Regarding the Best Offer Beta System (which I hate!!!): I had a seller who was jerking me around

[zittz]

with offers on a number of items.  Some I had accepted--several I declined.  Then a day went by and there was nothing with no communication and no payment.

So I cancelled the listings on which I had accepted offers and relisted at the pre-offer price.  Is this legitimate?  It seems that while this offer process is going on, I am at the buyer's mercy.  But that move got me off the hook and I am no longer waiting around for a response.  (Not only was I able to cancel the listing but I was also able to make changes to it while the offer process was going on.)

What happened to buyers being committed to follow through on a sale?  This beta best offer system throws that out the window.  Is this the first step in seeing the end of buyers being committed to follow through on a sale?     

[greekdrama]

Is that what's happening?  We have offers but I can't respond to them.    What gives?

[zittz]

This is just stupid!  Every time I ask a question or make a comment on this Best Offer beta system, it gets thrown back to the community.  

1.  Not everyone in the community is affected by it.

2.  By and large, the community is not very knowlegable about the system.

3.  Some in the community are just discovering the ramifications of it.

4.  Most don't really care.

5.  I have yet to find one person who is benefitting from it.

[pierrelebel]

If you want to communicate with the staff at eBay.ca, go to:

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Weekly-Board-Hour-Session/October-2nd-Weekly-Board-Hour/m-p/150999#U1509...

They host a one hour session every Wednesday.

[zittz]

I posted the question, Pierre and it got moved off the list and into the seller' board.  One of the reason why I get so frutrated about it.

[pierrelebel]

I understand the frustration.

Unfortunately, the system does not allow members to post questions on the "weekly hour" board.  The posts are removed and moved somewhere else - as happened to yours.

To post the question to eBay.ca staffer, it must be done within the specific weekly thread, during the allocated time.

Too late for today.  That thread closed - as it does every Wednesday - at 2:00pm (Eastern).

You can wait until next Wednesday - or hope someone at eBay sees your posts and decides to answer it - or contact kalvin@ebay.com directly with your questions/inquiries/comments.

[zittz]

I posted another question during the "allocated time" aking if you can legitimately cancel a listing while there is a pending offer and that question just disappeared. 

[pierrelebel]

The question must be asked within the specific one hour thread, not on the "weekly hour" board.

I wish eBay would make it clearer for all.

[recped]

5.  I have yet to find one person who is benefitting from it.

Did you ever accept an offer and then the buyer never paid?

From reading the boards over the years it seems this was not an uncommon situation. Non payment has always been a major thorn for many sellers, they complain a lot about it so eBay has made it so this cannot happen with Best Offer anymore.

Until the buyer pays they can't actually buy and this allows another buyer who DOES pay to snag the item. No matter what happens the seller doesn't lose.

Seller can also now accept multiple offers from multiple buyers if they wish, the fastest buyer wins the item. In the past if you accepted an offer you would have to wait for days to see if you got paid before you could accept another offer or have the item bought at the listed price.

[zittz]

Yes--I have had several people who have not paid after they made an offer and I accepted their offer over the 4 + years I have been selling.  With one or two, I was able to negiotiate payment 2 - 3  weeks down the road because the buyer realized they had made a commitment and they were living up to it.  

With one or two others, we went through the process of cancelling the sale.  

And with one, I launched an unpaid item dispute and they had an unpaid strike on their record. 

With this system, people can go around making offer, after offer, after offer, after offer, and even though I accept their offers, they can just walk away.  I don't know if they are going to pay or not.  And they never get an unpaid strike for doing this.

After they make their offer and I accept their offer, it doesn't make sense that it goes back to them to accept that I have accepted their offer.  I have limited ability to communicate with them while this is going on and  I cannot send them an invoice.  

I should be able to opt out of the program if I wish.

[zittz]

Something else that I have noted is that people have not acted on accepted offers 4 times with me in the past two months.   And had to put 3 people on my BBL.  

That would be in comparison to the half dozen times that I have had to deal with unpaid items over four years.  

My items are not cheap and attract  less than a half dozen interested parties per item and usually only one or two.  

Auction style does not work.  So I am left with the inflexible Buy It Now and possibly noting in the listing that I am open to negotiating a sale price.   

[recped]

Auto-accept & Auto-decline then you never have to deal with offers unless they are actual paid for sales.

[zittz]

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

ebay ended the Best Offer Beta program.