Noticing a new format for listings on eBay...Aggravating

[Partyline4]

I've noticed a new format - NEW TO ME!! - on eBay that I haven't notice before.

say you have an auction that starts at 9.99. and the best offer function is available. I only thought you could make a best offer when the seller had a BIN active?

I find this feature annoying, because it fishes for users looking to get a great deal, but then you realize that it's an auction, and you can make an offer...

Perfect for the eBay sellers that know they have a whale of a phone and start it at 9.99....

I know why eBay has gone to the dogs....

Example picture provided below......

[jsowers]

I've noticed that "make offer" thing too, but starting about four months ago. It was on an item I was interested in, so I wrote the seller and they said it was a mistake. Why eBay even allows them to put the "make offer" button on a straight auction I will never know. It should only be on BIN auctions because the seller can't just stop the auction and sell it to someone, I don't think. It would be against their best interests and eBay's to do that.

Also these auctions tend to start very low, so the offer, I assume, would have to be lower than the starting price, which is not what the seller wants to happen. In both cases where I pointed this out to the seller, they said it was a mistake and I'm thinking that's the case on the other auctions you see. One seller relisted his item and the other just changed it and the button went away and the auction completed like a normal auction. I've stopped telling the sellers about it and I haven't seen anything ended early because of it. Has anyone else?

[FABphones]

I think eBay adds 'make offer' to the listing automatically, the seller needs to remove it (uncheck the box) when writing up the listing info page. If you make an offer of $1 on, say, a 99c auction, eBay warns that you are offering higher than the selling price and do you want to continue, even though it is an auction not a buy it now.

I just thought it was a bug in the program (or not very well thought through). If a seller accepted an offer on an auction listing I'm guessing it would just end the auction saying 'best offer accepted'.

If used, I guess the feature brings money into the bank of ebay quicker than waiting for all those auctions to end. It is probably used by those not wanting to wait for an auction to run its course, they can just make the offer rather than send a message (this would very probably cut down on quite a lot of message traffic through eBay).

[poplar1]

Same option for seller whether listing a fixed price item (buy it now) or an auction:

Price
Starting price
$
   
Buy It Now price
$
Must be at least (% more than the starting price).
   
Reserve price(fees apply)
You can set a hidden minimum selling price for your item - the lowest price you're willing to accept for your item. If the listing ends without any bids that reach this price, you don't have to sell the item. Fees will be charged when you list the item and will apply whether or not the item sells. Learn more
$
Best Offer
Increase your chances of selling by allowing buyers to negotiate a price. You can choose to accept, decline or make a counter offer. Learn more
Let buyers make offers. Being flexible with your price may help your item sell faster
Automatically accept offers of at least   
$
Automatically decline offers lower than   
$
Quantity


Ebay would probably rather get a smaller commission (for an auction that ends early) rather than make nothing at all (for a sale outside of Ebay).

[TelePlay]

I think eBay adds 'make offer' to the listing automatically, the seller needs to remove it (uncheck the box) when writing up the listing info page. If you make an offer of $1 on, say, a 99c auction, eBay warns that you are offering higher than the selling price and do you want to continue, even though it is an auction not a buy it now.

I just thought it was a bug in the program (or not very well thought through). If a seller accepted an offer on an auction listing I'm guessing it would just end the auction saying 'best offer accepted'.

If used, I guess the feature brings money into the bank of ebay quicker than waiting for all those auctions to end. It is probably used by those not wanting to wait for an auction to run its course, they can just make the offer rather than send a message (this would very probably cut down on quite a lot of message traffic through eBay).

     Regular Member Post

I think a seller can set their listing preferences to not include that option each time they create a new listing, in the same set up area where you can opt out of Global Shipping on each new listing created - where listing preference as set up.

As for including the option to make an offer in an auction listing, that only hurts the seller. In the recent auction contest for that pink WE 1500, I sent a message to the seller to let it go to an end and she asked why would she do otherwise. She did not know phones and I explained that some buyers offer side deals for about 10 cents on the dollar. I do this on contest phones so I don't have to cancel the contest due to a side deal AND the seller doesn't get taken to the cleaners by a vulture - leave money on the table. After the auction ended, she sent a message to me saying it ended exactly as I said it would, bids in the last few seconds would bump the price considerable and in that case, it went from $78 to $148 in the last 10 seconds by way of 3 snipes.


It's selfish on my part for not loosing the time I spent setting up a contest but also keeps the listing true to an open eBay auction, let the highest bidder win the phone at end time.

I started doing this with phone-ignorant sellers (obvious by the wording in the listing) after I had to cancel the auction for the German Squatting Hound phone in July 2016

     http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=16476.0

which was listed for $39, sold about an hour after being listed for $200 and was worth somewhere between $4,000 and $6,000 (a similar phone sold a month earlier with a bit less damage for $6,000). It sold while I was setting up the contest so I asked the seller what happened and she told me she got this great offer for $200 and went with it, cancelling the listing and doing the side deal). I don't think I had the heart to tell her how much money she left on the table.


eBay is constantly changing their site format in more than one area, probably more than Facebook, and it is making use of eBay more difficult if one has to learn something new every week just to try to sell something on eBay. I, personally, prefer eBay the way it was a year ago, simple and straightforward and minimal clicks. Today, after listing an item, I set it up go become active in the evening and then check the listing to see everything is the way I want it. By having it start hours later, it give the seller the change to review the listing as it will be seen by the buyers and then revise the listing as many times as needed to get it the way the seller wants it. Once it is listed and has a bid, revision options are limited.