eBay

goldrushfinds · ‎04-04-2022

Once again confirming that for the most part 'Best Offer' is a waste of time and encourages buyers to think they can get you way down on price. If you don't drop the price a lot, they won't buy. I get offers on things listed for $25 of $5-$10. Everyone wants everything for near nothing. Also lots of people proposing buying well below my asking price with free shipping included (which I don't offer). This is now like Poverty Mart.

dhbookds · ‎04-05-2022

B/o works about 60% of the time for me...... Enjoy the buyer who start at 90% off and ends up paying at about 10-15% off....... I don't have it on everything, but still get offers anyway.....

stephenmorgan · ‎04-05-2022

I hope so!!!...

dbfolks166mt · ‎04-05-2022

I also still get unsolicited offers on items I do not have the OBO option on, which is none of them. I simply ignore them file it to the trash folder and on occasion add the individual to my BBL.

lepke1979 · ‎04-05-2022

@dhbookds wrote:
B/o works about 60% of the time for me...... Enjoy the buyer who start at 90% off and ends up paying at about 10-15% off....... I don't have it on everything, but still get offers anyway.....

Yeah. Probably get about the same. I think some just want to see if they can get it for a little less with a big ask. Possibly a way to see what the lowest you're willing to offer. And some I think just want to think they got a deal.

Occasionally I'll get a mildly annoying one though. They'll ask $5, I'll counter with some higher amount...they'll maybe counter with $5.25. But outside of rolling my eyes a little, it takes very little to just ignore, decline, or counter again at something closer to the asking price. They'll run out of offers eventually.

mr_lincoln · ‎04-05-2022

@goldrushfinds I think they should change the feature name from Best Offer to Haggling ... that way going back and forth a few times would be more expected ... Best Offer in a sense is a form of negotiating since eBay original allowed 3 back and forth offers but increased that to (if memory serves) 10.

I don't use Best offer BUT I do get messaged offers and eBay added the Reply with offer button so if I want to pursue one I can ... I did this past weekend because the Buyer was reasonable with what they offered.

Low ball offers I politely decline and let Buyers know I would be selling for a loss.

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

american-photography · ‎04-05-2022

You don't have to accept it . . . counteroffer.

onefootflipper · ‎04-05-2022

As a buyer it just tells me not to hit "Buy it now" that you will certainly take less.

transamcc · ‎04-05-2022

@goldrushfinds wrote:
Once again confirming that for the most part 'Best Offer' is a waste of time and encourages buyers to think they can get you way down on price. If you don't drop the price a lot, they won't buy. I get offers on things listed for $25 of $5-$10. Everyone wants everything for near nothing. Also lots of people proposing buying well below my asking price with free shipping included (which I don't offer). This is now like Poverty Mart.

My lowest lowball offer is a discount for the amount you have overpriced yours compared to trending average sales prices over the past 30 days for the same item on Ebay.

ekmadonna · ‎04-05-2022

I just had another seller ask me if I could do $7.50 with FREE SHIPPING on an item that I have listed at $15.95 with FREE SHIPPING? I simply responded with a NO! At $7.50 with free shipping, I literally would be paying out of pocket to GIVE this person my item for FREE after paying for shipping and Ebay Fees.

ekmadonna · ‎04-05-2022

I forgot to add the offer was Unsolicited as I did not have a Best Offer Checked off for this item.

southern*sweet*tea · ‎04-05-2022

I have best offer on everything. I price high and will consider every single offer. If I get one that I feel is too low, I send a counter. The vast majority of the time my counter is accepted. Happy buyer, happy seller.

That said I don't get lowballs. I guess it has something to do with what I sell and who I sell it to, idk

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.

We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell

meme6253 · ‎04-06-2022

Buyers here have been very use to the discount mentality forever is part of the problem, & I agree with you & I also do not offer Free Shipping, especially with rising shipping costs, Everything here is Great for a customer, But not for the seller, The Whole Give It Away & Ship It For Free needs to Change

glasser · ‎04-06-2022

Haggling for goods is as old as commerce itself.

Pre-internet, for those of us who buy and sell antiques, negotiating is part and parcel of the daily business. Still is at flea markets and shows. Some people who have only sold on the inernet may not be aware of how markets have traditionally worked.

eBay's system in an impersonal one. compared to face-to-face dickering.

So, here's my advice. If BO causes you agita don't offer it.

If you use BO, chill and never take any offer personally. Look at every offer as an opportunity to make sale even if at face value the initial offer looks insulting. It's the start of a conversation. Someone offers you 50% on the listing price respond with a counter that you can work with. They take it great. They don't no harm no foul.

It's just the marketplace doing its thing.

aeparts1 · ‎04-06-2022

I had a best offer this morning, $20 on an item listed for $70, & the potential buyer sent along a note: "Must free shipping!!!!". I passed on that generous offer & responded with a counter offer that I am sure will be refused.

At the swaps where I buy stuff for my personal selling account, I generally start by offering half of what the seller wants. Unless the seller is already priced fairly, then I will pay their asking price. Lots of sellers take my offer, they don't want to drag the stuff home.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎04-06-2022

glasser,

I couldn't agree more. I counter most offers, and I decline strategically....that is, if the buyer is serious, and I see there are no others, or very few others listed, I'll let the buyer decide whether to come back with another offer or not. But any offer of 50% or more , I will definitely counter. And since the ultimate sale price is my decision....I never sell an item on offer for less than a price that I'm satisfied with.

As you note, some sellers don't want to deal with this. (Just as some sellers don't want to run sales, offer coupons, use Promoted Listings, etc) I look at this as just another tool I can choose to use to my benefit, or I can ignore. There are pros and cons to every tool ebay offers, just as there are pros and cons to any decision I make: do I spend a lot of time crafting perfect photos, or do I aim for speed, making sure the photos are acceptable, but nothing more? Do I go for the fast nickel, or the slow dime? Do I....well, the list can go on...We all must make our own decisions about what is right for our business.