I had idiots offer me 600 bucks on 2008-w $25 buffalo gold 1/2 oz. When it melted at 800.
that’s called flea market low baller price.
I don’t even answer. Someone like that needs to just go away.
@coiner said:
I had idiots offer me 600 bucks on 2008-w $25 buffalo gold 1/2 oz. When it melted at 800.
that’s called flea market low baller price.
I don’t even answer. Someone like that needs to just go away.
Those people I block so I don't have to deal with them anymore.
Ebay's "cook book" best offer feature is not specifically aimed at coins, where values are often easily determined by market price guides. It becomes very useful where price guides really don't exist for the items in questions. I've bought dozens of vintage cymbals on Ebay the past few years, most of them by Best Offer. In many cases the seller doesn't know precisely what they have even if the mfg's name and stamp is on the item. Learning how to value them takes time and research. The vast majority of sellers pick an asking price well above market value. So in that case a B.O. option is almost a necessity if they ever want to find out what their item is worth and what it can sell for.
@roadrunner said:
Ebay's "cook book" best offer feature is not specifically aimed at coins, where values are often easily determined by market price guides. It becomes very useful where price guides really don't exist for the items in questions. I've bought dozens of vintage cymbals on Ebay the past few years, most of them by Best Offer. In many cases the seller doesn't know precisely what they have even if the mfg's name and stamp is on the item. Learning how to value them takes time and research. The vast majority of sellers pick an asking price well above market value. So in that case a B.O. option is almost a necessity if they ever want to find out what their item is worth and what it can sell for.
Are you a drummer or just a connoisseur of fine cymbals?
@coiner said:
I had idiots offer me 600 bucks on 2008-w $25 buffalo gold 1/2 oz. When it melted at 800.
that’s called flea market low baller price.
I don’t even answer. Someone like that needs to just go away.
Those people I block so I don't have to deal with them anymore.
I understand and respect your approach, but some times the bottom feeder bargain hunter messes up and ends up paying strong money for a drecky coin. I've had it happen off eBay. Someone paid full retail for a Seated coin with strike doubling thinking it was DDO. He then wrote me after the purchase bragging about his "rip." I didn't rip him off but it was a tough piece to move, and I didn't leave any meat on the bone. I was thrilled at his "discovery."
@Mgarmy said:
I could be wrong but I believe the OP was ticked because the seller responded to BO with a snide remark not because the deal did not get done.
That's how I read it as well.
I know what I like to do, as a buyer, is to find @SeattleSlammer 's account and offer him 10% on any best offer he has....it's fun to do
As for selling bullion type items, I steer away from ebay right now just because of what I would have to price something at in order to make a profit or make a profit that I am comfortable with. Big guys can do it much cheaper than I can.
@coiner said:
I had idiots offer me 600 bucks on 2008-w $25 buffalo gold 1/2 oz. When it melted at 800.
that’s called flea market low baller price.
I don’t even answer. Someone like that needs to just go away.
Those people I block so I don't have to deal with them anymore.
I understand and respect your approach, but some times the bottom feeder bargain hunter messes up and ends up paying strong money for a drecky coin. I've had it happen off eBay. Someone paid full retail for a Seated coin with strike doubling thinking it was DDO. He then wrote me after the purchase bragging about his "rip." I didn't rip him off but it was a tough piece to move, and I didn't leave any meat on the bone. I was thrilled at his "discovery."
Maybe, but in one week I had one guy send me dozens of offers over 2 days on EVERY silver coin I had and another guy send me sub-spot offers on every Morgan and Peace $ I had listed, it was just way more email than I wanted from two guys who were clearly not serious. I blocked them both and a couple others after that and I now only get dribbles of offers.
I mean, I'm not going to block someone for one low-ball offer. Could just be a misunderstanding. But the real bullion bottom feeders are persistent and annoying and if you do it more than once, I'm going to get you out of my inbox....permanently
I've used best offer as a buyer and I like it. It's just not the same as negotiating a purchase in person. Human contact is a palpable experience. Peace Roy
@SeattleSlammer said:
Best Offer can’t really be ‘abused’ .... sellers can auto-set a minimum offer they’ll consider ...
After I found that out, one seller got 100 notices as I kept bumping it up $1 at a time.
It was really boring at work that day.
I don't get notices on auto rejections
Agreed that we don't get notices on auto rejections but I had one buyer just keep increasing his bid by small increments until he found the price that I would auto accept. It was my fault for putting a dollar figure in that field.
Successful BST transactions with lordmarcovan, Moldnut, erwindoc
@Azurescens said:
...no, I generally don't push too far back, unless it's overpriced or over graded or a problem coin made it into a straight holder and it's good enough to make money but not pay full price.
If I feel I have to move further than 10% back I just pass. Anything beyond that usually means it wasn't worth much to me to begin with.
I try really hard to not be insulting. There are some sellers charging nominal premiums. There are some charging insane premiums. What's insulting to one is fast easy business to another.
How is a buyer supposed to gauge what's best for a specific seller, if prices are all over the map?
I’m very confused by your first two posts so far so maybe I’m wrong about this but does your first paragraph mean these coins you’re trying to buy are ones you want to flip? You’re upset that a seller that you initiated negotiations with isn’t leaving you enough room to profit yourself?
You also are targeting problem coins in straight graded holders to presumably buy at problem coin price and sell at straight graded price? Overgraded coins to buy at correct grade and resell at holder grade?
Again apologies if I’m misunderstanding your post.
I'm a bit confused. I have no problem with OBO, either seller or buyer. I use it all the time, ever since Ebay started it. What is the OP's actual complaint about it, not what happened to him, but his actual problem with OBO? I missed it.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
@SeattleSlammer said:
Best Offer can’t really be ‘abused’ .... sellers can auto-set a minimum offer they’ll consider ...
After I found that out, one seller got 100 notices as I kept bumping it up $1 at a time.
It was really boring at work that day.
I don't get notices on auto rejections
Agreed that we don't get notices on auto rejections but I had one buyer just keep increasing his bid by small increments until he found the price that I would auto accept. It was my fault for putting a dollar figure in that field.
I know. But I was responding to a post where it was suggested that doing that would annoy the seller.
My average sale is $25.00 or less but in the last month about 50% of my sales have been through a best offer / counteroffer or me sending a offer to buyers that are watching my items. Sales were completed at 85% - 95% of my asking price. If I do get an occasional stupid offer I either ignore or decline and block the buyer.
So.... please eBay, do not remove best offer.
it's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide
Disagree - Best Offers an Important and needed part of eBay. It is the worlds largest coin show.
Like coins in my case at a show a lot of my material I might discount 5-15 pct to move it especially if I have room. So this material may be buy now / make offer. I use auto reject to deflect low ballers.
Many I have at my best price / minimal markup to move quickly. For those wanting less I just reply “unless buy now / make offer the item is already Is at our best price.”
Like shows there are those on the bay looking get a rip / pickoff (usually described as tire kickers). In a bull market they really are not that noticeable as drowned out by real buyers but in a bear or stagnant market they are an irritating background radiation. One has to have a thick skin with experience they are easy to deflect / ignore.
My biggest pet peeve are dealers who are inconsistent with their pricing. I try to keep a relationship with my favorites, and I like to get a feel as to how much off they can offer. If you gave me 20% off a few times, then only offer 10% next time, I’m going to be hesitant to pull the trigger.
@3stars said:
My biggest pet peeve are dealers who are inconsistent with their pricing. I try to keep a relationship with my favorites, and I like to get a feel as to how much off they can offer. If you gave me 20% off a few times, then only offer 10% next time, I’m going to be hesitant to pull the trigger.
That's the thing.
In my case, if I give a discount it is on that particular coin.
It is not a blanket discount to be applied to any coin in my inventory.
@3stars said:
My biggest pet peeve are dealers who are inconsistent with their pricing. I try to keep a relationship with my favorites, and I like to get a feel as to how much off they can offer. If you gave me 20% off a few times, then only offer 10% next time, I’m going to be hesitant to pull the trigger.
It really depends on the coin like @ErrorsOnCoins mentioned. Some might be stale inventory or something where the market value has dropped, so a seller is willing to go 20% off. Other items might be new inventory or something that is harder to replace, so the seller isn’t willing to lower the price much.
@3stars said:
My biggest pet peeve are dealers who are inconsistent with their pricing. I try to keep a relationship with my favorites, and I like to get a feel as to how much off they can offer. If you gave me 20% off a few times, then only offer 10% next time, I’m going to be hesitant to pull the trigger.
It really depends on the coin like @ErrorsOnCoins mentioned. Some might be stale inventory or something where the market value has dropped, so a seller is willing to go 20% off. Other items might be new inventory or something that is harder to replace, so the seller isn’t willing to lower the price much.
Agreed. Why would anyone feel entitled to 20% or any number off on any coin? If the price is right, a transaction occurs. If not, move on.
P.S. Too demanding of a customer would destroy any good will and make me less likely to offer a better than normal offer.
@CoinJunkie said:
I'm definitely in favor of jail time for anyone making an offer less than 50% of listed price. This nonsense must end!!
Or listings at twice or more full retail. Either way stupid should just be eliminated
I think the poster you quoted was being sarcastic. Price fixing is for socialists and communists. Who is to say what retail is when even no reserve auction records are all over the place? If a seller comes across the board as being unreasonable, he will be ignored.
When I find myself looking at the inventory of a seller who has over priced most of his coins, when I find one that doesn't seem crazy I always ask myself what I missed. If I still can't figure out what I missed, I smell blood in the water and offer way less than I normally would assuming that he is overextended and is willing to go much lower to stay afloat.
@roadrunner said: @CoinJunkie said:
I'm definitely in favor of jail time for anyone making an offer less than 50% of listed price. This nonsense must end!!
Except when the seller is pricing their item at 2X to 4X full market value....which is actually fairly common imo.
My comment was supposed to be humorous while also pointing out the inanity of the thread in the first place. As has been pointed out a hundred times by now: if you don't like lowball offers, use the auto reject feature on eBay below what you consider a reasonable one.
@roadrunner said: @CoinJunkie said:
I'm definitely in favor of jail time for anyone making an offer less than 50% of listed price. This nonsense must end!!
Except when the seller is pricing their item at 2X to 4X full market value....which is actually fairly common imo.
My comment was supposed to be humorous while also pointing out the inanity of the thread in the first place. As has been pointed out a hundred times by now: if you don't like lowball offers, use the auto reject feature on eBay below what you consider a reasonable one.
Except people will message offers even on coins without the offer option.
My favorites are the people that message offers BELOW the opening bid on an auction.
@roadrunner said: @CoinJunkie said:
I'm definitely in favor of jail time for anyone making an offer less than 50% of listed price. This nonsense must end!!
Except when the seller is pricing their item at 2X to 4X full market value....which is actually fairly common imo.
My comment was supposed to be humorous while also pointing out the inanity of the thread in the first place. As has been pointed out a hundred times by now: if you don't like lowball offers, use the auto reject feature on eBay below what you consider a reasonable one.
Except people will message offers even on coins without the offer option.
My favorites are the people that message offers BELOW the opening bid on an auction.
Is this really that unreasonable if there are no bids after several days and the auction will end in a few hours? Many sellers have unrealistic expectations as to the value of their coins.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
@roadrunner said: @CoinJunkie said:
I'm definitely in favor of jail time for anyone making an offer less than 50% of listed price. This nonsense must end!!
Except when the seller is pricing their item at 2X to 4X full market value....which is actually fairly common imo.
My comment was supposed to be humorous while also pointing out the inanity of the thread in the first place. As has been pointed out a hundred times by now: if you don't like lowball offers, use the auto reject feature on eBay below what you consider a reasonable one.
Except people will message offers even on coins without the offer option.
My favorites are the people that message offers BELOW the opening bid on an auction.
You've already said you tend to block such people which is really the only recourse if it bothers you. The other possibility is training your mind to not care. I can recommend some excellent books on Zen if you're interested.
In the case of serial offenders the block is probably the way to go.
Finally I will note that for an item with an opening bid around fair value, an offer below bid may not be entirely fatuous as long as it's in the ballpark. It lets the seller know there's a buyer at a certain price if no one else bids.
Additionally I don’t see any problem with the eBay make offer system as it exists. Many buyers are low ballers, looking for a rip, or have unreasonable / unrealistic expectations about how much a seller will discount. 10 pct is a very generous discount below market retail in this business which has declined in many areas considerably. Others don’t realize the costs involved in operating a numismatic business. If somebody wants to buy at wholesale they can take a table at a show.
Some items I have room in I may offer bin / make offer but there will be a floor where auto reject kicks in. Not there to get ripped, give it away, or lose money. I have discounted and sold coins responding to messages from sellers making a reasonable offer (where there was no bin / make offer).
As far as someone messaging me on an offer below anopening auction bid of mine I ignore them.
Finally I will note that for an item with an opening bid around fair value, an offer below bid may not be entirely fatuous as long as it's in the ballpark. It lets the seller know there's a buyer at a certain price if no one else bids.
Such an offer runs counter to the whole nature of an auction. My response to such offers is that I will only entertain bids of 30% above the opening bid. Any other response is simply encouraging people to not bid in the hopes that I will drop the price.
Got a good one I may block. I've got cash in hand and things are not selling well. I'll give you 10K for your certified key date. Yeah right since grey sheet is almost triple your offer!
@roadrunner said: @CoinJunkie said:
I'm definitely in favor of jail time for anyone making an offer less than 50% of listed price. This nonsense must end!!
Except when the seller is pricing their item at 2X to 4X full market value....which is actually fairly common imo.
My comment was supposed to be humorous while also pointing out the inanity of the thread in the first place. As has been pointed out a hundred times by now: if you don't like lowball offers, use the auto reject feature on eBay below what you consider a reasonable one.
Except people will message offers even on coins without the offer option.
My favorites are the people that message offers BELOW the opening bid on an auction.
Is this really that unreasonable if there are no bids after several days and the auction will end in a few hours? Many sellers have unrealistic expectations as to the value of their coins.
With all the sniping, I fully expect there to be no bids until the last hour. If I accept such offers, there is no reason to ever run an auction.
Imagine if Heritage ran auctions but would end them if you made a reasonable offer? It would no longer be an auction.
If I had wanted it to be a fixed price listing, I would have listed it that way.
@jmlanzaf said:
With all the sniping, I fully expect there to be no bids until the last hour.
Not only that, there's all the "If I can't snipe, I won't bid" people, too. I think I posted about it before, but I ran about 20 99 cent opening auctions for items that typically sell for $10/$20. Two or three sold, the rest got relisted with fixed prices. Most of those have since sold for $10/$20.
The fact people aren't bidding is not evidence the price is unrealistic.
I think it's just natural for someone to try to wheel and deal for a better price on an item. I will send offers on items that I am interested in, but I try to keep them as reasonable as possible. I never buy on eBay through offers in order to resell (only if the listing is already reasonable and then there is no reason to offer (for me anyway, haha!).
Now, as a seller, some customers can be very annoying. I always try to work on the prices, but half off is absurdly low. I typically counter with something that I feel is fair for both of us, based on the value of the coin and the cost I have in it. Low offers definitely get me peeved, but I never show it to my customer in hopes that my good attitude will help facilitate a sale and possible future purchases.
American Numismatic Association Governor 2023 to 2025 - My posts reflect my own thoughts and are not those of the ANA.My Numismatics with Kenny Twitter Page
It feels as if some think the buyer is making them an offer. Not knowing “them” from Adam though, it’s more like the buyer is making an offer to the body of eBay sellers as they understand it. That includes those selling $10K raw 1921 XF Morgan’s and housewives selling numismatic treasures alongside sundresses and accompanied by a note of “let me know if I’m asking too much”. The personal element although understandable is imagined in most cases.
@jmlanzaf said:
With all the sniping, I fully expect there to be no bids until the last hour.
Not only that, there's all the "If I can't snipe, I won't bid" people, too. I think I posted about it before, but I ran about 20 99 cent opening auctions for items that typically sell for $10/$20. Two or three sold, the rest got relisted with fixed prices. Most of those have since sold for $10/$20.
The fact people aren't bidding is not evidence the price is unrealistic.
I've also seen it work the other way. I had a bunch of US Mint products. I listed most of them fixed price at $19.99 and then I ran one as an auction starting at $14.99. It sold for $25.
People expect the results to be too rational. eBay is simply too large and varied a marketplace to show the kind of rational price auction you see in a much smaller auction like Heritage or Stack's. On eBay, end times can be at any time 24/7. Items are not grouped in as organized a fashion as a Heritage auction catalog, so finding comps in the same auction is more difficult. You have amateur sellers as well as amateur buyers. You have sniping programs. Et cetera.
People need to look at the entire picture. I often get people offering to "buy it at the opening bid if it doesn't sell". Really? Why not just bid? That bothers me almost more than the people who offer to buy it below the opening bid. There is a reason I chose auction over fixed price. There is a reason that I am accepting best offers or not.
And sometimes the offers are just silly. I had a bunch of stamps listed at $1.59. [The absolute lowest I can sell anything with free shipping and still make a couple dimes.] People come in and offer $1.40 or $1.30. Seriously? You want me to respond to a request for a 20 cent discount? How is that worth either one of our times?
People expect the results to be too rational. eBay is simply too large and varied a marketplace to show the kind of rational price auction you see in a much smaller auction like Heritage or Stack's.
100% agree. When I'm figuring my pricing, I prefer fixed price sales results over auction results for just this reason.
And sometimes the offers are just silly. I had a bunch of stamps listed at $1.59. [The absolute lowest I can sell anything with free shipping and still make a couple dimes.] People come in and offer $1.40 or $1.30. Seriously?
I hear you there. I sell lots of inexpensive stuff regularly get offers of $1.00. Postage alone for a single coin starts at 70 cents and then there are the eBay/PayPal fees. I just sigh and decline the offers. Probably just as well, if I accepted the offer they'd be unhappy when there was no tracking on the shipment.
Lol, with all this stuff about offers maybe someone should come up with a Priceline style site for coins. Buyers name the max price they'll pay and a dealer can agree to sell at that price. Problem solved. Now where's Shatner to do the commercials?
Comments
Is someone trying to sell Bullion with a best offer on Ebay? I would not go down that rat hole ever...
I had idiots offer me 600 bucks on 2008-w $25 buffalo gold 1/2 oz. When it melted at 800.
that’s called flea market low baller price.
I don’t even answer. Someone like that needs to just go away.
Those people I block so I don't have to deal with them anymore.
Ebay's "cook book" best offer feature is not specifically aimed at coins, where values are often easily determined by market price guides. It becomes very useful where price guides really don't exist for the items in questions. I've bought dozens of vintage cymbals on Ebay the past few years, most of them by Best Offer. In many cases the seller doesn't know precisely what they have even if the mfg's name and stamp is on the item. Learning how to value them takes time and research. The vast majority of sellers pick an asking price well above market value. So in that case a B.O. option is almost a necessity if they ever want to find out what their item is worth and what it can sell for.
Are you a drummer or just a connoisseur of fine cymbals?
Both. It just happens it's much easier to rip "fine" cymbals off Ebay than it is drums.
I understand and respect your approach, but some times the bottom feeder bargain hunter messes up and ends up paying strong money for a drecky coin. I've had it happen off eBay. Someone paid full retail for a Seated coin with strike doubling thinking it was DDO. He then wrote me after the purchase bragging about his "rip." I didn't rip him off but it was a tough piece to move, and I didn't leave any meat on the bone.
I was thrilled at his "discovery." 
That's how I read it as well.
I know what I like to do, as a buyer, is to find @SeattleSlammer 's account and offer him 10% on any best offer he has....it's fun to do
As for selling bullion type items, I steer away from ebay right now just because of what I would have to price something at in order to make a profit or make a profit that I am comfortable with. Big guys can do it much cheaper than I can.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
I don't bother explaining my cost; eBay/PayPal fees, shipping, etc.
I just accept, counter, or if the offer is ludicrous, I don't respond at all.
Maybe, but in one week I had one guy send me dozens of offers over 2 days on EVERY silver coin I had and another guy send me sub-spot offers on every Morgan and Peace $ I had listed, it was just way more email than I wanted from two guys who were clearly not serious. I blocked them both and a couple others after that and I now only get dribbles of offers.
I mean, I'm not going to block someone for one low-ball offer. Could just be a misunderstanding. But the real bullion bottom feeders are persistent and annoying and if you do it more than once, I'm going to get you out of my inbox....permanently
To the OP:
Specifics. Or we can't help you. Or ascertain who is in the right or wrong here. Or understand why you posted this. Etc.
I've used best offer as a buyer and I like it. It's just not the same as negotiating a purchase in person. Human contact is a palpable experience. Peace Roy
BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52, LukeMarshall, coinsarefun, MichaelDixon, NickPatton, ProfLiz, Twobitcollector,Jesbroken oih82w8, DCW
Agreed that we don't get notices on auto rejections but I had one buyer just keep increasing his bid by small increments until he found the price that I would auto accept. It was my fault for putting a dollar figure in that field.
Successful BST transactions with lordmarcovan, Moldnut, erwindoc
I’m very confused by your first two posts so far so maybe I’m wrong about this but does your first paragraph mean these coins you’re trying to buy are ones you want to flip? You’re upset that a seller that you initiated negotiations with isn’t leaving you enough room to profit yourself?
You also are targeting problem coins in straight graded holders to presumably buy at problem coin price and sell at straight graded price? Overgraded coins to buy at correct grade and resell at holder grade?
Again apologies if I’m misunderstanding your post.
I'm a bit confused. I have no problem with OBO, either seller or buyer. I use it all the time, ever since Ebay started it. What is the OP's actual complaint about it, not what happened to him, but his actual problem with OBO? I missed it.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
I'm definitely in favor of jail time for anyone making an offer less than 50% of listed price. This nonsense must end!!
Expecting ......eBay......buyers to be aware of right pricing is kinda silly.
Seller sets the range of acceptable offers. If that doesn’t get done appropriately then oh well. Very much falls into the not my problem category.
Or listings at twice or more full retail. Either way stupid should just be eliminated
I know. But I was responding to a post where it was suggested that doing that would annoy the seller.
That's kind of insulting to the members of this forum, many (most?) of whom are eBay buyers.
My average sale is $25.00 or less but in the last month about 50% of my sales have been through a best offer / counteroffer or me sending a offer to buyers that are watching my items. Sales were completed at 85% - 95% of my asking price. If I do get an occasional stupid offer I either ignore or decline and block the buyer.
So.... please eBay, do not remove best offer.
it's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide
It's not unless some members consider themselves to be ignorant of real pricing.
In which case, education is easy enough to find.
Disagree - Best Offers an Important and needed part of eBay. It is the worlds largest coin show.
Like coins in my case at a show a lot of my material I might discount 5-15 pct to move it especially if I have room. So this material may be buy now / make offer. I use auto reject to deflect low ballers.
Many I have at my best price / minimal markup to move quickly. For those wanting less I just reply “unless buy now / make offer the item is already Is at our best price.”
Like shows there are those on the bay looking get a rip / pickoff (usually described as tire kickers). In a bull market they really are not that noticeable as drowned out by real buyers but in a bear or stagnant market they are an irritating background radiation. One has to have a thick skin with experience they are easy to deflect / ignore.
My biggest pet peeve are dealers who are inconsistent with their pricing. I try to keep a relationship with my favorites, and I like to get a feel as to how much off they can offer. If you gave me 20% off a few times, then only offer 10% next time, I’m going to be hesitant to pull the trigger.
That's the thing.
In my case, if I give a discount it is on that particular coin.
It is not a blanket discount to be applied to any coin in my inventory.
Every coin is different.
It really depends on the coin like @ErrorsOnCoins mentioned. Some might be stale inventory or something where the market value has dropped, so a seller is willing to go 20% off. Other items might be new inventory or something that is harder to replace, so the seller isn’t willing to lower the price much.
Agreed. Why would anyone feel entitled to 20% or any number off on any coin? If the price is right, a transaction occurs. If not, move on.
P.S. Too demanding of a customer would destroy any good will and make me less likely to offer a better than normal offer.
I think the poster you quoted was being sarcastic. Price fixing is for socialists and communists. Who is to say what retail is when even no reserve auction records are all over the place? If a seller comes across the board as being unreasonable, he will be ignored.
When I find myself looking at the inventory of a seller who has over priced most of his coins, when I find one that doesn't seem crazy I always ask myself what I missed. If I still can't figure out what I missed, I smell blood in the water and offer way less than I normally would assuming that he is overextended and is willing to go much lower to stay afloat.
.
I like the offer I don’t like the auto reply on this offer I like the special offer more when you watch an item
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/publishedset/209923
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/quarters/washington-quarters-major-sets/washington-quarters-date-set-circulation-strikes-1932-present/album/209923
Both. It just happens it's much easier to rip "fine" cymbals off Ebay than it is drums.
Except when the seller is pricing their item at 2X to 4X full market value....which is actually fairly common imo.
My comment was supposed to be humorous while also pointing out the inanity of the thread in the first place. As has been pointed out a hundred times by now: if you don't like lowball offers, use the auto reject feature on eBay below what you consider a reasonable one.
...times change fellas...remember back when a quick cough could be used to cover up a fart...today it’s the exact opposite
This belongs in the "we need humor" thread!
Good stuff!
You imply that all ebay buyers are ignorant of pricing.
Except people will message offers even on coins without the offer option.
My favorites are the people that message offers BELOW the opening bid on an auction.
Is this really that unreasonable if there are no bids after several days and the auction will end in a few hours? Many sellers have unrealistic expectations as to the value of their coins.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
You've already said you tend to block such people which is really the only recourse if it bothers you. The other possibility is training your mind to not care. I can recommend some excellent books on Zen if you're interested.
In the case of serial offenders the block is probably the way to go.
Finally I will note that for an item with an opening bid around fair value, an offer below bid may not be entirely fatuous as long as it's in the ballpark. It lets the seller know there's a buyer at a certain price if no one else bids.
Additionally I don’t see any problem with the eBay make offer system as it exists. Many buyers are low ballers, looking for a rip, or have unreasonable / unrealistic expectations about how much a seller will discount. 10 pct is a very generous discount below market retail in this business which has declined in many areas considerably. Others don’t realize the costs involved in operating a numismatic business. If somebody wants to buy at wholesale they can take a table at a show.
Some items I have room in I may offer bin / make offer but there will be a floor where auto reject kicks in. Not there to get ripped, give it away, or lose money. I have discounted and sold coins responding to messages from sellers making a reasonable offer (where there was no bin / make offer).
As far as someone messaging me on an offer below anopening auction bid of mine I ignore them.
Such an offer runs counter to the whole nature of an auction. My response to such offers is that I will only entertain bids of 30% above the opening bid. Any other response is simply encouraging people to not bid in the hopes that I will drop the price.
TL;DR
Who cares what a non buyer thinks? List your products for whatever price you want and move on.
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Got a good one I may block. I've got cash in hand and things are not selling well. I'll give you 10K for your certified key date. Yeah right since grey sheet is almost triple your offer!
With all the sniping, I fully expect there to be no bids until the last hour. If I accept such offers, there is no reason to ever run an auction.
Imagine if Heritage ran auctions but would end them if you made a reasonable offer? It would no longer be an auction.
If I had wanted it to be a fixed price listing, I would have listed it that way.
Not only that, there's all the "If I can't snipe, I won't bid" people, too. I think I posted about it before, but I ran about 20 99 cent opening auctions for items that typically sell for $10/$20. Two or three sold, the rest got relisted with fixed prices. Most of those have since sold for $10/$20.
The fact people aren't bidding is not evidence the price is unrealistic.
I think it's just natural for someone to try to wheel and deal for a better price on an item. I will send offers on items that I am interested in, but I try to keep them as reasonable as possible. I never buy on eBay through offers in order to resell (only if the listing is already reasonable and then there is no reason to offer (for me anyway, haha!).
Now, as a seller, some customers can be very annoying. I always try to work on the prices, but half off is absurdly low. I typically counter with something that I feel is fair for both of us, based on the value of the coin and the cost I have in it. Low offers definitely get me peeved, but I never show it to my customer in hopes that my good attitude will help facilitate a sale and possible future purchases.
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It feels as if some think the buyer is making them an offer. Not knowing “them” from Adam though, it’s more like the buyer is making an offer to the body of eBay sellers as they understand it. That includes those selling $10K raw 1921 XF Morgan’s and housewives selling numismatic treasures alongside sundresses and accompanied by a note of “let me know if I’m asking too much”. The personal element although understandable is imagined in most cases.
I've also seen it work the other way. I had a bunch of US Mint products. I listed most of them fixed price at $19.99 and then I ran one as an auction starting at $14.99. It sold for $25.
People expect the results to be too rational. eBay is simply too large and varied a marketplace to show the kind of rational price auction you see in a much smaller auction like Heritage or Stack's. On eBay, end times can be at any time 24/7. Items are not grouped in as organized a fashion as a Heritage auction catalog, so finding comps in the same auction is more difficult. You have amateur sellers as well as amateur buyers. You have sniping programs. Et cetera.
People need to look at the entire picture. I often get people offering to "buy it at the opening bid if it doesn't sell". Really? Why not just bid? That bothers me almost more than the people who offer to buy it below the opening bid. There is a reason I chose auction over fixed price. There is a reason that I am accepting best offers or not.
And sometimes the offers are just silly. I had a bunch of stamps listed at $1.59. [The absolute lowest I can sell anything with free shipping and still make a couple dimes.] People come in and offer $1.40 or $1.30. Seriously? You want me to respond to a request for a 20 cent discount? How is that worth either one of our times?
100% agree. When I'm figuring my pricing, I prefer fixed price sales results over auction results for just this reason.
I hear you there. I sell lots of inexpensive stuff regularly get offers of $1.00. Postage alone for a single coin starts at 70 cents and then there are the eBay/PayPal fees. I just sigh and decline the offers. Probably just as well, if I accepted the offer they'd be unhappy when there was no tracking on the shipment.
Lol, with all this stuff about offers maybe someone should come up with a Priceline style site for coins. Buyers name the max price they'll pay and a dealer can agree to sell at that price. Problem solved. Now where's Shatner to do the commercials?