Should seller wait a short while for response to their counter offer

[joyer4]

I made an offer on an item at 12.13 today. The seller replied at12.19 with a counter offer. I clicked on their email ti respond and was taken to a page which stated I had refused their offer. On contacting the seller it seems they had sold to someone else in that short time frame. Can they do this or should they wait at least half an hour for a response to their counter offer?

[tressygirl]

No a seller does not have to wait for a reply to their counter offer, and yes,  a seller can send multiple offers,  and it's ' first come' to click accept, which sells the item.

@joyer4 

[sml192]

To add to the advice you have already been given, even when an offer is accepted it will still remain available to others until paid for.

[porte2425]

While I know that is true (it is in the help), can it actually happen any more? I thought everything was auto-pay now with offers (that’s my experience, anyway). I thought it even says at the point of an offer that you are committing to buy (or sell, if you are the seller accepting an offer)? But I could be wrong.

@joyer4 

If the other person bought at the full asking price then there was nothing the seller could do about it anyway. At that point, they are contracted to sell the item to them, and any outstanding offers on the item would automatically expire.

Besides, put yourself in the seller’s shoes. People are haggling with you on price. Are you saying you would ignore a higher offer because someone made you a lower offer earlier?

[sml192]

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@porte2425 wrote:

While I know that is true (it is in the help), can it actually happen any more? I thought everything was auto-pay now with offers (that’s my experience, anyway). 

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A seller can still opt out of requiring pre-authorised payment if they wish.

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@porte2425 wrote:

I thought it even says at the point of an offer that you are committing to buy (or sell, if you are the seller accepting an offer)? But I could be wrong.

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If a seller makes an offer then they are obviously committing to the sale if the offer is accepted. 

If a buyer makes an offer then then they are only committing to the purchase, should the offer be accepted, if pre-authorised payment is required, in which case they will see the following message:

'By selecting Send offer, you authorise eBay to charge this payment method for the order total if the seller accepts your offer. You also agree to eBay’s User Agreement and acknowledge reading our Privacy Notice.'

[porte2425]

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@sml192 wrote:A seller can still opt out of requiring pre-authorised payment if they wish.

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Okay, I didn't know that. Thanks.

[akemp1]

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@joyer4 wrote:

I made an offer on an item at 12.13 today. The seller replied at12.19 with a counter offer. I clicked on their email ti respond and was taken to a page which stated I had refused their offer. On contacting the seller it seems they had sold to someone else in that short time frame. Can they do this or should they wait at least half an hour for a response to their counter offer?

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Ebay would have cancelled your offer automatically when the item sold. That may incorrectly show as you or the seller rejecting the offer. It sounds like someone else simply bought it while the seller was waiting for you to consider their counter offer.

Ebay can be sneaky in telling other potential buyers when an offer is made for an item so only engage in offers if you are happy the item could still sell to someone else during the negotiation as your offer might trigger another buyer to proceed.

[porte2425]

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@akemp1 wrote:

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Ebay can be sneaky in telling other potential buyers when an offer is made for an item so only engage in offers if you are happy the item could still sell to someone else during the negotiation as your offer might trigger another buyer to proceed.

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Good point. I forgot about that.

Yes, a listing suddenly showing as “1 offer pending” may well push another buyer into purchasing straight away.

[akemp1 · Accepted solution]

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@porte2425 wrote:

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Yes, a listing suddenly showing as “1 offer pending” may well push another buyer into purchasing straight away.

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It's certainly caused me to be more cautious making offers. If  want something but still not enough to pay full price then it seems better to do the negotiation by message rather than the offer button. Then the seller can reply with offer and I don't think that triggers the message to other buyers.

[joyer4]

I didn't realise that if the seller gives a counter offer that someone else can still buy it.  Should the system have been as I thought, then yes, I would ignore a higher offer until negotiations with the first interested party had ended as fairness is more important to me than money.                                                                  

[joyer4]

Thanks although I probably will not bother with offers again.

[porte2425]

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@joyer4 wrote:

I would ignore a higher offer until negotiations with the first interested party had ended as fairness is more important to me than money.                                                                  

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If I were doing the deal in person, then I would agree with you. (In fact, when I sold my car, I accepted a lower offer first, and while I was waiting for them to come and inspect the car, I turned down a full asking price offer from someone else.) But online it is different. Especially on eBay.

[akemp1]

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@joyer4 wrote:

fairness is more important to me than money.                                                                  

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Sadly ebay's policies might be clearer if you lower your expectations somewhat.