responding to offers

[stingking]

Curious how other sellers deal with consistent low offers. Typically when I list an item I research what similar items have recently sold for and price my item at a price at and very often lower than that similar sold price. I more often than not receive offers of half or less than half of my buy it now price. 

[loveyourimagination49]

Set to auto decline at a certain price.

[southernfriedbelle]

Unfortunately, when many buyers see Best Offer on a BIN, they automatically assume you have overpriced your item, and that you'll probably take a much lower amount. You have several options available to you:

1. @loveyourimagination49's suggestion to automatically decline offers below a certain amount. You'll need to use the Advanced Listing form to utilize this option.
2. Don't set up a BO option with your BINs.
3. Price your item at an amount to allow for lowball offers to be closer to what you actually expect to get for the item.
4. Set your listing up in auction format with a starting price you can live with, if the item only gets one bid.

[swenson8781]

Sometimes you might want to accept low offers, sometimes not.  When I used the BO feature, if the offer was lower than I wanted to accept I'd reply with  'thanks for your interest in my items, I cannot let this go for 50% (or whatever percentage) off at this time.'  

Sometimes, I would inform them that I often run sales, and that as the season goes along I might be willing to lower the price more to get rid of it.  I'll let them know they are welcome to check back when the season changes.  Not sure what you sell, I realize that applies more to clothing! lol Which is what I sell 🙂 

[zzydny]

I don't usually like to set a low limit because some buyers are just asking to see how the seller responds and they are still willing to counteroffer.

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So my process is to check the potential buyer's feedback LEFT for sellers.  If there are a bunch of negatives or neutrals, I decline and block. If the feedback seems good, I counteroffer with my Best Price--that is 20% off the list price.  I do not like to go lower than that unless the item has been sitting around for awhile.  Usually this is what I will say on the form:  Thank you for your offer.  Please consider my counteroffer.  It is my Best Price.  So it should be obvious to them that this is my price.  Then if they counter lower, I consider if I want to lose another 10% or so; sometimes I am willing if they come close to my price.  If their offer is still too low, I counter again at my same 20% off Best Price so they can either take it or leave it.  It can go either way.  If they continue to low ball, I decline. 

Occasionally I will accept less than 20% on a first offer.  I did so yesterday with an item that I thought might take a long time to sell.  I was willing to make a 35% discount rather than waiting around.  This is actually one of the things I like about Best Price:  it gives me some options as a seller.

Others have different (and probably better) ways of handling Best Price Offers but this works for me.

[turquoisetulips]

I get that all of the time . I make and sell themed jewelry on e bay , always set at '' buy it now '' or best offer , and  I  always give  free shipping . Like you,, I watch and see what other sellers are asking  for stuff like mine  but also what they've actually sold for . Using the advanced search option can be very helpful in determining what buyers are willing to pay. I think my prices are fair considering the work I do and for the cost of the materials . Some of my buyers have mentioned my good prices in my feedback  so I guess I'm on the right track. However there are ALWAYS going to be people looking to make a fast buck  by making you an extremely low offer  , hoping you'll take it,, so they can turn it around for resale . I don't care what my buyers do with their items  after they  buy them , but I inist on a fair price . I'm always willing to come down a little ,, but lately I've been getting low offers that would barely cover the shipping of 2.61 . that I pay for them.  The other day a buyer tried to offer me 3 dollars for a necklace I had priced at  12. 50 . I don't know what these people are thinking but whatever it is seems to be based on greed and selfishness . Furthermore its a bit insulting to receive such a low offer on  jewelry that I've made myself . I know were not supposed to ,, but at times I get a little miffed with these people and respond with LOL , offer declined .

[southernfriedbelle]

I agree, @turquoisetulips. Your  items are wonderfully unique and exceptionally fair priced. I can hardly believe someone would offer you less than your asking price, but unfortunately, their are those buyers in the world that seem to want something for nothing. I like your approach to the lowballers. It DOES help to retain a sense of humor! 😄

[southernfriedbelle]

Great answer, @zzydny! It's very important  to approach each situation with careful consideration of all factors involved, and not just have a blanket, one size fits all policy. And, as you stated, doing due diligence in researching the potential buyer is also a must!

[klassic*kids]

I very rarely set up my bins with a bo.  It seems to work for many people, but it just doesn't work for me.  However, I still will get unsolicited emails from people making an offer anyway.  Sometimes it's 50% or more off my asking price + they want free shipping.  Some offers are just absurd.  Then occasionally I will get a reasonable offer and it may be something I am ready to move so I will tell them I accept their terms and I change the price on the listing just for them.  This has worked well in the past.  But I just can't be bothered with setting up a bo on my listings.

[zzydny]

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@klassic*kids wrote:

.....But I just can't be bothered with setting up a bo on my listings.

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That's a sensible thing to do to save time and extra work.  Most of my BIN items are just BIN.  But there are some items that I do elect to have as Best Offer because I think it that it gives them a better chance to sell faster.  I make the Best Offer decision on an item by item basis unless it's a store category (like with Bandanas and Magazines) where I know my price is set.

[phcd1]

I accepted MANY offers at 50% or more then what I was asking (and was happy), that's why I had BO turned on, to get offers. After all, if you get an offer, no matter how low, you know have a potential buyer. Now all you have to do is figure out how much they are willing to pay.

Most sellers are lazy, thinking they will get an offer close to their asking price. If you don't want to deal with low ball offers (I do), simply set auto decline for whatever you're not willing to take.

[sg51]

 I more often than not receive offers of half or less than half of my buy it now price. 

As a buyer, I find it annoying that seller would put "best offer" on a listing and then reject a 75% offer.   I assume sellers understand this, but use a strategy which includes such annoyance, because they believe it yields maximum profit.

In the end analysis, it's my problem to control my annoyance, and to focus on intellectual business behavior.   Someone else's annoyance may or may not be playable as a profit generating strategy.  My own annnoyance is always a distraction.

[lex-talon]

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@stingking wrote:

Curious how other sellers deal with consistent low offers. Typically when I list an item I research what similar items have recently sold for and price my item at a price at and very often lower than that similar sold price. I more often than not receive offers of half or less than half of my buy it now price. 

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Sometimes I receive low-ball offers and other times a buyer will just purchase the item without haggling about the price.

 As mentioned before, use auto accept and auto decline. Fixed price listings are the way to go to eliminate low-ball offers, but buyers will still ask to lower the price. Yesterday, I received the 100 free fixed price or auction promo. Haven't received a promo in such a long time. Thanks ebay.

[klassic*kids]

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@zzydny wrote:

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@klassic*kids wrote:

.....But I just can't be bothered with setting up a bo on my listings.

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That's a sensible thing to do to save time and extra work.  Most of my BIN items are just BIN.  But there are some items that I do elect to have as Best Offer because I think it that it gives them a better chance to sell faster.  I make the Best Offer decision on an item by item basis unless it's a store category (like with Bandanas and Magazines) where I know my price is set.

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The OP didn't have a store so I didn't mention it, but I notice you do have a store -- that said, instead of bo's I set up a mm sale for items I want to move fast.  These sales have worked rather well for me.  I've tried bo's in the past, but just wasn't happy with it.  On a rare occasion where I don't know how to price something I will do a bin with bo instead of an auction.  Just so many options!

[zzydny]

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@klassic*kids wrote:

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@zzydny wrote:

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@klassic*kids wrote:

.....But I just can't be bothered with setting up a bo on my listings.

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That's a sensible thing to do to save time and extra work.  Most of my BIN items are just BIN.  But there are some items that I do elect to have as Best Offer because I think it that it gives them a better chance to sell faster.  I make the Best Offer decision on an item by item basis unless it's a store category (like with Bandanas and Magazines) where I know my price is set.

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The OP didn't have a store so I didn't mention it, but I notice you do have a store -- that said, instead of bo's I set up a mm sale for items I want to move fast.  These sales have worked rather well for me.  I've tried bo's in the past, but just wasn't happy with it.  On a rare occasion where I don't know how to price something I will do a bin with bo instead of an auction.  Just so many options!

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That's good thinking, too.  I've got some stuff that I'd like to move on out of there--having a sale seems like a great idea.  I've never had much success with auctions, unless it was a higher-priced item like a clock or a sewing machine.  Mostly these days, I do best with lower-priced BIN items that I can ship First Class in an envelope--those account for about 90% of my sales but they aren't Best Price items.  When I offer Best Price, it tends to be on items that will probably ship in a box and that have a value of $15 or more.

Really love to hear how other people get stuff done and what works for them.  I guess we all develop policies over time in such a way that we may not even realize that's what we are doing--that's why I like threads like this one; it's another way of assessing whether what you're doing is working.  And it makes me realize that my way is working well enough but that there's always room for improvement.