Best offer- buyer or seller makes offer first?

[purplehelen1908]

I have 2 items listed, one with best offer one without. A buyer has contacted asking me what price I want for both items. Auction is day 2 of a 7 day one and bids are doing well. Shouldn’t the buyer offer me a price first? Both items started at $100. The buy it now price is $300 but best offer wasn’t checked. Do I ask seller for their offer first? I’m confused.

[davewil1964]

You can ignore them if you wish.

If both items have bids the only way you could sell them to the prospective buyer would be for them to bid and you end the items by selling to highest bidder at the time, and that only works if it is the selected bidder.

Personally. I wouldn't entertain offers, but I don't do auctions either.

Once a bid is made there is no longer a buy it now option. If the buyer first saw your items after the first bid they would have no idea what your BIN was.

Be aware - once bids are made selling to the highest bidder is really your only option. You can't end them, I believe. Even if you can, eBay will assume you have sold offsite and hit you with FVFs anyway.

The bidder, on the strength of your best offer provision, is looking to see what you are willing to part with them for. As such they don't have to make an offer.

This is all informal anyway. The time for offers passed when the first bid was placed.

Just tell them to bid and if they win that's what you are asking.

[lyndal1838]

If the listings were both started at $100 how did the first one get to $116 with no bids being placed?

[curraone]

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@purplehelen1908 wrote:
I have 2 items listed, one with best offer one without. A buyer has contacted asking me what price I want for both items. Auction is day 2 of a 7 day one and bids are doing well. Shouldn’t the buyer offer me a price first? Both items started at $100. The buy it now price is $300 but best offer wasn’t checked. Do I ask seller for their offer first? I’m confused.

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So there are 2 different items, both auctions but one has bids.

So I would reply to your buyer saying  that you cannot negotiate on the auction item as it has bids.    If they want the item, please bid their best price.

And then on the second item, that you have listed it as auction with best offer but so far no bids, say that you will consider any reasonable offer they may wish to make using that option.   There is no need for you to name any amount and if it was me I wouldn't - I would wait until he uses the best offer option and then counter-offer if necessary.

[brerrabbit585]

Why don't you give them a really outrageous price? You never know, they might be keen enough to pay it. Research what the items have sold for in the past and then add a couple of hundred dollars on top and give them that figure, then say they might get them cheaper if they bid on them instead.

In your situation, with the items being collectable they may be willing to pay a lot of money in order to stop the auction, rather than the usual sort of offer where they try and get it for rock bottom price.

Don't assume that because one has no bids that it isn't generating interest.  If people are really interested your largest bids will be in the last few seconds and it only takes two keen bidders to drive the price up, even if neither bid till the last second.