Try a simple price drop instead of sending offers (some interested buyers WILL be notified)

[gurlcat]

I don't know about yall but I am not happy about the recent extension of time for interested buyers to decide if they want to accept a seller's offer ... from 2 days to 4 days, during which we cannot make any edits, nor send offers to new watchers.  Maybe just me -I'd say at least 75% of the takers I get are within a half-hour of sending the offers, 20% after a half-hour but before 24 hours, and the remaining 5% on the 2nd day (IF THAT).    I seriously don't think there are many who would have taken the offer if only they'd had more than 2 days, and in my book those few aren't worth the greater sacrifice.  But, there is nothing we can do about it.  

Or is there?  😎

Several months ago I ran an experiment with a bunch of awesome volunteers here, to see how many would receive notifications if they watched one of my items and I simply revised the Buy It Now price down, rather than send out offers.  The results were mixed but encouraging.  It appeared that those who have the eBay phone app were more likely to receive it than via the web, and that's okay because lots of buyers out there do shop here via the app.  -That frog brooch remains unsold btw, ha.  

So just a moment ago I was looking at my listings, sighing at the thought of crippling a bunch of them by sending out offers for them. (Oh by the way, notice how much higher your Suggested Ad Rate goes up after an offer fails -that means eBay begins dropping the item's visibility a bunch at that point, because they see it like you must have it way overpriced, if people won't even take your offer).  

Then I remembered the experiment, and decided to try it in real life.  I dropped the prices of several items with watchers, by about the same amount of discount I would have sent offers for.  Et voila!  -About 10 minutes later, success!  

[wastingtime101]

I'm a bigger fan of running a sale than doing a price drop, but that's what works for my product.

You can make me a t-shirt that says SHAME because a couple days ago I accepted a seller initiated offer on either the 3rd or 4th day (don't remember exactly). Meaning I'm not helping the cause to get the 2 day option back. It's been a busy week and that's how long it took me to get to that offer email and see if it was worth it. The seller had many available so I didn't feel rushed.

Interesting point:

That same item had a price drop of 10% and I was never notified through messages or email. The item was on my watch list. I didn't realize there was a price drop until I got the offer which was only 5% off, but I realized the price was lower than 5% off initial pricing. I thought I remembered the initial price wrong, but when I went to my watch list there was a blue "price drop" indicator on the item and revision history confirmed it. Price drop of 10% followed by 5% off SIO and that seller made the sale for an item that had me on the fence earlier.

[gurlcat]

I forgot to say, additional perks about this method:

If a watcher is notified and decides your item is at the right price now, they'll have to BUY it, rather than make a "pledge" to buy it sometime in the next 4 days.  And they can see the whole world has access to this new lower price, not just them and a few other watchers, so if they want it they better get it now. 

In the experiment some of the volunteers didn't put my item on watch but simply viewed the listing.  We decided to do this because sometimes eBay includes mere viewers as 'Interested Buyers' to whom our offers go, along with watchers, whether we want that to happen or not.  And it seems that a lot of buyers do NOT like it.  But what about a price drop?  Well, a lot of the experiment volunteers who only viewed got this notification too, in fact if they had the app they were more likely to get it than someone without the app who fully watched the item.  BUT I think this is better than when they receive offers after only viewing.  -Offers are higher pressure; there is at least a prompt for them to respond.  Also they know that sellers are who sends offers, but they don't know that we can't avoid sending them to mere viewers, so it makes us look like bad guys.  On the other hand, eBay telling them that SuchNSuch just dropped the price on this! -that seems more like eBay doing the instigating, which it is.  

[gurlcat]

Do you use the app or website?  

[wastingtime101]

Both.

67890

[12345jamesstamps]

I watch other's seller's items for researching my same items and to see what the going rate of items are to price mine...LOL.

So these offers I get I just delete after so many days.

And I am sure a lot of people do the same thing.

2 days to 4 days now...I know...I have to wait 4 days now to delete some offers.

    On the top left of your eBay page: clink on your account name (guricat)...all your items of course pop up for sale.

But the ones on the first 2 or so lines are items that buyers have clinked on very recently.

Kinda cool.

And when you post your items..those will be at the top of your items for sale.

I clinked me myself on one of my item's for sale and it pops up as number one of all my items for sale.

This kinda gives me an idea of people looking at my items..since I don't do offers but want to know what people are looking at.

This 'Traffic'...information of our account is so lame. Numbers and numbers which can be wrong.

I rather see the items buyers's are looking at on my site...and they do show at the top of my page of items for sale.

That frog brooch...and others I didn't clink on remained quite a while on my site...LOL.

[wastingtime101]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

So these offers I get I just delete after so many days.
2 days to 4 days now...I know...I have to wait 4 days now to delete some offers.

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Why do you have to wait 4 days? As a buyer you can delete offer notifications immediately if they don't interest you and you also have the option to decline them.

Maybe I'm not understanding - maybe you just prefer to wait 4 days and it has nothing to do with whether you can or can't perform the action?

[chapeau-noir]

I do this from time to time - it doesn't hurt and it has resulted in some sales.

[robbie31415]

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@gurlcat wrote:

I forgot to say, additional perks about this method:

If a watcher is notified and decides your item is at the right price now, they'll have to BUY it, rather than make a "pledge" to buy it sometime in the next 4 days.  And they can see the whole world has access to this new lower price, not just them and a few other watchers, so if they want it they better get it now. 

In the experiment some of the volunteers didn't put my item on watch but simply viewed the listing.  We decided to do this because sometimes eBay includes mere viewers as 'Interested Buyers' to whom our offers go, along with watchers, whether we want that to happen or not.  And it seems that a lot of buyers do NOT like it.  But what about a price drop?  Well, a lot of the experiment volunteers who only viewed got this notification too, in fact if they had the app they were more likely to get it than someone without the app who fully watched the item.  BUT I think this is better than when they receive offers after only viewing.  -Offers are higher pressure; there is at least a prompt for them to respond.  Also they know that sellers are who sends offers, but they don't know that we can't avoid sending them to mere viewers, so it makes us look like bad guys.  On the other hand, eBay telling them that SuchNSuch just dropped the price on this! -that seems more like eBay doing the instigating, which it is.  

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Just to clarify. The whole "they have to buy not pledge" isn't true for all cases and is dependent on the sellers settings.

But i agree it's nice for sellers to at least have the option.

[gurlcat]

Well I'm talking about just dropping the Buy It Now price of the item, so what other option is there for the buyer but to buy?  

EDIT: Never mind, I always forget BIN doesn't have to mean IPR and there are like 3 weirdos in the world who allow delayed payment, cuz I guess they just don't like 'now' for some reason.    

[robbie31415]

Well you followed it by the whole waiting for 4 days bit.

I have buy it now with no immediate payment required.

So an offer accepted and when the buyer uses buy now can be virtually the same thing.

Ebay does not allow me to use immediate payment required because I offer local pickup with cash payment.

So essentially sometimes I have to wait 4 days regardless of it being from an offer, auction or buy it now.

[gurlcat]

Do you get a lot of local pickups?  

[robbie31415]

No lol probably because i offer free shipping regardless, i just like offering it  😅

But really it's fine tbh. I have option to keep listings alive at 0 stock so actually my unpaids make people think I sold more than I actually did.

Also I think there is a slight boost if you relist due to unpaid cancel.

[gurlcat]

Okay but if a "buyer" turned out to be a deadbeat, then someone else who wanted to buy but saw 0 in stock will have moved on and bought elsewhere by the time the 4 days runs out, when really you did have available stock that whole time; it was just held hostage by someone treating BIN like the shopping cart.  

[fbusoni]

@gurlcat 

Very interesting... I've had the exact opposite experience.

Putting things on sale... no one responds for a few days.

Then I end the sale, and send an offer.   Within a few hours, a few sales are made.

Heaven only knows what all this means ... if it means anything at all.  😂