Don't We All Hate Low ballers

takoyoshi

takoyoshi

Luxury Mart
Mar 8, 2009
2,362
2
#1
I can understand that everyone wants a good deal. But how many times have you had buyers offer ridiculously low prices that are insulting to you?

Today I received an offer on a bag that retails for 1050.00, they offered me 15o.oo (including shipping and insurance), the original tax is almost more than their offer :tdown::wtf:
 
#2
As a seller, when somebody offers me a ridiculously low amount then it does make me chuckle and i do ask myself why are they bothering...

But then I realise that as a buyer im exactly the same!! Ok so maybe I dont go excessively low but I always start off with a low amount (maybe £150 for a £300, sometimes lower depending on what mood im in!!) just because you never know!! Its in the buyers interest to get the lowest price possible, yet as sellers we think omg what are you doing, because obviously we want the highest price we can get!!
 
#3
oggers86 said:
As a seller, when somebody offers me a ridiculously low amount then it does make me chuckle and i do ask myself why are they bothering...

But then I realise that as a buyer im exactly the same!! Ok so maybe I dont go excessively low but I always start off with a low amount (maybe £150 for a £300, sometimes lower depending on what mood im in!!) just because you never know!! Its in the buyers interest to get the lowest price possible, yet as sellers we think omg what are you doing, because obviously we want the highest price we can get!!
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Haha that is true, but there is a difference between getting a good deal and insulting the seller :nuts:
 
#4
takoyoshi said:
Haha that is true, but there is a difference between getting a good deal and insulting the seller :nuts:
Click to expand...

Well thats true but when your caught up in the moment sometimes you just want it for the lowest price you can get. I do sometimes wonder when i put in a low offer how the seller will react..theres been times when i think oh theyre just going to reject but actually iv won!!! But I often think hmm its a bit low, are they not going to take me seriously if i do actually really want the bag and am willing to go higher. Ive had some sellers be really apologetic when theyve declined my offers and then paid the full asking price!! Thats when I feel a bit bad because, I will always start low on the off chance it will work, but if i desperately want the bag then il usually pay the full asking price if my offers arent accepted.

My view is...you dont ask, you dont get!!! :biggrin:

I hope no future sellers refer back to this post and decline my low offers on the principle i might pay the full asking price ...but then again...like i said it all depends on how badly i want the bag and theyl just never know :graucho:
 
#5
Low-ballers are annoying but I don't let it get to me. I usually just respond with a "Sorry" and tell them the minimum I'll accept. As oggers said some buyers are just trying to get the best price possible...while some are just starting low and are willing to go higher. The ones that really bother me are those that offer like $100 for a $1000 item the first time, then the second time offer $125- lol!

You can set a minimum in ebay to avoid seeing the extremely low-ballers.
 
#6
yes, i was going to say to use the auto decline /accept option, but then again, i do like to see what people are offering sometimes, there have been several threads on lowball offers, my best one was for my chanel soft and chain, i had an offer of £5...woohoo
 
#7
ladyisobel said:
yes, i was going to say to use the auto decline /accept option, but then again, i do like to see what people are offering sometimes, there have been several threads on lowball offers, my best one was for my chanel soft and chain, i had an offer of £5...woohoo
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Lol £5.00...well even I wouldnt stoop that low...id at least say £10.00 :P

That to me is a simple case of why would you even bother...some are a little on the low side but some are just plain ridiculous!!! Who in their right mind would sell, lets say a £500 item for something as low as £20??! I mean something around £100 is a little bit more understandable, especially if its been up for a while but when its that low as some people go....:rolleyes:
 
#8
I will sometimes block buyers who e-mail exceedingly low-ball offers to me -- especially if their message comes through with demands like "And I want free 2-day shipping to Country-X"
 
#9
What is a low ball offer to you? 20%, 30%, 50% or 90% off listed price?

I agree with oggers86 that (from the POV of the buyer), it doesn't hurt to ask. Some sellers do set really high prices and what they are asking is not reflective of what others of the same items are selling.

Of course it is your right to decline if you think the offer is too low. However, I'm like oggers86 in that I tend to start low and if the seller declines courteously then I'll make a higher offer.
 
#10
actually from my personal experience...i feel what OP feels.

i was listing this bal coin purse on bonz...the orig price was more than 300. i listed it as 199. and a seller offered 50 which included shipping to international. so what left for me?? i was very offended and replied what i thought and told her it's not some cheap stuff.
and next day someone with no feedback offered me again the same price. i bet it's the same person. this time..i just declined but i was fuming inside.
 
#11
It is very funny those complete low ball offers - I now use the auto decline function if I am not in the mood to deal with them but sometimes I don't as I find it funny when someone offers $100 for a $1500 item
 
#13
I love using the make an offer button, but I always do a quick search to see:
1) what that item usually sells for
2) if the seller has repeatedly been unable to sell the item
3) what is the normal retail for the item

I always like to think my offer is fair, but they don't always get accepted. Just this week I was looking at getting a replacement for my DS's favourite stuffed animal. The seller had his auction for 18.99 (24.99 BIN), I sent him an offer for 21$ which I thought was very fair, but he declined it, so I waited until the last seconds of the auction and bought it for 18.99. The stupid thing was that he had been trying to sell that darned toy for ages - he kept listing it and it remained unsold each time.

I've been selling off no longer needed pieces of furniture on craigslist and it pisses me off to no end when I get an email offering me $100 for a $500 item. I can't imagine how it must of felt with the 5 pound offer for your Chanel. Ugh!
 
#14
ooooooh. I don't use auto decline with eBay because I'm curious to see the offers... I should stop doing that though because I recently listed something for $500 and got a $50 offer. @_@
 
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