Selling Outside of the Auction Directly to Buyer

[lorca28]

How do you sell something directly to a buyer (who offers less than listed price) outside of the auction. I know I still have to pay the ebay fees (I read that somewhere at some point), but how do I set that up? Is there an "option" I click on somewhere? I want to do it within the proper guidelines. Thanks!

[nobody*s_perfect]

The only way to do it through eBay rules is through a listing. You can't just invoice directly.  Does the message have a link to send him an offer? If not, then either revise the listed price or add the 'Best offer" option so he can make a formal offer.

[a_c_green]

Lower the opening price to the agreed number, wait for his bid, then end the auction. He's the winner as long as he is the lead bidder when you end it.

[7606dennis]

Are you talking about an item that you have listed in the auction format with a BIN option or a fixed price listing with a Best Offer option?  If the former, once a bid is placed I would advise letting the listing run its course.  The BIN should have gone away once the bid was placed.

If the latter, simply follow the procedure for accepting the offer.

If you're talking about an auction style listing where eBay has included the BO option, once a bid is placed the BO option should have gone away and any offers already made but not accepted should be void.  

[ohnojoey]

Here is a link to what ac green said;

You can end your auction listing early, if:

There are bids on your item, and you are willing to sell your item to the current highest bidder"

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/cancelling-listing?id=4146

[reallynicestamps]

Is this an Auction or a Fixed Price listing?

With a Fixed Price listing, the Offer comes in from eBay Messages and there is an Accept Offer button on the Message. Click on it and you've made a sale.

The addition of Best Offer to Auctions is new (and kind of stupid since Auctions are meant to go UP not down), but I imagine the Offer would work the same.

You could also set up a new Fixed Price Listing using the customer's name as the title.You can do this as a Sell Similar from your current Auction.

Close the Auction first. (I'm assuming there are no bidders.)

Put the asking price as his offer. Remember that Offers do NOT include shipping price. Use 30 days as the time.

Tell the customer how to find the FP listing. Give him a deadline, perhaps 48 hours.

If he misses the deadline, Block him as a timewaster.

Update the Fixed Price with a new more saleable title. If you want to adjust the price too, that's fine.

Keep in mind that most bids arrive in the last few minutes of an Auction.

Even with Fixed Price listings, most sell at the beginning or the end of the listing.

So be wary of low offers arriving within a day or so of listing.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

If you end to sell to the highest bidder you can only do it for the showing bid. Otherwise it is fee avoidance.

Are there other watchers or bidders? If so then I'd say that it's not in your best interest or those of anyone else to end this early. Don't end to make one person happy meanwhile annoying untold others.

If you have a bid, let it run.

[misfitfun]

An item on ebay must sell thru ebay.If you take it off to sell outside of ebay you are breaking policy as it must be sold thru ebay for them to assess/collect the fees.If buyer is asking you to do so they are breaking policy.

[ohnojoey]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

If you end to sell to the highest bidder you can only do it for the showing bid. Otherwise it is fee avoidance.

Are there other watchers or bidders? If so then I'd say that it's not in your best interest or those of anyone else to end this early. Don't end to make one person happy meanwhile annoying untold others.

If you have a bid, let it run.

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"If you end to sell to the highest bidder you can only do it for the showing bid."

Correct. Well, the current highest bidder anyway. That's why I quoted and linked to ebay policy, strictly speaking.

I agree with you to let the auction run normally, but perhaps the op wants to sell to the buyer for some other reason, or sell quickly. The op has been relisting things for some time without sales so I could understand wanting a sale. For the op's motive, I nor ac green didn't question that. A look at the op's auctions show no bids.

So I answered according to the question and ebay policy.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

I wasn’t arguing with you. I was trying to clarify that you cannot agree on a higher price than showing. That’s all.

[ohnojoey]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

I wasn’t arguing with you. I was trying to clarify that you cannot agree on a higher price than showing. That’s all.

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That's why I agree with ac green"s very clear suggestion;

"Lower the opening price to the agreed number, wait for his bid, then end the auction. He's the winner as long as he is the lead bidder when you end it."