Question about Ebay "Buy It Now or Best Offer" etiquette

[Luke]

Hey everyone,

I am wondering about how sellers typically use the "Buy it Now or Best Offer" option. I was just looking at T206 Walter Johnson cards and there is one company that has 8 different Portraits on ebay right now. All are PSA 1 or 2. It seems to me from looking at completed listings and other current listings over the past few weeks that the price they list as the Buy it Now price is at least double the fair market price (I don't have a subscription to VCP yet, so I could be a little bit off). So, my question is, if a company has listed a card at $380 or best offer, and I think the card is worth around $190, is it considered bad form to make an offer of like $175 or $190? I don't want to make offers that are going to be dismissed as low-ball. I didn't include the name of the company because I didn't know if that was frowned upon or not. They are a Power Seller with 100% percent positive feedback. If my question doesn't make sense, I'll be back on later and can clarify. Thanks!

Luke

[Leon]

In my opinion it is NOT bad form at all to offer 50% of an asking price, especially nowadays. Several of my last buys have been about 50% of asking prices. If I had not offered then I wouldn't have got what I wanted. Now, if the card is listed at $500, and is a $250 card, then offering $100 might not be good form....but a 50% offer off of a listing price...not a problem. regards

[ChiefBenderForever]

Offer fair price or even lower and see if they counter, you should be much more insulted by their asking price. If they don't want to sell move on to the next one. Good luck!

[Matthew H]

Depending on which VCP subscription you get, you may be able to see scans of the past sales. Quite often I will find the same card I am trying to buy. Sometimes I'll even see the seller as the high bidder. If you really want the card then take the last sale price, add calculated eBay fees and maybe 20 more dollars. Works like a charm (usually) or you could wait for another auction and possibly pay less. There are plenty of those cards at auction.

[Robextend]

I have offered half before thinking I didn't have a shot, but was surprised. Never hurts to offer what you feel is fair, that's why the option is there.

[gnaz01]

I know the person selling those T206 Johnson's, and he wouldn't take 75%-80% of Buy It Now price IMHO, so you can use that, FWIW I Guess. I have tried to purchase a few off grade T206's at about 70% of BIN and was turned down without a counter from this seller.

[JasonL]

offer what you think fair price is. If they don't bite, that's a "them" problem.

[rp12367]

I sell on e-bay quite a bit. I tend to put my Buy It Now price as what I would really like to get (in my dreams) price, and I usally put my auto accept bid at somewhere around book or current market value.

[jpaol99]

I have won several buy it now or best offers at 50-75% their asking price. I wouldn't find it offensive to through out 50%. Although most sellers won't accept 50% their asking price, one in ten might.
I dont think I would offer much less than 50% for a few reasons. First there price is obviously more than double what I would pay. So this usually means they think they can actually get that much and decreases the chance they will come down. I usually dont bother with those kind of people.
It also depends how long the auction has been up. I find that sometimes when there is only a day or two left on their 30 day auction, sellers are usually more apt to take lower offers.

Justin

[paulcarek]

I've had good luck with making offers even when there isn't a "or Best Offer" option. I recently picked up a '52 Bowman Mantle that way. I offered VCP average for the grade (it was listed about 50% higher than that), and the seller accepted.

[nebboy]

may last BIN/Offer was already listed at 80% BV (which doesnt happen very often) and I still asked for 25% more off. Im glad to get a nice HOF for a good price. Its worth the asking.

[GoSoxBoSox]

I don't think offering fair market value, or very close to it, is ever a bad thing.

As a person who has a few BINs listed I only hate one thing ...and this one thing happens every day. That is, when people think the lowest sales price ever listed on VCP for a card in a given grade is the "market value". I'm frankly sick of people says this. There are too many buyers than expect sellers to sell at the lowest VCP price when some of those sales are ridulously off-base from the norm. Just because one seller here and there happens to list a card at a ridiculously low price because they either don't know the market value, they don't have much invested into a card or they are selling a fake doesn't mean that is the market value of the card. You need to look at the normal final value of a card that has been auctioned-off, and you should also review the picture of the card to make sure it isn't on the low end of the scale for that grade (i.e. bad centering, bad registration, etc.)

But what you are proposing as "Best Offers" would be great, IMO. I wish more people were like that.

[HRBAKER]

My assumption is that a seller that lists a card for multiples (2x,3x) of what a card typically sells for is likely rarely offended. He/she is looking for an uniformed buyer. When you make a reasonable offer they know you are not one. If a reasonable offer is half the BIN price so what.

[teetwoohsix]

So what do you offer/do when it seems like the BIN is 4X what it should be?
If you offer 50% it's still like you are paying twice what you should......I hope that made sense

Clayton

[GoSoxBoSox]

Originally Posted by HRBAKER

My assumption is that a seller that lists a card for multiples (2x,3x) of what a card typically sells for is likely rarely offended. He/she is looking for an uniformed buyer. When you make a reasonable offer they know you are not one. If a reasonable offer is half the BIN price so what.

Agreed, that can be the case.

I have a few cards listed at very high prices as compared to their last sales prices simply because I had bought them when the market was higher and I only want to sell them if I get my money back. There aren't a lot of these cards listed and some collector might be willing to pay my price in order to snag the card regardless of the last sales price. I frankly think the last sales price for many cards is worthless and people put too much into VCP. Common T206s are different for sure because they are common cards.

[Rob D.]

I would add this: If your best offer gets declined by a seller and you really want the card, don't be afraid to go back a month (or two) later and make the same offer.

A week before the National a seller had a T206 overpriced at $1,900. I offered just over $1,000 and received one of those automatic replies turning down my offer, meaning he didn't even consider it.

Last week he accepted an offer and sold the card for $1,000.

So my advice is bookmark the cards and let sellers know whether you're still interested. Maybe make the offer at the end of a month, when the rent is coming due. Who knows what some of these guys are thinking?

[iggyman]

Don't ever be timid about making a "best offer!" They are accepted, all the time, in all walks of life................just how do you think I got married???

By the way, a bit O/T but here is a classic example of a "best offer" slowly wearing a seller down. The guy wanted $300,000 but 16+ years after Al Gore invented the internet, he settled for $200,000. A win-win for both sides, plus, the seller can still fund a T206 Matty proof or a T206 Wagner (sure beats flipping cards for it)...

http://domainnamewire.com/2010/08/31...ls-for-200000/

Lovely Day...

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by iggyman

Don't ever be timid about making a "best offer!" They are accepted, all the time, in all walks of life................just how do you think I got married???

By the way, a bit O/T but here is a classic example of a "best offer" slowly wearing a seller down. The guy wanted $300,000 but 16+ years after Al Gore invented the internet, he settled for $200,000. A win-win for both sides, plus, the seller can still fund a T206 Matty proof or a T206 Wagner (sure beats flipping cards for it)...

http://domainnamewire.com/2010/08/31...ls-for-200000/

Lovely Day...

Pretty sleazy that MLB thought they somehow had a legal right of eminent domain, to the word "Angels".

[Shoeless Moe]

A 1919 World Series Program was listed for 1999.00 and was not in the greatest condition, but it was complete, nothing missing. Scorecard included. White Sox Team centerfold included. I'd say market value on it in it's condition was about a grand. As I've seen better condition go in the 1300 and missing CF go for as high as 600.

So I knew it lied somewhere in the middle. Offered 800 1 week, nothing, no counter. A month later seller had it at the same high price, offered 800 again, still nothing. The 600 CF-less one sold and I wonder if he saw that, as a day or 2 after it ended I offered 900 and he accepted. If he would have came back with offers on any of the 3 bids I'd of gone to a 1000. So technically I got it less then 50% of BIN, so don't be afraid, u have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain!

Just this past month a great seller had a 1919 World Series Ticket for 1350.00 BIN or BO, I offered 1000 knowing I was way low, rejected, but again no counter which I find odd, but that tells me I'm not close. Well the seller got 2 or 3 more offers, not sure what they were, but my guess is not good. I then offered 1170 on the 3rd day it was up, and they accepted. I actually would have paid the BIN of 1350, so I feel good I got a deal. I would have killed myself, or at least choked myself for a long time, letting go right b4 blackout, if I'd a missed out. Cuz one at Legandary just went for 2200+, granted again mine is in slightly lesser condition, but I'm more about the nostalgia and item itself then condition.

Thanks for reading my book. Sorry this was so long. So long!