To Make or Not Make an Offer... That is the question...

[AddyGirl]

Ok -

I believe my prices reflect fairly; yet, what do you think of providing, MAKE an OFFER on ALL of one's listings?

You can either post your answer here or send me a PM.

Whichever you prefer.

Much continued success to all!

Signed,
'That Gosh-Darn Yankee' Trader from across The Pond

[astral276]

Seems the simple question is: If you consider your prices to be already fair then are you willing to sell them at a less than fair price to make a sale?

It's something only you can decide, it's not a decision that others can make for you.

[AddyGirl]

Thanks, Mel.

[JaBek1]

Mel makes an excellent point. Often when one is looking to sell using negotiating to determine the selling price, (aka: haggling) a seller puts wiggly room into his price. If, however, you consider your price to already be at a reasonable level, there is little need to seek to negotiate a lower one.

[AddyGirl]

Sounds reasonable. I'm still learning - that's why I ask.

Thank you,JB!

[sidthelamp]

well this has been debated lots of times before,

this link is to a thread about having the ability to make an offer,

with the pros and cons of offers
http://www.ebid.net/forums/showthrea...R-with-BUY-NOW

[sidthelamp]

http://www.ebid.net/forums/showthrea...ilable-on-eBid

[Oldandintheway]

I recently had a buyer negotiating for a lower price on several items without the "make an offer" option being enabled.
Like the OP, I believe my listed prices are fair.
However, I did offer a reduced combined total & free shipping (which wasn't accepted) but only due to the fact that it involved several higher $ end items.
My point is, it seems that some prospective buyers will try to bargain whether "make an offer" is enabled or not!
BTW, the buyer made other selections in any case.

[AddyGirl]

Thanks, Sid. I was hoping to hear from those who have used it and what they thought.

[deanosaur1972]

To do it on ALL of your listings wouldn't be a great idea. For every sale you make - you may lose two, the make an offer facility just gives the buyer an extra decision to make which therefore slows them down from hitting the Buy Now button, the indecision could cause the buyer to walk away. It is not really conducive in respect of 'new to eBid' buyers - are they going to join up just to make an offer? Not as many as would do to buy the item if it is fairly priced. Many buyers would also assume that the price has been bumped up to incorporate a likely offer.

It is something I would never ever have on my listings. On rare occasions I do get asked if I do discounts on items and the answer is always - no, with a detailed explanation. That way everyone single customer knows that they get the same fair deal as everyone else, the response I get to that from the buyers is very positive.

I use my corner shop most days, I pay the prices they ask as long as they are fair prices. If I went in there tomorrow and someone in front of me asked for and got a 5% discount I would never shop there again. So the corner shop may have made a sale by giving a 5% discount but by doing so would have lost a regular customer for good (more if anyone was behind me).

Make an offer can work - end of line stuff where quantities need to be moved swiftly springs to mind. But care needs to taken. There will be sellers who will declare that is had made them a sale, but the unknown is how many sales they may have lost and in particular how many lost 'new to eBid' customers.