Who is annoyed by LOW BALL offers on EBAY BIN/Best Offer?

7over8 · July 15, 2012 12:34AM

Everyone that has ever listed a BIN/Best Offer on Ebay has probably encountered the insulting LOW BALL offers made by some buyers for their items.

Most of us immediately decline with no comments while others write back smart remarks.

But the question that interests me is - How many buyers actually submit these LOW BALL offers and how many sellers bite at them?

Go ahead - tell of your experience, either if you are insulted by them - OR - if you are sending LOW BALL offers and getting "lucky".........

291fifth · July 15, 2012 12:38AM

I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices.

BUFFNIXX · July 15, 2012 12:42AM

I have an ebay store (buffnixx) and i do get rediculous low ball offers but they should just be ingnored. just a part of doing business. do not get your panites in a wad for something like this. it is futile to respond and castigage somenone for making a lowball offer as you can set up your by it now listing to refuse offers less than a certain amount. that having been said i do not understand the purpose of a thread like this.

nibanny · July 15, 2012 12:43AM

<< I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices. >>

I agree, even though it makes no sense to me. Though it could also be a way to start a negotiation.

I am also annoyed of sellers that list an item with the Best Offer feature and are only willing to cut few bucks.

When I list an item BIN+BO, I am willing to negotiate down to 10%. As a buyer my offer is never lower than 90% of the BIN price.

TwoSides2aCoin · July 15, 2012 12:44AM

Turn annoy into joy. The law of physics dictates. Even in the cyber world. I got two offers from YaHa the other day. I thought I was in need of a priest by the time I got done reading.

That's all I will confess.

braddick · July 15, 2012 12:46AM

You may set the offer in eBay to reject- without notifying you- at a level you chose.
At the same time you may also set an offer that will notify you and lastly, an offer that is automatically accepted.

Between the last and requiring the buyer to pay immediately with Paypal you should be good to go without the annoyance you
described.

An example:
You have a coin with a BIN of $1000.00
You are set up to accept automatically any offer above $900.00
Any offer above $800 (between $800. and $899.) and you're contacted.
Edited to add:
Any offer $799. or lower and you are not contacted yet the submitter of the offer is automatically rejected via eBay notification process.

derryb · July 15, 2012 12:53AM

Best Offer tells me the seller is in a hurry, desperate or knows his buy it now is too high. I never list a Best Offer, I set my Buy It Now at the price I want. The advantage to Buy It Now instead of auction on high dollar items is lower selling fees.

crypto79 · July 15, 2012 1:04AM

No matter how low, I appreciate any offer of someones hard earned cash for one of my items. That said I don't always respond to every offer.

erickso1 · July 15, 2012 1:09AM

<< No matter how low, I appreciate any offer of someones hard earned cash for one of my items. That said I don't always respond to every offer. >>

Agree.

Besides, low-ball, high-ball and everything in between is in the eye of the beholder.

LindeDad · July 15, 2012 1:30AM

I've told a few that you can't sell most items at wholesale on eBay and not lose money.

astrorat · July 15, 2012 1:32AM

<< I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices. >>

astrorat · July 15, 2012 1:34AM

<< As a buyer my offer is never lower than 90% of the BIN price. >>

On behalf of all sellers ... THANK YOU for leaving money on the table!

astrorat · July 15, 2012 1:41AM

<< I look at a coin and offer what I think is fair, if the ask price is $300 but the coin is worth $150 I will offer no more than $175. I will pay a small premium
to avoid having to continue my search. >>

Then the coin isn't "worth" $150, it's "worth" $175 ... to you.

TomB · July 15, 2012 1:44AM

I haven't sold on ebay in a few years, but the last couple items I listed were modern US Mint gold coins that had sold out at the Mint. They were priced well within the range of their current sales, but I decided to put the Best Offer option on them, too. On every item I had at least one ebay member offer me less than melt value for these gold coins. I ended up accepting none of the Best Offers and sold all the pieces at the BIN numbers within a few days. If I recall correctly, there had been at the time an option for auto decline if an offer came in below a basement number that you entered.

TwoSides2aCoin · July 15, 2012 1:45AM

When I get lowball offers, I jack the price up. Almost always, the item sells within 24 hours. People are getting smarter.

keets · July 15, 2012 1:46AM

Who is annoyed by LOW BALL offers on EBAY BIN/Best Offer?

probably just as many collectors that are annoyed with all the EBAY BIN/Best Offer's that sellers begin with absurd, wishful thinking prices.

MilkmanDan · July 15, 2012 1:47AM

<< I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices. >>

This. It's more annoying to me how many absurdly high BIN prices there are.

AP · July 15, 2012 1:47AM

I would say anything better than a BIN price is a deal. I'll often submit a lower-ball offer, with the hope that the seller will work with me. e.g. BIN listed for 500 (when 500 is already a fair price). I'll come in at 425, hoping the seller will meet me in the middle. Sometimes, there is no budging, other times, it has worked out where I'll save some money on an item I'd already be willing to pay the asking price for. I dunno, as a buyer, my strategy is to get a price as low as possible. As a seller, my goal is to negotiate as high as possible, w/o losing out too much.

Interesting point for discussion. Thanks for sharing.

astrorat · July 15, 2012 1:52AM

<< 

<< 

<< I look at a coin and offer what I think is fair, if the ask price is $300 but the coin is worth $150 I will offer no more than $175. I will pay a small premium
to avoid having to continue my search. >>

Then the coin isn't "worth" $150, it's "worth" $175 ... to you. >>

THE COIN IS WORTH $150 the convenience is worth an additional $25. You get the idea? >>

Then the purchase of the coin is WORTH $175 to you. Yeah, I get the idea.

TwoSides2aCoin · July 15, 2012 1:55AM

Low ball offers go into my "I can't wait to do stand up" drawer.

Kaline6 · July 15, 2012 2:00AM

Nothing wrong with asking and nothing wrong with saying no. It's just business. Take it personally and your business and blood pressure can both suffer. Not worth it!

As far as answering back to a real lowball offer, that's like teaching arithmetic to a pig--it's a waste of your time, and it annoys the pig.

stckplunge · July 15, 2012 2:06AM

<< I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices. >>

I only sell my items with a BIN/BO. I am never in a "hurry" to sell my items and my buy it now price is never more than the average of prices realized for the same item. I will consider any reasonable BO and very often (almost typically) will accept offers that are 10% lower than my BN price. I accept even lower offers on multiple purchases. I suspect that buyers have a bias against BIN/BO auctions because they do not have the chance of "winning" an auction potentially at a steal of a price (which of course rarely happens anyway).

Jeff

drei3ree · July 15, 2012 2:29AM

It still amazes me how POMPOUS some Sellers are!

I have sold at the BIN, even though the BO was available and not used??? I have also sold at ~30% below BIN. On the flip side, I have bought with a BO ~30% below BIN. I'm never offended when someone offers me money. However, I'm usually puzzled when I counter-offer (and we're close on price) and I don't get a response.

Zoins · July 15, 2012 2:33AM

<< I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices. >>

If the prices starts of absurdly high you need to offer low just go get to a reasonable middle ground.

High BINs are an approach used by some dealers in thinly traded markets so they can move fewer pieces but having the selling pieces help carry the inventory for the non-selling pieces. In some thinly traded markets, this seems to have increased as the economy worsened lowering the realized price in true auctions.

For some sellers using this approach in a slow market, I wonder if you can get to a more reasonable price per piece if you offer to buy more than one.

KAJ1 · July 15, 2012 2:47AM

This auction has been on E-bay for months.
LINK

It's almost MS65 money.

morgansforever · July 15, 2012 3:10AM

I'm annoyed when I make a reasonable offer and get rejected. Found a toner ASE in a PCI slab for $225 my offer $175, denied, $210 denied.
I'm curious if $224 would have been denied too.

Just finished getting annoyed at a local flea market. Seller had 35/40 loose ASE's in flips, in a display case.
All very nice, no spotting etc. $50 bucks a piece, asked what if I bought 20, still $50 a piece. Two sellers down
a woman had them for $35, but she only had 4, so I bought the 4 she had.

LindeDad · July 15, 2012 3:15AM

<< I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices. >>

And if a seller gets annoyed enough to put the person on their "Blocked Bidders List" they won't be annoyed anymore.

nibanny · July 15, 2012 5:30AM

<< 

<< As a buyer my offer is never lower than 90% of the BIN price. >>

On behalf of all sellers ... THANK YOU for leaving money on the table! >>

You are welcome! I don't care leaving money on the table if the seller has a fair price and that's what I am willing to pay.
If I have to go under 90% of the BIN it means the price is not fair. JMHO

RB1026 · July 15, 2012 5:39AM

Absurd offers don't offend me. I decline them and move on.

On the flip side, I never make an offer on a coin/item without a firm sense of what I believe to be the value of a piece and its worth to me personally. If a seller thinks an offer of mine is low ball, then so be it. That represents a difference of opinion in my mind, and not a ridiculous offer.

callawayc7 · July 15, 2012 5:55AM

<< I'm annoyed when I make a reasonable offer and get rejected. Found a toner ASE in a PCI slab for $225 my offer $175, denied, $210 denied.
I'm curious if $224 would have been denied too.

Just finished getting annoyed at a local flea market. Seller had 35/40 loose ASE's in flips, in a display case.
All very nice, no spotting etc. $50 bucks a piece, asked what if I bought 20, still $50 a piece. Two sellers down
a woman had them for $35, but she only had 4, so I bought the 4 she had. >>

I agree. As a buyer mostly, it's funny why a seller would even set up a "Best offer" if he doesn't accept anything below his BIN. I've had more than a few times where I offer only 5% off the BIN and it was automatically rejected (seller didn't even see my offer). Makes me wonder if he would accept ANY offer.

TorinoCobra71 · July 15, 2012 5:58AM

<< I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices. >>

This is the way I see it. I see a BIN that is 50% ABOVE retail. I just roll my eyes and move on.........

keets · July 17, 2012 10:23AM

I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices

you mean like this!!!???!!!

Wabbit2313 · July 17, 2012 10:52AM

<< This auction has been on E-bay for months.
LINK

It's almost MS65 money.

>>

I have this exact date in that exact slab, (AU58). I'll sell it for WAY less that $475.00!

Wabbit2313 · July 17, 2012 10:53AM

If you have the exact coin someone wants, they are always going to pay more than average price. Perfect pictures are the key.

LanceNewmanOCC · July 17, 2012 12:13PM

.
i don't experience very many low-ball offers since i have minimum offer amounts for my bin/obo.

any amounts below my minimum are automatically declined.
.

Buzzybest · July 17, 2012 12:16PM

<< If you have the exact coin someone wants, they are always going to pay more than average price. Perfect pictures are the key. >>

Now you tell me!!

Wolf359 · July 17, 2012 12:40PM

<< 

<< I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices. >>

I agree, even though it makes no sense to me. Though it could also be a way to start a negotiation.

I am also annoyed of sellers that list an item with the Best Offer feature and are only willing to cut few bucks.

When I list an item BIN+BO, I am willing to negotiate down to 10%. As a buyer my offer is never lower than 90% of the BIN price. >>

In my experience (and others may differ) 80% is pretty much the normal first offer to make and that a seller should accept.

CarlWohlforth · July 17, 2012 12:47PM

When selling I set it up to automagically reject offers that are low enough to annoy me.

When buying if I see a coin where I think the value should be much lower than the ask I often wonder if I should bother sending in a low ball offer. I have no need to annoy people. Nor do I expect to be able to teach anybody a lesson. So I usually hold back.

Sometimes I get a feeling that the seller is fishing, knows they are asking too much and that my offer is reasonable - in those cases I might make an offer. Still I get the whole gambit of responses and have very rarely been able to consummate a deal. So I make fewer offers than I used to.

3keepSECRETif2rDEAD · July 17, 2012 1:10PM

In my lifetime, my motto, which was passed down to me by my father is "you get what you negotiate for." If the seller isn't willing to negotiate; then why would they have OBO as an option in the first place? Low-ball shlo-ball, I mean you can't get what you dont ask for, so why not try and get what you want for the best price? Besides, something (especially numismatic coins) is only worth what the next man will pay for it, right? Some folks are in desperate need for liquid, so how is it the buyers fault to see if this fits into any current senario? Besides, a low-ball offer IMO just means that the buy is interested in the product, and that spells counter-offer to me. eBay only allows a buyer to give 3 best offers before they have no other option than BIN... So if they go to low... 3 strikes & your out. Just my 2c

Erik

ebaybuyer · July 17, 2012 2:45PM

i no longer consider best offers, due in part to the responses ive seen here, id hate to appear desperate to sell a coin by giving someone the opportunity to negotiate, my prices may be absurdly high to someone that only wants to pay half of what something is worth, if i see a coin with a buy it now comparable to what the average selling price is, and free shipping, i see no reason to try and low ball the seller, if the price is too high, the market should force the price to within reason once the seller has re-listed it five times with no takers. contrary to what some may believe, the seller is paying all the fees (which arent pennies on the dollar) free shipping only applies to the buyer, the seller still has to pay for it. and ive heard the "its the cost of doing business" argument, that is BS. the buyer and seller are both doing business, so the buyer should be willing to figure his portion of that "cost of doing business" into the transaction. as a buyer i try to figure out what it costs the seller to sell the item, minus the fees, minus the shipping, minus the 10% that ebay TAKES from any shipping charge, finally, i consider the fact that the seller may have actually had to buy the item in the fist place, some people may believe coins just grow on trees, but the seller most likely has SOME investment into the coin, so its a good idea to maybe put yourself in the sellers shoes for a second and ask yourself, would i even bother to acknowledge an offer like that ? would i bother to counter ? would i just block the guy so i dont have to explain to him why i have no interest in selling scarce date PQ coins at 80% of grey sheet when those same coins cost me 3x redbook to buy

goldbuffalo · July 17, 2012 2:54PM

I use the automatic reject option.

But, i've given low offers and they have been accepted, so it's worth a try.

But, sometimes i do not put in the automatic reject and find that I can counter offer, that has led to a sale.

CoinMiner1 · July 17, 2012 3:10PM

We did BIN in the past, but no longer.

I have found that the majority of coin auctions where I receive offers before the auction closes - that shows my lot is in demand and the price should NOT be lowered.

Also makes me think I missed a variety, and take a second look.

Either situation firms my price.

Our vintage paper sales are a completely different animal. Can't think of one low ball offer ever. Folks are often tickled pink to *finally* find that scarce/obscure piece they were looking for and immediately put in a strong bid. They are also much less picky (even for higher dollar items) and more grateful for the puchase.

fwiw

Lehigh96 · July 17, 2012 3:39PM

Lowball offers are not annoying if you use the auto decline feature. Actually, I rather enjoy viewing some of the offers that people put on my coins after the fact. One guy offered $5 for a coin listed @ $500. It gave me a good chuckle when I saw it.

TwoSides2aCoin · July 17, 2012 9:20PM

Service with a smile.

Senex · July 17, 2012 9:55PM

<< I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices. >>

Indeed, I agree completely and have done it myself when I spotted a ridiculously high BIN price.
I never sell on the Bay with BIN, so I don't have the problem of getting low-ball offers.
But when I do make serious offers, they are generally below GS "Bid" prices.
Mostly they aren't accepted but I have scored a few decent bargains that way.
My experience with "Best Offer" auctions is that the sellers will generally take 80% to 90% of the BIN price.

Buzzybest · July 18, 2012 12:44AM

<< 

<< I suspect many low-ball offers are made as a way to annoy sellers who have stupidly high buy-it-now prices. >>

Indeed, I agree completely and have done it myself when I spotted a ridiculously high BIN price.
I never sell on the Bay with BIN, so I don't have the problem of getting low-ball offers.
But when I do make serious offers, they are generally below GS "Bid" prices.
Mostly they aren't accepted but I have scored a few decent bargains that way.
My experience with "Best Offer" auctions is that the sellers will generally take 80% to 90% of the BIN price. >>

I would sell ANY Morgan I have below Grey Sheet bid pricing. And some are pop 21s!

Buzzybest · July 18, 2012 12:48AM

Actually, to add to the above,because PCGS "+" grades are only about 2 years old,it is more difficult to easily lookup fair market value or auction history. The same is true to a lesser extent with Secure Plus.

Res · July 18, 2012 3:35AM

<< It still amazes me how POMPOUS some Sellers are!

I have sold at the BIN, even though the BO was available and not used??? I have also sold at ~30% below BIN. On the flip side, I have bought with a BO ~30% below BIN. I'm never offended when someone offers me money. However, I'm usually puzzled when I counter-offer (and we're close on price) and I don't get a response. >>

I've BIN'd before when there was a best offer available. If it's something popular, chances are it will be gone by the time the seller responds.

giorgio11 · July 18, 2012 3:59AM

A seller can set up eBay so that it will automatically respond to offers -- not that everybody does that. But it's worth a try if you feel a price is too high, sometimes there is no wait at all if the seller has set it up thusly. Or you can send a Best Offer and if you get no response and it's something you really want, turn around and BIN but at least you have tried to buy it for less beforehand. Low-ball offers are a fact of life, I either accept or reject an offer and move on, eBay, show, our own website, whatever, I don't get my panties all up in a crack over it.

Nickcap · July 18, 2012 4:08AM

I have been on both sides of this BIN/Best Offer.

I never get upset.

If someone wants to offer a coin for a high BIN/Best offer, I look at my collection. Do I need the coin and how bad do I need it?

Recently, I had an encounter like this as the Buyer with DLRC on EBay. I had my eye on a an 1894-O PCGS AU58 CAC Morgan for my Everyman Registry Set. Heritage Auctions Had this coin at the FUN Sunday Internet Only Auction, I was going to buy this coin because of the rarity of getting the AU58 already CAC'd. The Wed before the Heritage Auctions, by phone alerts for EBay went off. Another 1894-O PCGS AU58 CAC Morgan was listed. The BIN Price was less than the Heritage Auction coin. I almost paid for the coin, but knew the PCGS Price was $475, so I offered $500. I was prepared to pay the full asking price, but Luckily DLRC accepted. I grabbed that coin within 15 minutes of its listing. Now If I needed to, I would have paid full asking price for the coin just to fill the hole in my set, but DLRC worked with me professionally on it and I am a Happy Customer of theirs.

I had a similar experience that I was shot down when asking for more than the average price for a coin, but the seller insulted my offer. I will never buy from that seller again.

Look at the Best Offer as a way to negotiate a price of the coin. The prices of the coins are set by supply and demand. And just because you have the coin (the supply) does not mean you can always get your price. You need a buyer (the Demand) to feel they are getting a good deal.

Also, I am only a collector. I am not a dealer of coins. If a dealer to sets a super high price on a coin, above the average prices of similar coins on eBay, maybe it is time to re-evaluate that coin.
I might be in the minority here. If I do not feel like I am getting a reasonable deal on a coin, I will walk away. Do not get me wrong, I will pay a premium on coins that I feel warrant the premium. I will not pay a premium on a coin just because the dealer paid too much to acquire the coin and has to jack the price way up to break even.

Also, how do I post pictures on here and how do I change the avatar picture on the left?

7over8 · July 18, 2012 4:17AM

Sure there are rediculously high BIN prices that warrant a reasonable "market price" offer.......understood.

But what I cant understand is lets say a coin with a high bullion content, example a one ounce proof buffalo, that may be selling for several hundred dollars above melt.

Then the offer comes in - several hundred dollars below melt.......is the buyer just being an a&& ??

After dealing with things like this for many years, adjusting Best Offer acceptance levels, etc., always wondered how many of those STUPID low offers actually are accepted by the seller? Is there a group of BUYERS who are essentially "bottom feeders" and try to secure big profits by giving "low ball" offers???

Who is annoyed by LOW BALL offers on EBAY BIN/Best Offer?

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