Ebay's "Send Offer" function... 3 3

[Point Five]

I noticed that ebay added this function, a year or so ago I think. If you have watchers on your BIN auctions, you can send them an unsolicited private offer lower than the BIN and see if they bite.

This seems... intrusive somehow? As sellers, do you use this function and successfully sell books with it? As buyers, if you receive offers like this out of the blue do they do anything but annoy you? Any input appreciated.

 

[ADAMANTIUM]

15 minutes ago, Point Five said:

I noticed that ebay added this function, a year or so ago I think. If you have watchers on your BIN auctions, you can send them an unsolicited private offer lower than the BIN and see if they bite.

This seems... intrusive somehow? As sellers, do you use this function and successfully sell books with it? As buyers, if you receive offers like this out of the blue do they do anything but annoy you? Any input appreciated.

 

I think they work. I just sold one with it. I phrased a message with it that, "I'm giving you this offer, to another 4 people as well".

The way I see it, it can cause a "frenzy" to buy it at the lower price. That's my "thoughts", but seems the last 2 times I did it, the offer's weren't accepted until the last 4 hours left on the offer and the offers are good for 48 hours  

BUT 

My one qualm say you get 4 watchers and are willing to take $5 off. You then send the offer to the 4 watchers for 48 hours time, but in that 48 hours you get another 3 watchers for a total of 7.

You're not allowed to send that next 3 watchers the same offer until the 48 hours have run out on the initial 4 watchers you sent an offer to  

[ADAMANTIUM]

But in short, I never take that much off in the offer $$ wise, but it can tempt to tip the scales....

Couildn't Hoit!

 

[lizards2]

I get offers from sellers all the time, but usually I'm watching an item in case the price is revised downwards quite a bit, and rarely is the offer down to a price I would entertain. 

But about 10-20% of the time, I bite on the offer.

[Ryan.]

40 minutes ago, Point Five said:

I noticed that ebay added this function, a year or so ago I think. If you have watchers on your BIN auctions, you can send them an unsolicited private offer lower than the BIN and see if they bite.

This seems... intrusive somehow? As sellers, do you use this function and successfully sell books with it? As buyers, if you receive offers like this out of the blue do they do anything but annoy you? Any input appreciated.

 

I've sold a handful of things using this feature, and also bought some stuff when I've received an offer via this function. Usually it just starts the conversation.

A buyer sends an offer on an item I'm watching for 10% off the list price. I respond with a counter-offer of 20% off. We meet in the middle at 15%. 

I will admit annoyance when I receive an offer from a seller and it's like 5% off. Seems pointless.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Ryan.

[ADAMANTIUM]

Also @Point Five it can increase watchers...

If A bunch of people start watching your item hoping to get 1% off, other people see all those watchers and figure the item is hot, and they might pull the trigger at full price....

 has yet to happen to me, but idk

[steveinthecity]

As a buyer I like getting those offers. As Adamantium mentioned, the discount(however slight) could be a "scale tipper" and I'd take advantage of it.  The other benefit I get from those offers is they work as a reminder of sorts of why I have that item on my watch list. It's not always the item I'm watching, but maybe the category or seller and don't want to follow either and be inundated with alerts.

[oldbsturgeon]

I took advantage of this feature very recently buying a comic and while it was not a comic sale, I offered this out to the watchers on various items I was selling recently. I think it's great.

[Gaard]

I get them quite frequently. I don't recall ever biting. But they don't annoy me.

[Domo Arigato]

2 hours ago, Point Five said:

As buyers, if you receive offers like this out of the blue do they do anything but annoy you? 

No....that's pretty much what they do.

I have quite a few books in my watch list, but almost never buy anything.  Most of them are non-key, bronze age $40 to $50 books in GPA, that are priced on eBay in the $200 to $300 range.  I put them in my watch list for the one in a million chance that the sellers will put their crack pipes and syringes down long enough to actually want to sell one of them. 

I'll occasionally get an offer along the lines of bringing one of the $300 books down to the low, low price of only $290.  All that makes me want to do is tell the seller that I hope a raging case of gonorrhea slams into their genitals at 150 miles per hour.  But I don't.

Instead, I just sit and watch the same books get relisted for the same price month after month.....and year after year.

 

 

[Comics4All]

2 hours ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I think they work. I just sold one with it. I phrased a message with it that, "I'm giving you this offer, to another 4 people as well".

The way I see it, it can cause a "frenzy" to buy it at the lower price. That's my "thoughts", but seems the last 2 times I did it, the offer's weren't accepted until the last 4 hours left on the offer and the offers are good for 48 hours  

BUT 

My one qualm say you get 4 watchers and are willing to take $5 off. You then send the offer to the 4 watchers for 48 hours time, but in that 48 hours you get another 3 watchers for a total of 7.

You're not allowed to send that next 3 watchers the same offer until the 48 hours have run out on the initial 4 watchers you sent an offer to  

Good to know! I have used it as a seller but no one accepted my offers 

Your idea of sending them a message about the other buyers is slick! 

[bobotski]

I think it's fair. You watch it because it because item is of interest to you, and seller sends an offer to pique your interest. If it annoys you, take it out of your watch list.

[D84]

I've bought a couple books this way.  It doesn't bother me, unless it's an expensive book with a sweet offer and I don't have the disposable cash.

[comicginger1789]

I used it as a seller and have received as a buyer. The offer I received was still more than I wanted to spend so I ignored it. The offer I sent was accepted immediately, so I was happy. I like it based on those two experiences. 

[Domo Arigato]

Here's another crapweasel tactic you have to watch out for with this feature.

The cheapest book on my watch list was priced at $65 with free shipping.  Still higher than any previous sale listed in GPA for it......and with sales tax now figured in with it, it was more than I was willing to pay.  I received an offer from the seller lowering the price down to only $55 for it.  Now we were getting close, so I figured I might as well check it out.  Went to the listing.....and sure enough.....the price had been lowered to $55.......but now had a $15 shipping fee.  

So, instead of $65 shipped......the seller had "lowered" the price for me to only $70 shipped.  This was a seller with over 2,000 feedback that's been on eBay since 2007.  Thanks for the discount, Richard Cranium.

 

 

[ADAMANTIUM]

5 minutes ago, Domo Arigato said:

Here's another crapweasel tactic you have to watch out for with this feature.

The cheapest book on my watch list was priced at $65 with free shipping.  Still higher than any previous sale listed in GPA for it......and with sales tax now figured in with it, it was more than I was willing to pay.  I received an offer from the seller lowering the price down to only $55 for it.  Now we were getting close, so I figured I might as well check it out.  Went to the listing.....and sure enough.....the price had been lowered to $55.......but now had a $15 shipping fee.  

So, instead of $65 shipped......the seller had "lowered" the price for me to only $70 shipped.  This was a seller with over 2,000 feedback that's been on eBay since 2007.  Thanks for the discount, Richard Cranium.

 

 

Just picture everybody naked  

[Domo Arigato]

2 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Just picture everybody naked  

I do when I picture the raging case of gonorrhea slamming into their genitals at 150 miles per hour. 

[bounty_coder]

I like the functionality.  I'm watching items either to track what it will sell for (auctions) or BIN if I can't find a better copy elsewhere in my travels.

I've had a handful of instances where I have received offers from sellers that were 20-40% what the original ask was (not key books more obscure stuff).  And to be quite honest many of the prices were fair to start with.  So in these instances it was definitely well received.  

 

[miraclemet]

I've bought stuff via the "seller has sent you a discounted offer" model. 

So many BINs that I follow I follow out of the (hopeless) hope that the seller will drop their BIN price closer to my target purchase price. 

So when the seller does this I get what I want!

Why doesnt the seller just lower the price to the "special offer" price? Well just lowering the price in the BIN listing wont kick out the special message/alert, and potential buyers might not notice the reduced price... 

[Chaz G.]

As a Seller, I've used this often with success. 

As a Buyer, I've picked up some decent deals as well.