's my lowest or best price, I respond that my best price is something higher than the listed price, and then ask what's their best price.

If you list something with BO, and then lower your price without getting an offer, you are negotiating against yourself and guaranteed to get less.  You set a price with BO, ball is in potential buyer's court to offer something.

[berserkerplanet]

I thought I read somewhere around here a while back that eBay was charging some (new?) sellers using the quick listing form the 35¢ listing fee if best offer wasn't on the listing.

(seemed like a "were going to stick it to you because you don't know any better being new and all" move)

[pink_slippers!]

Thank you all for your response's, I did go ahead and offer a price to that potential buyer, I  am new to selling and had not ever received an offer by messages so it threw me. But your all right I do want to sell item. Trying to be more careful as several of my first sales I lost money on shipping cost. As far as a fee for not using make an offer button, when listing my items when I clicked no on offer button, eBay said 35 cent charge if I don't use it, so I use it in my listing, didn't know it was just for new sellers. Just noticed potential buyer low balling, wants me to take off 2/3 of the price. eBay must have declined offer automatically. Glad they did. Happy Selling and thanks.

[lacemaker3]

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@7606dennis wrote:

I wasn't aware of any additional fees involved for not having the Best Offer option in your listing.  Can you elaborate, OP?

While it is known that eBay has been adding the BO option to seller's listing without their knowledge or consent, I've not heard of any extra fees being charged sellers format having it.

Of course, you still have the options as a seller to accept, decline, counter, or ignore any offer made.  Up until relatively recently, eBay considered someone sending an offer if the listing didn't have the BO option in it to be an attempt to work an off-eBay deal.  

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There have been some promotions recently that offered additional free-insertion-fee listings as long as Best Offer was included.

I believe eBay employees have stated that the "additional fees" would only apply if the listing was being made under the promotion, not if it was one of the regular free-insertion-fee listings that everyone gets each month.

It appears that wording has been added to at least one of the listing forms, warning that fees "may apply" if best offer is not used, but they would only apply if the listing was beig made under a promotion that has that restriction.

[berserkerplanet]

>>It appears that wording has been added to at least one of the listing forms, warning
>>that fees "may apply" if best offer is not used, but they would only apply if the listing
>>was beig made under a promotion that has that restriction.

So either OP was listing under a promo, or things have changed (yet again).

[hillbillymedia]

I`d like to ad that you can send a potential buyer an offer right from their original ebay message to you. It`s quick and easy.

[myboardid]

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@hillbillymedia wrote:

I`d like to ad that you can send a potential buyer an offer right from their original ebay message to you. It`s quick and easy.

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I've tried that a couple of times but so far the potential buyer hasn't acceted.  Since I get a lot of questions about buying more than one item, it doesn't always apply.