To offer or not to offer. That is the question :)

[bluebellfressia]

As the heading says.  I don't mean to people that view, I mean to watchers.

I have read that some hate it and even block the seller. Which obviously I don't want.

Others have said they add items to their watch list, hoping that they will receive a better offer.  

Maybe we need a poll on this 🙂

[certifiedcitynet]

Most watchers are not potential buyers. Those who are want the discount notifications. 

[gurlcat · Accepted solution]

Well the question of whether to send offers (at all) is worthy of discussion but before it proceeds you should know that there's no way to approach your first line there.  That is, if you send offers they will go to whatever eBay considers "interested buyers".  -That will typically be mostly watchers, but it can also include people who have the item in their cart with the intention of paying (full price), as well as ..... yes, viewers.  Not ALL viewers, just "interested" ones, whatever that means to eBay software.  It used to be only ones who viewed more than once, but in recent months there have been lots of posts by people getting offers sent to them after merely viewing once.  So who knows what the criteria really is now. 

EDIT: also there is no way to block a seller.  It's possible to do an advanced search that excludes their name, but that's it.  

[44012]

I use the send offers all the time.

I sort the items by the number of watchers because some watcher counts actually say zero and I believe those zero counts on the watchers are people that viewed but did not click the watch. I don't want to send those people offers as they weren't even watching, they just viewed and they may get annoyed. 

I send offers to the rest and lately that has accounted for about 1/2 my sales this summer. Everyone wants a discount. I have also accepted quite a few from sellers to buy some things as I wanted a discount too.

I do not use best offer and do not plan to.

[chevymontecarlo88]

---

@bluebellfressia wrote:

As the heading says.  I don't mean to people that view, I mean to watchers.

I have read that some hate it and even block the seller. Which obviously I don't want.

Others have said they add items to their watch list, hoping that they will receive a better offer.  

Maybe we need a poll on this 🙂

Its just another tool for you to communicate with your customers. Personally i like any reason to communicate with buyers and yes, it can open a can of worms. (have to deal those who may be challenged) It's an option as are best offers on your listings. I will take it further and will communicate with users that message me with there offers regardless if i am even offering one on my listing. (yes some low ball offers but its ok) Some get converted to sales and some that tend to be tire kickers. There really is no wrong way to handle it.

[hollysfinds]

I am a seller, but also a buyer on ebay.

I always find it amazing that some people are annoyed to receive an offer from a seller.

If a seller wants to offer something to me at a lower price I am more than happy to consider it.

I send offers to buyers whenever that option becomes available.

If some get annoyed by that, oh well.

[baydealz]

If it's priced right, it's priced right, why play any games?  Buyers and sellers have all the marketplace data and each can see what the market pays for most items within a time frame.  The rest are simply watching it while looking around or deciding if that item is the item they seek.  Worse, they are a seller watching an item so they can 'sell similar' later.  There's very little upside to 'conversion.'  Now if you can tell that offer (with shipping) is more inline with going rates, it might be valid.  It can also be a red flag that someone is pulling some sort of rope-a-dope - get you vested in the trade, showing your desperation, but setting up a theft, a claim, a chargeback or other. 

[lux.ra_14]

---

@hollysfinds wrote:I send offers to buyers whenever that option becomes available.

---

On my seller account, I send offers but try to be judicious about it.

I generally don't send offers when Best Offer is already enabled.

I don't send offers on recently listed items. Give the item a chance to sell at full price. 

I send offers sparingly. Otherwise, some buyers will learn your pattern and watch just to get a lower offer. I do that with a few sellers who send offers on every listing I watch. Why would I ever pay full price?

When I do send offers, they're pretty  generous, often 20 percent or more, depending on the item. Sending offers annoys some people. No need to make it worse with a cheapskate offer.

I dislike sellers who play obvious games with pricing. One seller I follow dramatically overprices everything -- and then sends offers of 50 to 75 percent off. I assume he's trying to play on buyer psychology, but his offers tend to land at what would have been a fair BIN in the first place. A waste of time all the way around. 

[hollysfinds]

To each his own. 

Everybody should do whatever works the best for them 

Sending offers results in a sale more often then not for me. 

I'd rather sell stuff than store stuff. 

[chevymontecarlo88]

---

There's very little upside to 'conversion.' 

---

Of course there is an upside to conversions, the sale itself would be considered that. Just because you price something at one time (the right price) things can change (market) and may make it more prudent to take the offer or at least counter it. Some sellers may rather sit on the sides and wait for there items to sell and some may consider using tools to engage with potential buyers. Only one of those options will give you more opportunities to sell your item. Both options can still be correct.

[lux.ra_14]

@hollysfinds 

Congrats on your offer conversion rate.

I take "more often than not" to mean above 50 percent. That's a much better rate than most sellers have reported here on seller-initiated offers. I've read comments from sellers whose success rate is as low as 1 in every 20 offers sent.

Depends, of course, on what you sell, how you price, and what discounts are offered.

[chevymontecarlo88]

Usually i will hold off on sending an offer on new items listed as well. Depends on the item as well but typically i like to give them 30 days before entertaining offers. After i send an offer is when i may consider sale/price change.

I have gotten low ball offers and it really does not bother me at all. If anything, it gives you the chance to engage with them. Of course you will find the occasional tool that will waste your time but that is part of doing business. IMHO