Viewing an item prompting automated & quot;Offer from seller" is not a good selling technique

[merseyglo]

Simply viewing an item for sale on eBay seems to prompt an offer from seller afterwards a couple of times is so annoying and a turn off.

I think it's a lowly technique,puts people off and shouldn't be done.

[merseyglo]

Isn't there an edit option for title..? 

Why have quotation marks turned to words

[da-vids]

Yes eBay luv all the marketing nonsense that assume people are stoopid. Hate the offer nonsense after looking at an item, like it's going to make me buy item, obviously there's the 'Free' post nonsense when EVERYONE knows postage isn't free. As I type there is an offer on home page of eBay app 'Up to 50% off'. Usually real world shops do this and the 'up to' is teeny tiny, it's all insulting to ones intelligence. It shows how companies view their customers as stoopid.

[da-vids]

"Why have quotation marks turned to words"

Don't worry about it, you have communicated it's quotation marks so title now makes perfect sense 👍

[davrman]

When you're just looking, open a private or incognito window in your web browser.
This way eBay can't track what you're viewing... 😜

[da-vids]

If it's possible to counter offer those offers, waste their time by giving them ridiculous counter offer to consider.

[merseyglo]

I'm just pointing this out that this kind of thing is probably deterring people from visiting eBay. One doesn't need the hassle of receiving these messages when they are just browsing around. It's a real turn off.

MEBGA (Make eBay great again) : (

[billythecardy]

I rather suspect these are automatic offers sent by eBay - from sellers who have "Send Automated Offers" enabled on their listings.  Turns out I had a few of those enabled on some listings (no idea how it happened, not something I would ever do), and the offers eBay were sending were more than the current price of the listing where I had reduced the price. Crazy, and very annoying to the buyer or anyone just browsing.

[da-vids]

On the app when making a listing 'allow offers' has recently been toggled on by default, have to manually toggle it off, don't think this is exactly the same as thread topic, but not impressed with it being made the default. It does say apparently we make a percentage more sales if using 'allow offers' facility but to make it default and have to keep toggling it off is proper annoying. Not sure if it's default on desktop site... yet.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

To be fair, just because these annoy you, does not mean that they annoy everyone.

As it happens, I get the vast majority of my sales from offers.

It's not like you have go look at them when you get an offer, you just ignore/dismiss it.

And whoever said that it's a great idea to waste peoples time by sending in lowball offers.  That is just pathetic.  And actually very mean hearted.

[da-vids]

"I get the vast majority of my sales from offers"

I'll take that as a recommendation and might try it myself.

Unfortunately the offers can be iffy when prices are raised and then unsolicited offer sent / offered, offers are often 2-3% which IS annoying, certainly pathetic to use your word. If half the people watching an item are awaiting an offer 🤔 pathetic also.

It's obviously not a great idea to spend time with silly counter offers, that was an impulsive post, indeed as you use the offer facility a lot I bet you know silly offers never actually happen, indeed they can be filtered out .

Must admit I do look and consider the unsolicited offers, but never took one up yet. If checking revision history of an item one could see just how genuine an offer is, might find revision history showing price increase and offers offered, then price reduction and offers withdrawn, it's a form of yo yo pricing.

When using the traditional offer system prices are raised and offers invited, understandable way to 'invite' people to offer. The 'unsolicited' offers are different, however prices may not be increased before offer sent judging by the low percentage offer so they are more like a nudge to buy, interesting you say they work for you.

If you are going to reply with you send unsolicited good offers to everyone of a decent 5-10% why not just sell for less in the first place. It's another way to sell yes, personally I would like to block unsolicited offers because they are... unsolicited. The original offer system is a good avenue but prices are always hiked and offers invited, that works and have used it in the past.

When I use the original system of offers I always put in the description "ignore the price, just looking for offers". Because the headline price is always raised to allow for offers.

[merseyglo]

Just yesterday I asked my wife to look up a certain item we have for comparison and she said
"Nah..I don't want to be receiving they're stupid offers.."
No man. Somebody just looks at something and begins receiving offers for 3 days is a T U R N. O F F

[merseyglo]

Quote.  "Unsolicited offers" to people just looking around is a turn off a
nd puts people off of browsing ebay.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Yet, there is literally about 3 people answering this thread saying it's a bad thing.

And strangely enough, most of the other sites have something very similar, so it obviously does work.

Whatever system is in place, you will never make everyone happy all of the time.  That is just the nature of things.  And frankly, if the various sites found that this kind of thing didn't work, then they simply wouldn't do it.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

"If you are going to reply with you send unsolicited good offers to everyone of a decent 5-10% why not just sell for less in the first place. It's another way to sell yes, personally I would like to block unsolicited offers because they are... unsolicited. The original offer system is a good avenue but prices are always hiked and offers invited, that works and have used it in the past."

Just because an offer is made, does not mean that prices have been hiked in the first place.

If you have decent margin products, then you can afford to run offers on them, that's one of the basics of selling.  Some may well increase prices.  But not everyone by any means at all.

And as to exactly why I don't sell cheaper, because my prices are pretty good already and the occasional full price sale, helps overall.

And you should also bear in mind, that "unsolicited" offers have been made to people since before the internet was invented.  Spam mail?  

At the end of the day however, the offers made (though unsolicited), are actually targeted at people who have shown an interest in buying something.  

Whilst I understand that you may not like getting low end offers, why should sellers be giving you large offers?  Your getting an extra discount on something, that you wouldn't have got otherwise.  It's not exactly a slap in the face is it?  Yes, there are always going to be dodgy sellers out there who raise the prices etc.  But in the main, the majority are not and are indeed genuine.

[merseyglo]

Does it work ? Look at how many eby members were on the site in 2017 and hope much less are today.
Im an old dude I come from the tail end of the golden age of retail..hounding after people is the 

difference between a bazaar in Turkey and Paul Stuart Department Store.
Thats my opinion of how I see it. The new "Live" thing they haver introduced is really to new low as well.

[da-vids]

I don't disagree with anything you say!

It's another way to sell and evidently works for sellers, it has evolved where in some cases buyers may hold out for that offer, if that gets the sale great.

I'll give it a go and try it with stuff that hasn't moved, will give a good and genuine discount, just as if I were face to face with the customer, no trying to be clever. Although less money the item moves, everyone is happy. If anyone has ever used the second chance offers on auctions, selling same thing to 2nd and 3rd bidders, got slightly less money, everyone happy, they are unsolicited, but buyers can opt not to receive those second chance offers. That said I bet there is something in preferences that would allow one not to receive offers. They obviously haven't annoyed me that much that I have even checked my preferences to stop them landing in my inbox.

I have the margin to play around with, less overheads compared to larger competitors with their warehousing and VAT, could be good.

There could be controls on the unsolicited offers like on the original offers method, so I don't get offers less than 5% for example, an evolution which could encourage genuinely good offers. Again I haven't even looked, I'll have to have a look some time out of interest having gone on about it eh!

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Of course it works.  That's exactly what I said in the first place.

I'm no kid either.  Been doing this a long time now.  🙂  Hell, I remember when Ford Capri's where the next big thing!

Chasing after people is not like a bazaar.  Things really haven't really changed that much over the years, just the way they are done.  Think door to door sales.  Nobody wanted them knocking, but they did and they KEPT doing it.  Why?  Because it made them money.  

[bricklanebargains]

Sending offers to "watchers" do not work, at least not for us and definitely not in the 15-20% range. We do send offers occasionally but more than 90% percent of our sales come from full price listings and sometimes Ebay`s coupon discounts. So there is a chance that offers backfire and actually turn potential buyers off. It would be great if Ebay shared their data on this with business sellers.    

[da-vids]

Never seen offers in 15-20% range.

Do you mean you have tried in the 15-20% range and still no joy?

Also didn't know a seller knew if a coupon had been used on a sale!