eBay offer etiquette

[profholt82]

Interesting discussion. Now that ebay has dropped ebay bucks completely, I find myself shopping there less. I was already perturbed when they lowered the percentage. But I digress.

For me, when the listed price is just stupidly above market value, I won't even bother making an offer. Because what's the point? In cases like that, I assume that the seller has no intention of selling unless some clueless buyer comes along and overpays. For all collectables, not just cards, I find that many sellers tend to do this. I think they're trying to influence the market. As in if people see the high asking price, they'll assume the item is worth more than the actual market value and the market for the item will go up. Surely, this has actually happened in some cases.

I generally prefer buying from forums, as it's easier to develop relationships that way. I do find it annoying when guys post ebay prices on forums though. They want to get the full ebay value without paying the fees. It's understandable from their perspecive, but if I'm going to pay ebay prices, I'll do so on ebay or at a brick and mortar shop. That way I'll get some buyer protection/piece of mind.

Also, as has been mentioned somewhat, when I see an item on ebay that I like (generally with pricier items), I often check if the seller sells outside of ebay. Many ebay sellers have online stores that they sell on for a bit cheaper than their Ebay price. And some guys who sell a lot here on net54 do the same thing. Posted on ebay, but also here for a bit cheaper. It's smart to ask the seller or at least check around the net a bit before pulling the trigger on the full ebay price.

[Exhibitman]

Sure, I will knock 10% off my eBay price for a buyer here. 13% if the buyer pays via a method that doesn't ding me for a transaction fee. I usually pay the shipping as a courtesy too.

[Jim65]

Originally Posted by profholt82

Interesting discussion. Now that ebay has dropped ebay bucks completely,

When did this happen? I got a 5% EBucks offer yesterday.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Jim65

When did this happen? I got a 5% EBucks offer yesterday.

They haven't dropped them completely. What they dropped was a certain miniscule percentage on every single thing you buy - which is how collectors like me usually wound up with an extra $20-30 to spend every quarter as kind of a little bonus. But if there are specific promotions that pay bucks, my understanding is that those are still in place. You just have to wait for them and participate in them.

[profholt82]

Yes, that's what I meant. A few years back, I think it was 3% ebay bucks for each purchase. And then they often had 10% promos that would last a few days. For the last couple years it has been only 1% for each purchase with the occasional 5% promotion. As of April 1 they have dropped the 1%. Apparently they still have occasional 5% promotions though, so that's good to know. I haven't seen one yet, but I haven't checked.

[ASF123]

They've also closed the door on anyone new signing up for bucks for at least the past several months. They're pretty clearly phasing out the entire thing. Because "Hey, less for you, more for us!!"

[Exhibitman]

With the frenzied activity of the last 12 months it is apparent that they don't need general incentive programs to drive sales. What they are trying to do instead is to devolve the cost of incentives to the sellers by conditioning certain ratings that carry discounts on eBay fees with offering customers things like free shipping or free returns that will boost customer purchasing similar to a rebate.

[ASF123]

By the way, thanks to all for the interesting and informative discussion here. I'm not sure I'm any closer to a definitive answer , but I'm glad to hear other's perspectives, including sellers.