Ebay changing " Best Offer " with New Best Offer Beta

[cyberdan]

like I have said a hundred times (not necessarily here) there a people at fleebay that their only job is to come up with changes in how things are done. THAT IT!! if they don't come up with screwball changes they are out the door. that is why peeBay is always doing something different.

 

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[Rdunzl]

It seems to me that for quite some time now, eBay has only been worried about maximizing its profits. I have been
a casual seller since the early days of eBay, and not many changes made have benefitted me. Their purchase of Paypal
was supposed to streamline the process and benefit eBay users. In reality, we just get hit with more fees coming AND going. Call me a skeptic or a pessimist ( I prefer realist), but any change eBay makes is an attempt to somehow increase
revenue. I'm not saying all of them are logical or practical, but that is their intent. Sellers are stepchildren to them and it
shouldn't be that way. I appreciate all the points of view being put on the table, but seems like another headache to me.
Just my two cents.

 

[Iron Patch]

It seems to me that for quite some time now, eBay has only been worried about maximizing its profits. I have been
a casual seller since the early days of eBay, and not many changes made have benefitted me. Their purchase of Paypal
was supposed to streamline the process and benefit eBay users. In reality, we just get hit with more fees coming AND going. Call me a skeptic or a pessimist ( I prefer realist), but any change eBay makes is an attempt to somehow increase
revenue. I'm not saying all of them are logical or practical, but that is their intent. Sellers are stepchildren to them and it
shouldn't be that way. I appreciate all the points of view being put on the table, but seems like another headache to me.
Just my two cents.

That's no doubt true they try to increase profit as any business would, but it's hard to argue the recent free listings for store subscribers and lower final value fees aren't to the benefit of the user, because clearly they are. If only all changes could benefit both sides life would be great, but obviously the world doesn't usually work that way.

 

[Rdunzl]

It still feels like a one step forward, two steps back situation. I can't speak to store subscribers as I am not one, but lower final value fees were long ago negated by other increases. I guess I should just be happy they didn't go up, right?
I still enjoy the game tho.

 

[Iron Patch]

It still feels like a one step forward, two steps back situation. I can't speak to store subscribers as I am not one, but lower final value fees were long ago negated by other increases. I guess I should just be happy they didn't go up, right?
I still enjoy the game tho.

I guess it depends how well it fits into your own strategy, and for me it works extremely well... better than I expected in fact.

 

[trdhrdr007]

Here's the problem with the buyer not being obligated to buy. There are lots of the same and/or similar items sold on ebay that could be considered commodities. In other words, the buyer doesn't care which one he gets. In a situation like that they could shotgun a buttload of offers out there with different sellers until they find the one that's willing to sell at the lowest price. Good for the buyer & possibly the seller with the lowest price.....not so good for all the other sellers that have to spend the time with accepting/declining an offer.

 

[Iron Patch]

Thinking a little more....


A good % of fixed price items are listed well above what the seller would actually accept, and that can often work out for a seller because the odd buyer will come along and pay near that amount. But there's also a bad side, and that's many buyers might be scared off by the price and not make an offer at all. So changing the way offers work is probably an attempt by ebay to bridge that gap, because with many more offers going in a lot more sales would happen. It's obviously just a tool to push buyers, but that's why I think it is happening. An offer often leads to a negotiation, and a negotiation a sale, so yet another plus for ebay and more sales.

 

[jerseyben]

Thinking a little more....


A good % of fixed price items are listed well above what the seller would actually accept, and that can often work out for a seller because the odd buyer will come along and pay near that amount. But there's also a bad side, and that's many buyers might be scared off by the price and not make an offer at all. So changing the way offers work is probably an attempt by ebay to bridge that gap, because with many more offers going in a lot more sales would happen. It's obviously just a tool to push buyers, but that's why I think it is happening. An offer often leads to a negotiation, and a negotiation a sale, so yet another plus for ebay and more sales.

The end result I see happening is both more frustration for sellers but also more sales overall.

I see a LOT of items that are way overpriced so hopefully this will help bring people down to earth on their pricing and get some items moving that would otherwise just sit there.

My reasoning is: If you have an item priced at $100 and receive 30 offers all around $50, that should tell you that the true market value is somewhere around $50. If you are smart, you will adjust your price accordingly.

 

[diggummup]

If you price a $50 item for $100, your either an idiot that doesn't know any better or your looking for some sucker to come down the river and take a bite. In either case you don't deserve an offer.

 

[Fletch88]

It is all driven by market demand. If its most used "stuff" like say for instance motorcycle riding gear in good condition, it's worth 40-50% of new. If its a used AT Pro 2-3 months old you can get $500-550. It's all about how bad someone wants or needs it.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet

 

[Iron Patch]

If you price a $50 item for $100, your either an idiot that doesn't know any better or your looking for some sucker to come down the river and take a bite. In either case you don't deserve an offer.

Not sure what you sell, but I'd lose a lot of great sales if I sold my items for what made sense instead of what I thought someone would be willing to pay. When you start at $100 you can always drop the price, but you can't get it back if you're buyer paid $50 and would have gone to $60 or $70.

 

[trdhrdr007]

The end result I see happening is both more frustration for sellers but also more sales overall.

I see a LOT of items that are way overpriced so hopefully this will help bring people down to earth on their pricing and get some items moving that would otherwise just sit there.

My reasoning is: If you have an item priced at $100 and receive 30 offers all around $50, that should tell you that the true market value is somewhere around $50. If you are smart, you will adjust your price accordingly.

Yeah, but there wasn't anything keeping people from offering true market value before the change. The only difference is now a buyer can offer market value without being obligated to buy at that price.

 

[Iron Patch]

Yeah, but there wasn't anything keeping people from offering true market value before the change. The only difference is now a buyer can offer market value without being obligated to buy at that price.

I'll just be using the reject offers under a certain price a lot more so I don't have to be annoyed by seeing all these meaningless offers.

Just thought of another positive... with more offers it will make some buyers more interested because they see others are interested. That will help sellers slightly, but in the end I still think it's a stupid change.

 

[Minrelica]

Sounds to me like a lot more interaction for near the same end result. It's very straight forward now so I really don't understand what the point is to change it... But if I had to guess, many more sellers are probably listing fixed price with best offer these days and ebay is trying to push the buyers into offering, trying to make it seem as normal as bidding.

Well, I personally would like to have the listings stay active until the would-be buyer actually pays for the item. I generally automatically accept offers of $XX.XX on any certain item so when the buyer puts in an offer which meets my minimum requirements I think they're sometimes surprised that the offer was automatically accepted and now they're expected to pay... Most do but some don't... This new method could eliminate a lot of hassle... could

So if I am reading this correctly:

You can make offers on multiple items and you are only obligated to purchase an item if you actually pay for it - even if your offer was accepted by the seller?

You used to be obligated to pay for an item if your offer was accepted.

Please correct me if I am reading this wrong.

If this is indeed correct, then that made ebay bargain hunting much easier for a lot more people.

I think it's MUCH better than dealing with the idiots that bid on 5 of the same item, win them all and think that they only need to pay for the lowest priced one.

 

[diggummup]

Not sure what you sell, but I'd lose a lot of great sales if I sold my items for what made sense instead of what I thought someone would be willing to pay. When you start at $100 you can always drop the price, but you can't get it back if you're buyer paid $50 and would have gone to $60 or $70.

First, I don't use BIN on most of my items. Those where I do use BIN, have a history of recently sold prices. I will put my BIN price somewhere in the middle of those that have recently sold. Unless there aren't any others listed at that time, then I will list it towards the higher end of the recently completed sales listings. When I sell, I want to move this stuff, not sit on it.
If you've read any of my posts on here, then you see the kinds of things I sell. An eclectic mix of things. from vintage glassware and pottery, to militaria and ephemera, to vintage toys and games, to perfumes and jewelry, and everything in between. Basically anything and everything that is small and collectible, I will buy and sell.
If it's an unusual or rare, htf item, thats one thing, but I see items on there all the time with crazy, unrealistic prices. Makes me wonder, what the hell these people are thinking. I can't stand people that go out of their way to try and take advantage of someone.
I will start on the high end on certain things, the low end on others. If I don't have a comparison, I will list for what I think someone would be willing to pay. Or if it's really rare, i'll list it for .99 and let the bidders decide. I have never been disappointed when selling one of my own items, as far as the final selling price goes. Why? Because I don't list anything for less than I would be willing to let it go for, even the .99 items. I ain't skeered.

In short, I'm not going to pay the highest price for an item that has multiple identical's for less. I'd be a fool to do so. I guess you sell mostly coins. They are a different animal because each one is specific in it's condition. As such, prices will always vary greatly.

 

[Iron Patch]

First, I don't use BIN on most of my items. Those where I do use BIN, have a history of recently sold prices. I will put my BIN price somewhere in the middle of those that have recently sold. Unless there aren't any others listed at that time, then I will list it towards the higher end of the recently completed sales listings. When I sell, I want to move this stuff, not sit on it.
If you've read any of my posts on here, then you see the kinds of things I sell. An eclectic mix of things. from vintage glassware and pottery, to militaria and ephemera, to vintage toys and games, to perfumes and jewelry, and everything in between. Basically anything and everything that is small and collectible, I will buy and sell.
If it's an unusual or rare, htf item, thats one thing, but I see items on there all the time with crazy, unrealistic prices. Makes me wonder, what the hell these people are thinking. I can't stand people that go out of their way to try and take advantage of someone.
I will start on the high end on certain things, the low end on others. If I don't have a comparison, I will list for what I think someone would be willing to pay. Or if it's really rare, i'll list it for .99 and let the bidders decide. I have never been disappointed when selling one of my own items, as far as the final selling price goes. Why? Because I don't list anything for less than I would be willing to let it go for, even the .99 items. I ain't skeered.

In short, I'm not going to pay the highest price for an item that has multiple identical's for less. I'd be a fool to do so. I guess you sell mostly coins. They are a different animal because each one is specific in it's condition. As such, prices will always vary greatly.

I never thought to post what should have been my reply, or at least my main point... I buy everything I sell from ebay, so if stuff always sold for what it's worth, I'd have to over charge on everything to make a buck. I do agree though, collectibles in general tend to be different because a good part of what I sell you probably can't go buy a near identical one from someone else... or see the price. Also, people have money to spend on coins, and they certainly do. I remember when i started out $50 meant something, and really, it still does to me, but I was amazed how many people would throw down $50 for a coin and not even think about it.... and that's probably because $50 doesn't even buy you anything fantastic, so they likely think they're staying pretty low budget in their collecting. I also buy relics/antiques and those have even a wider range of opinion and interest, and that's good for someone like me because I have a very good sense of what the top end is, and if I think I can get it, that's ho I'll price it.

 

[Keppy]

No matter what Ebay does i still get a very lot of people to see what i have for sale....... And no matter what they do i still make money on Ebay..... So i just roll with the punches..............And take the profits to the bank.......

 

[Rick7425]

I've been on eBay for 15+ years and currently about 15% of my sales come from an accepted offer, however since the introduction of this new feature ZERO of the offers received under the "Best Offer Beta" feature have paid. So in short it's the WORST feature I've ever seen on eBay, and honestly should be renames "Watch List #2", as it does not require the (assumed) buyer to really purchase the item (if the offer is accepted), and in my humble opinion opens eBay up to TireKickers and Price Troll. If you do not like this feature, I strong suggest that you call eBay's toll free number (waste some of there $$$) and complain. When done complaining ask to speak to a supervisor and continue to complain - The only way to stop this policy is to light eBay up and remind them that it is "sellers" who earn them money. IE: It's when a seller really sell an item that they earn a profit.

 

[Iron Patch]

I've been on eBay for 15+ years and currently about 15% of my sales come from an accepted offer, however since the introduction of this new feature ZERO of the offers received under the "Best Offer Beta" feature have paid. So in short it's the WORST feature I've ever seen on eBay, and honestly should be renames "Watch List #2", as it does not require the (assumed) buyer to really purchase the item (if the offer is accepted), and in my humble opinion opens eBay up to TireKickers and Price Troll. If you do not like this feature, I strong suggest that you call eBay's toll free number (waste some of there $$$) and complain. When done complaining ask to speak to a supervisor and continue to complain - The only way to stop this policy is to light eBay up and remind them that it is "sellers" who earn them money. IE: It's when a seller really sell an item that they earn a profit.

Not a surprise, just lets the people who aren't serious play more games, and gives those who are serious additional time to change their mind. Ebay sure loves to give the power to the buyer anywhere they can.

 

[jerseyben]

Sorry to dredge up an old post but I have an update:

Last week, I listed a popular used video game with a "make an offer" BIN listing for 7 days. I looked up the completed sales history of the game and found it was consistently selling for $10-20. I priced it at $15.95 free shipping "make an offer".

I received several offers for $4 and $5.

Needless to say that was a waste of time and not something I will bother doing again.