How to make an offer to unsold items?

[sunilsan1102]

Someone was selling and it did not sell in the auction.  When I tried to contact him to get the price reduce Ebay placed restrictions on my account. I did not know that buyer & seller are not allowed to exchange telephone numbers. I agree with Ebay but I did not know about this rule.

[kopenhagen5]

You can message a seller and ask if they intend on relisting.

[collect247]

OP might have to wait a while now due to the restriction?

[chameleon54]

Its worth keeping in mind that just because an item did not sell at auction, you cant automatically assume the seller will reduce the price for you.

I sometimes offer items for auction at a start price that is a discount to what I think the item is worth. This could be as a form of advertising to attract buyers to my account, or I could be happy to accept a lower price for a quick sale. If it doesnt sell, I might list it as a buy it now at an increased price, more reflecting true value and just sit back and wait for it to sell.. 

[davewil1964 · Accepted solution]

So the rules are the same in the UK, then. At least eBay is consistent, as these are the AUSTRALIAN boards.

You now know why you should keep up to date with eBay's policies, changes to which are generally advertised.

[springyzone]

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@sunilsan1102 wrote:

Someone was selling and it did not sell in the auction.  When I tried to contact him to get the price reduce Ebay placed restrictions on my account. I did not know that buyer & seller are not allowed to exchange telephone numbers. I agree with Ebay but I did not know about this rule.

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This is not a market or gumtree, this is ebay.

Ebay will think you are trying to make arrangements to buy outside of ebay and that's against the rules.

And the seller may not want to reduce the price. Just because it does not sell, does not mean it is up to you to bargain with a seller. To me, it is a little bit rude. If they want to reduce the price they will relist it at a reduced price.  Or maybe at the same price with make an offer. Just wait to see if they relist.

I have found a lot of sellers relist at exactly the same price. Just because it does not sell first time around does not mean it won't sell at that price next time.

I was once watching an item (it was like something  my daughter planned on selling so i wanted to see how it would go). First week, it did not sell at $700. Not one single bid. 

Next week, the seller did lower the price to start at $600 but a few people were interested and it sold for over $900. About $970 from memory.

So if anyone was waiting to see the price reduced they missed their chance first time round.

[letscleanupmycupboards · Accepted solution]

So does this mean the end of "make arrangements to inspect prior to bidding"?

If they won't allow contact without a done deal there's going to be a huge increase in unpaid items or cancelled transactions particularly on larger items eg cars boats furniture etc. as the opportunity to view prior to bidding will be gone.

[*tippy*toes* · Accepted solution]

That's right, you can't inspect before bidding. I'm also pretty sure you have to pay too before you can get any details from the seller without being suspended.

[lane-ends]

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@*tippy*toes* wrote:

That's right, you can't inspect before bidding. I'm also pretty sure you have to pay too before you can get any details from the seller without being suspended.

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Whether you have to pay or not depends on seller options. If you get the commit to buy button once clicked you can exchange contact. however ebay defaulted many listings straight to pay now button. Sellers would need to override this in their listing settings while listing is active, and many may not be aware of this default setting, or how to change it. Eitherway it seems inconsistent. It also makes it impossible to combine purchases without using shopping cart option.

[lane-ends]

As far as OPs original queston is concerned you use contact seller, and refer to the item number so they know what item you are talking about (the link wont reference a sold item) and say you would be willing to pay $X if they were willing to relist the item with a BIN. Still would take a leap of faith from them that you would follow through and extra listing fees for them if applicable. It is important to say relist to ensure Ebay dont interpret this as an offsite sale, and they are red hot on monitoring this at the moment, including any clever workarounds.