UPDATED: eBay is Helping Boost Conversion with Best Offer on Auctions and Fixed Price Listings

[Anonymous]

I am a bit confused as to why Ebay puts on a Best Offer option automatically on an Auction item. They state that this is done when the auction price is higher than their reccommended price and dissapears when the first bid is placed. Well a few things here:

1. It does not dissapear when the first bid is placed.

2. Even if someone wanted a best offer on an new auction item there is no means to place it.

3. Ebays "reccommended" price" is often way of mark anyway; for example I sell demo vinyl records and it cannot take into account the extra value as to what these are worth, especially rare ones., and not bother with an auction?

Ok, it's easy enough to take the best offer option off, but I fail to see the point of them presuming you want this on an auction item anyway, because if you did you would make it best offer in the first place and not bother with an auction.

[nobody*s_perfect]

1.  Well, that's alarming.  Can you provide an example? Perhaps it's an auction with an unmet reserve.

2.  The option for adding Best offer to auctions is available on the Advanced version of the listing form (sometimes referred to as the Business version).

[joem4stuff]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am a bit confused as to why Ebay puts on a Best Offer option automatically on an Auction item.

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You are not the only one. If you look throgh the discussions here you will find a lot of company, most of whom are also upset.

I guess it's just another one of eBay's ideas to "help" the sellers.

[speed_racer]

You want to see more eBay foolishness? They slap these "best offer" options on items costing 99¢ or less (as well as allowing them on BIN items that cost the same) then when you try to make an offer, eBay tells you your offer must be higher than 99¢.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@speed_racer wrote:
You want to see more eBay foolishness? They slap these "best offer" options on items costing 99¢ or less (as well as allowing them on BIN items that cost the same) then when you try to make an offer, eBay tells you your offer must be higher than 99¢.

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OH,my.  I didn't know that.  I didn't think they would put a Best Offer on 99 cent items.

[slippinjimmy]

Are you using the Advanced Listing Tool? I've been led to believe that the auto adding of BO (and GSP?) only happens if you use the Quick Listing Tool or the App.

[coolections]

@speed_racer

I could be mistaken but I believe the best offer feature for AUCTION format can go BOTH ways. In your case, if you start your auction at 99 cents you cannot go lower than 99 cents, BUT I may offer you $25. At that point you can accept my offer and the auction ends. You had a quick sale, made cash, and both parties are happy. If you start an auction overpriced at $25, I may offer you $15. At that point you can accept it because no one is going to bid $25 if your item is over-priced from the start.

[castlemagicmemories]

It seems that Best Offer has come to mean a discount to most, instead of offering more then the auction's opening bid to entice the seller to end the listing.

This leads to frustration on both sides.  

[divwido]

That's just part one.  Part two must be the You have watchers so lower the price.  I always vote no.  If someone is interested at my price-what does a lowered price say? 

[terrycanarsky]

And let us not forget - once eBay (or the seller, to be fair) puts "Make Offer/Best Offer" on a listing, it cannot be removed without ending the listing and re-doing, hopefully without eBay's 'help' later by re-applying BO.  It tends to be all $$$ for eBay, a percentage of the sale or a listing fee, either way.

~M