if a seller has make an offer option but do not react to offers is that ok with ebay?

[deleu911]

See subject and let me know

[digital*ghost]

In a nutshell, yes, it's ok with eBay.

Offers have a 48-hour 'life-span', so if they are not responded to within that timeframe, they simply expire, and while it's certainly better all-round for a seller to respond before then, either by declining or making a counter-offer, there is nothing that obliges them to.

[curraone]

yes, ebay does not enforce a reply from sellers.    There are a few reasons why a seller may not reply to an offer:

1.  the offer was ridiculously low

2.  the seller is away from his computer

3.  the seller is rude

probably other reasons too.

[bigbrickshop]

4. The seller may use Best Offer to offer a cheaper price for multiple purchases. They usually have a note in the listing if that's the case.

[amber-eyed-girl]

5. The seller may have the make an offer option in their listings to encourage more views, but not actually accept any offers.

I have encountered that one, many times...right down to 50 cents under being refused, on multiple items over thirty dollars each.

My initial offer was 1.50$ reduction on the thirty dollar item, times 10.

I make a note of sellers who will not entertain a reasonable offer, when it is available, and make sure I never buy from them.

[deleu911]

Then ebay should look closer into that issue since it attracts buyer to make an offer , getting frustrated of the wait and ebay looses the potential customer all together.

There should be an obligation to reply before the time expires, otherwise "make an offer" is just waste of time and is misleading

[pennyforum14]

It goes both ways though, I always respond promptly to offers, however,  I have had a number of buyers make offers that amount to a 60% discount. I only place Make an offer on items I am willing to entertain a reasonble reduction on, but to me 60% means well below cost and it's just not possible.  I generally counter their offer with a discount of between 10-20% depending on the item, but all too often, the 48hr deadline goes by without a response from the buyer.  If they don't consider the counteroffer cheap enough, it would be easy enough for them to simply reject it quickly so I at least know there is not going to be a sale there, but it appears they either find it insulting to have their offer refused, or they just couldn't be bothered.

[digital*ghost]

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@deleu911 wrote:

Then ebay should look closer into that issue since it attracts buyer to make an offer , getting frustrated of the wait and ebay looses the potential customer all together.

There should be an obligation to reply before the time expires, otherwise "make an offer" is just waste of time and is misleading

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Technically, the expiry removes the obligation, because each offer resolves within 48 hours. If you think about it, in what manner could eBay force a seller to respond to an offer given that? In other words, if they made it so that sellers were obligated to respond before the 48 hours is up, what's to stop someone from responding at 47:59, thus rendering the obligation rather moot. 

I understand the frustration and the negative impact of unanswered offers, but as it stands, these are the parameters of Best Offer, which have to be contended with if you want something for less than the full asking price - as noted, there are a range of reasons a seller will use best offer, not all of them entirely for the benefit of the buyer, the only thing you can do is remember a seller that is interested in selling or negotiating will engage someone who makes an offer by responding. (Keep in mind some sellers do not attend their businesses outside of normal business hours - it's a bad idea to submit an offer on a Friday night). 

[deleu911]

I do not expect an reply to an offer on weekends or the normal business hours.I am aware thatseller have their private time too.

But many times I make offers ( reasonable with a 20-30% discount) and I get no reply from a seller.It would be better if ebay would implement certain conditions and advises to seller and buyer to make the option "make an offer" more binding and not only a marketing advantage used by some.

Detlef 

[digital*ghost]

The point I was trying to make is, basically, conditions like what? (i.e. ones that wouldn't disadvantage anyone unfairly if circumstances dictated they were not able to respond to an offer before the 48 hours).

eBay have actually introduced measures to make the Best Offer function less binding - at least on the US site, so it's a possibility they may be introduced here (that is, even if a seller accepts an offer, the buyer is not committed to follow through with the purchase).