Quote:
Originally Posted by D. Bergin
I've been getting lots of offers lately, on stuff I DON'T have "Best Offer" on.
Auctions AND Buy It Nows.
I usually politely decline, but it does get annoying sometimes and I don't always respond.
I understand if you put "Best Offer" in your listings you should respond, or at least set a ceiling to automatically decline an offer.
What's the etiquette for responding when you're NOT trolling for lower offers?
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IMHO if you are
not using the OBO feature you are indicating that you are not interested in offers and unsolicited offers are the equivalent of spam and may be ignored. I state in the listing itself that I don't want offers and am not interested in ending the auction early, so don't bother. Yet yesterday I got an email offering me a lower price on a card I was selling with a BIN. I ignored it and relisted the card.
If you are using the OBO feature and you don't want to bother with the bottom feeders and grinders, set the automatic decline option with a floor below which you don't want to be bothered. If you don't want to hear a $800 offer on a $1500 item, set the floor where you will hear an offer.
If you are using the OBO function and you do
not set a floor on the item via the auto-decline mechanism you are indicating that you will consider any offer and the proper etiquette is to respond to them all. You are not under any obligation to counter an offer, especially a lowball one, but you should respond.
You also have to consider the raw numbers. I completely understand the give and take on an expensive card but if you are going to grind on a $10 card you're an ass-clown and as a seller I don't want to deal with you.
Now as to the OP, any offer of less than 50% of the BIN is not realistic if the real value of the item is closer to 75% or more of the BIN. What you are telling the seller is that you are either:
--A bottom feeder looking for a stupid seller;
--A tire kicker who never makes a deal unless it is as a bottom feeder; or
--A grinder who loves to negotiate and will do so endlessly.
Sellers do not like dealing with any of those characters. I am not saying the OP is one, just that if you make offers like one, you will be treated as one. I have a love-hate relationship with the 3 strike limit on the OBO function. Sometimes it would be nice to have 5 options to offer but I also understand how a seller doesn't want to spend an inordinate amount of time on a negotiation.
Another category of offeror I don't care for is the guy who waits until the listing is over then makes the offer. Make the damned offer while the item is posted, not once it is already gone. Once the listing is over the offer is spam and it should be treated as such.
Needless to say, none of the above pertains to people I know, just to the anonymous eBay troll.