eBay Best Offer - Why Do Sellers Use It?

[rab]

Are there bids? I thought you can only offer until there are bids.

Yep you're right. Just checked a few listings I've been watching and all those that have no bids show the 'make offer' button. Makes sense when you think about it, no point in making an offer below the starting price if someone has already bid that price. Another lesson learned in ebayology.

[hayfield]

Initially I was not that interested in this facility. I have now used it several times as a buyer, a couple of times successfully, may be I have run the risk of paying too much to secure it early. But then I may have got it cheaper  than bidding with others at the end of an auction

 

Still time out using it as a seller, my thought process usually is what's the minimum price I am happy to accept, And find if I am not too greedy I get several bids (usually right at the end). Perhaps if I have an item which does not sell then using this facility may be of use

[hayfield]

You can as a seller automatically decline offers under a limit you set.

[hayfield]

I just bought something marked up at £20 (free postage) offer of £18 accepted, brand new items with a MRRP of £36 and items which are not usually discounted. I think if you  include this you are encouraging offers, as I was in the market for these and discounted already I thought a modest reduction would get the right response.

 

I guess if you want £15, sell it at £20 and invite offers, you never know you might get the £20

 

Must admit warming to the facility as a buyer, step too far at the moment as a seller

[hayfield]

That's the risk of an auction, the market finds an items value on the day, Not to say on another day it would fetch more. Quite a few times I have had an item not sell on eBay, then relisted it and sold it the next week sometimes with two or more bids. Once I received a message offering me what I thought was a derisory bid if the item did not sell, it did not so I relisted it at a higher price and it sold.

 

As for "Make an Offer" I have made an offers close to the opening price I seem to get them accepted, on the other hand when I put in a cheeky bid quite often they are declined

 

A couple of times watching homes under the hammer at least twice people have won properties at auction below offers they made to the owners prior to the property going to auction, again showing on the day values may not be as high as some hope for

[njee20]

Part of the confusion with Best Offer on auction items seems to be the interpretation of its use. eBay see it as a formalisation of the "how much do you want to end the auction early?" which still means that they get their cut, the relevant protections are in place etc etc. A lot of buyers seem to think it can be used as a "this item has no bids, so I'll offer less than the starting price", which is likely to yield a lot of rejections.

 

On Buy Now it just seems common sense to include it, and unless you're worried an item will suddenly sell then you may as well use it as a buyer too. 

[Spitfire2865]

Sellers ARE able to select at what minimum price offers can be given.

However I find it more and more people will not respond to counteroffers once they submit an honestly stupid price.  If you cant be bothered to reject, thats a block from me. 

 

I just yesterday had an offer on an item listed as auction with a $18 starting price.  I get an offer for $10, I counter with $16, and am ignored.  

Later in the day, it sells for the opening bid by someone else.  

[hayfield]

Sounds like either you initially set the wrong price, or set it low just to act as what they call in the auction rooms "a come and get me price" to gain lots of interest, hopefully obtaining a much higher price. If the latter having a make me an offer was the wrong decision.

 

For me other than things I just do not want, I set the opening price as the minimum price I am willing to accept, normally folk will offer a lower price, on the other hand I see the case for offering more than the opening price if its something rare and you want and its rare or hard to get

[petethemole]

I've been selling a lot of stuff from my collections and library since last summer, having previously just been a buyer. On a lot of listings Ebay put Best Offer as a default setting, at half the start price minimum. I was mostly getting offers lower than the price I was after. Now I make a point of not allowing offers on most listings, as I start them at the minimum I'm prepared to sell at. Thus if I only get one bid I'm happy. Some items I'm not sure  what to ask so I start at a price I hope to get, but allow offers above the minimum I'm prepared to accept. I have to watch relistings as sometimes the default setting is re-applied and I have to take it off again.

[Gwiwer]

As a buyer I use Best Offer when purchasing multiple single items from one seller at the same time usually on Buy It Now prices.  

 

Example : I want three items listed singly at £15, £20 and £25 making a total of £60.  I make a "best offer" on the most expensive one of £20 to see if the seller has any flexibility.  Given that I am already offering to buy three items which can go into one parcel there is often some leeway.  My best offer has usually been accepted.

 

As a seller I can see that it has the option to offer that leeway.  I can decline any offer.  If the buyer offers me £70 for an item listed at £100 I am unlikely to accept.  If they offer £90 I might seriously consider it as a sale is a sale and I might not get the full £100.  If the buyer is offering to buy several items together again I am likely to view a sensible best offer on one item favourably.  Better to have three sales assured ant take a small cut in margin than risk all three sales being lost.

 

It isn't for everyone.  It isn't relevant for all items.  But in many cases Best Offer can work to the advantage of both buyers and sellers.

[Andymsa]

 A few items I have been watching recently have been unrealistically priced and I made an offer to take the whole lot of these items but my offer was rejected. And no has brought them yet. So even when using best offer the seller sometimes is not that flexible if they have high expectations of what an item is worth.

[Sir TophamHatt]

Interestingly, I listed an item yesterday that said I might be charged 35p if I didn't include "or best offer".

Although it didn't say either way, whether I would or would not be charged, so I added it but set it to automatically reject offers that were more than 50p less the auction start price.  Stupid.

 

I completely lothe ebay but I only use it for the reach of people.

Yet I'm finding more and more people will buy through Facebook, which is less complicated and has less restrictions.

Edited April 29, 2019 by Sir TophamHatt

[Andymsa]

Recently I found you can't make offers below the starting price. So why do sellers put the offer button and then set the minimum offer price as the starting price.

[hayfield]

54 minutes ago, Andymsa said:

Recently I found you can't make offers below the starting price. So why do sellers put the offer button and then set the minimum offer price as the starting price.

 

 

Whilst it must be frustrating for those wanting something cheap, I assume they have started the bidding at what some would call a come and get me in the hope of attracting a bidding war, Recently on a couple of items I put in offers of 50% above the starting price, both were declined and I believe sold for higher amounts

 

On the other hand on another occasion I put in a bid which was declined and won it at a lower price at the end of the auction

 

It is human nature to value something you own at a price higher than its worth, though often others have no idea of somethings real value, or how to present an item to achieve a maximum return

 

I have just bought something for £200 which had an original price of £150 on it. The same kit now costs over £200 and there were the additional items required to finish the kit which would have cost me over £100. The starting price was well below £100 and there were a few of us bidding 

[JohnR]

I've just had a bid rejected. Yes, the starting price might have been low, but there are zero bids on it with just a few hours to go. Its probably not going to sell. It wasnt a cheeky offer - 10% under the starting price. Rejected. 

 

I might place a bid of just the starting price to secure the item, but I might not.Seller stuck with the item, hassle of relisting etc. 

[petethemole]

You can make offers below the starting price, as I have sold items for such offers. I don't use Best Offer much, but I set it at the minimum I'm prepared to take, whereas the starting price is nearer what I hope to get. Relistings are automatic for 8 weeks but I have to check and revise them as Best Offer is often applied automatically by the system to some items I don't want it on, at 50% of the starting price.

[njee20]

45 minutes ago, JohnR said:

I've just had a bid rejected. Yes, the starting price might have been low, but there are zero bids on it with just a few hours to go. Its probably not going to sell. It wasnt a cheeky offer - 10% under the starting price. Rejected. 

 

I might place a bid of just the starting price to secure the item, but I might not.Seller stuck with the item, hassle of relisting etc. 

See my point on the previous page - the point of "make an offer" is about offering something to end the auction early (ie I think it'll end up at x, so I'll just give you that now), it's not designed as a "I don't think your item will sell so I'll offer you less than the starting price". You may occasionally get a seller who's desperate to sell and will go for it, but given most bids happen in the final 5 minutes I'd never accept an offer below the starting price.

[hayfield]

Not being a business or needing to sell items to fund a purchase this is the view I take. I list the items for the minimum amount I feel the item is worth, I take off the make an offer where I spot it has been automatically added, unless I want to invite offers

 

Once I had a message offering me 20% less for an item if it did not sell, I re-listed it at 20% more and it sold the next week (only one bidder so had I not got that cheeky offer I would have got less). If I have by accident allowed a buy it now to slip through, I always politely reply. Once as the chap made 3 offers I accepted the 3rd offer as he seemed quite genuine and even though it was slightly lower than I wanted, but thought it was going to someone who really wanted it. We both were happy

 

I am quite relaxed at letting something relist if it does not sell, as I have found providing its a realistic price someone will buy it within a few weeks. 

 

Just because I put in a bid on something, whether its lower or higher than the starting price I have no divine right to expect the offer to be accepted, or why should I take offence that my offer has been rejected ? Just put a bid in at the starting price (especially if your offer was higher) and wait and see, you might even get it lower than your offer !!! 

[JohnR]

I'm still of the opinion that if you dont want to receive (or solicit) offers of less than your asking price, dont use the "Best Offer" option. Or start your auctions at an artificially low price. 

[John M Upton]

Listing a non model railway item for the wife, put it on at £20 including the postage which will be over a fiver.

 

Decided to allow offers, get an offer for £14, I counter with £15, they recounter with £12!!!

 

Huh?!?

[Colin_McLeod]

John that sounds like a messer.

Edited July 11, 2019 by Colin_McLeod
typo

[tigerburnie]

I made an offer the other day one pound under the asking price and it was immediately rejected, seller clearly had no intention of taking a lower offer, the item failed to sell...………………………...ha ha

[hayfield]

2 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

I made an offer the other day one pound under the asking price and it was immediately rejected, seller clearly had no intention of taking a lower offer, the item failed to sell...………………………...ha ha

 

 

Why is it that buyers automatically think buy it now means offer less ? Why can't it mean make me an offer I cannot refuse ?

 

Don't forget some list items at a knockdown price to get buyers bidding against each other, he is obviously encouraging offers over the starting price.

 

I take the opposite view that I list items at the lowest amount I will accept, if someone wants to stop the auction early, then there must be a benefit to the seller in stopping it early

[dj_crisp]

In my opinion;

 

Buy it now or best offer Listing = accept lower offers or buy it now

Auction listing with best offer = accept a higher offer to end now or chance it and offer less when nearing the end if there are no bids.

 

I had a best offer the other day which i counted. My counter was rejected and the item eventually sold for double my counter. I think I'll probably not bother so much with best offer but I've had a few good offers that have been worth accepting.

 

 

[tigerburnie]

1 hour ago, hayfield said:

 

 

Why is it that buyers automatically think buy it now means offer less ? Why can't it mean make me an offer I cannot refuse ?

 

Don't forget some list items at a knockdown price to get buyers bidding against each other, he is obviously encouraging offers over the starting price.

 

I take the opposite view that I list items at the lowest amount I will accept, if someone wants to stop the auction early, then there must be a benefit to the seller in stopping it early

It was a buy it now or make an offer, what dim wit would offer more than the buy it now price.