Sent seller offer but got no response, either a good or bad one?

[urlittlestar]

I've never been on this side of eBay but has this ever happened to anyone else before? I'm not sure what to do now

Yesterday I came across a item I've been looking for for a very long time, but couldn't seem to find as cheap as this one. Item was new condition. The options were either to bid, or make a best offer on it. No one had bid which I was glad about as I knew that would mean the price would just get higher and higher and maybe even unaffordable in the end. If there had been a buy it now option, I would have definitely bought it there and then, but since there wasn't I had to settle for sending the seller a best offer. I went a £5 discount below the asking price, which actually isn't bad as the postage is not free on this item. I also sent a message alongside my offer, which probably would have been sent to the seller's inbox

The seller said in their description they were having a big clearout, so it seems like they are coming online every day to list new items. They only had 24 hours to respond to my offer (and message) but they didn't. It was almost like I'd never sent my offer at all

I'm really annoyed, the seller said in their listing that they want to send this item to someone who wants it, I explained in my message I've been looking for this item for ages at a reasonable price and would appreciate it they could accept my offer for it. I wasn't rude or anything like that. Yet they still just never responded at all. Also I can see from my email no one else is watching this item. In the past my offers have been rejected, accepted and countered. I don't mind the outcome, i get closure and if I get rejected I move on to a similar item. But no response at all? My offer expired this morning so I've wasted one of my offers, and now only have 2 chances left

I don't know whether I should assume the seller didn't know about my offer and should message them to let them know I sent one, or if they deliberately ignored me which is really rude. What would you do in this situation?

Please no rude or troll answers, I don't appreciate that at all

Thanks

[reservoir_dogs_74]

The problem with submitting offers to an auction listing is that the seller is looking for a higher than the starting price for a BIN not a lower offer which might be okay if the auction is about to end without a bid.

A lot of sellers might even block you from bidding if you made a lower offer than the starting bid, As if you did win the auction they might think that after there could be problems with partial refund requests for whatever reason.

[jond1492]

In my case, the item is a book that has been on sale for months (New, I might add) from a shop.  So it just seemed silly to reject a reasonable offer, and then to just ignore me.

In the end I took my money/business elsewhere, but whilst I understand that eBay sometimes adds Best Offer onto some sales, without the Seller's permission/approval, that's not my fault as a potential customer.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for their advice.

[jond1492]

Unfortunately, many Sellers simply don't or can't be bothered to respond to Best Offers, unless it's within their own, often random and arbitrary personal requirements.

There's honestly no rhyme-or-reason why an item with zero bids on it, that has a Buy It Now price of £50 and free postage, should have a Seller reject a Best Offer of £45. It's just insane.

As you say, if someone has a price they won't sell below, then either don't offer a Best Offer option at all OR put a note in the advert or auction saying you won't take offers less than X, OR at least have the courtesy to respond/decline offers that don't meet your specific criteria - whatever those criteria might be.

I've seen items for £50, with Best Offer on them, and had offers of £45, £47.50, and £49 all ignored and thus rejected, due to lapsing after 24/48 hours.

A total waste of my time and the Seller's, when they clearly want £50 as an absolute minimum. And if their idea of a Best Offer is something like £49.99 or £49.50, then honestly, such Sellers need to be barred from offering Best Offers in full.

Regardless, there's not much you can do about it, sadly. Sellers are free to reject or decline any Best Offer or let such offers simply lapse for any reasons they wish. But I agree, it's a damn stupid system to run if you're a Seller who won't take anything less than a set figure.  It's basically false advertising!

Ultimately, I make two offers, and if both lapse or get ignored, and my offers aren't taking the mickey, then I move on as I know the Seller is just being stupid. But I agree that Sellers should be required to click a "Your offer is declined" option, even if they don't want to say why.  Just letting such offers lapse is bad service and a poor on such Sellers, in my opinion.

[gallovidian]

The seller may not have seen your offer. He isn't bound to read eBay messages every day with a Buy It Now item, unless he offers same-day dispatch, and with an auction he isn't bound to look before the closing time. Whatever he might think of your offer, or of his own expenditure of effort, a non-answer is the same as a refusal.

If he does see the offer, and has no intention of accepting it, it would indeed be courteous to reject it promptly. If having two identical items is unacceptable to you. you can't buy elsewhere as long as an offer is lying open. But it is pretty routine for a seller to leave the offer unanswered until close to its expiry, in the hope that someone else will better it. There is no rule against that, and it seems quite fair. You are offering speecific amounts of both money and time.

Besides involuntary "Best offer" listings (which I think are less common than they used to be), sellers include that feature for different reasons. Sometimes it is only there in case someone makes a very high offer out of desperation or haste.  Others set the starting price or BIN high, and the offer is how they expect to get their money.  They can change their mind in the course of a listing,  according to how they see similar items of their own or other sellers faring in the market.

Yes, sometimes a seller will have a private chest-beating moment and block you for what he thinks is an insultingly low bid. Just bid what you think is reasonable, and if he takes offence, the odds are strongly against your ever having anything to do with him again.

[jond1492]

Hi gallovidian,

It comes down to this:

1 - If a Seller offers Best Offer, then they need to be willing and able to look at any Offers that they get sent unless the ad specifically states they can't for some reason (e.g. a family emergency, a holiday, etc).

2 - If a Seller doesn't see the offers - regardless of the reasons - then they need to fix their accounts so that they DO see them.

3 - If a Seller wants to wait for a potentially better offer, then they should say so, rather than wasting a customer's time.  However, I'd argue this is a bending of eBay's rules, as it's not playing within the spirit of things/fair play.

4 - Simply ignoring any offers, is not acceptable in my books.  Either accept it, or reject it, or explain to the cutomer why you can't do one of those two things.

Ultimately, don't include Best Offer as an option on an auction, if you don't want to sell for anything less than a specific price.

Likewise, don't auction something off starting at 99p, and then find one person bids on it for 99p right at the last minute, and wins, if you actually aren't prepared to sell the item off for that price.  I've seen auctions do that, and then I've won it, only for a Seller to make up some flimsy excuse (item is lost, item is no longer available) for why they can no longer send it out to the winner, only for them to then relist it at a much higher price, days or weeks later.

Such actions are a breach of eBay rules anyway, but more importantly, it just makes the Seller look like a prat!

I won't stand for excuses, when it comes to Best Offers on eBay.  Best Offer - to most people's minds - means someone is willing to consider an offer lower than that for which they are currently advertising it.

In much the same way private car ads in newspapers might have "ONO" (or nearest offer), or "OBO" (or bet offer", or even "OVNO" (or very nearest offer) at the end of them.  If the offer is significantly less, then reject it.  If you've got a better offer from someone else, then reject the other offers.  But don't play fast-and-loose with the system, by inviting offers, and then simply ignoring them, or rejecting what most people would consider sensible/fair/reasoned offers.   It's just bad form, and does the Seller no favours.

[myinspiration0_4]

Please don't take it personally - to some people, eBay is a business and they don't feel the need to reply.

I am a private seller and I would ALWAYS wish to reply, and always do, but some people don't see it that way.

Many people in life - not just on eBay - adopt the same approach. I have learned over the years to keep expectations low, especially of strangers, and especially in business.

Good luck!

[jond1492]

If people who want to use eBay as a business, then that's fine.  But any "business" that treats its customers with such disdain, will soon find it won't have any customer to ignore, because they'll all have gone elsewhere to better, nicer companies that DO reply to offers.

If someone want to use eBay to buy/sell stuff as a business, then I'm afraid those people need to start understanding that they need customers, more than the customer needs them.  Without customers, you have no business.  So, I think people need to start understanding that ignoring customers won't get you very far!

[myinspiration0_4]

I agree with you @jond1492 - it isn't good business to ignore people, and it certainly isn't how I operate as a private seller. However, I think the OP should just accept that this is how the world is, and not spend too much emotional energy on it.
Best wishes.

[jond1492]

This may be "how the world is", but it doesn't make it right, and it doesn't make using eBay fun, good, or positive.  So I'd argue that regardless of it being "how the world is", Sellers need to be doing a better job of things.

eBay is a two-way-street: sellers need buyers, but buyers do need sellers.  But bad sellers are as bad as bad buyers.  One can't exist without the other.  If sellers don't want offers, don't allow people to make offers.  If sellers only want offers over a certain amount of money, state that in the advert.  But don't allow offers to be made, and then ignore them.  That's just laziness and bad business, and will only harm your reputation, and eventually people will just ignore that company/seller.

And plenty of people do this already.  Buyers are getting wise to how poorly some sellers operate, and they will leave negative feedback accordingly.  Sellers need to learn why this is, and act accordingly.

[compassr2]

I know I'm late seeing this thread, however I have had sellers ignore an offer I've made too, I'd rather recieve a seller declined or counter offer.

On the upside I have recently made an offer well above the starting price, which was what the item was worth.

My offer was ignored. However I then placed a bid on the item and won it for much less than my initial offer, so the seller lost out in the end and I got a really good bargain. 😀

[toughmanturk]

As a seller you can set the minimum offer that you would accept, so I don't get why you would ignore or outright reject an offer you set as acceptable (which seems to happen a lot). I have also had offers accepted below the bid starting price so I see no harm in making low offers. If you don't want low offers, set it so that it isn't possible to make low offers, simple.

[four_mid_able]

Iv'e done same many times lol.

I recently made an offer of 150 for a new high end engine for an rc car.Start price was 40.

Seller rejected so i just made a bid and won at start price 😋

[jond1492]

I've done similar.  Made an offer to the Seller for £15, for a set of bookazine's they had at a starting price of £6.50.  They said "No, I'll wait to see how the bidding goes".

No one bid, except me right at the final moment, and I won the sale at £6.50!

[ozmonaut]

Best offer is a bit of a joke sometimes. I made a best offer on something with buy it now that was 45 pounds. The postage was just over 4 pounds so I offered 40 pounds, not good enough! The seller came back with a counter offer of 43.50. what on earth is the point of putting a best offer option? That wasn't the only instance, I've had sellers that will only give one pound off or so on around a 50 pound item with buy it now, it's pretty pathetic. I wish they'd just stop wasting my time and get rid of the best offer option. 

[reassuringly.crazy]

As a seller - this answer sums it up nicely.

if you make an insulting offer on an auction (I've had 40% and half the start price offered) then I decline the offer and put the member in my block list, as they've indicated they aren't serious, especially if they do this within hours of a 7 or 10 day auction going live. 

[geosacha007]

In an auction the seller usually starts at the minimum they would accept.  By making an offer you are trying to bribe them to end the auction early.  You have to make it worth their while.  They would be giving up their chance at a high price.  If they would take less they can always relist it lower in another auction if it didnt sell.