Negotiating with eBay Store Sellers

BRDSR

For instance, one eBay store seller has three items listed in his store at $12 each which I am interested in, so $36 total. However, I won't pay $12 for any of them, and will pay $26 for all three, plus shipping.

Is it permissible under eBay rules to contact the seller and offer $26 for the three cards? Even if it is permissible, is it considered bad form? Obviously it would be completely inappropriate where it was an auction, but it seems more reasonable in the context of items being sold under the Buy it Now format of someone's eBay store. Has anyone ever tried this, with good or bad results?

smtjoy

It is fine, I have a store and I get plenty of offers and have made a number of sales this way. Good luck!

storm888

You can make an offer through the ASQ system.

MANY sellers do not want offers - unless the BO feature is
used in the listing. Some sellers don't mind.

If I get an unsolicited offer, I block the buyer UNLESS I like
the offer.

johnny1976

I agree with Storm. A lot of sellers are firm in their prices unless you see the BO. I had a few items listed awhile back and was asked a number of times if I could come down in price. Well I already had these items listed at the average of what they sold in completed listings and couldn't do any better. I just took it as buyers were fishing to see if they could get below average prices.

I did end up selling them for my asking price though.

clayshooter22

It is good form to make an offer. I make them all the time. Some sellers like 4SC don't even respond but others like JustCollect will often agree or counter, assuming the listing has failed to sell at their asking price for a month or so.

I wouldn't expect any seller to jump on a offer the first time it is listed though.

Mike

BRDSR

<< <i>I agree with Storm. A lot of sellers are firm in their prices unless you see the BO. I had a few items listed awhile back and was asked a number of times if I could come down in price. Well I already had these items listed at the average of what they sold in completed listings and couldn't do any better. I just took it as buyers were fishing to see if they could get below average prices.

I did end up selling them for my asking price though. >>



I find that very few sellers list their BIN items at the average price of recently-ended auctions for the same card/grade. In fact, it seems like a lot of sellers list their cards at 150 or 200% of average prices. For me, I'm working on pretty big sets and have a long way to go, so I generally just skim past BIN items and wait until the card comes up for auction.

sdkcp

Yeah, I would echo everyone else. If they have the Best Offer set up, then feel free to make any kind of offer you want.

If they're not using Best Offer, you could send one email asking if they might do a deal on a multiple purchase like that, but you may not get a (nice) reply back, depending on the seller.

You would be asking for like a 28% discount, and with the way the eBay fees have been piling up lately, that seller may have no wiggle room for a 28% discount off of "their" set prices.

If you are polite and to the point, I don't think it's bad form to ask for a possible discount on multiple purchases.

markj111

I have done it several times. Sometimes it worked, other times it did. Blocking a bidder for making an offer seems a bit extreme (unless the offer was insulting). I have a high end card for sale with a BIN. I put a fair price on it. It 's been on eBay for more than a month, so I would be willing to consider offers. OTOH, I will not give it away.

divecchia

I would not think it is in bad form to make an offer on aa eBay store item as long as the offer is reasonable and not insulting...

Donato

WinPitcher

I say go for it, you have nothing to lose.


Steve

nam812

<< <i>It is good form to make an offer........... >>

.

Says who? Do you walk into a department store and beg them for a lower price on their toaster because it's been there for "a month or so"?

onebamafan

Always inquire.......if they say no, ok. If they block me (never happened to me)....ok. Life goes on.

DeutscherGeist

If the item has been sitting for a month, then go ahead and make an offer. But anything less than that, it might be insulting to the seller. Your case is reasonable. You want multiple items and those items have been available for weeks, so its OK to make an offer. Sure, even then, some sellers might get offended, but you cannot help that--at least you set yourself up to minimize trying to offend the seller.

At a certain point, you cannot worry about offending the seller. Ebay BIN and auctions are set up to move items. There may be some sellers out there who like to leave a BIN on for years and any offer below asking price is insulting to them. You, the buyer, cannot know the seller's every sensibility.

But don't ask a seller to come down on a week old BIN. Your chances for offending are very HIGH.

Zixx

Funny thing is that no matter how polite and nice you are, you are bound to wind up in a thread with someone denouncing you as someone to block for having the audacity to ask you anything about an item.


My opinion? Ask away. Like was said, I've also made sales that way when I had wiggle room on the price or just wanted to move it out of my inventory. It should never hurt to ask.

72skywalker

I would say make an offer, the worst they can do is say "no." If they block you as a buyer "oh, well" There are plenty of other cards and sellers out there. If they choose to lose a potential sale so be it, that is their choice. To me it makes no sense to block someone for asking for a low price. If you owned an actual old fashioned card shop and someone walked in and asked to make a deal on one of your cards would you throw them out of your store and ban them for life. If you did you won't be in business for long. That kind of stuff works well for the Comic Store Guy on the Simpsons but not in real life.

Mickey71

I only do the best offers. Most sellers don't want to bother with stuff outside of the EBAY safety net and neither do I really. If it's a major seller then I may call them and discuss a deal.

Mickey71

Mickey71

I'm a big fan of the sellers who have a buy it now set up for $200 with a best offer====then you make an offer of $170 and they counter with $200. I've actually had this happen quite a few times.

johnny1976

"I find that very few sellers list their BIN items at the average price of recently-ended auctions for the same card/grade. In fact, it seems like a lot of sellers list their cards at 150 or 200% of average prices. For me, I'm working on pretty big sets and have a long way to go, so I generally just skim past BIN items and wait until the card comes up for auction."


BRDSR

I agree and I do skim past most of the bins also. But when I want to sell a card, I know that I won't get that 150-200% of the average price. I also list a card to sell it to buy something new and I want it to sell as fast as it can.

However I will not take any loss on a card either so if the average price is lower than what I got it for I will put my bin a little above what I paid for the card to cover my fees.

metsfan

<< <i>

<< <i>It is good form to make an offer........... >>

.

Says who? Do you walk into a department store and beg them for a lower price on their toaster because it's been there for "a month or so"? >>



That's my way of thinking, also. Have heard people ask the manager for a lower price on an item, and it worked! You'll never know if you don't ask!

hammered

I recently wanted an item that had a BIN of $16. I made best offers for sh*ts and giggles.
My three offers were 12, 14, and 15.50. All were auto-rejected.
I was going to offer 15.80, but I ran out of offers, dammit

cardbender

As a store seller who doesn't have a best offer listed on any items, I'm totally open to any offers of 10% of my BIN price, as long as we take the deal off line. If I can avoid ebay fee's, I'll gladly pass those savings onto the buyer. Ebay makes too much from me monthly as it as.

vbellier

<< It is good form to make an offer........... >>

.

<<Says who? Do you walk into a department store and beg them for a lower price on their toaster because it's been there for "a month or so"? >>


Why wouldn't I ask for a better deal on a toaster? I did just that when buying a TV, DVD, fridge and fan the other day and guess what? I got a better deal. I always respect the right of the seller to say no and to stick to whatever price he/she wants. I never get upset or "insulted" by a rejection, only by poor manners and service. I fully expect some kind of customer service from people I buy from. Any seller that doesn't want any offers on a BIN can easily state it clearly on their ad.

I am always astonished by the abundance of sellers with poor customer service skills. Don't people realize that the difference between mediocre results and great results can be spelled "repeat and referral business"?

At the same time, some buyers are so ignorant in their approach to the selling process that they are almost guaranteed a negative experience.

I'm not targeting anyone here, just offering my opinion. I think it's fine to make an offer on a BIN -- just make sure you put yourself in the seller's shoes. Would I sell the card for that price? I've done it many times and have never had a bitter experience.

corvette1340

BINiots.

SDavid

All the super high priced BIN's hurt sellers more than buyers. Buyers just learn to hit the auction tab causing sellers with reasonable BIN's to be lost in the shuffle.

storm888

May 2, 2010 / 8:30 am

Search Term: PSA Cards

Total Listings: 190,104

Auctions Only: 19,101

BINs Only: 171,203

MULLINS5

<< <i>All the super high priced BIN's hurt sellers more than buyers. Buyers just learn to hit the auction tab causing sellers with reasonable BIN's to be lost in the shuffle. >>



Are these investors or collectors? I think people looking to resell the cards hit the auction tab...collectors look at both and are willing to pay a price if it is fair/negotiate.

Currently I have auctions at .99 on cards I would like to move...my BINs are for cards I am not going to "give away" at auction, but will look at reasonable offers. For instance, I am willing to take about 5% off if they purchase one card and 10% the total purchase for more than one.

I think adding OBO to the BIN price helps sellers as everybody is looking for some kind of deal.

hobart4281

<< <i>

<< <i>It is good form to make an offer........... >>

.

Says who? Do you walk into a department store and beg them for a lower price on their toaster because it's been there for "a month or so"? >>



I've never begged a store to lower a price but I have successfully negotiated a lower price, often times 15%-20% less than the listed price, on many occasions.

LJB17

<<Says who? Do you walk into a department store and beg them for a lower price on their toaster because it's been there for "a month or so"? >>

Why wouldn't I ask for a better deal on a toaster? I did just that when buying a TV, DVD, fridge and fan the other day and guess what? I got a better deal. I always respect the right of the seller to say no and to stick to whatever price he/she wants. I never get upset or "insulted" by a rejection, only by poor manners and service. I fully expect some kind of customer service from people I buy from. Any seller that doesn't want any offers on a BIN can easily state it clearly on their ad.

I am always astonished by the abundance of sellers with poor customer service skills. Don't people realize that the difference between mediocre results and great results can be spelled "repeat and referral business"? >>



Very well said. You haggle when buying a car I would hope. Why not haggle on the toaster or shirt? If they say no, they say no, but a true sales person is more than welcome to the opportunity of a sale. You only do yourself a disservice by not asking. Everything from your Big Mac to your Six Flags Admission is negotiable. Enjoy the ride.

MULLINS5

It is insulting to have people come to our shop and haggle on our prices when they go to walmart, petco, petsmart, and hobby town and accept whatever price they have, but being a good salesman is masking your feelings to the public.

I am not surprised at the lack of customer service from eBay store sellers because eBay stores are not real stores.

Smuggo

I would say some (read - many) of the sellers based on their "prices" aren't that interested in sales either. I'm not concerned about insulting them nor am I concerned about being a blocked bidder. Much of ebay is nothing more than a "virtual" museum of overpriced goods IMO and that is fine, it's their stuff. All it takes is a guppie or two. For me I don't really care what I "miss" by using the "Auctions Only" tab.

MULLINS5

<< <i> Much of ebay is nothing more than a "virtual" museum of overpriced goods IMO and that is fine, it's their stuff. All it takes is a guppie or two. >>

PowderedH2O

When you go to WalMart, PetCo, etc... you are dealing with a manager at most. When you go to a small store or an ebay store, you are likely dealing with the owner. The manager at PetCo may not be authorized to give you a discount (but, they might, you never know). But, if you shop at an ebay store, the person you deal with is 99% of the time a person who CAN make that decision. They bought the item in question. They know how much they need to make on said item to make it worth their while to sell it (Or they should). So, making a reasonable offer to this seller is not insulting. Car dealerships expect to be haggled. If you order pizza from one of the national franchises, there are usually dozens of discounts that they have available. You should never pay full price without taking a shot at a discount.

MULLINS5

<< <i>When you go to WalMart, PetCo, etc... you are dealing with a manager at most. When you go to a small store or an ebay store, you are likely dealing with the owner. The manager at PetCo may not be authorized to give you a discount (but, they might, you never know). But, if you shop at an ebay store, the person you deal with is 99% of the time a person who CAN make that decision. They bought the item in question. They know how much they need to make on said item to make it worth their while to sell it (Or they should). So, making a reasonable offer to this seller is not insulting. Car dealerships expect to be haggled. If you order pizza from one of the national franchises, there are usually dozens of discounts that they have available. You should never pay full price without taking a shot at a discount. >>



Agree.

I'm saying with eBay sellers these are not real store owners and people should be able to negotiate deals.

It just sucks when someone comes in the shop and says, "how much do I get that fish for?" when the tank is clearly marked...and you know they are supporting petco, smart, walmart, and hobby town -- all places you cannot haggle with.

clayshooter22

<< <i>I recently wanted an item that had a BIN of $16. I made best offers for sh*ts and giggles.
My three offers were 12, 14, and 15.50. All were auto-rejected.
I was going to offer 15.80, but I ran out of offers, dammit >>



Seriously, if someone offered $15.50 to something I had $16 on, I'd block them too.

Really, for $.50 you want to take the time to make an offer? If your time is worth less than .50 go ahead....but mine is worth more.

Offers of 75% - 90% would be welcome, even if not accepted, but after about 90%....just pay the asking price.

An offer of 3% less than the asking is just as anal-retentive as a 10% offer.

Mike

mtcards

I went to the grocery store and couldnt get the manager to come down from the $1.99 Hot Pockets he had. I then asked him to lower the loaf of bread another quarter, he refused. I finally asked him if he could drop that Hershey bar to .40 cents, but by then he was already kicking me out. Point is, why is haggling for cards such a big deal. Why not just pay what the person is asking.... I fyou dont like the price go somewhere else and buy it.

People haggle over 50 cent prices, but they go overboard when someone charges an extra 50 cents for shipping after the seller has been fee-gouged by ebay and paypal.

Most times youre getting a card at half of retail anyway. Nothing pisses me off more than to have a $100 "book" value card (And yes I know book is a joke), put it on a $30 BIN or best offer and have some idiot offer me $5 for it. Thats why all the BINS are overpriced, because the sellers know no matter how good a BIN price they put on it, some A--hat will lowball the offer.