eBay Best Offer - Why Do Sellers Use It?

[BG John]

Can anyone explain how eBay Best Offers are supposed to work? I don't buy many things where it's available, but I think there's some kind of divergence between my thoughts on it, and that of sellers!

 

I once bought something listed by a trader at £175, I offered £150, and it was immediately accepted. I know someone else tried £140, that was rejected, but he had £150 accepted. I was pleasantly surprised, as I expected rejection or a counter offer. But this is a rare exception.

 

I've tried it a few times with private and business sellers, where I've been ignored, rejected, had a counter offer of the full price but the seller will include things that were offered in the listing anyway, and a response that the price has already been reduced and they can't cut it further!

 

I've just made an offer of £130 on something listed at £159.90. I wasn't expecting it to be accepted, but was looking to do no better than split the difference, say between £145 and £150. The counter offer I received is £159! This thing is being offered by a number of different sellers, many at the same price, and with Best Offer offered. They each have quite a number available. I suspect they're mostly the same seller operating under a variety of names, or are connected, as they're Chinese and selling it from UK stock.

 

It seems pointless having a Best Offer if the seller won't knock off something worthwhile, so why do they do it? Surely they should be willing to knock around a tenner off a £160 item. Or am I supposed to spend days haggling. I can't be bothered to keep upping my offer 90p at a time!

[28XX]

This is definitely one for EBay addicted sad people. I tend to steer clear of sellers indulging in this nonsense. Similarly, low start auction items with a reserve equal to the Buy it Now price. Why?

[Guest]

As a seller, I sometimes use "Best Offer" if I don't want a particular item hanging around unsold forever. I set a Buy It Now price that I think is reasonable, but set the listing up to automatically accept a Best Offer around 10% off. Ebay auto-rejects any offer below that. What surprises me more than anything is that in 90% of cases, the item sells for the Buy it Now price without anyone even bothering to try an offer! I do agree though that there's little point in a seller providing a Best Offer facility if there's only a few pence or a pound on offer.

Edited November 14, 2017 by Pete 75C

[BG John]

What surprise me more than anything is that in 90% of cases, the item sells for the Buy it Now price without anyone even bothering to try an offer!

It seems bad manners to me not to make an offer if someone has gone to the trouble of setting it up! Some traders offer it on things priced at a couple of quid, where I can't be bothered to mess about though.

[BG John]

This is definitely one for EBay addicted sad people. I tend to steer clear of sellers indulging in this nonsense. Similarly, low start auction items with a reserve equal to the Buy it Now price. Why?

I thought haggling was normal practice in much of the world. Surely it's the British reluctance to do it that's sad .

[Guest]

Some traders offer it on things priced at a couple of quid, where I can't be bothered to mess about though.

 

Yeah, totally agree. £1.99 is £1.99, what's the point accepting offers over £1.95? In my case, I wouldn't use it for anything I'm selling below, say, £50-£100, in which case the 10% is often worth it for the buyer.

[BG John]

Yeah, totally agree. £1.99 is £1.99, what's the point accepting offers over £1.95? In my case, I wouldn't use it for anything I'm selling below, say, £50-£100, in which case the 10% is often worth it for the buyer.

Which is the maximum I was hoping for. Even a fiver. But 0.56%!

 

Despite the number of listings, I'll probably get the same response from others, and it will take days to work my way through them all in the hope of getting a sensible offer. I'm actually quite happy with the full price, as the alternative is to pay less for one direct from China but get clobbered for VAT and import charges, and wait weeks for it.

 

The big decision seems to be whether I accept this offer, try to knock it down a few more pence, or show my disgust by buying at full price from someone else (who may well be the same seller!) .

[PaulRhB]

I've used it a few times if no sale after a couple of weeks but lots watching. If you put something on at a decent price and someone doesn't want to risk losing it in the time it takes to respond then they use BIN. You do get some real chancers but it's a hook like discount labels in shops for some so if it works for shops why not use the technique that works to sell your item? By getting even a few quid off they feel they've got a bargain.

[forest2807]

I use it on some of my listings but I factor in the Ebay fees to calculate how much of a reduced price I am willing to accept for an item. I try to use the promotional periods to bulk list items (when Ebay incentives listings by offering a 'sell for only £1' rather than the usual 10%). When I know I am only going to be charged £1 for selling a high value item I am much more likely to accept a slightly lower offer for that item.

[Andrew F]

I think when you list a BIN item the "Or best offer" bit comes on your listing by default and you have to remove this option or it did last time I sold something this way. Maybe the people who counter offer you the same BIN price just aren't aware that the best offer bit needs deleting from the listing.

[BG John]

I think when you list a BIN item the "Or best offer" bit comes on your listing by default and you have to remove this option or it did last time I sold something this way. Maybe the people who counter offer you the same BIN price just aren't aware that the best offer bit needs deleting from the listing.

I suspect that happened on one or two private sales I tried it on, but on a whole string of business sales of the same product by what appear to be different sellers, but probably aren't, all of whom offered quantities in double figures? You'd think they may have noticed!

 

Anyway, I couldn't be bothered with arguing, so I ordered one with the massive 90p reduction. As I know it's likely some parts may be a bit substandard, and it's probable that it will need upgrading, I'll just give the seller a harder time with any parts I find fault with, than I would if I'd got a good reduction!

[Spitfire2865]

Ive thrown offers to sellers where I wanted two or so of something they offered, figuring one sale of x moneys or two sales of X moneys.  Have gotten upwards of 30% on some things.  

I think the option is good if the seller wants to play, but if they are going to be stiff on their price, there is no point.  

Ive been to yard sales where the guy there was damn near unwilling to cooperate at all.  Makes you not want the item at all in those cases.

[John M Upton]

I mad the mistake this weekend of putting a few items on with Best Offers on them and quite frankly am astounded at the liquid waste matter extractors that suddenly emerged from the woodwork.

 

Won't be doing that again in a hurry.....

[Colin_McLeod]

If an item is something you need/want and is reasonably priced and you put in an offer, there is a chance that before the buyer reads about your offer someone else could buy the item at the BIN price and you miss out the opportunity to buy.

[Guest teacupteacup]

I saw an item I was after listed at 10.95 or best off, so I put in an offer of 10, saying I would by 2 at 10 each.

 

The seller counter offered with 10.90.  This went on to the max offers and their lowest being 10.80 each

 

Needless to say they didnt get my business and I went elsewhere (for £10.75 each!)

[Colin_McLeod]

All that to save 40p! The OP has a valid point. Why bother with best offer if the difference is minimal?

[forest2807]

Perhaps people have an absolute minimum price in mind in order to break even/make a small profit after Ebay/PayPal fees and postage has been taken into account?

[big jim]

I’ve just bought some doors off eBay that were listed at £1099 or best offer, I emailed the seller to ask a few questions about it such as postage cost and exact size and tentatively asked would he accept £1000 which he said he would, once I decided I would have them a couple of days later I put in an offer of £999.99 (as his postage was 1p on the listing) and it was instantly rejected, I then went in again at £1000 and it was accepted

 

I’m happy the listing had the best offer option as I saved myself the £100, there’s just that worry as others have pointed out that the time it takes for the buyer to accept someone may come in and BIN or offer more

[Oldddudders]

I’ve just bought some doors off eBay that were listed at £1099 or best offer,

 

Sheesh - that's some classy model you are building there, Jim!

[big jim]

Sheesh - that's some classy model you are building there, Jim!

Indirectly they are model railway related, they are bi-fold doors for the garage conversion that’s going to house a new layout!

[brianusa]

Most of my Ebaying is done overseas and I at least try and get the postage off or reduced on major purchases.  Always seem to work and as postage cost is rapidly getting an obstacle in whether to buy, anything off is welcome.

 

Brian.

[Sir TophamHatt]

I've bought and sold with best offers before.

 

My problem is that I'm not really into continuing the little game of back and forth, but I don't know if the other person is.

 

If something is £50 with best offer, I may offer something like £40.  I'd be happy to pay perhaps £45, but don't want to go in at that as the seller may go down to £49.

 

Perhaps I'll try adding a note saying this is my best offer and go in with the actual best offer.

 

But then I struggle with people who put prices at what they think it's worth, not particularly what it's actually worth.  I deal a fair amount in certain Thomas the Tank Engine toys, so know the rare ones, know the ones that are fairly popular.  But then I've seen some of the supposedly rare ones go for £120, even when they're not that rare.

Edited February 5, 2018 by anotheruser

[John M Upton]

I did try and make a best offer a while back on a item that was £20.95 so I thought try a nice round £20.  The counter offer was....  £20.90!!!

 

I had a Best Offer on an item I was selling which I had listed a little over optimistically at £20.00 and was offered £10.00.  I countered with a reasonable split the difference £15.00 but the buyer immediately recountered with £10.00 again and a little note that said that was all they could afford, pretty please, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

 

I was feeling generous and accepted the £10.00.  Later I discovered the buyer was a dealer who immediately broke up the item and sold the parts on for way more than he paid for it.

 

In future I shall be taking a careful look at buyers profiles etc before accepting any more offers.

[Quarryscapes]

It's usually automatically turned on when you list, if you forget to turn it off you end up with lots of best offer listings. The best thing eBay did with it was add the auto reject criteria, saves a lot of hassle from lowballers. Another way it can be used is to gauge value - set something up at x price and see what you get offered.  

[njee20]

Yep, mine defaults to on, occasionally I’ll reject offers and apologise that I’m in no hurry, usually I’ll counter, most people go for it, everyone’s happy.