EXCLUSIVE: The Intimate Diary Secrets of a Best Offer

[*CountessA*]

Hello. My name is Besterella Offer, but you can call me Best Offer. This is my secret diary, in which I shall confide all my girlish secrets and intimate details of my daily life.

Today I had a client wearing scuffed runners and patched-up jeans. He doesn't wash his hair, and it's too long; to be frank, he doesn't seem to wash his clothes, either. He stinks.

But a client is a client.

I gave him my best smile and said, "Come on, make an offer, sugar." He eagerly followed me into my pied-à-terre. I could tell it was his first time; he was nervous, his hands were sweating, and his Adam's apple kept bobbing up and down. But with a bit of encouragement from me, he worked out what to do, and made the offer.

As I said, it was his first time. He was taken aback when his offer was knocked back instantly.

"What's that, then?" he asked. "How'd the seller make such a quick decision? Is he online right now watching...?" (I couldn't tell whether the idea titillated or horrified him, but he was certainly confused.)

"Well, sweetie," I said in my special dulcet tones, "It's like this..."

[to be continued]

[*smee*]

I think what causes a lot of misunderstanding with best offer is exactly that the name best offer , its not really necessarily a best offer .... think of the listing as a buy it now or make an offer (reasonable) just forget the word best for the time being ... some people seem to think best offer works a bit like a silent auction it doesnt the best and simpiest way I can describe it without going right into the ins and outs of it is , its a buy in now listing but both the potential buyer and the seller can 'haggle' if a mutual agreement can be arrived at , its a push of the button and the agreed price becomes the new bin price for that buyer only , he hits the accept button and hey presto its his .... their is nothing sneaky or underhanded  about it , if a potential buyer makes an offer all that happens is an email and an ebay message gets sent to seller saying a buyer wants to offer $x for the item , the seller can either accept the offer as is , reject the offer outright or start the haggle process by suggesting a counter offer price ..... hopefully this helps a tad ..... so it makes no sense to make an offer on your own item coz all you are really doing is sending yourself an email it in no way means that the next potential buyer must offer more than the previous offer if that makes sense ?

[cueperkins]

Finally, the confusion clears...not that various of us had a clue how best offer worked in the first place, and therefore could form no opinion on whether it could be abused or not.

so....If I'm looking at an item I want, and they have it listed for higher than I'm willing to pay.....??????

Let's use an exquisite Antique Demi Parure for instance (yes at least silver and semi precious gems OK)...just to keep the Countess interested....

Seller has it listed for $250.00, but you only want to pay $200.00.  You place an 'offer' for that, and it is rejected.....they come back saying they want $230.00...but you're not willing to budge.  Let's say the same item is then relisted because it didn't sell.....you'd once again make an offer of $200.00? or would the seller be able to go back on previous offers before relisting??

[*smee*]

previous offers dont enter into it at all each offer or counter offer is valid for 48 hours only (less if the listing has less than 48 hours to run obviosly) take your scenario if you offered $200 and the seller can back to you with $230 and you have 3 options you either outright the counter offer and end of haggle ... or you accept the counter offer of $230 and its yours at that price as a BIN or you counter offer hois counter offer with say an offer for $215 and gain the seller can either accept , reject or come back with another haggle of say $220 ....
but for the sake of debate lets say you flat out reject his counter offer of $230 coz $200 is absolute max you are willing to pay .... another 3 days go by and no one has bought at the asking bin of $250 and no other offers have come in and now the seller thinks he might not get to sell it and really needs some dough he is kickin' himself for not accepting your $200 ... along comes Smee and offers $180 ... seller accepts ... I get for $180 despite my offer was less than yours ... yours is done and dusted forgotten about you 2 didnt come to a mutual agreement .... so you see your offer is best offer but it doesnt just sit there like a bid it needs to be accepted or rejected one way or another , so I got it not you and I got it cheaper ... so see why the shill offer doesnt make sense ??? .... I hope all this helps coz its hard to put into words buts its really quite simple if you get your head around it

[cueperkins]

As I was saying in another thread, it's painfully hard to get your head around anything that might be a hysterical hypothesis, if you can't understand the actual process it's being applied to.......I've never used Best Offer.....and if I wanted to disprove such a hypothesis, I'd first need to know how it all works....I don't....but I'm a larnin....Myths about Ebay are not helpful...there's enough reality on ebay to shock the best of us...lol

...anyway.....don't kid yourself sport, you'd never get that demi parure.... I would have been following the item, and noticed that it had gone unsold and re-emailed the seller...I'm sharp on Antique Jewellery I want buddy....so back off my hypothetical best offer lol.....(meanwhile, Countess has made a counter offer for $230.00 and won....she's sneaky like that - The Dark Horse.... See last word thread).

[*smee*]

exactley Cupie and thats why the hypothetical should never have been used in the first place .... but it got worse than that didnt it ?

and in actual fact the scenario wasnt put as a hyperthetical it was nothing short of propaganda ... I can quote the exact wording if need be !

[*CountessA*]

Don't worry about the wrong ideas of "best offer", since this is a thread to give the full monty on this oft-misunderstood process.

 

Getting back to Besterella...

I looked at my client. "Honey, sweetcup, it's like this: your offer was... well, let's just say it was a bit on the small side."

My client turned beet-red. "Too small?" he muttered in a strangled tone.

I said with quick reassurance, "It's all right; there's treatment. Not to worry. It's all fine."

He was still deeply embarrassed, and I fluttered my false lashes at him in a nice kind friendly way while gently leading him to the settee. "You see, this particular product is usually $2000, but the seller's got it listed for half of that - $1000. When you made him an offer, it was... well, rather small. $50 is not the required size."

He hid his face in his hands. "I don't know how this whole thing works," he confessed, gulping. "So - was the seller waiting in front of his computer when I made the offer?"

"Impossible to tell," I said cheerfully. "But it doesn't matter. Some sellers 'like to watch', and sweetheart, it's no big deal. What we DO know is that the seller has set up his listing in a certain way."

He looked up queryingly, and I continued, "He's got the best offer to automatically reject any incoming offers that are below a certain dollar figure. He doesn't have to be there; the auction software has a function that processes this automatically. So he's set an automatic figure which is his absolute minimum that he'll even consider. It makes sense, doesn't it, sweetcakes? After all, the $1000 is already a good deal for the client, right? He's not about to give it away for nothing, or for a dollar figure as low as $50."

"I'm so embarrassed," burst out my client. He looked as though he were about to cry. "Will - will the seller know that I'm best-offer-dysfunctional?"

I smiled. "It honestly doesn't matter - as I said, there are things to remedy this. You've still got two more chances to make an offer on this, so why don't we concentrate on that while I fetch the special best-offer enlargement pills?"

[to be continued]

[cueperkins]

Countess..lay off my antique demi parure

There's no need for that smee..I'd rather hear about how best offer actually works and make my own mind up.....I have no doubt that there is shill bidding on Ebay....I don't think it's as prolific in the medium to smaller sellers...but I haven't really researched it...

I think that the hypothetical focused on sellers getting others to make offers (so it's within Ebay's system), and thereby pumping up their sales stats...or something like that. 

Like you, I'm not sure why anyone would bother....you could just as easily list a whole lot of items at 99 cents and get feedback and sales that way...Not sure how Best Match works in all this either...it's all a bit too much thinking for the average consumer or trader I reckon....shouldn't be this hard.

I was involved in the research of four major frauds in 2008, but they were blatant....thousands of people were ripped off big time. 

This isn't something I consider a risk to consumers in the least by comparison.....in fact, it's so intangible as to be ridiculous......but it's difficult to dispel myths unless the whole scenario is presented...and it wasn't.

 e.g.  When you present a hypothesis...it goes like this..... This is how 'A' works, and this is how 'B' impacts upon 'A' to produce 'C'. Logical isn't it?  If nobody knows how 'A' works the rest is ridiculous.

..look back, I think I did ask for someone to explain best offer so we could debate this logically.  I don't think we need myths to be perpetuated...Ebay has a lot of bad things going for it at the moment, and as I said the reality is enough to deal with let alone fantasy. 

remember bnwt opened a thread about best match....someone else talked about how best offer impacts on best match...I can't even see that connection if it's a done deal in a back cyber room?....unless it puts sellers into a more visible position on the ladder?.

And now back to the tale of two offers......

[*wheels*]

.. sorry, interrupting the story here ..

Make an Offer is definitely a better term to use. The only way I can see an offer helping a seller's price is it may increase the demand for the item. Other buyers can see that an offer has been made (not the amount) and whether the offer is pending or has been accepted/rejected. When I have been watching an item that is listed as Buy It Now, if an offer has been made the buying trigger finger gets itchy! 

I like sellers that have an automated acceptance set up for offers. The buyer gets an immediate response and I have been able to save a bit of money this way.

[*smee*]

Hi Wheels, yes the term "best offer" is confusing if you have never used the facility .

Interesting that you like the automated immediate response , I wonder if most buyers think that way ... hmmmm food for thought , thanks ....
I dont use the automated reject under a certain amount at this stage for the following reasons .... (but am still experimenting with all the possibilites at the moment)
1. If the buyer got an immediate rejection they may feel like I havent given their offer due consideration , it also immediatley takes out the haggle option. and I know I hate getting computer generated replies my self to anything , so I would rather draft a personal response to the offerer 
2. At the moment I have plenty of time on my hands so I am able to respond to any offer in a reasonable time frame anyway
3. another reason is .... an its hard to explain in posting but I will try and give an example ... I had 3 identical  dvds I listed as bin $32.99 or best offer ... what I really wanted to get was $90 in total for the 3 but I didnt automatically reject any offer under $30 ... the first one I sold was at bin for $32.99 so all of a sudden to achieve my average of $30 I could afford to accept an offer of $27   if I wanted ... in actual fact the first offer I received was $28.50 so I accepted , which then meant I had 1 left and I need to get at least $28.51 to achieve my desired total of $90 ... so the goal posts move all the time ... thats why I dont set a pre determined rejection figure and treat each offer on it merits .....


anyone understand my gibberish ???? I do

[*CountessA*]

*looks up the words in the Smee University Press Dictionary*

I believe so...

From my point of view, I like getting a fast response when I make an offer. If I have made what I think is a reasonable offer (well, let's say it's a little under the maximum I'm willing to pay), and I have to hang around before knowing whether or not the seller is willing to treat with me, I will probably look at other alternatives in the meantime. Don't forget that buyers aren't glued to the computer, so if they haven't received a response within, say, 20-30 minutes, it's entirely likely that they'll turn off the computer and head out, or do something else. They may not even remember to return to the computer for some hours.

I remember making an offer for a particular book. My offer was eventually rejected, but that was 10 hours later and I was asleep by that time. When I checked in the morning, someone else had put in an offer (for 1 euro more) and the book was sold. Of course, ironically, the second offer I'd planned to make was a little more than the accepted offer.

But I can see your point, Smee - your best price in the instance you mentioned was contingent upon receiving a particular TOTAL for the three.

[Bazinga]

Oh I was expecting a hot and saucy story

[*smee*]

yep , understand where you are coming from too and as I said in point 2 I do have the ability to respond promptly at the moment without setting the automated response as I have plenty of time at the moment ... but its great to find out what the prospective buyers want or expect coz after all thats what its all about , setting your business model up to get maximum result whilst  pleasing your customers

[shyer]

Make an Offer is definitely a better term to use. ......

Yes Wheels I do think that wording would be better. I unlike smee do set auto limits if I am listing at $1000 I find sub $100 offers rude and timewasting. 1/2 my questions are answered in eBay ads , I realise some are long descriptions. They are long so item is full described. I often have to calm down to answer, the 10th dumb question that evening. I also use auto accept and reject , if I believe an item will fetch $999 on ebay I would usually start bin at $1100 . Some people have to bargain, they only buy when they think they have "won" a discount. I would set auto reject at Say $851 or below and auto accept at $998 or above. The middle I may haggle in and the more realistic offers I have the less I will lower the price.

As a buyer I offer about a day out from end of auction I can see number of offers and can gauge if lots of offers seller is either un realistic or only tyre kickers offers. Also ebay only "allows" 3 offers per buying ID so once you make 2 offers and are rejected use another ID. As if 3rd offer is rejected under ebay "rules" you are now banned from bidding or making an offer on that item. If you use another ID after one ID banned from that item, you can end up with ebay deregistering BOTH IDs

[*smee*]

As a buyer I offer about a day out from end of auction I can see number of offers and can gauge if lots of offers seller is either un realistic or only tyre kickers offers

Shyer , may I ask where you go to see this info ????

[*FluffyDuckee*]

Yes, I agree with Smee's suggestion that 'Make an Offer' is a better term and it seems both Wheels and Shyer also agree.

That makes at least four of us.  Do you think that Ebay would take this on board if we put it to them?  

As nice Horsey says on another thread, with all these issues, it is horses for courses and each seller has their own reasons for setting up their best offer they way they have.  That said I think it is fantastic that this thread is providing the vehicle to express those different perspectives and reasons.  

As a seller I have used 'Best Offer' a couple of times.  

I found it useful to
 
1.  See what people were prepared to legitimately offer  (ie people who offer $2 for something worth $150 know in their hearts a no seller in their right mind would accept that because they wouldn't)
2.  I liked the auto reject/accept/negotiate limits.  Eg: I once wanted to sell an item for $70, but knew I would accept $65.  Put an auto accept at $65 or above, a negotiate between $60 and $65 and an auto reject for $59 and below.
3. It may let the buyer think they have gotten a 'bargain' and the satisfaction of beating down the seller (in the buyers mind only lol, as they have offered what they are prepared to pay and the seller has accepted what they are prepared to accept).

I did find less movement than with auction though. This could be related to what I was selling, time of year, understanding of best offer by buyers etc.  But I did find buyers did use it if it was offered and it was an item they were interested in.

[shyer]

Shyer , may I ask where you go to see this info ????

3 lines below eBay item number is offer history button it shows no amounts and hidden IDs BUT you do get a feel for that type of item what interest is out there.

[*smee*]

ok you mean the page that reads like this ???

Purchase History

Purchase history

 
 User ID Buy It Now Price  Qty   Date of Purchase   
 
 8***n( 17)  AU $39.99 1 14-Oct-09 10:48:34 AEDST 
 
 
 n***d( 53)  AU $39.99 1 04-Sep-09 23:28:48 AEST 
 



Offer history

 
 User ID Offer Status  Qty   Date of Offer   
 
 h***w ( 0 )  Accepted 1 25-Oct-09 07:18:33 AEDST 
 
 
 i***e ( 212)  Accepted 1 19-Oct-09 11:30:58 AEDST 
 
 
 o***r ( 70)  Accepted 1 02-Oct-09 08:52:20 AEST 
 
 
 8***n ( 17)  Expired 1 11-Oct-09 16:44:34 AEDST 
 
 
 i***e ( 3 )  Expired 1 20-Jul-09 07:24:54 AEST 
 
 
 o***e ( 54)  Declined 1 12-Jul-09 20:38:26 AEST 
 

 

[*smee*]

heres a link that may help to confuse help anyone with any futher queries about this type of listing
http://help.ebay.com.au/Help/Buying/Buying_basics/Buying_formats/How_Best_Offer_works


but really its not rocket science

[mandurahmum]

Smee - so do you see every offer made by buyers?  Or do you get to see the best offer?  What I mean is if I offered $20, but you have already rejected a previous offer of $25 does my offer still go through to you? 

[*smee*]

An actual example as to how quick this can happen ... one of my listings
listed at 20.06 tonight ...
 Item Id: 280416013846
Price: AU $15.00
End time: 07-Nov-09 20:06:13 AEDST


offer received 20.19.....

Offer price: AU $12.00
Buy It Now price: AU $15.00
Offer expires: 30-Oct-09 20:19:48 AEDST


so I listed at $15 and I have received an offer for $12 so I can accept , reject or haggle .... anyone interested to see how it goes ... any comments what would you do ... grab the $12 now ... reject and hope for higher offer or if you would haggle what would you counter offer (and how would you arrive at your decision or figure?) ... bear in mind we are only 20 mions into a 10 day listing ...and I only have 1 of these it is not a multiple listing 

[*FluffyDuckee*]

Smee - so do you see every offer made by buyers?  Or do you get to see the best offer?  What I mean is if I offered $20, but you have already rejected a previous offer of $25 does my offer still go through to you?  

Hi Jane, it's been a while since I used the best offer, but from memory I could see all the offers that were made to me no matter what the amount offered.

They were listed one after the other no matter what the offer and hyperlinked and I could click on each offer hyperlink and I was then given a choice of how I would wish to respond.  If expired or I had already responded, I didn't see them.

I'm pretty sure from memory, that if I set up an auto reject, that I did not see this listed as the 'response' was done and dusted already by the system.  

[*wheels*]

Smee, I would reject the offer of $12. Your price of $15 is the cheapest on eBay already.

[*smee*]

Smee - so do you see every offer made by buyers?  Or do you get to see the best offer?  What I mean is if I offered $20, but you have already rejected a previous offer of $25 does my offer still go through to you? 

Yes MM .... just forget the Word best even comes into it ... just think of it as make an offer and yes as previously explained other offers already received dont enter into it at all each buyers offers are completely independant  to anyone elses

[*smee*]

Smee, I would reject the offer of $12. Your price of $15 is the cheapest on eBay already.

great answer Wheels ... thats the first thing I checked ... I do a search on an identical title and the prospective buyer cant buy on ebay au for less than my bin price ... so I have no competitors in that regard ....

So what did I do ?

[*wheels*]

Don't reply - let them hang in suspense for 48 hours. 

[*smee*]

Wheels !!! thats naughty ... a couple of hours ago you said as a buyer you liked getting a quickie !!!! 

[*wheels*]

Yes, but, but, I like to get a quick response when I make a reasonable offer!

[Centuries]

If an offer is accepted and the seller puts on a BIN , does the seller block any other buyers from coming in and actually buying the item?

[*smee*]

if an offer gets accepted the seller doesnt change the bin price the system automatically does it and allocates the item as sold  to the buyer at the offered/accepted price ...

[Centuries]

Now I see, smee. 

[*smee*]

what I actually did with the above offer is shot back wit a counter offer of $14 .... I could have/should have just rejected offer as I will easily get the the $15 bin if I removed the best offer option all together .. in fact I could probably increase the bin to about $17 to $18 and still be one of the cheapest , but I did list offering best offer and she did make an offer so I feel I should do the righty and play the game ... she has 48 hours to accept or reject my offer or counter offer my counter offer or just let it expire , but if some one offers and accepts in the mean time or hits bin button she misses out... I even considered letting her have it at  her opening offer of $12 in the hope that she would become a repeat customer which in the long run would be much more benficial than holding out for an extra couple of bucks on this one ... if I outright rejected the offer I would have lost her as a customer all together , this way she is still nibbling at the bait and I may end up catching her with a fair counter offer and keep her as an ongoing customer............its a bit like a game of poker really ........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn481KcjvMo

[*smee*]

Latest update ... buyer has accepted offer and paid by paypal instant payment ...

bottom line ... I only got about 93.5% of BIN price ...But Im happy with that !!! but got a quick sale all done and dusted in about 12 hours of listing , 6 or so of which we were asleep .. also now have a new customer who perceives she has got a bargain and beaten me down from my original asking price ... what now ... I will post today and she will have it by monday assuming Aust Post dont do an Aust Post on me she should be happy ...
and maybe have a new repeat customer

[*Yibida*]

Your a legend smee !.... I'll get my hard to find dvd's from you next time !

[*smee*]

Yibs I just hope it has helped someone get a little better understanding of how Best make a reasonable offer works ...


Next weeks lesson ..... 'how to get a sensible answer out of live help'

to be conducted by Nophar Ken Hope

[*CountessA*]

More from Besterella...

My unkempt client was not sitting in the same position when I returned. I waved the little bottle of best-offer enlargement pills enticingly. "Want some?" I said coyly?

He shook his unwashed hair away from his face and came forward from the shadows. "Well..." he began.

I stared, trying not to laugh.

It's not that some of my clients don't like a bit of dressed-up offer-panky, but they won't usually dress up as a giant insect in a Gary Glitter costume, either. My client swallowed hard and continued, "I made another best offer under another ID - glitter*insect901. That one got rejected as well. I'm getting fed up with this."

I put on a consoling expression. "Well, sweetcakes, let's see what's happening with all of that." I slip a hand onto his shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze while I leaned over and checked to see what was going on.

It was as I suspected; he'd put in another insultingly low bid.

I said as much in diplomatic terms, and then asked, "Do you honestly think you will be able to win this item at such a low price?"

"Why not?" said my client. "He's said, 'Make an offer'. I should be able to creep up bit by bit and find out the real price of the item."

"Oh, you poor baby," I said, crooning, taking the silly lad into my arms. "The 'real' price is the BIN price. You're not going to get anywhere playing silly games with the seller... Tell me what price you are willing to pay.

At that, the poor foolish boy ... [continued later]

[*smee*]

another thing I forgot to mention ... A buyer can also include specific terms in their offer too ..

[*smee*]

ok here is an example at the other end of the scale ...

Offer price: AU $5.00
Buy It Now price: AU $17.20
Offer expires: 29-Oct-09 19:56:22 AEDST


BIN price $17.20 .... This KJ has made a ridicously low offer of $5 ., he offered low coz only 28 mins to go and thinks I may be desperate to sell .. do I reject offer or can I convert him to a sale a reasonable price ??????

Smee is going to play ...... I will counter offer and see if he wants to play 'haggle'
if he plays I reckon I will get him to about $14.50 give or take 50c if he genuinely wants a copy of this dvd

[*smee*]

Update ... The point I was trying to make up there ^^^^^^ somewhere as to why I dont set an automatic reject , here is a message I got from one customer through ebay today for a best offer transaction ........
                 
 
 Do not respond to the sender if this message requests that you complete the transaction outside eBay. This type of offer is against eBay policy, may be fraudulent, and is not covered by buyer protection programs. Learn More. 

                       
Dear smeeagain61,

Hi smeeagain61, Thank you for allowing me to haggle and it was fun doing it (haven't had the chance in years). I hope to be able to buy from you again in the future. Kathryn


- kattyshep24


So by not rejecting offer outright and offering counter offer I got the sale and a happy customer who loved the haggle and wants to go again in the future .....


A great result !!!

[gr8-expectations]

well done master smee