When someone sends me a Best Offer that’s so low it’s insulting, it makes me want to...

[momcqueen]

... reply with a Counter Offer that’s higher than the actual asking price but that’s prohibited by an eBay error.

Boo.

Where’d that Auto-Decline button go? I thought I had it enabled....

Item is $68 on Markdown at present. Offer came in at $7. Should I counter at seven dollars less than original price? Or ignore? Straight decline?

So many choices, none of them as satisfactory as sticking a wet finger in their ear for their time and trouble.

[momcqueen]

See, as a seller, when I get notice of a Best Offer Received, the message includes helpful tips such as ‘Your first offer’ and ‘Only 10 people watching this’ and ‘Offer XX less than asking price’ or ‘Offer XX more than other offer’ so shouldn’t eBay REMIND buyers not to submit offers that are 90 per cent less than the original asking price without some kind of editorial word of caution? Like, to remind them not to send stupid offers?

[momcqueen]

Anything less than 50 per cent should trigger an auto-check like, “Are you sure you want to submit an offer this low? Offers less than Xx of asking price are xx per cent more likely to be rejected and you have only five attempts to reach a deal.”

Please?!

[musicyouneed]

I hate best offer at the best of times.  I tried it a couple of times and the offers were ridiculous.  I had auto decline on but still the buyers who were auto declined sent me rude messages, like this:  "Good luck selling that for that price. I hope you get your sucker."   I didn't respond to that one.  

[mcrlmn]

Let it time out.

[a52split]

After you decline their offer, make sure you put them on your blocked bidder list.

[edubb101]

You could try the song and dance with them just to see where you both end up.  I have had this situation before and after a couple counter offers i did get close to my bottom line price. 

I think whats most frustrating about this is that you already have the item marked down. I'm always confused as to why a buyer tries to low ball when an item has already been discounted.

[ricarmic]

I just ignore ones like this.

That means that you've got at least a couple days peace cause they can't reply with more offers till it expires.

If they do send another after it expires, I come back with my lowest, then I resume ignoring them.

It has been a very long time since anyone sent a 2nd try for one that I let expire.

I did very recently have a guy trying to explain to me that his offer of 30% of the original price was very reasonable.

[sylviebee]

A touch of logic: 

momcqueen:

1)  You have stated repeatedly that you get personally offended when buyers present low offers.

2) It's inevitable that some buyers will make low offers (comes with the territory).

3) Therefore, momcqueen, you should not use the Best Offer function.  It's not suited to your temperament.

[momcqueen]

Thank you for offering that opinion. Allow me to counter that if my temperament was unduly sensitive, I would also not regular attend a Community forum such as this, lest another member offend me with their bold statements about my temperament. 

Ha ha haha. Hah. 

[rose-dee]

---

@momcqueenwrote:
Anything less than 50 per cent should trigger an auto-check like, “Are you sure you want to submit an offer this low? Offers less than Xx of asking price are xx per cent more likely to be rejected and you have only five attempts to reach a deal.”

Please?!

---

Yes, but from eBay's perspective, any sale is better than no sale, and a potential sale through an offer that is 10% of asking price is no skin off eBay's nose.  

For consideration, here's my approach toward ludicrously low offers (which I've probably mentioned before) -- let them sit until they nearly expire, then send a counter-offer for what your desired sale price might be, then let that sit until it expires.  You've now managed to extract several days of free marketing exposure out of the idiot who thought you'd sell for next to nothing. 

At worst, nothing will happen except perhaps a few interested buyers who might come by, see the "offer pending" notice on your listing and look around elsewhere in your store, possibly getting interested in some other item.  At best, someone who was watching the item (or possibly even the lowballer him/herself) might decide to make a realistic offer.  To my mind, from a buyer's point of view, any display of an offer pending translates as "desirable item".  This strategy only works of course as long as eBay doesn't display the actual amount of the offer. 

Using this method, I can not only happily ignore stupidly low offers and get on with my day, but feel I might actually get something out of it.  Stress and upset totally relieved, the seller has really nothing to lose.  As I've said in the past, my view is that a potential is better than nothing at all, especially since it costs me nothing and does me no harm to let these offers float out there.   I think: "Go ahead, offer me $10 on a $100 listing, I'll get $10 worth of free advertising out of you, and possibly a sale, thanks very much!"  (Then laughs out loud). 

[sylviebee]

momcqueen 

Observing that you get stressed over low offers isn't a bold statement.   You've said so numerous times.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

What I've starting doing when I receive an extremely "silly" offer, is check their feedback information and confirming if they have a history of their purchases being completed through best offer. Next, I check their feedback left for sellers to see how "friendly" it has been. Lots of negatives. Maybe they're just a difficult buyer that you can't please. Next confirm if possible if they are a seller. If they are, then usually they are purchasing for resale and the reason for the lowball offer. You can always include in your counter offer brief explanation for your price but that's your call. Sometimes people have a better understanding with an explanation. Alternative plan is a counter offer that includes hysterical laughing!!

-CM

[momcqueen]

Forgive me for being pedantic but 'insulted' is not 'stressed'. It means something entirely different. Both are unpleasant on the scale of emotional feedback but that is where the similarity ends. 

Used in a sentence: I might be stressed that you are picking my rear-end about being insulted by low Best Offers but I am not insulted that you are.

[sylviebee]

This morning I noticed a new option, at least to me.

It seems that it's now possible to list an item via auction and include a Best Offer option without also having a BIN price.

Maybe that's for shoppers who make offers and ask sellers to end items early, which is very common on eBay.

[momcqueen]

That’s interesting. The Seller Update spoke about Best Offer being added to more listings.

[femmefan1946]

@edubb101

I'm always confused as to why a buyer tries to low ball when an item has already been discounted.

I think it's because it has been discounted.

It says the seller is not sure of the value of the item.

[weaversofspeech]

I have never used Best Offer and would never use it.  I get enough people low balling offline and do not need it extended across North America

Occasionally  have people writing me during or after the item ends but does not work. I list my items for the least amount I am willing to take.  

my favorite offer on line was on an item I listed for $9.99 U.S. as an auction. After it was finished got a long email from some one  who started by saying "Now it's over and you have not sold it you must realize your starting price was way to high and you have no idea what you are doing. I will give you $2.99 U.S with free shipping" Then went on to say I needed to learn my business first before listing items on line and many other helpful hints

how not to try and negotiate a price

Wish I had copied that one and framed it for my wall

it's part of selling getting these things from time to time.   I don't get upset just keep a Bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol near the puter  cause they Hurt My Head

then I

"Smile and Wave,  Smile and Wave" as I am deleting them

course now I don't need those emails I get ebay with their suggested starting price suggestions for relisting items. They always suggest 99 cents no matter what price I have had on it

weavers

[momcqueen]

Yah. For the first four years I sold here, I was strongly anti-Best Offer for that reason alone. I think that sellers think Make an Offer says, "I'm flexible!" but buyers see it as, "I have no idea what value this item has, please tell me what it's worth to you" and ebay doesn't really care what amount is sells for so long as it sells so it's no skin off their backs. 

I added Best Offer about a year ago, a little less, in part to stimulate interest in items but also to give those folks who seem compelled to send me messages with UNSOLICITED best offers someplace instead to direct their energies. It takes less time to establish an auto-decline than it does to reply to a message and explain I'm not accepting offers and even if I were I could not accept that price because it's less than a third of what I paid et cetera.

Auto-Declines are not always the answer, either. Sometimes, I would accept a low offer from one party but not another, in circumstances like an offer coming from an American on an item where free domestic shipping was included in the price, or when a Canadian is making an offer on multiple items that include free shipping, I can accept a lower selling price for six items that ship together for the price of one, et cetera. 

I really do think ebay should caution buyers not to make stupid low offers though. It prevents an item from selling if the buyer is dense enough to use all their five offers on an item making overtures in 50-cent increments.

[momcqueen]

"Sometimes, I would accept a low offer from one party but not another..."

Allow me to clarify. I don't mean 'low offer' like lowball offer that is only 20 per cent of the listed price but rather lower offer from one party than another for the reasons specified. Those reasons might also include Local Pickups for Cash Payment, or special deal for a return customer. 

I have honestly gotten offers of like $2 on an item selling (not dream-price-asking but with an actual sales history to accompany it) for almost $200 CAD. For those, I am genuinely speechless.