What does the "Best Offer/Make Offer" option say to a Potential Buyer?

[mangorunner]

I've been mulling this around for awhile.  What does the Best Offer/Make Offer option say to a potential buyer?  Does it say that the seller knows that their item is probably overpriced?  Or does it give any message at all?  As a buyer, what does it make you think about the price of an item when you see that?  If you wanted the item, would it be likely that you would go ahead and pay the asking price without first attempting to negotiate a lower one?

[dhbookds]

There's no one answer........ as most, I'm sure, who use BO know......I've had those use it and I've had people buy at the bin price when B/O is an option.         Some buyers like to "win", I'm convinced.......for the seller to accept one of their offers.......others can't be bothered with "haggling"..........

[city*satins]

I jack up my BIN price about 30% above my 'accept' price and allow offers.

About 25% of my items sell at the BIN price, making them into WAHOO!s

About 20% of my offers are lowball ridiculous, like 15% of the BIN price - making them OH JEEEZ!

The rest of the offers I get are at or better than my hoped for price. 

Some sellers despise OFFERs and tell you virtuously "I don't play games."

I love games and find them very profitable.   

Most buyers, in my opinion, like to feel like they got an even better deal than the asking price, even if it's just a little bit better deal and feel quite pleased with themselves.   So I'm totally okay with that.

I'm an old timer on eBay and I still remember how many people used to nibble away at an auction, back before there was Buy it Now or Fixed Price and would write me after the listing and exclaim:

I WON YOUR AUCTION!!!!!!!

I would always say to myself  Actually, I won my auction but I'm glad you feel like you won.

I think that Best Offer can give buyers some of that auction feel that was so addictive way back when.

[fjbet13]

To me as a buyer, a make best offer option on a fixed price auction means that the seller is willing to take a lower price than the fixed price, and I will almost always make an offer and attempt to negotiate a price.  Only if it is an item that I absolutely positively have to have will I purchase at the buy it now price if it is reasonable, and not make an offer

If the make an offer is an option on an auction listing, I look at is as an opportunity to get the item without going through the bidding process 

[tiramisu41]

@mangorunner

As a buyer, when I see the seller will accept offers, I don't think it's because he/she knows his/her item is over-priced -- or purposefully has jacked up the price figuring he/she "will get the price they wanted" when a potential buyer offers less.

I think, the "seller wants to get rid of this."  Perhaps it's been listed for a while. Maybe the seller mis-calculated demand/interest for the item.  Maybe shipping cost/location of the item is a deterrent.  (All of which I can check easily.)  Or, maybe the seller is sick and tired of putting up with eBay, has a family or personal issue or circumstance, and just needs/wants to liquidate/move product.   

I figure the seller just wants the stuff gone.  But that could be because I also *sell* on eBay and I know if I were to accept best offers, it would be because my primary objective was to get rid of the stuff and therefore, I am willing to take a bit less pocketbook-wise to make that happen.

HTH

[*madison]

 If you wanted the item, would it be likely that you would go ahead and pay the asking price without first attempting to negotiate a lower one?

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If it's a rare or unique item that I really want, I pay the asking price before someone else does.

If it's an item I want, but don't care if I get it or not, I always start with a nice lowball offer. And then I often receive abusive messages from the sellers, then I get blocked.

[labs118]

To me as a buyer it means the seller is willing to accept a reasonable offer , Not half price but something worth while off the price.

Now  as for  some sellers ? 
Here is my latest offer to a seller 





Think the seller doesn't really want offers? This is not a new seller that ebay added unwanted BIN to. this is a nice size seller, so it seems a waste of time to me for them to use Best offer, they want to give  A whole $1.00 off

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

It used to say to.me that this is a seller who wants to haggle.

now it says this may be a seller who didn’t want best offer but eBay put it on anyway. Also that the seller can’t figure out how to get it off their listing.

[d-k_treasures]

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@fjbet13wrote:

To me as a buyer, a make best offer option on a fixed price auction means that the seller is willing to take a lower price than the fixed price, and I will almost always make an offer and attempt to negotiate a price.  Only if it is an item that I absolutely positively have to have will I purchase at the buy it now price if it is reasonable, and not make an offer

If the make an offer is an option on an auction listing, I look at is as an opportunity to get the item without going through the bidding process 

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There is no such thing as a 'fixed price auction'.

And adding best offer to a real auction listing is one of the stupidest things ebay has ever done. 

[buyselljack2016]

I seldom use the "best offer".

eBay has not forced that option on my listings.

When I use "best"  it is sometimes something I have had for a while, and hope the "best offer" may prompt the "on the fence buyer" to lean toward the purchase.

I've tried the bump the price up, and then do "best offer",  but can not say that has worked out. Buyers were probably onto that game.

I set my auto decline, so that I don't have to entertain foolishness.  We can play "counter offer", but not when starting at 10-25%

[castlemagicmemories]

It says to me that I might get a bit off the price if I send a Best Offer.  If the price seems rather high for the item, it might mean getting even more off the price.

But not necessarily.

If it is something that I really want, I just buy it because I know that someone else can come up behind me and buy it outright, just because I decided to spend time on a Best Offer.  Sometimes you hear from a Best Offer right away, but I know that it can take a couple of days as well, so I make an informed decision as to what to do.

I remember when it was a policy violation to ask about a Best Offer if Best Offer was not on the listing.

Now I know that Ebay may have added that Best Offer and the seller did not choose to have it there and may not even be interested in a Best Offer.

[timemachine777]

It tells me that the seller, is looking for a quick sale, and doesn't mind getting a bunch of low ball offers from bottom feeders. Once you use it, you can bet your last nickel that eBay will start adding it automatically to your other items.

[jason_incognito]

There was something that had been listed for years without a price adjustment. It was greatly overpriced.

I offered a reasonable price based on what it was really worth. Good Lord did that set the seller off.

I've offered 60, 70% off and been accepted and I've offered $1 less and been either denied or countered. Seriously, some sellers think a best offer will get the item sold for full price when they refuse a $1 discount. All I've ever seen are mad customers that wouldn't buy it if you gave them $20 off.

[ted_200]

What does the "Best Offer/Make Offer" option say to a Potential Buyer?

That they're in a curio shop in Tijuana?

[couldabeenworse]

What does the Best Offer/Make Offer option say to a potential buyer?

I'm not a haggler by nature, so what it always said to me was "buy from somebody else".  Now that eBay is forcing it on some listings, I'm afraid it still tells me to shop elsewhere, but I feel a little guilty.