This is what's wrong with the average ebay buyer

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

Those of whom you complain about are mere Grasshoppers...

Chill, Master Net54'ers... were you not once a Grasshopper as they are now?

Patience, your reward will be in educating, guiding, and nurturing these students.

You can't educate, guide and nurture stupid.

[whiteymet]

What gets me is when a seller lists his card for $7.95 with make an offer, thats worth maybe $3 but I need for a not very important variation and I offer $5 and the seller counters at $7.50.

Why even have make an offer if you are only going to discount it 45 cents?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by whiteymet

What gets me is when a seller lists his card for $7.95 with make an offer, thats worth maybe $3 but I need for a not very important variation and I offer $5 and the seller counters at $7.50.

Why even have make an offer if you are only going to discount it 45 cents?

I ran into this today. It was listed at $28.95 with best offer. Figured I would try an offer. I used all 5 you get and the last one was for $28.50 and it was auto rejected.

[pbspelly]

Personally I've told sellers that my offer is the best I can do, because sometimes I don't want them coming back with a counter. Either take the offer or say no. I don't feel like haggling. But then I don't make a subsequent offer like that guy did.

Did you respond to his first offer, though? I always find it kind of rude or annoying when I make an offer and the seller doesn't even respond to say thanks but no thanks. Sometimes I'll ask a question and the seller will respond to my question. Then I'll make an offer, and the same seller who a minute earlier responded to my question now acts as if I don't exist. And I'm not making insultingly low offers. My biggest complaint, though, is with sellers who list items for five, maybe ten times what they're worth, and just never sell. I've seen some items that I know have been listed on eBay for at least five years. Five years. And if you have the temerity to suggest to the seller that it's not going to sell at that price, they tell you that their price is fair. If it hasn't sold in five years, the price you're asking is too high. I wish eBay had a system like the old Filene's Basement, where if an item hadn't sold after a certain number of days, it automatically went down in price.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by pbspelly

...I wish eBay had a system like the old Filene's Basement, where if an item hadn't sold after a certain number of days, it automatically went down in price.

Utilizing that feature was an option for sellers last time I checked.

[ASF123]

As a buyer, I see so, so many cards with firm BIN prices or starting bids that are way above what it seems like anyone would even consider paying. Do a huge portion (majority?) of cards on eBay just not sell?

[ASF123]

eBay buyer etiquette question: I just received a card that was shipped in a soft sleeve, between two pieces of paper (not cardboard) in a plain envelope. It was not an expensive card (about $10) and the seller only charged $1 for shipping. But I would have expected at least some protection - a top loader, a padded envelope, or cardboard backing. Any one of the above.

The card arrived undamaged, fortunately, so all's well that ends well. The seller only has 18 feedback, all positive, so I don't want to drop a neutral on him as all the other elements of the deal were fine. But should I send him a private message, just as an "FYI" for what appears to be a new seller, or is that considered obnoxious?

[pbspelly]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Utilizing that feature was an option for sellers last time I checked.

Perhaps it shouldn't be an option. I'm sure others here might disagree, but Ebay ought to be for buying and selling items, not displaying them for five years with the remote possibility that maybe some idiot will come along and pay five times what it's worth

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by pbspelly

Perhaps it shouldn't be an option. I'm sure others here might disagree, but Ebay ought to be for buying and selling items, not displaying them for five years with the remote possibility that maybe some idiot will come along and pay five times what it's worth

Shouldn’t be an option or shouldn’t be optional?

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by pbspelly

Perhaps it shouldn't be an option. I'm sure others here might disagree, but Ebay ought to be for buying and selling items, not displaying them for five years with the remote possibility that maybe some idiot will come along and pay five times what it's worth

Sellers like to have the autonomy to set whatever price they want, especially for offbeat or unique items. I even know some guys who will list stuff at a price beyond market because they don't actually want to sell; their wives demanded a sale effort. Any sort of automatic markdown rule would make the site less friendly for many sellers. I know I would not tolerate it. It would just be one more nuisance policy to circumvent.

If someone wants to operate a card museum, let them.

[ballparks]

Originally Posted by pbspelly

Perhaps it shouldn't be an option. I'm sure others here might disagree, but Ebay ought to be for buying and selling items, not displaying them for five years with the remote possibility that maybe some idiot will come along and pay five times what it's worth

If they put a 1% listing fee for every time something was listed (waived if sold), these imbeciles that list $150 tickets for $9000 will stop their practice of trying to rip people off and screw the hobby. I fully agree.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by pbspelly

Did you respond to his first offer, though? I always find it kind of rude or annoying when I make an offer and the seller doesn't even respond to say thanks but no thanks.

The offer was automatically rejected due to the floor I set on the Best Offer function. I never even read it.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by bnorth

I ran into this today. It was listed at $28.95 with best offer. Figured I would try an offer. I used all 5 you get and the last one was for $28.50 and it was auto rejected.

Nothing is more stubborn than an eBay Seller.

About 4 months ago, I saw a vintage Glove I really wanted. But it was overpriced by just over $100. I wrote the seller that it would not sell at his asking price, and offered that once his auction ended without a sale, I would pay him 15% above market value for an outright sale. Easy peasy... But the seller never had the courtesy to reply back.

So he relisted it a couple of times, with no luck of course. Then he relisted it for $10 less... no sale. Then he proceeded to do the same reduction 9 more times... still no sale.

When he finally reduced it a 10th time, I ended up buying it for $15 less than my original offer (which was made 4 months prior). So stubbornness cost him in the form of extra listing fees, 4 months of stagnancy, and 15 bucks.