Just venting...

[powersports57]

Hi all, has anyone else felt the need to justify the price of an item after recieving a buyer's offer?

I have an item listed at 39.99. plus post. 

I was offered $20 for the item, posted in a tube at my cost. The guy says he can buy the item for $6US plus postage - and offered me the $20 deal...I thought about it for a while and did some figures. The item at todays price would owe me $6US plus say $20 post (easy) so right there is $35Aussie (Cost /.73c) roughly. If I was to add the 10.90 post plus say 3.50 for a tube I would be in it for 50.01, then I have eBay and Paypal fees to include. I know buyers have to offer and I have the right to yes or no etc and thats OK, it just makes you think a little harder about what the costs of items really are. Just venting...I know someone will understand..Cheers, Dave

[wide-world-of-stamps]

We get "how much if I buy all of your stock of XYZ?".

Sometimes it's only half a dozen cheap lots, not a large amount. We reply with the total price, but with a postage discount. Only to get told that's too much.

We don't mind giving a discount when someone buys a large number of lots which can total over $100, but we generally list at the minimum we're prepared to accept & don't have "make an offer" on any of our listings.

We're not desperate - if they don't want it at our price, we can wait for someone who does.

[springyzone]

I have a theory that if someone only offers you maybe half or less of what you are asking for an item (on ebay or elsewhere) then most likely they are only mildly interested in it. That is doubly so on ebay if you haven't even got make an offer in the listing.

They've seen it, it has caught their eye but they're not totally sure they want it or need it or even if they should be spending for it, but they figure if they can get it for next to nothing, then maybe. 

So the odds are high that even if you make a reasonable counter offer that you won't even hear back from them. It's probably not worth a seller's while to invest too much time or effort on offers if they aren't anywhere near the ball park. 

[chameleon54]

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@the_2nd_zoo wrote:

I don't want offers but deal with themon a case by case basis.

What I hate is the bull stories they give to try and justify wanting a cheaper price.

"I am buying this for my grandmother"  so am offering 1/2 what you are asking.

"I am a pensioner" this one guy early on in my career kept nagging me to go to cost price - then turned up in a Lexus.

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I,ve got a new one I havnt heard before. I have a pair of old, vintage tools for sale that I purchased from a garage sale. One slightly uncommon and one just a filler to bulk out the listing. The price for the pair is pretty cheap really. Guy messages and asks if I will split them.

He claims he had a tool box stolen from the back of his ute twenty years ago with one of the tools in it. He mentions a distinctive mark on the handle. I have to admit I had not noticed the mark, but it is easily visible if you look. So is this just another ebay story or is the guy legit ?  The tool in question is a tradies tool and its possible an ex tradie might want it back for old times sake. Being an ex tradie myself, I know you get fond of a few special tools. On the flip side, I hate having buyers trying to pull a swifty.....What would you do ?

[marwi5023]

Then there is the flip side of the "make an offer" story. The sellers that never respond to the offer.
The sellers that counter with a one dollar reduction.
The seller that never responds and after days of waiting and then paying the original asking price you politely ask why they ignored all offers and responded saying that they wanted the asking price.
As with everything in life, it is a two way street

[marwi5023]

It is possible to set an amount for automatic acceptance and rejection of the offer and when I have used the option in the past I always set the amounts.
You don't even see the rejected offers and in this circumstance would save the OP the pain of the low offers

[the_2nd_zoo]

Ebay program is just not flexible enough.

Some sellers use make an offer so they can give a multiple item buyers a discount but buyers don't know that.

Just like faulty item return stories that don't make sense when you get the item back the lost my tool guy can buy it back or just look at the picture for free - it is impossible to tell if the stories are real and which buyers are scammers.

[lyndal1838]

It certainly sounds like he is legit.

Would you be out of pocket by splitting the 2 items?   Just list the item he is interested in for whatever you want for it...if he really wants it he will buy it.

If it is the rare item I have a feeling it might be the original owner of it at the sale.....he has now realised it is worth more than you are selling it for and wants it back to sell elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Tell him the statute of limitations has expired, or ask for a copy of the police report or insurance claim for the tool box that was stolen.  I wouldn't want to be the one selling stolen items but honestly, after 20 years I think it's not your responsibility unless he has proof it was his and was stolen.  If he has no proof it was his then if he wants it he should be prepared to pay your price.

[Anonymous]

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@springyzone wrote:

I have a theory that if someone only offers you maybe half or less of what you are asking for an item (on ebay or elsewhere) then most likely they are only mildly interested in it. That is doubly so on ebay if you haven't even got make an offer in the listing.

They've seen it, it has caught their eye but they're not totally sure they want it or need it or even if they should be spending for it, but they figure if they can get it for next to nothing, then maybe. 

So the odds are high that even if you make a reasonable counter offer that you won't even hear back from them. It's probably not worth a seller's while to invest too much time or effort on offers if they aren't anywhere near the ball park. 

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Very astute comments!  

Most successful businesses will be familiar with the 80/20 rule.  There are many ways to apply the 80/20 rule but the one that applies here is that it's a really bad idea to allow the customers who make up 20% of your total sales to take up 80% of your time.  People who want to haggle or otherwise waste your time aren't worth spending any time on at all.  You're better off to ditch them and spend the time looking for more of the right sort of customers.

This is why I've learnt to ignore all messages that ask for a discount or contain even the slightest whiff of a "me, me, me" attitude from the buyer.  I used to feel obliged to answer all questions but then I got some really stupid ones and then lots of condescending ones from people whose attitude was that they were doing me a favour by offering to take my top selling items at cost price.  After that I decided it was time to put my time and energy into things that actually made me money rather than spend it appeasing people who were never going to be happy unless they got one over me.  

Lots of sellers on ebay learned years ago that answering stupid questions isn't a good use of their time.  Some decided not to answer any questions but I always answer the sensible, respectful ones and have got extra sales by doing so.  The other buyers I don't need.  Sometimes I'll amuse myself by saying something to ensure they never want to buy from me again (no, I'm never rude when I do it, they take offence simply because they didn't get their way) but mostly I just put them on my blocks list and then forget them. 

Last year I made almost as much from my other site as I did on ebay but I only spent half the time on it and I'm still only developing it.  I would have missed out on a lot of those sales if I'd felt obliged to answer every rude and time-wasting question I got on ebay.  I made sure the 20% didn't waste 80% of my time, just as every seller should.  You might get it wrong occasionally but the tone of the question is usually a good indication of the buyer's attitude.  If it's a non-essential item and they have a whining attitude re the price, why are they even considering buying it if they can't afford it?  I don't waste any of my time on those people.  It's not just the time they waste, they drag you down.  Better to concentrate on the buyers who make selling a joy!

[davewil1964]

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@marwi5023 wrote:
It is possible to set an amount for automatic acceptance and rejection of the offer and when I have used the option in the past I always set the amounts.
You don't even see the rejected offers and in this circumstance would save the OP the pain of the low offers

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I believe the OP is talking about unsolicited offers. It's a bit hard to set acceptance limits for an option that is specifically not enabled.