Why do sellers let ebay best offers expire?

[cardbooker]

So there's a book I've been eyeing since last Friday at $400 or best offer. I made an offer of $275 and it sat there for almost 2 days before the seller finally declined. I then submit an offer for $300 and it sits for another 2 days (8 hours left). Because it's pending, I can't make another offer. I'd probably go as high as $350 if there were some communication, but waiting 2 days between offers makes me kind of upset. The seller should just decline it. Don't waste my time and leave me hanging making me unable to shop elsewhere. I wish ebay would shorten the offer expiration to 24 hours instead. This is extremely annoying. Anyways, rant over. Just venting

[poppincurbs]

Yeah it annoys me as well, you can always retract the offer though. Thankfully eBay just raised the limit on offers so you can now send 5 as opposed to 3. If they aren't responding to the offer then sometimes I message them directly to try and get their attention that way.

[dab282]

Literally just had one sit there the whole two days with no response whatsoever. It's rude to put a best offer option then simply not respond.

[KandJ]

My rule is 12 hours before I retract. The seller already knows what they want for their item. And my offers are usually within the 15-25% range.

* I should add, I rarely retract. Maybe 2-4 times a year. Most of the time I will pay full asking for a item. Since I don't want risk it getting away. As a seller, I always counter offer within a couple of hours of receiving a offer, if it's lower then what I was hoping for. If the offer is 70% below my asking, this happens a lot. I will decline.

[rcuello]

Sometimes you need to message the seller what he is willing to take. Sometimes trading works. They wait for the best offer they can get. If someone shows interest, it may pull other fish into the net. Then again, he may think that was a low ball offer and decide not to like you. I love low balling. 5% of the time it works.

[Cyber Warrior]

The only offers I ignore are if they are ridiculously low.. if a books at $800 don't offer $400. I keep best offers up if someone's looking to save a few bucks, so maybe on an $800 book I'd take $700. If someone offered around $600-650 I would take the time to make a counter offer.. anything below I won't even respond... Half due to insulting offers the other half due to laziness. I keep my eBay seller account on a separate user account that I don't log in from too often.

But OP, your offer seems reasonable to at least respond with a counter offer. I wouldn't ignore that.

[pjray55]

Originally Posted by Cyber Warrior

But OP, your offer seems reasonable to at least respond with a counter offer. I wouldn't ignore that.

Without knowing the book and great we don't know if it is reasonable or not. He is asking for a discount of more than 30% so if the seller has the item listed anywhere close to typical selling price then I would consider the OP's offer to be low ball. But there are sellers who mark their items way up so who knows. OP do you mind sharing the book you put an offer in on?

[Donkaylove]

Buyer:Most of the items i offer are desirable and vintage. i understand the discount will usually be small, if available. i can get ten percent all day with ebay bucks, ebates, credit card, etc. So, my goal is usually 20 percent off. if i get that-sold.

i offered 500, counter was less than ten percent. nah- I can find this item in that range all day. i was trying to counter his high asking price with a price i could live with--its called bartering. Move on--another will come along. I dont get emotional.

Seller: i would ignore lowballs----but, i do not do best offer. i have a lot of books and no time frame. i only list books that will sell. I give qty discounts on shipping and total. You cant please everybody.

[SlackerBoy9]

I as a seller will always send a counter offer usually somewhere between what I want and what they are offering so neither of us are walking away happy

[pandahouse]

Lowballs I don't respond. Sometimes I'll list something to get quick funds and be ~10-20% under recent sales and then get someone looking for another 15% off. Tbh, I'm not too excited to respond to those knowing from past experience they usually counter the counter with an equally low number.

[Spider-Fan]

As a seller I almost always let offers sit for the maximum amount of time before responding to them. Why? Open offers on items with a lot of views make other people more likely to send an offer or hit the BIN. Frankly the rule is 48 hours so I don't see any fair reason to be upset if they take the maximum time allowed. It is your right to retract the offer at anytime and if you feel the seller is taking to long to respond then you should do so. Being an impatient buyer is one of those things that lands you on my blocked list though. Ebay isn't my job and I am not willing to let it stress me out. I'd rather lose sales than deal with any shenanigans of any sort.

I also will only give one counter with a note that it is absolutely my best price. Additional counters sit until they expire. Lowball offers sit until they expire. Consistent low ball offers land you on my blocked list. Nasty messages land you on my block list. Seriously... I'm not hurting for cash. I don't need your business. Chill.

Those are my general thoughts on the subject.

[cardbooker]

Originally Posted by Spider-Fan

It is your right to retract the offer at anytime and if you feel the seller is taking to long to respond then you should do so. Being an impatient buyer is one of those things that lands you on my blocked list though. Ebay isn't my job and I am not willing to let it stress me out. I'd rather lose sales than deal with any shenanigans of any sort.

I also will only give one counter with a note that it is absolutely my best price. Additional counters sit until they expire. Lowball offers sit until they expire. Consistent low ball offers land you on my blocked list. Nasty messages land you on my block list. Seriously... I'm not hurting for cash. I don't need your business. Chill.

I'm sorry, I'm really not trying to start an argument or insult anyone, but when I read this, it sounds so very arrogant. As if I should be blessed to have the opportunity to buy your book. It really makes me wonder if this is a comic book seller mentality because I don't see this often in non-sport cards or at least I haven't noticed it very much.

Also, the seller has a right to wait 48 hours, and the buyer has a right to retract, but if the buyer does retract, he can get blocked and deemed impatient? That doesn't sound fair at all. Personally, I try not to retract. But if a seller sits on my offer for too long and another similar item comes up for sale, I would not hesitate to buy the new item and retract the original offer.

[cardbooker]

Originally Posted by pjray55

Without knowing the book and great we don't know if it is reasonable or not. He is asking for a discount of more than 30% so if the seller has the item listed anywhere close to typical selling price then I would consider the OP's offer to be low ball. But there are sellers who mark their items way up so who knows. OP do you mind sharing the book you put an offer in on?

There's still 2 hours left on my offer so I don't want to reveal the item. But regardless, I think the lack of courtesy has made me lose interest. If he responds (accept, decline), then cool. But if he just lets it expire, then I'll just spend my money somewhere else.

[bird]

Originally Posted by cardbooker

So there's a book I've been eyeing since last Friday at $400 or best offer. I made an offer of $275 and it sat there for almost 2 days before the seller finally declined. I then submit an offer for $300 and it sits for another 2 days (8 hours left). Because it's pending, I can't make another offer. I'd probably go as high as $350 if there were some communication, but waiting 2 days between offers makes me kind of upset. The seller should just decline it. Don't waste my time and leave me hanging making me unable to shop elsewhere. I wish ebay would shorten the offer expiration to 24 hours instead. This is extremely annoying. Anyways, rant over. Just venting

Why don't you just offer the 350 if that is what you are willing to pay for it? Wasting time goes both ways.

Both buyer and seller should understand the parameters of make an offer and if the seller has 48 hours to decide why shouldn't he use it? Just as you can use your 10 offers to walk it up. Sellers want the most for their items and buyers want to pay the least, generally speaking of course. If he can hold your offer and see if a better offer transpires why shouldn't he? I agree that you should retract your offer if you think the time is too long but questioning why the seller exerts his rights under make an offer does not make sense to me.

[roro17]

Originally Posted by bird

Why don't you just offer the 350 if that is what you are willing to pay for it? Wasting time goes both ways.

Both buyer and seller should understand the parameters of make an offer and if the seller has 48 hours to decide why shouldn't he use it? Just as you can use your 10 offers to walk it up. Sellers want the most for their items and buyers want to pay the least, generally speaking of course. If he can hold your offer and see if a better offer transpires why shouldn't he? I agree that you should retract your offer if you think the time is too long but questioning why the seller exerts his rights under make an offer does not make sense to me.

This guy has a good point

[cardbooker]

Originally Posted by bird

Why don't you just offer the 350 if that is what you are willing to pay for it? Wasting time goes both ways.

Both buyer and seller should understand the parameters of make an offer and if the seller has 48 hours to decide why shouldn't he use it? Just as you can use your 10 offers to walk it up. Sellers want the most for their items and buyers want to pay the least, generally speaking of course. If he can hold your offer and see if a better offer transpires why shouldn't he? I agree that you should retract your offer if you think the time is too long but questioning why the seller exerts his rights under make an offer does not make sense to me.

Unless it's a hot item, it wouldn't be wise to lead off with my max offer. Why not get it for less if I can? The worst he could do is say no. In this case, I'm just a little bit irked with how long it's taking him to say no.

And yes, I understand that eBay allows 48 hours. But most sellers do not make their customers wait that long. I know I wouldn't. But oh well, that's fine. I just think a little courtesy would've went a long way. If we had more timely engagement, I may have been tempted enough to pay the full asking price. But now I'm just sour about the whole thing. Whatever. I'll let it go.

[Stat Monsters]

Originally Posted by roro17

This guy has a good point

I agree, and in my mind, "best offer" means BEST offer... not a back and forth negotiation.

That's why on eBay a lot of times I just list items at what I ideally would like to reasonably sell it for and then put in an automatic decline on the price that I'd never sell it for and an automatic accept that's at a price that is reasonably fair, and anything in-between I can ponder if I want to sell it.

I'd always reply at that point since I automatically eliminate the lowball offers by the auto-decline.

What I find odd is a lot of "offers" are often made at 30 day listings ending within a day of that 30th day and often expire before I get a chance to reply (since it's hobby income like a garage sale, not a formal business that's attended to minute by minute in real time).

[bird]

Originally Posted by cardbooker

Unless it's a hot item, it wouldn't be wise to lead off with my max offer. Why not get it for less if I can? The worst he could do is say no. In this case, I'm just a little bit irked with how long it's taking him to say no.

And yes, I understand that eBay allows 48 hours. But most sellers do not make their customers wait that long. I know I wouldn't. But oh well, that's fine. I just think a little courtesy would've went a long way. If we had more timely engagement, I may have been tempted enough to pay the full asking price. But now I'm just sour about the whole thing. Whatever. I'll let it go.

Just give the guy the same courtesy that you claim for yourself, to use the parameters of make an offer to their best advantage. He is just as entitled to get the best deal as you are. Now in the bolded part you are saying you would go to the asking price of 400? Not sure I believe that.

[Spider-Fan]

Originally Posted by cardbooker

I'm sorry, I'm really not trying to start an argument or insult anyone, but when I read this, it sounds so very arrogant. As if I should be blessed to have the opportunity to buy your book. It really makes me wonder if this is a comic book seller mentality because I don't see this often in non-sport cards or at least I haven't noticed it very much.

Also, the seller has a right to wait 48 hours, and the buyer has a right to retract, but if the buyer does retract, he can get blocked and deemed impatient? That doesn't sound fair at all. Personally, I try not to retract. But if a seller sits on my offer for too long and another similar item comes up for sale, I would not hesitate to buy the new item and retract the original offer.

I'm perfectly capable of having a civil disagreement.

I sell way more non sports cards than comics, but my mentality is the same for both. Ebay is a forum for buying and selling things. There are too many bad buyers and sellers out there that are scammers, trouble makers, thieves, etc. The bar for me to block somebody is very low. Any behavior is grounds for blocking. I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'd rather miss 3 sales on a $100 book than be out the book and the money to some ahole.

If you retract your offer, no not necessarily the first time. If you make offers and retract offers frequently? Yes. If you make offers with a note that it's only good for 2 hours and then you're going yo retract It? Yes. If you make an offer and explain you want to combine it with an ebay bucks promo so please respond within 2 hours? No, that seems like a fair ask.

It's not about arrogance. It's about peace of mind. If I was desperate to sell things, I would list them all as $0.99 auctions.

[poppincurbs]

Originally Posted by Spider-Fan

As a seller I almost always let offers sit for the maximum amount of time before responding to them. Why? Open offers on items with a lot of views make other people more likely to send an offer or hit the BIN. .

How so? I've never seen anything telling me an item has multiple offers on it thus making me feel like I need to hurry?

[cardbooker]

Originally Posted by bird

Just give the guy the same courtesy that you claim for yourself, to use the parameters of make an offer to their best advantage. He is just as entitled to get the best deal as you are. Now in the bolded part you are saying you would go to the asking price of 400? Not sure I believe that.

I'm sure I would've talked myself into it eventually. I have plenty of impulse buys. I just bought a Gal Gadot WW CGC SS a couple weeks ago for $500 so I would think this dual auto is worth an impulse $400. Here's a link to the book. My offer expired so I'm no longer interested.

Captain America Civil War TPB Photo CGC 9.6 SS Signed Chris Evans Sebastian Stan | eBay

[kaboom]

I let offers sit out there all the time until close to the 48 hour range. Mostly because they are usually items that people want and I am willing to take a little less for since I get most books really cheap, but if there are a bunch of watchers I want to see if the offer motivates buyers. Also, leaving an offer ist out there close to the 48 hour mark also means many buyers will just go ahead and pull the trigger because I am usually priced less. Lowball offers stand out there until they expire, I think lowballing is rude. Offering a discount doesn't mean that a buyer can be insulting.

[cardbooker]

Originally Posted by kaboom

I let offers sit out there all the time until close to the 48 hour range. Mostly because they are usually items that people want and I am willing to take a little less for since I get most books really cheap, but if there are a bunch of watchers I want to see if the offer motivates buyers. Also, leaving an offer ist out there close to the 48 hour mark also means many buyers will just go ahead and pull the trigger because I am usually priced less. Lowball offers stand out there until they expire, I think lowballing is rude. Offering a discount doesn't mean that a buyer can be insulting.

I think there's a big difference between an insulting offer and a low offer. Insulting would be something ridiculous like 5% of asking price. But a 50% offer at least deserves a decline or auto-decline. Letting those offers expire is a lost selling opportunity. I know this seller just missed out. I was tempted to put in my $350 offer but really didn't want to waste another 2 days waiting for his reply. Timing matters...

[classicaaron]

I would be insulted as the seller if someone offered 50% off, I wouldnt bother responding either. if your best offer was $350, you should have offered $350. after all its whats in the title of the thread "best offer". not trying to be nasty but your worried about sellers wasting your time, sounds like you were trying to waste theres by having them counter offer numerous times instead of just paying what you were willing to pay. I don't bother with buyers like that, I just move on to the next guy who doesn't play the games and end up always making more money that way anyways. its worth the extra week of a listing to make full asking price.

[cardbooker]

Originally Posted by classicaaron

I would be insulted as the seller if someone offered 50% off, I wouldnt bother responding either. if your best offer was $350, you should have offered $350. after all its whats in the title of the thread "best offer". not trying to be nasty but your worried about sellers wasting your time, sounds like you were trying to waste theres by having them counter offer numerous times instead of just paying what you were willing to pay. I don't bother with buyers like that, I just move on to the next guy who doesn't play the games and end up always making more money that way anyways. its worth the extra week of a listing to make full asking price.

Sigh. I didn't ask for a counter. All he had to do was click decline which takes 2 seconds. Instead, I have to wait 2 days between offers. You tell me which one is more wasteful. And for the record, 275/400 is 69% and 300/400 is 75%. I even politely emailed him to let me know if I'm anywhere close to what he needs, but no response.

I really wish people who get easily offended would just set up auto-decline. It lets bidders know if they are close in price and allows an immediate opportunity to re-bid.