eBay: Make offer?

Ralph_P · Nov 9, 2017

I needed a short piece of tubing. An eBay metal dealer had what I needed for $12. w/free shipping. It also had make offer. I thought the price was about double what it was worth including free shipping. I offered $8. He counter offered $11.85. I thought that was funny, so I counter offered $8.15. He sent me a message and asked if I was serious. I laughed again.

Is there an advantage to the seller to list "make offer" if he's not really going to use it?

Gordon Heaton · Nov 9, 2017

It's been my experience that they do use it. They're just not willing to take what they consider a 'lowball' offer. Many of my offers have been accepted, most with a bit of back-and-forth.

Jersey John · Nov 9, 2017

Interesting comment!

I've found it works (or doesn't) ... last week and delivered today were a pair of Eclipse Magnetic transfer blocks, eBay advert took offers so I offered half his asking price being cheeky and knowing it was taking a chance ... seller accepted

But also recently saw a Hardinge HLV-H with a make an offer (I wanted to strip it for spares) ... the buyer answered rudely that he could not accept anything other than the screen price as he'd be loosing money .... Hmmm so why put "Offers" :nutter:

John

DDoug · Nov 9, 2017

$12 is really getting down there on any sized order.

For someone to process your order, put the material into a box, print a label, etc.

Gordon Heaton · Nov 9, 2017

Jersey John said:
... the buyer answered rudely that he could not accept anything other than the screen price as he'd be loosing money .... Hmmm so why put "Offers" . . .

That, of course, makes no sense. Sounds like the seller either goofed up his listing or doesn't understand what he himself did.

6PTsocket · Nov 9, 2017

Ralph_P said:
I needed a short piece of tubing. An eBay metal dealer had what I needed for $12. w/free shipping. It also had make offer. I thought the price was about double what it was worth including free shipping. I offered $8. He counter offered $11.85. I thought that was funny, so I counter offered $8.15. He sent me a message and asked if I was serious. I laughed again.

Is there an advantage to the seller to list "make offer" if he's not really going to use it?

I find most of the time sellers are not willing to come down very much. The last thing I bought was $4.35 or make an offer. Why bother? If an item is up for $12 the seller is probably looking for $10. It probably depends a lot on what he paid for it. If it is used, he may have gotten it for free and will take what he can get, especially if there have been no activity.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

adama · Nov 9, 2017

Also remember the buyers paying ebay a listing fee and a percentage of the sale price, then postage on top. Hence for something that needs wrapping theres really no point selling at $8. Sellers have to make some money too!

The Extractor · Nov 9, 2017

I have had "make and offer" auctions have a bottom limit. ie item was listed for $209.00 , tried 150 the system (not seller) rejected it, I got it for $170 which was the minimum "make offer" price.

Scottl · Nov 9, 2017

I have used it successfully as a buyer. The thing to remember is that the margin between full price and lowest offer that will be accepted is fairly small. If you had counter offered 10.50 or 11.00 the seller might have accepted it or responded with a price lower than 11.85.

Because your initial offer was ridiculously low (66.6%) the seller responded with an equally ridiculous counter offer to make you aim for a smaller reduction. Bargaining is an art form and a successful bargainer never forgets to leave something for the other party. I have successfully bargained for many things including salary over the years so I would guess I am a fair hand at it.

Iisspence · Nov 9, 2017

I have had the same response from a gentleman in Michigan. He puts make offer in the listing and will counter a few cents lower than his listing price. Whats the point just wastes every ones time.

triumph406 · Nov 9, 2017

Ralph_P said:
I needed a short piece of tubing. An eBay metal dealer had what I needed for $12. w/free shipping. It also had make offer. I thought the price was about double what it was worth including free shipping. I offered $8. He counter offered $11.85. I thought that was funny, so I counter offered $8.15. He sent me a message and asked if I was serious. I laughed again.

Is there an advantage to the seller to list "make offer" if he's not really going to use it?

If you had to drive to your local metal supplier to buy that mat'l, what would it cost for the mat'l + gas/diesel to get there and back?

awander · Nov 9, 2017

I have successfully gotten ebay items at half of the listed price by making an offer.

Wild West · Nov 9, 2017

Why are you wasting your time on a $12 purchase? Just do it and be done with it. You're stumbling over dollars looking for pennies. JMHO YMMV

John Dunn · Nov 9, 2017

I sell misc old iron, tools, and mechanical stuff. I'll sometimes list something odd at a crazy high BIN price with Make Offer option just to see what happens. I may be willing to take less than half and sometimes get offers for much more. More common items I may list for $20 and automatically accept anything over $15, some folks like to think they are getting a deal.

powerglider · Nov 9, 2017

you are out of pocket $12. the seller is making pretty much nothing after they process your purchase with shipping and what is left after Paypal fees

What part of this is the seller being unreasonable?

Bob-J-H · Nov 9, 2017

I have found that if I put in a buy it now price. E-bay automatically puts in make offer, even if I don't want to accept offers. Bob

ezduzit · Nov 9, 2017

Ralph_P said:
...An eBay metal dealer had what I needed for $12...I offered $8...

I would not have even responded at all to your lowball offer. Not worth my time.

Mud · Nov 9, 2017

MO gets abused on both sides. I stopped using it for listing because I was getting ridiculously low offers on items that were already reasonably priced. (not just my opinion, they sold for full price later). When I make an offer it's for 2/3s of asking at least, often more. I had one offer automatically rejectedsto I played the game and made 2 more offers to see what the auto set point was. 3rd offer was $1 less than asking on a $100+ item and was rejected as well, so either the seller screwed up or was a dick. And yes I BINed for the $100+. If someone lists something with MO and it's been on for several weeks at least, I feel compelled to MO or I'm automatically leaving money on the table, eh?

eKretz · Nov 9, 2017

It depends on the seller and the circumstances. I just got a Black Diamond BW-95PC drill grinder that was originally listed for almost $4,000 by making an offer of $300. The seller had it marked "local pickup only" but was actually willing to ship. He relisted it many times and the price kept creeping down, so I pounced when the time was right.

dgfoster · Nov 9, 2017

Having sold six thousands of dollars of stuff on eBay in the last year, there is nothing I like better than low ball offers. Yes, I try to be courteous, but find low ballers an annoying and frustrating waste of my time. My goal is to sell items at a price that is good for me and the seller. Folks who are just playing games should find other ways to entertain themselves.

The gamers are the shop equivalent of the guy who comes in asking for an estimate on work he never intends to actually have done. It's just not face-to-face on eBay. But it is just as irritating.

Denis

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