Why do some sellers use the Best Offer option if they don't even want to lower more than a dollar??

[kawaii-in-pink]

Okay this is more of a rant than an actual question but I'm kind of tired of this because it's the second time this happens to me. 

A seller lists an item with a Best Offer option. Let's say the item is $20. I offer $15, then they offer $19. So I offer $16 or 17 and they decline. Why use the Best Offer if you're not even going to meet the buyer half-way? Are you kidding? One dollar?? Don't use the Best Offer option just for a dollar! That's insulting.

Okay I'm done. 🙂

Thoughts?

[ypdc_dennis]

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@kawaii-in-pink wrote:

A seller lists an item with a Best Offer option. Let's say the item is $20. I offer $15, then they offer $19. So I offer $16 or 17 and they decline. Why use the Best Offer if you're not even going to meet the buyer half-way? Are you kidding? One dollar?? Don't use the Best Offer option just for a dollar! That's insulting.

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First thought: On the listings I accept offers on, the amount I am willing to accept does vary depending on where it is going (Canada / USA / Int'l).

Second thought: The amount I'm willing to accept also tends to be softer the longer it is listed, or if I am in need of a bump to the cash flow. Just listed items tend to be firm.

Third and off topic thought: which anime is your image from??

-..-

[pocomocomputing]

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@kawaii-in-pink wrote:

Okay this is more of a rant than an actual question but I'm kind of tired of this because it's the second time this happens to me. 

A seller lists an item with a Best Offer option. Let's say the item is $20. I offer $15, then they offer $19. So I offer $16 or 17 and they decline. Why use the Best Offer if you're not even going to meet the buyer half-way? Are you kidding? One dollar?? Don't use the Best Offer option just for a dollar! That's insulting.

Okay I'm done. 🙂

Thoughts?

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As a seller, I would say "Are you kidding me, $16 up from $15 when I countered at $19!" I would decline and not waste my time. If you come back at $18, I would accept. It works both ways on best offer.

I would never use best offer because of this pointless price bargaining. I would have listed at $18 to start if that was my best price.

[kawaii-in-pink]

it's Willbell from the game Atelier Escha 🙂

[kawaii-in-pink]

I get you poco of course but why use the best offer in the first place if you're not willing to lower more than a dollar or two? it's a little pointless. If you want $20 for your item, just list it at $20 with a Buy it now. 

Personally I only use it on items that I'm willing to negociate at least 4-5$ off

But of course if the buyer is in Australia I probably wouldn't offer that big of a deal

[momcqueen]

Some sellers use Best Offer as a tactic rather than a strategy since one of the search filters is Show Only ---> Accepts Best Offer. 

[sylviebee]

I use the BO function a lot and I use it in various ways.

For higher priced items:  If I know that an item has sold for, say, $500 in the past, but I have a lot of wiggle room, I'll list it at $500 or BO.  Then, the amount I'll accept will vary depending on various factors.

I also use it for lower priced items that I'm close to donating to the Sally Annes.  For those items a dollar or two might matter.   Since my shipping charge is almost always less than my actual cost, I have to make sure I'm not paying to sell the item and that I'm making something for my time.

[momcqueen]

Very true. With many sellers, items are priced tight, and by that I mean within a few dollars of profit so a buck or two might make the difference between making one dollar or losing three. 

[recped]

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@kawaii-in-pink wrote:

Okay this is more of a rant than an actual question but I'm kind of tired of this because it's the second time this happens to me. 

A seller lists an item with a Best Offer option. Let's say the item is $20. I offer $15, then they offer $19. So I offer $16 or 17 and they decline. Why use the Best Offer if you're not even going to meet the buyer half-way? Are you kidding? One dollar?? Don't use the Best Offer option just for a dollar! That's insulting.

Okay I'm done. 🙂

Thoughts?

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There are quite a few sellers out there who use Best Offer as a way to vet buyers, they get the offer, they spend a ridiculous amount of time going over the buyers feedback profile and buying history and then decide they are scum and block them.

I'm sure I'm not alone, I never bother with listings that have Best Offer and I've only used it myself once or twice.

Still there are circumstances where it is appropriate so I'm not saying it should never be used but I'd rank it up there close to Reserves as something that is usually silly.

[i.am.vivian]

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@recped wrote:

There are quite a few sellers out there who use Best Offer as a way to vet buyers, they get the offer, they spend a ridiculous amount of time going over the buyers feedback profile and buying history and then decide they are scum and block them.

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LOL!!    TOO true!    😄   

[esclyons]

there are some buyers who only want to think they won, and sometimes 1$ will do it, then there are the bottom feeders, who think they can offer you less than half of fair value, so for those instances i will counter 1$ less than the asking price..

so it is a give and take, but i can honestly say now that i am Canada $$ only, i am getting some insulting offers, but i mark that up to the Americans not getting the dollar difference..

for example i have silver dollars listed at 21.99. and the silver value alone is 15.00$, and i get offers of 10.00$ from USA buyers, so i am sure they don't see the canada/usa dollar value correctly..

[momcqueen]

I think Best Offer is not ideal when dealing with a currency difference. It requires a buyer to do their own mental math and research to gain the correct rate of exchange. 

[i.am.vivian]

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@esclyons wrote:

there are some buyers who only want to think they won, and sometimes 1$ will do it, then there are the bottom feeders, who think they can offer you less than half of fair value, so for those instances i will counter 1$ less than the asking price..

so it is a give and take, but i can honestly say now that i am Canada $$ only, i am getting some insulting offers, but i mark that up to the Americans not getting the dollar difference..

for example i have silver dollars listed at 21.99. and the silver value alone is 15.00$, and i get offers of 10.00$ from USA buyers, so i am sure they don't see the canada/usa dollar value correctly..

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I agree completely, there is definately another side to the issue.  I thought the other poster said something very true but very funny.  

If you can't stand lowball offers just set a limit on your listings so that they are automatically rejected.  Work out the exchange thing yourself and set your prices accordingly.  Buyers should not be expected to do it to accommodate you.  

[zee-chan]

There are quite a few sellers out there who use Best Offer as a way to vet buyers, they get the offer, they spend a ridiculous amount of time going over the buyers feedback profile and buying history and then decide they are scum and block them.

Yup, that's me =P If I get a very low-ball offer (not even 50% of the listed price) I usually block them. If I see more than a few negatives given to sellers (and the sellers themselves have good feedbacks) I block them. It doesn't take a "ridiculous" amount of time though, maybe 3 minutes tops for one buyer.

I accept most reasonable offers for buyers who buy two or more books (because I save with combined shipping / time). But usually if the best offer made is around 90% of the listed price, I'll accept them depending on what the item is. 

[sylviebee]

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@recped wrote:

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There are quite a few sellers out there who use Best Offer as a way to vet buyers, they get the offer, they spend a ridiculous amount of time going over the buyers feedback profile and buying history and then decide they are scum and block them.

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Absolutely agree with that.  I think that eBay would do us all a favour if they no longer allowed the viewing of FB left for others.

[zee-chan]

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@sylviebee wrote:

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Absolutely agree with that.  I think that eBay would do us all a favour if they no longer allowed the viewing of FB left for others.

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Why would that be doing us a favour? I have blocked buyers who made a best offer, and upon viewing their history they left 20 feedbacks and 10 of them a negatives/neutrals... Do I want their business? Nope. Immediate decline and block.

On the other hand, I happily accept reasonable offers that shows FB left for others 100% positives, because I like buyers who won't give me troubles. I deal with enough people at work already. I do not want to waste energy on buyers who could give me potential headaches. 

[momcqueen]

Feedback Left for Others is the best indicator a seller has of whether another member is liable to be problematic.

[recped]

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@mjwl2006 wrote:
Feedback Left for Others is the best indicator a seller has of whether another member is liable to be problematic.

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I'd agree with that if sellers actually understood how to analyze feedback.

Just last week there was a post on the US boards "buyer leaves nothing but negs", everybody piled on and said "scammer", "block them", "don't do it" etc.

Turned out the poster was quite correct, the buyer in question left only negs, what they didn't seem to get was that they never leave positives either and more than 99% of purchases they left no feedback at all. The reality was actually a buyer who leaves negs for less than 1% of purchases.

Facts are facts, the average eBay seller has a trigger finger on their BBL and buyers who find themselves blocked for a reason that is impossible to figure out soon become ex eBay buyers.

I'm only guessing of course but I'd bet there is an inverse correlation between the complaints of slow sales and the size of a seller's BBL.

[momcqueen]

I've blocked buyers based on their Feedback Left for Others. And explained my reason for doing so when they contacted me to ask the reason they no longer were able to bid.

I do, however, closely analyze feedback for the reason you cited before blocking anyone.

My number one reason(s) to add someone to the Blocked Bidders lid is Unpaids or Cancel Order requests. Not Feedback Left for Others. Number Two reason is offensive unsolicited offers on items listed without Best Offer available. Number three would be feedback left.

[sylviebee]

IF eBay no longer allowed us to view FB left for others a number of things would likely follow:

1)  There would be more NFB.  Buyers are aware that sellers vet the FB they leave and sophisticated buyers with self-control don't leave NFB for that reason.  That doesn't mean they're not problem buyers.  It means that they're smart buyers.  

Even so, NFB would likely not be left for the posters to this board who tend to be pretty darned good at what they do.  It would be for your competition.  (Good for you.)

2)  You'd spend less time vetting buyers and stress levels would go down a little.  (Good for you.)

3)  Sales would increase.  (Good for you/eBay).

Yes, it's true that occasionally viewing FB left for others is helpful, but most of the time it just hinders the process and makes it more stressful.  (One less thing to worry about.)

In fact, at this point in the game FB in general no longer serves a purpose.  In the past it allowed buyers to avoid problem sellers.   However, we now have so many powerful protections in place that the importance of FB has waned to the point of pointlessness. 

Etsy is way ahead of eBay in this regard.