Unsolicited offers from buyers

[cq_tech]

I've had a few buyers lately email me with offers on items which are strictly BIN (no 'Best Offer') and I'm starting to get a bit annoyed about it. I'm sure it's against policy but I'll be damned if I can find any mention of it in the help files. Only yesterday I received an email which simply said "Hi, if you accepted my offer would you hold it for me for up to 2 weeks?" yet there was no reference whatsoever to the item in question!

It's bad enough that he sends an unsolicited offer but he also wants me to wait 2 weeks for payment? What a bloody cheek! Anyway, against my better judgment I emailed back and asked what item he was talking about and it turns out that he wanted a $10 discount off an $80 item which had coincidentally been sold just 4 hours earlier, so I took great pleasure in telling him that it had already been sold at the asking price.

As some of you may know, I very politely rejected an unsolicited offer from a buyer a couple of weeks ago, so in retaliation she immediately bought the 2 items and maliciously trashed all my DSRs, leaving me with 2 undeserved defects on my account. It is now my policy that anybody making unsolicited offers immediately goes onto my BBL but I want to know if they are breaching any of eBay's policies by making these offers so I can report them to T&S (not that it will make any difference).

[cq_tech]

As you can see, it has now been determined that unsolicited offers do not breach eBay policy. However, with regards to your particular buyer who constantly makes ridiculously low offers, I suggest you place his ID on your BBL so that he will no longer be able to contact (or annoy) you.

[curraone]

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@cq_tech wrote:
As you can see, it has now been determined that unsolicited offers do not breach eBay policy.

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but ebay says it does:    If the Make Offer button does not appear in the listing, the seller is not interested in receiving offers and you should not try to contact this seller to negotiate price or terms. Doing so violates our offers to buy or sell outside eBay policy.

[cq_tech]

That's certainly how it appears, but it's the second sentence which gives it context... Doing so violates our offers to buy or sell outside eBay policy. The version on ebay.com is much better worded and seems to make it clear that it's OK to make offers within the confines of normal eBay purchases. As long as they're not trying to negotiate an off-eBay sale, there's nothing preventing them from making an unsolicited offer (or that's how I interpret it).

[aps1080]

It might be outside ebay policy but if no BIN exists, then the only way to knock out the competition (especially if it has a heap of watchers) is to contact the seller and get them to put in a BIN offer or to end the item before the auction ends.

It works.

[old_holdens_never_die]

They want it all for nothing plus free post! God I DON'T miss this place! 

[character_parties_aus]

I dont even reply to messages like that and block the buyer.

Job done.

[black*poppy]

I don't mind offers generally, sometimes it's been ok to accept, may not have made the sale otherwise.

Always amused when sellers of the same type of merchandise use their selling account to make a really low-ball offer. LOL

[i-love-my-sheep]

I've only had a couple of buyers send a message asking for an item to be relisted as a buy it now and offer 1/4 of the starting price with free postage (on an item that has paid postage). They went straight on my list.

I've had other buyers ask if I could change a listing to a BIN as they don't want to wait until the auction to finish. Depending on the item, if it's one that has just kept relisting for the last 6 months, I just tell them to place a bid and I'll end it as a sold to highest bidder. They seem happy with that and it means I've got rid of a slow mover.

If it's an item that's had a lot of pageviews and has quite a few watchers, I politely let them know I'd rather let the auction run its course.

[classyglasslovers]

I gave had offers on itens with no offers open abd comes through as an evay offer. How come? Igo and check and its not ticked so how can theydo ut

[classyglasslovers]

I have had offers on itens with no offers open abd comes through as an evay offer. How come? Igo and check and its not ticked so how can they do it ut