Should I block this bidder?

[hockeyhockey]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

And I thought Americans had common sense, and could conduct themselves like grown men and actually HANDLE something as simple as a counteroffer without being hurt and needing to block someone and vent here... I guess we all learn new things everyday.

While I'm not a Leafs supporter, I'm betting they're still better than your team

i'm getting a habs fan vibe. even better

my bruins are headed to the abyss, but was a good run.

as for the other stuff, if someone wants to block someone, so be it.
there's a lot of aggressive behavior everywhere these days - just
thought you were a little unnecessarily over the top. but just my opinion.

[Huysmans]

Originally Posted by hockeyhockey

i'm getting a habs fan vibe. even better

my bruins are headed to the abyss, but was a good run.

as for the other stuff, if someone wants to block someone, so be it.
there's a lot of aggressive behavior everywhere these days - just
thought you were a little unnecessarily over the top. but just my opinion.

If the Habs were my team, I'd definitely have a LOT more to complain about.

And I love the city of Boston and the Bruins, other than the absolute worst "homer" announcers in the sport.

Finally, someone going out of there way to complain here about such a minor thing on Bay I felt was a major overreaction..... the OP asked for opinions, and I gave mine, so we can agree to disagree... Go Beantowners

[hockeyhockey]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

If the Habs were my team, I'd definitely have a LOT more to complain about.

And I love the city of Boston and the Bruins, other than the absolute worst "homer" announcers in the sport.

Finally, someone going out of there way to complain here about such a minor thing on Bay I felt was a major overreaction..... the OP asked for opinions, and I gave mine, so we can agree to disagree... Go Beantowners

fair enough. now i'm off to go block you on ebay.



cheers.

[philliesfan]

OK To get one thing straight.....I could care less about the offers being too low or whatever. My point is that if I should block him because he could be a potential headache of a buyer. If he had no interest in my offer he could have just declined and moved on. Instead he lowers his previous offer?

Again, I perceive him as a potential headache if he makes a purchase which prompted me to ask the question.

[philliesfan]

Wow. Usually threads I start don't get this much attention or responses.

[BobbyStrawberry]

FWIW IMO Bob did absolutely nothing wrong and NOT blocking this person is just inviting trouble. Selling on eBay is enough of a PITA as it is...

[BobC]

Originally Posted by philliesfan

OK To get one thing straight.....I could care less about the offers being too low or whatever. My point is that if I should block him because he could be a potential headache of a buyer. If he had no interest in my offer he could have just declined and moved on. Instead he lowers his previous offer?

Again, I perceive him as a potential headache if he makes a purchase which prompted me to ask the question.

First off, the proper phrase is "I COULDN'T care less", using COULD is incorrect.

Secondly, YOU initiated the negotiation, not the potential Buyer/Watcher. Huysmans and nwobhm are on the money with their responses, putting something on a watch list is definitely NOT a formal, or otherwise, request for an offer to be made or to start a negotiation. I for one put lots of things on my watch list all the time to see what, if any, interest they may create, and how much a particular item might end up selling for. I have never put anything on a watch list with the intent of that somehow soliciting an offer from a seller. I would think most normal buyers with at least half a brain would simply send a message to a seller about their listed item if they were that interested in buying it and wanted to start a negotiation.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but a Seller can only make such a discount offer to potential Buyers if they haven't gotten a single bid on their item yet, correct? In that case, to a potential Buyer/Watcher receiving such an offer it may come across as a bit of a panic move on the part of the Seller to suddenly drop their price to sell something they're now fearful no one is going to buy at even their opening bid amount. Certainly raises the question to potential Buyers of why didn't the Seller just list their item with a "Make an Offer" option to begin with, and likely puts the Seller in a weaker negotiating position to start because now the potential Buyer/Watcher knows that Seller is even more motivated to sell their item for less than their asking price. So even when you come back and counteroffer, and say that is as low as you'll go, you've already demonstrated you don't necessarily mean that. Otherwise, why didn't you just list the item with the "Make an Offer" option to start? It is possible that by coming back with an even lower counteroffer, the potential Buyer/Watcher was trying to convey that the offer they initially made was their best offer, and were now hoping you would be even more fearful of not selling the item, and thus possibly lower your price further to accept what they originally offered.

So when the potential Buyer/Seller uses a technique like offering a lower amount to negotiate back, what makes make you suddenly and automatically think and be so certain they would be a problem Buyer just because of how they negotiated? For all you know, they could have even intended to counteroffer $30, and accidently made a typo they didn't realize. Or the potential Buyer/Watcher could be a dealer that needs to acquire things a certain percentage below market. Whatever the reason(s), was this potential Buyer/Watcher discourteous or insulting in their communications to you at all? And if not, I again ask why you feel such a need to put them down for how they may try to negotiate on an item that YOU started the negotiations on, not them.

One last question for you then. Are you really this mad and upset with this potential Buyer/Watcher, or are you possibly more mad and upset with yourself for possibly overvaluing what you thought the item you were selling was worth and would sell for?

Whether you block this person or not is totally up to you. Just some additional thoughts/perspectives you may not have considered.

[philliesfan]

First off, I could care less for your opinion. Oops….Couldn’t care less. But thank you for the English lesson. As the husband of a teacher I should have known that.
Well, when you think about it, maybe could care less may also be correct. As in….I could care less about something but I don’t.
Anyway, Yes I initiated the negotiation but he ACCEPTED my negotiations with a counter offer. So with his offer it is no longer unsolicited. Technically you could say his offer to me was unsolicited because I did not ask him for a counter offer. I simply made him an offer to accept or decline.
I also put items on my watch list for different reasons. If they make me an offer I may accept, counter, or ignore. But never counter and counter again with a lower amount because I don’t want them to think I could be a potential problem.
You are correct that one can only make offer to a potential buyer if there are no bids. You say he may interpret my negotiations as a panic move. Well I interpret his negotiations as a potential problem buyer. So what you are saying is that it is ok for him to interpret my motives but not ok for me to interpret his? We both could be right, we could both be wrong.
And yes maybe he intended the second offer to be $30.00 with a typo. However, giving him your best price on an item and for him to make an offer lower than that still makes me think he could be a problem.
I am not mad, upset, hurt or anything of the sort with his negotiations or thinking I overvalue my items. My whole point is if this buyer was a potential problem which I believe he could be. I would rather not have a sale than to have any headaches of return, refunds, partial refunds or whatever.
And for the record, I do respect all everyone’s opinion.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by philliesfan

First off, I could care less for your opinion. Oops….Couldn’t care less. But thank you for the English lesson. As the husband of a teacher I should have known that.
Well, when you think about it, maybe could care less may also be correct. As in….I could care less about something but I don’t.
Anyway, Yes I initiated the negotiation but he ACCEPTED my negotiations with a counter offer. So with his offer it is no longer unsolicited. Technically you could say his offer to me was unsolicited because I did not ask him for a counter offer. I simply made him an offer to accept or decline.
I also put items on my watch list for different reasons. If they make me an offer I may accept, counter, or ignore. But never counter and counter again with a lower amount because I don’t want them to think I could be a potential problem.
You are correct that one can only make offer to a potential buyer if there are no bids. You say he may interpret my negotiations as a panic move. Well I interpret his negotiations as a potential problem buyer. So what you are saying is that it is ok for him to interpret my motives but not ok for me to interpret his? We both could be right, we could both be wrong.
And yes maybe he intended the second offer to be $30.00 with a typo. However, giving him your best price on an item and for him to make an offer lower than that still makes me think he could be a problem.
I am not mad, upset, hurt or anything of the sort with his negotiations or thinking I overvalue my items. My whole point is if this buyer was a potential problem which I believe he could be. I would rather not have a sale than to have any headaches of return, refunds, partial refunds or whatever.
And for the record, I do respect all everyone’s opinion.

That is very interesting, because when you started this thread that is exactly what you did, you asked people for their opinions. Oh, and your request for opinions was unsolicited by those who responded. So now I get it, you weren't really honestly asking for people's opinions at all, were you? You were just posting and looking for people to validate you and a decision you had probably already made, so you could feel better about yourself and what you decided? Hmmmmm, interesting!!!!!

And when people do respond to your unsolicited requests, it seems in your mind that somehow absolves you from being the one who started this whole thing to begin with? Sadly, this is almost the same thing you pulled on the potential Buyer/Watcher who responded to your unsolicited offer to start this all off. I'm guessing that you may not really have wanted any alternate opinions, or a negotiation of price, at all. And if not in either case, why did YOU initiate things in both instances to begin with then? What's the old saying, "Be careful what you ask for, because you might just get it!". If the people YOU are approaching don't respond in almost exactly the way you want or expect, so what, why get all worked up and upset about it?

This now appears to be a second recent instance of you taking offense at the way someone responds to you, over something you initiated, started, and ASKED for responses to. In which case it could make some observers liken it to a blossoming behavioral pattern. I had originally just offered some alternate thoughts and perspectives on your issue, and had not judged or condemned you at all. However, as it seems I come across in dealing with almost everybody here on this forum when there is a disagreement of opinion, I go out of my way to try and present facts and logical theories and arguments, and respond to and answer all questions posed. Yet appallingly, I rarely, if ever, get the courtesy of a similar reaction and response to my questions. So let me try asking this once again. Why exactly does a potential Buyer's/Watcher's response to YOUR unsolicited offer, and their negotiation technique in response, suddenly and automatically make them a bad buyer, needful of blocking?

And please don't say it is because you have a gut feeling, because that is really no answer at all. If that is the case though, then you need to ask yourself what is the real reason behind such a gut feeling to begin with.

And as for the improper use of that phrase, yes, there are instances where you could appropriately have used the word COULD instead of COULDN'T, except in the context and meaning of how you used it, that is not one of those instances. Ask your wife if you don't believe me.

[jthorst75]

This reminds of an issue I ran into recently. I was buying parts for my Honda on ebay. I noticed the seller had a best offer option so I made a lower cash offer. It was automatically declined so I came up a bit; once again declined. I had one offer left so I asked the seller what they were thinking on the price. They got offended and blocked me as a buyer. Confused, I asked them what the deal was but they took my offer so personally that there was no talking them off the ledge. I would've paid their full price but if the seller offers the option for me to make an offer than why take any offer given personally? They don't have to accept my offer but maybe, just maybe give the buyer an idea of the seller's price in mind and work from there. This is why Ebay allows multiple chances to offer. The situation sucked because they had the part I needed and no one else in this country did. The seller had a huge feedback score and a 100% at that so it seemed strange that they never ran into a lower offer???

[BobC]

Originally Posted by jthorst75

This reminds of an issue I ran into recently. I was buying parts for my Honda on ebay. I noticed the seller had a best offer option so I made a lower cash offer. It was automatically declined so I came up a bit; once again declined. I had one offer left so I asked the seller what they were thinking on the price. They got offended and blocked me as a buyer. Confused, I asked them what the deal was but they took my offer so personally that there was no talking them off the ledge. I would've paid their full price but if the seller offers the option for me to make an offer than why take any offer given personally? They don't have to accept my offer but maybe, just maybe give the buyer an idea of the seller's price in mind and work from there. This is why Ebay allows multiple chances to offer. The situation sucked because they had the part I needed and no one else in this country did. The seller had a huge feedback score and a 100% at that so it seemed strange that they never ran into a lower offer???

Good point(s)! And exactly why in the OP's case it was he who started and initiated the negotiation process. As a Seller on Ebay, he should know that when he makes an offer like that to someone who is watching one of his listings, that offer automatically includes the "Make an Offer" option back to him by the potential Buyer/Watcher. Therefore, it most definitely is the start of a negotiation process when he originally sent that offer, whether the Seller intended it to be or not. Why get upset and mad at a potential Buyer/Watcher if that is what your Ebay options limit it you to, and you don't like any of them?

If he truly didn't want to negotiate the price, why didn't he just cancel the auction, or wait till it possibly ran its course with no bidders, and then just relist the item with a BIN or initial auction price of the $35 he said he was willing to take? And if he says he was operating that way to try and sell his item for as much as possible, over his acceptable lowest price, that is great and perfectly fine. But then he shouldn't complain and against someone who is trying on their end to purchase an item for as little as reasonably possible either. Why is he right, and they're automatically wrong?