eBay display “Best offer accepted” in feedback
eBay have changed the way that feedback is displayed and now highlight when a Best Offer was made by the buyer and accepted by the seller. The display now shows the original selling price crossed out with the text “Best Offer price was accepted” displayed underneath.
I’m trying to figure out if this is good or bad for sellers? Does it matter that buyers can see I’ll accept a Best Offer on almost anything as after all that’s why I’ve added the Best Offer feature in the first place. It’s no bad thing for buyers to see I’m willing to bargain
The new feedback display doesn’t show the price at which Best Offers were accepted, merely that an offer took place. It’s just like having a sale sign in a high street shop window – it indicates that there are reductions on normal selling prices to be found at this location.
Of course with the automated handling of Best Offers on eBay I in reality I don’t much notice if I’ve accepted Best Offers anyway. The only time I manually accept and offer is when it falls below my highest automatic decline price and my lowest automatic accept. The only reason those prices don’t always coincide is on products where I’d accept a lower price for multiple quantities and although I’d decline a certain price for a single quantity I’d accept if you bought 20 at that price.
Do you mind the fact you’ll take offers shown for all to see, is it a good move or are you neutral and it doesn’t bother you in the slightest?
Mark Norton says
12:42 pm on 11/06/2012
Its handy for multiple purchases, but if a seller of ‘one-offs’ is willing to accept a lower price for it, perhaps they had the BIN price set too high in the first place?
I can see some buyers getting snotty if they missed the fact that someone else got a better price because they bought multiples but I don’t think it’ll make much difference to us really.
Gary says
2:30 pm on 11/06/2012
I don’t see the point of “best offer” and never use it.
All it does is encourage comunications between buyers and sellers generally and if you receive a comunication you now loose your automatic 5**** DSR score for comunications.
The issue with this is that it is going to encourage even more of the “will you do a deal” type messages than I already receive as buyers will believe that everybody will do a deal whether they offer “best offer” or not.
Am I the only one on ebay who hates doing deals?
My attitude is that is the price. Take it or leave it.
st georges dragon says
3:43 pm on June 11th, 2012
Are we related ?
thank god there is someone else out there that thinks best offer is a load of tripe and simply encourages the pikeys it will be combined shipping next?
Lace says
2:13 am on June 12th, 2012
I third that. I think eBay continues to attract more buyers into the marketplace by highlighting these features. Free P&P, sale, best offer accepted, etc. Nothing wrong with it but it’s a challenge to sellers especially when buyers start to haggle for every item (and here’s where automatic 5 stars could fade away).
Gerry007 says
5:53 pm on 11/06/2012
.
Sometimes when I want to buy something & best offer is offered, I look through seller’s feedback to see how low the seller has gone on accepting previous ‘best offers’.
This won’t assist, as it does not show the amount paid, whereas the old system shows the best offer paid.
David Brackin says
11:46 pm on 11/06/2012
At Stuff U Sell, we believe Best Offer is an important part of teasing out higher prices in the marketplace, and we have a lot of listings inviting Best Offers.
Most of our items are one-offs, but for those which are multiple items this innovation is a good step as it no longer reveals the acceptance price.
We do still get buyer buying 3 or 4 at lowering prices and then asking to cancel the higher priced ones. This is an abuse of the Best Offer process that really is for the marketplace to address.
We think that this increased highlighting of the Best Offer in feedback will encourage more buyers to participate in the Best Offer process and this should encourage sales.
We’re fans.
Gerry007 says
12:31 am on June 12th, 2012
.
Thankfully we never use it, but then we don’t have many slow sellers.
Chris Dawson says
5:52 am on June 12th, 2012
I’m with you David on this one – I love Best Offer.
As a buyer I very rarely use it but as a seller if I can stick some for a few extra quid and get top price but let others make an offer that’s great.
Something that hasn’t been mentioned is the newer my listing and the worse it’s position in Best Match the more likely I am to accept a low ball offer. Even one or two sales can propel a listing to the top of Best Match at which time I’ll be less generous with offer acceptance.
whirly says
7:23 am on June 12th, 2012
We’re fans of Best Offer. Used it since 2004.
Steve says
12:57 pm on 13/06/2012
Best Offer is great, it encourages communication, if you have a potential buyer who thinks your price is way to high, but that you accept offers, then maybe he will contact you before just going elsewhere. Price is important, but so is service, so if your potential buyer likes the idea of buying from you, and Best Offer means you might negociate, its all good.
st georges dragon says
1:06 pm on 13/06/2012
If I think a price is way to high I dont bugger about contacting ,I simply go elsewhere in the first place, and if I think the price is reasonable I know their is always something to slice off, if there is a best offer option,
what is the point of putting a price at all, if you accept a best offer ,just auction it that way you get the best offer?
whirly says
5:55 pm on June 13th, 2012
The best offer function initiates interaction, having an amazing CS team gives comfort, when the phone rings and a deal is struck we save 10%.
Not everything is black and white, each business is set up differently, I’ve used best offer for 8 years, if it was shit/pointless as you say then it wouldn’t have made it past week 1.
Not every seller is the same George.
st georges dragon says
6:37 pm on June 13th, 2012
“Not every seller is the same George.”
too right whirly
wish ebay would understand that and stop stuffing unwanted features up our jacksie
give us the options and let the seller choose
whirly says
6:41 pm on June 13th, 2012
I can’t argue with that.