POINTLESS 'MAKE OFFER' OPTION BY SELLERS

[locoscripters]

Don't know if any other post has coveted this subject but why do some sellers bother to list the Make Offer option on a listing when they have no intention of accepting any?

Example: I offered just 6% less than the asking price for an item but got rejected immediately. No counter offer, nothing.

I think this is very bad PR and there is no way I would ever buy anything from such a seller in future. I can understand if a ludicrous sum is offered but they should surely be prepared to accept anything under 10%.

Otherwise the whole exercise is utterly pointless and time wasting. 

[lucy_farmer]

Wow!! a seller *actually* counter-offered you  11 pence off !?

Now I see your point. That's just bonkers 😲

[keepsakesandkollectables]

edwardian-dreams.

Says " 6% less? Stingy seller"

But does it not take into account the items full asking price, sometimes 6% can still be a good deal.

Example if an item is listed for say £100.00 then 6% can be £6.00 off the asking price, which is a nice amount in reality.

I suspect that goes for lots of items that are more expensive in price.

Where as with cheaper items listed for say £5.00 the 6% is only 30p, so possibly are not really worth the effort.

But on that point is I saw 30p on the pavement, I would bend down to pick it up, I would not think, it's not worth me bending down for that 30p.

So - ANY DISCOUNT - no matter how small, is still a discount & not to be stiffed at, is it not?

[daro2096]

Seller is possibly lying here. You can't accidentally press the decline when you meant to press accept. A pop up appears asking you are you sure. So I don't believe the seller here.

[dreece20122012]

I just made an offer to a seller of £10 which was 78p below the asking price. Declined.  So I made an offer of £10.80 1p above the asking price thinking that it would be accepted but no it was declined.  So I made a final offer of £11.00.  This was declined but I am now told am in an auction now.  The seller had no intention of accepting any offers on this item and under duress pushed the unsuspecting buyer into an unnecessary auction that they didn’t want to be in because people may bump the price above what was offered by the original buyer.  How are sellers allowed to get away with this.  It’s like enticing someone to come into our bar and it turns out you entered a brothel instead and you get scammed out of €40 for a cheap bottle of fizz.  Yes this happened to me once in Paris.  Never enter a bar in Paris unless it is in the tourist guide. Sorry for the what seems like a bad comparison but that is what it is like. 

[dreece20122012]

The seller said I had to take into account eBay’s cut from this item would have taken the item below £10.78.  I am the buyer you are the seller.  It is upto the seller to pick an appropriate price that covers his expenses and the cut that eBay takes.  I don’t care what eBay takes so long as sellers abide by the rules.  In a true auction they would never do this it they are open to offers before the auction you can make a deal with them.  You see this in the television auction shows. I’ve also seen it in real life happen this way.  A ring from someone who died the solicitors had it and they put it to auction with a fixed offer to buy it at £XYZ.  Also it had to be disclosed that one of the employees was placing the offer.  My mum won that item because the family accepted what was a very good offer for the ring she didn’t pay under the asking price but a bit above the asking price something like £100 more. 

[sml192]

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@dreece20122012 wrote:

I just made an offer to a seller of £10 which was 78p below the asking price. Declined.  So I made an offer of £10.80 1p above the asking price thinking that it would be accepted but no it was declined.  So I made a final offer of £11.00.  This was declined but I am now told am in an auction now.  The seller had no intention of accepting any offers on this item and under duress pushed the unsuspecting buyer into an unnecessary auction that they didn’t want to be in because people may bump the price above what was offered by the original buyer.  How are sellers allowed to get away with this.  It’s like enticing someone to come into our bar and it turns out you entered a brothel instead and you get scammed out of €40 for a cheap bottle of fizz.  Yes this happened to me once in Paris.  Never enter a bar in Paris unless it is in the tourist guide. Sorry for the what seems like a bad comparison but that is what it is like. 

Making an offer shouldn't result in an actual bid being placed, even if it's equal to or above the start price, so no idea how that has happened but definitely nothing to do with the seller.

If an auction has a 'Best Offer' option on it then the lowest offer the seller is likely to accept will be the starting price of the auction but if they believe that the auction is likely to yield more than the starting price then they will be looking for a higher offer.

[jckl1957]

If I have an auction item with 'best offer', then the auction starting price would be the very lowest price I would accept.

I might add best offer with a higher price - near to what I would hope to get if there are a few interested bidders.

So, I might start an auction at £75, and have best offer set to accept offers of £100 but automatically reject offers of £80.

In an auction, best offer allows a buyer to secure the item without having to bid or wait for the auction to end.

[victoryhouse]

Yup. I've even offered just one pence below the asking price once I think they aren't bothering, and sure enough, still no reply. Any buyer who stages their wares with an offer option should be forced to sell at a certain percentage.

[teepee_crafts]

Well said; good manners cost nothing!

[puffinfur]

I agree.  This has been happening more and more.  It’s really annoying.  I think the seller usually knows exactly what they are doing. They are putting make offer to attract more buyers. They have no intention of accepting an offer, however close it is to the original price.  make some mockery of the whole thing, very annoying.  A waste of everyone’s time. And under hand by the seller

[moonlight-rhapsody]

"I've even offered just one pence below the asking price once I think they aren't bothering, and sure enough, still no reply."

Obviously I don't know the circumstances, but it's possible that anything that's not what would generally be thought "normal practice" could make some sellers wary (and some may possibly even block the potential buyer).

[puffinfur]

They’re just using make an offer as a marketing tool in my opinion. Very
annoying.

[paul_bhoy]

If I have a lot of watchers on an item I don’t accept an offer just below the starting price, of course if I have no watchers on an item I usually accept any sensible offer

[wara_rat]

Several reasons, first of all the app automatically adds it and you have to remember to turn it off. Secondly if I only just listed something I probably wouldn't take your offer. At the other end of the scale if you caught me when the rent was due I may be susceptible to a low ball offer. Basically  things are variable

[subminman]

Absolutely agree, if I have a popular item that has had lots of views and watchers why should I accept an offer of less than the start price to end the listing early and lose the oppertunity of getting a better price - after all this is meant to be an auction site not a car boot. I find I get offers more than the start price because the buyer really wants it or derisable offers of 50% of the start price.

[puffinfur]

That’s the kinda negative attitude I’m talking about, ignoring the buyer
too (rude). By the way, we’re talking about say 10% off, not low ball
offers.

[dreece20122012]

I made an offer to a seller of £10 instead of £12.  Nope rejected.  Note £10 was the lowest of the make an offer. So I moved up to £11.  Nope.  Then £12 nope.  I then thought I’d make an offer of £13 and the seller came back to me and said you are now in auction territory.  How does that work you have make offer of £10+ but accepted none of the offers.  That’s just to hook interest.  I then made a bid of £20 and retracted it just to show that I wasn’t happy,.  I also reported the seller to eBay. Anyway one month later I get an actual offer from the seller of 🥁 roll another 🥁 roll.  It was £10.  What was the point.  I accepted it but the review was ok thanks.  I blocked the seller after this.  But under U.K. law what the seller did was illegal and eBay allowed them to get away with it. 

[dreece20122012]

Not the oh I was meant to accept but declined.  The auction ends and no one bought the item come on buy it off of me.  Please.  Please o please.  I am very cynical of human nature because 99.9% we all made a wintsey tintsey lie at some point.  Our Government's do it all the time. 

[sml192]

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@dreece20122012 wrote:

I made an offer to a seller of £10 instead of £12.  Nope rejected.  Note £10 was the lowest of the make an offer. So I moved up to £11.  Nope.  Then £12 nope.  I then thought I’d make an offer of £13 and the seller came back to me and said you are now in auction territory.  How does that work you have make offer of £10+ but accepted none of the offers.  That’s just to hook interest.  I then made a bid of £20 and retracted it just to show that I wasn’t happy,.  I also reported the seller to eBay. Anyway one month later I get an actual offer from the seller of 🥁 roll another 🥁 roll.  It was £10.  What was the point.  I accepted it but the review was ok thanks.  I blocked the seller after this.  But under U.K. law what the seller did was illegal and eBay allowed them to get away with it. 

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Sorry, what on earth was illegal regarding what they did?

They started the auction at £12 as that was the minimum they were prepared to accept at the time and they were probably hoping to get more, hence why your offers were declined.  Very few people would actually start an auction for an amount that was more than the minimum they were initially prepared to accept as that just wouldn't be logical.

They obviously didn't end up getting any bids so eventually lowered their expectations and as you had previously shown an interest offered it to you at the amount you originally wanted to pay.

As far as I can see the seller's behaviour seems perfectly reasonable and there was nothing to report them for.   They haven't broken any eBay rules and certainly haven't done anything illegal.

[puffinfur]

Yes it’s a poor show all round. Really they deserve a bad review for doing
this.