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.