Ebay, sellers making offers to watchers

[Jim65]

Has anyone used the ebay feature which allows sellers to make offers to buyers who have watched one of their fixed price listings? Any luck?

[vintagetoppsguy]

I haven't used it as a seller, but I like it as a buyer.

[ibuysportsephemera]

My partner and I have used it with some success. I like it. The only problem is that it is rolled out on only 2 of the 3 accounts that I am involved with. I have been emailing eBay for 2 months asking them to add it to my main account but they keep giving me excuses why it is not available on all accounts.


Jeff

[savedfrommyspokes]

I have not sent any offers as a seller, but I am now receiving ebay messages from buyers with "Make An Offer" in the title. I used to receive a few messages a week from buyers proposing some ludicrous unsolicited offer, but now that this option to "make an offer" is available under the contact seller options I have been inundated with these messages. As I price my FP listings at or very close to market values, I do not have any margin to consider offers, so now these mostly absurd unsolicited offers clutter my inbox. To save time responding, I now respond to these messages once daily by c/p a simple response of "Thank you for the offer. I am only considering offers on items with the best offer option.". With this new buyer offer option, it appears to have buyers feeling that I will consider offers, when my preference is to not receive offers.

I have received 3 of these messages already today......one offer was for 25% of what I had recently sold other copies of the same card for.

Does anyone know how to remove the "make an offer" option from the list of options under the contact seller link?

[vintagetoppsguy]

I was watching this Bob Feller baseball that was priced at $27.95 (no Best Offer option). However, because the seller knew I was watching it, he went ahead and sent me an offer of $21. I accepted. So, it is a cool feature.

On another note, it shows as if it sold for $27.95 (not the $21 that I paid). So, if this had been a graded card instead, would VCP have recorded the $27.95 asking price or the $21 that I paid?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTOGRAPHED...72.m2749.l2649

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I was watching this Bob Feller baseball that was priced at $27.95 (no Best Offer option). However, because the seller knew I was watching it, he went ahead and sent me an offer of $21. I accepted. So, it is a cool feature.

On another note, it shows as if it sold for $27.95 (not the $21 that I paid). So, if this had been a graded card instead, would VCP have recorded the $27.95 asking price or the $21 that I paid?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTOGRAPHED...72.m2749.l2649

Hmmm, at least with "Best Offer" the original price gets lined out, and it fits between the correct realized prices on "Sold" searches.

This can lead to some unsavory price manipulation.

I personally don't like the idea at all. If the seller wanted to field offers, he'd list the item with "Best Offer". This just encourages more flea market haggling, and additional friction between sellers and buyers.

[vintagetoppsguy]

I definitely see your point about the price manipulation.

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

I personally don't like the idea at all. If the seller wanted to field offers, he'd list the item with "Best Offer". This just encourages more flea market haggling, and additional friction between sellers and buyers.

But in this case, the seller is not fielding offers. The seller is the one submitting the offer. These are items that are listed with a BIN with no Best Offer option. Somehow the seller knows someone is watching their item and they can choose to send that watcher an offer. Once the watcher receives the offer, it's theirs to either accept or reject, it doesn't let them counteroffer (I think that's the way it works, but I would have to double check that). So no haggling back and forth.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I definitely see your point about the price manipulation.



But in this case, the seller is not fielding offers. The seller is the one submitting the offer. These are items that are listed with a BIN with no Best Offer option. Somehow the seller knows someone is watching their item and they can choose to send that watcher an offer. Once the watcher receives the offer, it's theirs to either accept or reject, it doesn't let them counteroffer (I think that's the way it works, but I would have to double check that). So no haggling back and forth.

Yeah, I guess I don't have a problem with that aspect of it. It's similar to Ebay sending an e-mail when an item on your watch list gets reduced. Good marketing move, which was actually something Ebay used to do years ago, but for some reason, I haven't gotten notifications for that in what seems like years.

Now I just stumble across price drops when I double check my watch list every once in awhile.

[frankbmd]

I prefer flea market haggling to sellers who list a price as “firm” and then drop it in a few days or every few days in some cases.

[Jim65]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

I prefer flea market haggling to sellers who list a price as “firm” and then drop it in a few days or every few days in some cases.

I once made an offer to a seller, he listed the item at $100, I offered $80 and he declined. A few months later he relisted the item at $60 and it sold. I sent him a politely worded message reminding him that I offered $80 and he turned it down. He didn't respond.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by Jim65

I once made an offer to a seller, he listed the item at $100, I offered $80 and he declined. A few months later he relisted the item at $60 and it sold. I sent him a politely worded message reminding him that I offered $80 and he turned it down. He didn't respond.

Not sure if this is what occurred in your case, but the story is familiar. Many sellers buy in larger groupings and then break the larger groupings down into smaller parts to resell. Over the few month period you mention, the seller could have sold off the other parts of his larger purchase for a greater than expected profit thus allowing his to sell the item of your interest for a lesser price. At the time you offered $80, he may have anticipated needing $90, but with other parts selling for more than expected the item became worth only $60 to him.