eBay: people who ask for discounts on fixed price listings

Snapolit1 · #1 09-17-2025, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayshum

I get offers for cards I list on the B/S/T even if I don't indicate I would consider offers. I have no problem with that happening and respond to them with either an acceptance, rejection or counter. I don't see that as any different from eBay and don't understand why it would bother anyone as long as the communication is reasonable.

What I don't need is some crock about how money is tight, wife's been sick, dogs been sick, my dream card, bla bla bla. . . .and they you see the joker has bought like 40 cards in the last 2 months.

BillyCoxDodgers3B · #2 09-17-2025, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

What I don't need is some crock about how money is tight, wife's been sick, dogs been sick, my dream card, bla bla bla. . . .and they you see the joker has bought like 40 cards in the last 2 months.

You did that all wrong. Once you get the country song excuses why they want to pay less, you block them as opposed to wasting another second of your time. Their sob story is always contrived. If times were so rough, they'd be doing their sobbing at a restaurant, grocery store or on a street corner. Instead, they reeeeally neeeeed your card, but would naturally prefer if you just gave it to them since things are so horrible.

---

In general, a fixed price listing should be taken literally IMO. It doesn't matter what the seller's price is. Prospective buyers have the right to refuse the price if it doesn't suit them. Everyone is familiar with the OBO feature after all these decades. If they wanted to take less, they would have used that option. If they wanted to hear why you want to pay less, they would have used that option. If they wanted to barter, they would have used that option. It's pretty simple. Saying any of this is a waste of breath; it won't change anyone's tactics.

On a related note, if someone lists anything on any platform and specifies things such as "price is firm", "no trades" and/or any other specifics, it's obviously considered good form to stay within those parameters since they were clearly specified. I'm sure most of us have experienced our share of dealing with people who don't read such things in our listings, or pretend they didn't see it (or simply don't care). Marketplace and Facebook groups are certainly the worst for this. The often complete lack of moderation is certainly not doing sellers any favors. Some groups are moderated better than others, but Marketplace is just the Wild West.

Eric72 · #3 09-17-2025, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

You did that all wrong. Once you get the country song excuses why they want to pay less, you block them as opposed to wasting another second of your time. Their sob story is always contrived. If times were so rough, they'd be doing their sobbing at a restaurant, grocery store or on a street corner. Instead, they reeeeally neeeeed your card, but would naturally prefer if you just gave it to them since things are so horrible.

---

In general, a fixed price listing should be taken literally IMO. It doesn't matter what the seller's price is. Prospective buyers have the right to refuse the price if it doesn't suit them. Everyone is familiar with the OBO feature after all these decades. If they wanted to take less, they would have used that option. If they wanted to hear why you want to pay less, they would have used that option. If they wanted to barter, they would have used that option. It's pretty simple. Saying any of this is a waste of breath; it won't change anyone's tactics.

On a related note, if someone lists anything on any platform and specifies things such as "price is firm", "no trades" and/or any other specifics, it's obviously considered good form to stay within those parameters since they were clearly specified. I'm sure most of us have experienced our share of dealing with people who don't read such things in our listings, or pretend they didn't see it (or simply don't care). Marketplace and Facebook groups are certainly the worst for this. The often complete lack of moderation is certainly not doing sellers any favors. Some groups are moderated better than others, but Marketplace is just the Wild West.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This guy understands.

I sell on eBay; however, I don't have a ton of time. If I'm lucky, I'll list a couple items per day. It's the long, slow process of downsizing. It's certainly not something I rely on for income.

I sell mostly vinyl records and comic books. The records are fairly static in price, other than the occasional news item (artist passes away) causing a brief bump in demand.

Comic books, on the other hand, are as fluid in price as sports cards. I could try to stay on top of shifting prices; however, I don't have the time. Re-pricing the ~1,000 comic book listings on a daily/weekly basis would feel too much like a job. So, I price the items slightly below market at the time I list them. If somebody buys something...great! If it doesn't sell right away...no problem!

If someone messages me - and they're polite about things - I'll consider what they've written. Otherwise, I'll just reply with a "sorry, no" and move on. Life is too short to entertain people telling you why they think you deserve less.

MVSNYC · #4 09-17-2025, 03:26 PM

I've been on eBay since 1999...I've found that sellers will almost always list BIN prices rather high leaving some room for mild negotiating. I've asked sellers hundreds of times over the years, "What's your best price?", and I'd said about 75% of the time they'll respond with a number that's lower then their BIN price. Can't hurt to ask, worst they can say is "no".

LEHR · #5 09-17-2025, 05:45 PM

Unless something is priced low I make offers all the time and on just about everything. The only thing I expect is a polite response, if there is a response. If we can come to an agreement, great. If not, it's no problem with me. Every dollar I can save on a piece is a dollar towards the next item. With that being said, if what I'd offer is not within say 15% of the original asking price, I don't even bother and just move on.

As far as eBay is concerned. When I do list there I have zero issues with people making offers as it takes less than 30 seconds to respond to a reasonable offer, and 1 second to ignore a ridiculous lowball offer.

Vintagedeputy · #6 09-19-2025, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MVSNYC

I've been on eBay since 1999...I've found that sellers will almost always list BIN prices rather high leaving some room for mild negotiating. I've asked sellers hundreds of times over the years, "What's your best price?", and I'd said about 75% of the time they'll respond with a number that's lower then their BIN price. Can't hurt to ask, worst they can say is "no".

I will either usually add $3-5ish dollars to my prices to allow for a little wiggle room for lower price offers, but it depends on what the item is and how much I have into it. For larger value items, the additional amount may be more.

Exhibitman · #7 09-18-2025, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

What I don't need is some crock about how money is tight, wife's been sick, dogs been sick, my dream card, bla bla bla. . . .and they you see the joker has bought like 40 cards in the last 2 months.

Heh. I hear this one all the time. As my daughter says: "those are you problems, not me problems."

Mark17 · #8 09-18-2025, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Heh. I hear this one all the time. As my daughter says: "those are you problems, not me problems."

A couple of times over the past 25 years on ebay, I've gotten the lowball offer accompanied by the money is tight sympathy play. My response was "If your money is tight, you probably shouldn't be spending what you do have on baseball cards..."

BioCRN · #9 09-18-2025, 07:25 PM

I know what I want to pay, but I'm not pushy.

If an offer I make is rejected outright that's the end for me. Either the seller thinks I'm far away from where he needs to be or he's not interested in selling for less.

If a counter-offer is made and it's excessively too high I reject it, explain we're really far apart, and thank them for their consideration. That's also the end for me.

This has led to near total lack of drama for decades. I could have maybe hustled to make some deals happen that I missed out on not being more aggressive, but I also probably would have ended up on some seller's ban lists if I did take that route.

Exhibitman · #10 09-18-2025, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark17

A couple of times over the past 25 years on ebay, I've gotten the lowball offer accompanied by the money is tight sympathy play. My response was "If your money is tight, you probably shouldn't be spending what you do have on baseball cards..."

Should send them a link to a financial planning web site.

Brent G. · #11 09-19-2025, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Heh. I hear this one all the time. As my daughter says: "those are you problems, not me problems."

These sad stories actually happen??? Maybe we should all just say, "I'll probably be dead soon. Maybe you can give me this card as my last wish."

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