What happened to people making offers and asking questions on ebay?

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Reminder to bidders:

If something is posted at $4950, and you really like it, $250 or $300 is probably not a constructive open offer.

Reminder to sellers:

Don't forget to set your minimum dollar thresholds for offers so you don't have to deal with annoying lowballers.

I refuse to use the OBO option. Buyers can either pay my price or pass my listings by. Even with verbiage in the description that specifically asks people not to send lower offers via messages, I still get them. It's a combination of people not reading the descriptions, eBay blocking most of the descriptions on the mobile version (unless the viewer goes out of their way to click on it), and customers who just don't care and still try to get something for less. That's understandable, but not what I'm looking to deal with. I try to provide very personable customer service, but have tired of replying to "Will you take less?" queries when I've sepcifically said I won't in each listing. So, unfortunately, I have stopped even answering such messages, as I already answered before they even asked.

Also, many years ago, I tried that experiment that the one poster wanted to utilize. I set everything to auction with opening bids close to my BIN price. It was a complete waste of time, and really, rightly so. Auctions are a game. To succeed, you have to play by auction rules: ridiculously low opening bids are key. From there, you have two choices: stay honest and let the cards fall where they may, or shill away. I don't like either option, so auctions aren't for me. The bigger the seller, the better odds of success with the first option (and second option, lol). You may as well consign your material to one of the big guys if you want the best results via auction-style listings.