[Exhibitman]

I don't think there's any etiquette to the offer itself; make it for whatever you are willing to pay and the seller will either take it or not. The seller put up the best offer option because the sticker price wasn't the bottom line. That's a given.

I never get upset with an offer made via the Best Offer device (I set my auto-rejects at levels that weeds out the bottom-feeding nimrods), just with what happens after, and IMHO the etiquette comes in when the offer is rejected. I feel it is bad form to bitch and moan to the seller about why your offer was rejected, especially if your complaint is of the "VCP says this" or "I know you paid this" or "I saw it at the National for this" variety. My usual response to that is "then don't buy it here." What some buyers do not realize is that I already know the same information they are spouting and I have already accounted for it as I see fit. I feel as though some bidders think that if only they can pester me enough I will suddenly decide they are right and back off, when more likely I will just block their bids and discard their messages unread. And I especially enjoy the snappy repartee with bidders who tell me how much they need/want/have to have an item, just not at my price. Let's see if I can grasp this dilemma: I have something you really want and I should discount it because you really want it? I kinda thought the law of supply and demand worked the other way around...