Under TASKS: Listings eligible to send offers. How do these appear??

[murphcrud]

Under my Seller Hub, I see TASKS as a sub heading.  

I see another sub heading under that which states:  Listings eligible to send offers

How do these appear under this heading?  I think they must be on someones 'watch' list.  Is this correct?  If so, how long will these appear on this listing before they are removed by eBay.  At the same time, if my assumptions are correct, how soon will they first appear if someone is watching my listing?

Thanks for any and all info

[murphcrud]

I should have mentioned, I have 5 listings that are being watched.  (??)

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@murphcrud wrote:

Under my Seller Hub, I see TASKS as a sub heading.  

I see another sub heading under that which states:  Listings eligible to send offers

How do these appear under this heading?  I think they must be on someones 'watch' list.  Is this correct?  If so, how long will these appear on this listing before they are removed by eBay.  At the same time, if my assumptions are correct, how soon will they first appear if someone is watching my listing?

Thanks for any and all info

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@murphcrud 

Originally it was any buyer that added an item to their watchlist. They had to have settings turned on to receive mail from eBay. Recently it has become even a driveby view will give you the option to send an offer. I have noticed this any time I have been researching something (without adding to my watch list) out of the blue I will receive an offer for that item.

For Canadian listings the offer time is 48 hours or less if the item is on either an auction (with best offer attached) or BIN and the item is about to end. I believe buyers can receive an offer, let it expire and then remove from watch list and re-add. That will cause the listing to be available again for you to send a best offer. I haven't confirmed this but US sellers have the option to choose the length of time for offers. Either 48 or 24 hours. It's max. 48 hours on ca. Hope that gives you a bit of an idea what is in play?

-Lotz

PS. They will most likely disappear from your options to send once the item ends and relists. Also of note, offers only remain in history while they are active (Hub Page). If you know the listing involved you can go in after the fact a view history. You will only see the buyer info if they send an offer to you. Not when you send 1 to a buyer. The only way to tell if you have a recurring buyer trying to get best offers is if you look in history and view the user notes. The feedback # or the name letters combination can be the giveaway.

A quirk of sending offers, immediately after sending an offer to a buyer either randomly or when you send a counter it states the buyer is considering the offer. Somehow this is a bit doubtful. Similar to sending a letter to a person and them reading it before it arrives. 😀

[ilikehockeyjerseys · Accepted solution]

When someone engages with your listing but does not buy it, they might become eligible to receive an offer. Watching it or adding it to their cart are two ways this happens. 

If you want to buy something and you don't think it's a hot item, it's always a good idea to add it to your watch list and wait a day. You might get an offer. If you don't, you can still buy it now. I suspect that a chunk of buyers do this now that the feature is more well known. 

Because of the above, I would consider waiting a day or so before sending an offer. It's a good idea to always send offers, because it does work to engage customers and drive sales. Anything that gets a potential buyer to look at your listing an additional time has a chance to break through and craete a sale. 

[murphcrud]

How soon do you think it would appear on my "eligible listing to send an offer" list after it is added to someone's watch list?  I received a message from an ebay member who advised that he added an item to his watch list yesterday and, like you stated, he hoped that I might send him an offer.  As it is, I do not see his watched item in my eligible list.  So it appears to me that it is a 'hit and miss' with this scenerio.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@murphcrud wrote:

How soon do you think it would appear on my "eligible listing to send an offer" list after it is added to someone's watch list?  I received a message from an ebay member who advised that he added an item to his watch list yesterday and, like you stated, he hoped that I might send him an offer.  As it is, I do not see his watched item in my eligible list.  So it appears to me that it is a 'hit and miss' with this scenerio.

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@murphcrud 

They may need to check their setting to confirm they have eBay mail turned on or off. Their are situations where ad blockers can block mail like this also.

-Lotz

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

You could just enable the 'Best Offer' and instruct them to send you an offer. If they really insist on you making them an opening offer, and you're okay with that - You can set the 'Auto Accept' at whatever you would have sent them. So if you normally offer 10 percent off and the item is $100, you can set auto accept to $90 and instruct them to offer you $90 through the listing. 

"As a courtesy, I usually send eligible buyers an offer for (y) percent off my listings. If you do not see the offer, feel free to send me an offer of (x) through the Best Offer button in the listing, and it will automatically be accepted."

[femmefan1946]

Watched items could have been added months ago.

Views are within the last 30 days.

If you send an Offer, it may be worth your while to add a Note about the date and the amount,so that you don't repeatedly Offer a discount to someone who is trolling for bargains or who is just Watching as a competitor.

[murphcrud]

I don't believe that you are correct about stating that watched items 'could have been added months ago' as they do disappear when the listing ends on the 30 day renewal period.

I do believe that you are correct when you state that a number of watches are 'Watching as a competitor' to see how seller is making out with an item.  So it is difficult to say what the reason is for anyone who is watching an item.  I tend to low ball any offer that I send to these watchers with an added note to the affect of 'if you are truly interested, make an offer'.  That reply usually goes unanswered, so we have a pretty good idea what their motive is.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

I think a buyer is only eligible to receive one offer. 

You can disable counteroffers if you don't want to deal with lowballers. With that said, lowballers are good for your listings. You might get annoyed at a buyer who asks for a 90 percent discount and then sends 5 straight offers that go up by 25 cents each, as if you are going to change your mind - but buyers engaging with your listings usually gives the listing a higher placement in the default 'Best Match' search, which can lead to it being seen by more people and an eventual sale. In a way, lowballers unintentionally help you market your item. 

An underrated aspect of the 'Send Offer' feature is the message. Assuming you charge for shipping but also offer combined or discounted shipping, you can add a message that could entice the buyer to view your eBay store to save even more on combined shipping. Or, you could use the message to direct them to your eBay store where they can find more of whatever you're selling. Even if this works 1/50 times, there is no harm in doing it, and it can turn a buyer who would have bought one item into a buyer who will buy multiple items.

[femmefan1946]

@murphcrud 

A Watcher who watches for five years is still a Watcher. Why would they be removed from the seller's List?

@ilikehockeyjerseys 

Or you can set your counteroffers to automatically reject lowball offers. The customer gets a letter that must be polite enough that I sometimes see that they have made two or three Offers before hitting my , also automatic, acceptable Offer.

I hadn't thought about the Message part of the Send Offer. Thank you for reminding me.