Would you like the OPTION of "Best Offer" available on eBid?

[deltadelta48]

However, this is not the 1st poll/thread from him on this subject

Ya, we all noticed. Spunky guy with lots of ideas and enough persistence and enthusiasium to keep those ideas on the front burner (and knows when to stir the old pot)!

Amazing how much the da guys can fight on these threads. Are women a bit more peaceable when discussing this stuff? Are we more level-headed or simply just to busy to jump into a brawl? Come on gals, why don't we duke it out more on the threads?

[bykimbo]

Ya, we all noticed. Spunky guy with lots of ideas and enough persistence and enthusiasium to keep those ideas on the front burner (and knows when to stir the old pot)!

Amazing how much the da guys can fight on these threads. Are women a bit more peaceable when discussing this stuff? Are we more level-headed or simply just to busy to jump into a brawl? Come on gals, why don't we duke it out more on the threads?

I can't answer for anybody else, but for myself... I can tell when a horse is dead and there's no point in keeping on flogging it.

In addition to which... I've always liked the phrase "there is no point engaging in a battle of wits with an unarmed man". What will be interesting is seeing who chooses to assume I'm talking about them.

[deltadelta48]

We can go round in circles with blame and metaphors. At the end of the day a seller who prices himself out of the market only has himself to blame.




Buyers might very well run away, but this is based on your assumption that a sizeable majority of sellers will overprice their goods the minute Make Offer is unleashed upon us. I have noticed some sellers who have wildly overpriced Buy Now prices - does this mean we should remove Buy Now? There are other sellers whose auction start price is stupidly high, and others where it is too low (i.e. too good to be true - I lean towards the thinking that a low start price on certain goods can make the buyer think they are getting tat) - with those highs and lows in mind should we get rid of auction style listings?




Again you make this sweeping insinuation, which boils down to all sellers except for yourself, are incapable of wisely using the selling tools available to them.

You don't seem to indicate any sort of figure anywhere just how many bad sellers exist, or how many sellers incapable of using a selling tool it takes to have an impact (whether real or imagined) on an auction site. Any chance of you giving us a percentage as to how many of these unworthy sellers there are on ebid?

I kind of get the point that a number of sellers don't really get the idea of what selling is about, call them 'bad sellers' if you will.

Adding Make Offer isn't going to turn all of ebid's resident sellers into bad sellers overnight and I firmly believe we won't get a rush in price-hiking to any noticeable extent and certainly not to the point that it will scare customers away.


I only wish we could stop all this dancing around and for someone to admit they don't want Best Offer:

• because they perceive it will bring prices (i.e. values) down
• because they could get undercut by a competitor who allows buyers to make offers
• because it could cause the price guides to be worthless.

Again, I think in these times buyers are VERY sensible with their money. And it is hard to guess if this means that they will bicker for a better price or will just grab the cheapest item at lowest price and not bother to email etc. Admit it, buyers here don't quite always do what we think they will. The buying pattern is different on ebid and there is the tendency to contact sellers less.

Plus, sales pattern is different: some new buyers swoop in from google, buy one item and seldom return, others come in and stay for quite a while and do not hesitate to buy multiples. Seems like they buy many more multiples here . So if a majority of our buyers are swoopers, will they bother with emails, make an offers, etc? If a majority are "regulars" will they embrace this kind of new bidding for each item even if it is 5 or ten? Even the most dedicated bargain hunter may not want to negotiation more than a few items.

I have the feeling that to get people to use this feature to ebid and seller's benefit, we will have to put a slightly new twist on it. Not the same old same old for make an offer will do. What would temp both swoopers and regulars to stir up more sales with a make an offer option? i.e. Extend same offer to other items seller has? If I negotiate price of some beads down from $3 to $2, how about if I can apply that 33% discount to other beads with seller's permission? Kind of a make your own sale that local stores do all the time via a coupon (Michaels, Joannes)? This would make it worth while to bother to negotiate a better price.

[theweaverboy]

Hi forum

[theweaverboy]

Ya, we all noticed. Spunky guy with lots of ideas and enough persistence and enthusiasium to keep those ideas on the front burner (and knows when to stir the old pot)!

Amazing how much the da guys can fight on these threads. Are women a bit more peaceable when discussing this stuff? Are we more level-headed or simply just to busy to jump into a brawl? Come on gals, why don't we duke it out more on the threads?

Men have been socialized to stand up for themselves, or to be more aggressive. Basically not to show timid behavior or weakness.

Basically don't show what is perceived as feminine emotions. Anger is really the only expectable emotion for men to have. The rest we have to restrain or act like we don't have them.

[theweaverboy]

Spunky guy with lots of ideas and enough persistence and enthusiasium to keep those ideas on the front burner (and knows when to stir the old pot)!

I do like the title “peep with perseverance”. It was given to me by another member(UK) who thought the last Best-Offer poll wonderful idea. She said that she rarely when to the forum, and liked being informed that there was a poll up.

Even though the MAJORITY have voted "for it" in the forum it isn't even a percentage of the membership. A keener understanding would come if all members were polled.

Maybe if eBid itself did questionnaires asking about various improvements they get a better understanding about what the membership wants or needs? Heck they could probably get the forum to write it for free.

Give them like 10 buddy points or something to answer a multiple choice 100 questions as an incentive. Heck who knows an icon like a hard-hat & a tool-belt by the username showing that they are helping to build a better eBid might work. Or maybe both BP and an icon? People like coupons and more so recognition both would be a one two punch to get them to fill it out.

I say buddy points or icons because in truth how much would that really cost eBid? They get the eBid gear in bulk or get a deal from Amazon, and a Cyberspace icon would be the time to come up with something people would think looks good.

[theweaverboy]

Quickie bump. They can be fun and just what you need;-)

[deltadelta48]

Men have been socialized to stand up for themselves, or to be more aggressive. Basically not to show timid behavior or weakness.

Basically don't show what is perceived as feminine emotions. Anger is really the only expectable emotion for men to have. The rest we have to restrain or act like we don't have them.

Hate to think that guys don't have more than just that one emotion they are willing to show, or that most consider it a good way to stand up for themselves.

Plenty of women have bad tempers too. I just think it is unacceptable to bring name calling etc in. That is not standing up for rights, that is mowing other people down. Not part of problem solving.

[deltadelta48]

I do like the title “peep with perseverance”. It was given to me by another member(UK) who thought the last Best-Offer poll wonderful idea. She said that she rarely when to the forum, and liked being informed that there was a poll up.

Even though the MAJORITY have voted "for it" in the forum it isn't even a percentage of the membership. A keener understanding would come if all members were polled.

Maybe if eBid itself did questionnaires asking about various improvements they get a better understanding about what the membership wants or needs? Heck they could probably get the forum to write it for free.

Give them like 10 buddy points or something to answer a multiple choice 100 questions as an incentive. Heck who knows an icon like a hard-hat & a tool-belt by the username showing that they are helping to build a better eBid might work. Or maybe both BP and an icon? People like coupons and more so recognition both would be a one two punch to get them to fill it out.

I say buddy points or icons because in truth how much would that really cost eBid? They get the eBid gear in bulk or get a deal from Amazon, and a Cyberspace icon would be the time to come up with something people would think looks good.

Good point about incentive. I still think that if make an offer is to succeed it has to be different from the usual and it has to have a bit of incentive to lure people into using it. Right now, most people, sellers, and buyers, don't have a clue about it.

What? mmmm, offer too good to refuse? Remember on feebay we used to have option of offering buyer second similiar item at same price (might be long gone, I remember buying spools of baby yarn via this feature).

So if I offer to buy your green socks for $5, I can buy other green socks you never listed for that, or your listed black socks for $5, or get a 25% discount on another item because I made offer?

[theweaverboy]

Good point about incentive. I still think that if make an offer is to succeed it has to be different from the usual and it has to have a bit of incentive to lure people into using it. Right now, most people, sellers, and buyers, don't have a clue about it.

What? mmmm, offer too good to refuse? Remember on feebay we used to have option of offering buyer second similiar item at same price (might be long gone, I remember buying spools of baby yarn via this feature).

So if I offer to buy your green socks for $5, I can buy other green socks you never listed for that, or your listed black socks for $5, or get a 25% discount on another item because I made offer?

I think a lot of sellers and buyers, trust me, have an idea what the Best-Offer is.

As for the thing that you are talking about with the 25% discount I think that is long gone. It sounds overly confusing.

The best offer I'm talking about is on the price. Example you have something at BuyNow let's say a baseball card with a Best-Offer for $150, which is the same or a little cheaper then the pricing guides. And you have 5 up close pictures from every angle with a Gallery listing. The item is exactly what you say it is Mint condition.

I make an offer for lets say $100.

Maybe you got it straight from the pack for whatever a pack of Baseball cards costs now days, you are just trying to get rid of it, or you had it forever and need the money.

You accept, or you counter with $125, or you decline.

If you counter maybe I accept, counter($125 including shipping and Insurance "which would be more then $5 domestically"), or decline.

Basically it like haggling at a car dealership which I think a majority of people get.