Best offer like on eBay

[carlhorn]

Hi all,
What about a best offer thingy for the buy it nows like they do on eBay.
For example, I have something up for £14.99 but a buyer only wants to pay £10 for it so could there be something in place which lets buyers offer a lower amount.

Thanks,
Carl

[ToyCrazyUK]

Yes, that would be good - especially if you have had something listed for a long time, you may be happy to accept a lower offer.

[madelaine]

please remember that this is not ebay! And I hate best offer - I know I wouldn't have to use it but I still prefer a site without the possibility.

[usedvideogames]

please remember that this is not ebay! And I hate best offer - I know I wouldn't have to use it but I still prefer a site without the possibility.

I actually agree here....I find on ebay the best offer thing is used so they can put a ridiculous buy it now price on and test the water to see what people will offer!

I have managed to get a few cheap games off of the "powersellers" on there because they have set their prices to high noone bothers with that item!

[ojleap]

I think the best offer facility is a great little idea, as I have already suggested this previously. However, to take it a step further, what Ebid should do is implement a facility where you choose a percentage that, if the offer does not meet that percentage, the offer is immediately declined (to save the seller having to do it and stop having to deal with numpties who bid 1p for a £14.99 item (trust me, its happened to me, and he decided to make offers on about 80 items, so it must have taken him all day the nugget)).

ATB
OJ

[madelaine]

the % idea makes it less awful, ATB/OJ but I'm still not convinced that it should be a high priority for ebid management.

[crazy_piercings]

I aggree with having a best offer option on Ebid it would give buyers more options & sellers more sales surely

[ToyCrazyUK]

Possibly a good idea in the future once the site gets more hits - Auction Dropping.

I'm not sure if it could work, or if it's just my wild imagination. It would be similar to the price drop tv shopping channels. It would probably only be feasible to do it as frontpage featured auctions. You could set a start price and an end price and it would tick down and people would have to decide whether to hold out for the last minute or jump in early.

[madelaine]

I aggree with having a best offer option on Ebid it would give buyers more options & sellers more sales surely

Traffic is the thing ebid needs above everything else.

[gazlannathai]

Chicken and egg though Madelaine

eBay have had about a year of introducing policies and promotions to make people think they can buy a Rolls Royce for a fiver, and the Christmas advertising campaign seems to be heading in the same direction.

Sure it'll increase traffic, but with the fee increases, it means the site will be full of tat and carp that pikeys are attempting to finesse for opening bid, or for insulting best offers.

In the meantime, it'll be eBay that is in the forefront of peoples minds, and for being a place to pick up bargains.

eBid needs something to make the name stick in peoples minds - it's why I liked the old Union Flag logo and affiliate campaigns (I kept copies of the banners and still use them), everyone KNOWS eBay is American and there are still a lot of "nationalists" out there that don't want to feed the former colonies purses. A flag waving exercise in the UK, and maybe in Canada and Oz, would do no harm.

What we need here is quality buyers with disposable income, not pikeys trying to make a week's dole buy half the inventory on the site. Let eBay have those - it'll drive more people over here.

Gaz