posted on January 2, 2002 09:23:26 AM new
Hi everyone. I have been selling in online auctions for about 2 years now and this is all new to me. I am getting ALOT of potential buyers that contact me either before I have a bid on a new auction or after one has closed either with a winner or not. They ask if they can buy it from me and offer to buy the item for specific price! Is anyone else experiencing the same thing?
I find it kind of strange. Any thoughts or opinions on this is appreicated.
posted on January 2, 2002 10:15:34 AM new
I started getting them when I started putting auctions on 3 1/2 years ago and I had one a few days ago. Also hundreds in between.
posted on January 2, 2002 10:19:01 AM new
Very frequent, at least in the days when I had buyers. Tell them to place a bid on the item right away, and you will close the auction immediately, as long as the buyer agrees to pay the settled amount. I'm sure it meets ebay's guidelines. I've never had a buyer cause a problem doing it that way.
posted on January 2, 2002 10:28:05 AM new
Hi paloma91. What you're experiencing is not new, buyers have been doing this for ages. I'm surprised this is a new phenomenon to you. I don't know how frequently you're getting approached, but I tend to get about one offline offer per 25 auctions that I post. The frequency of such offers has gone up since I started selling a few years ago.
The people approaching you before the auction ends are either a) hoping to get a bargain before anybody else notices your item or b) just plain impatient. Sometimes buyers will use try to appear "b" when in fact, their motives are purely "a." It used to be that most buyers fell into category "a, " but I think the BIN option has made the buyers more impatient, so I'm pretty sure I'm getting more offers from the "b" people these days. The post-auction offers are usually from people who think your starting bid is a too high, so they turn it into a post-auction "bargain and haggle" session.
I don't sell to the people making offers before the auction closes. I did it a couple times early on in my selling career, and had to deal with a number of nasty-grams from people who were interested in the item but hadn't placed a bid yet. So out of fairness to all the bidders, I don't cancel an auction for an off-line sale. If you're dealing with a bargain hunter, you're going to lose out, although I have had offers that have turned out higher than the final price. OTOH, I have no problem dealing with people making post auction offers, if they get their offer in before I relist it.
posted on January 2, 2002 11:52:50 AM new
Unless you're absolutley sure that the price they're offering is above and beyond what you'd get for it if you let the auction run--don't end your auction early. I don't know how many times someone has offered to buy something of mine early (for what sounds like a good price) and when I turn them down and let the auction run, it goes for way more than they offered. In my experience, these people are always bargain hunters, hoping to get a good deal from a seller who doesn't know what he has. The only time I would consider ending an auction early is if it is for an item I have sold previously in the past (or researched very well) and know what the going price is. However, even though last year you sold that item for a certain price, doesn't mean this year's market is the same. And--are you sure it's the exact same item? Maybe the color's different--copyright date is different--size--year--etc. You might not even notice the difference, whereas a bargain buyer might know exactly what they're asking you to sell early. The bottom line--just tell them to bid on it. If they want it quick, they can always pay by PayPal and you can ship that day.
posted on January 2, 2002 12:50:00 PM new
This has happened to me many times! Personally, I think it is unethical to stop an auction early, and 2nd, 9 times out of 10 they are trying to get a good deal before anyone else notices it. I had a beautiful art glass vase, and had about 4 or 5 emails from different people wanting me to stop the auction early and sell it to them. My reserve was $1500, and it went for more than $8,000. Sure glad I didn't stop THAT auction early!! This was in the "good 'ole Ebay days!"
posted on January 2, 2002 01:09:14 PM new
For me, in auctions that haven't ended this comes down to whether or not the potential buyer is offering a price that you think is good. However, I will not do this if someone else has already bid on the item.
In ended auctions that didn't get a bid I always take the money. Not strictly kosher according to ebay, but...
posted on January 2, 2002 02:52:14 PM new
I had another Ebay Seller write once and ask me if I had an extra to sell because she did not want to bid against "her" buyers. I bought many things from her playing the auction game never asking for a "deal". I never answered any of her 3 emails over the years. It is not just buyers asking.....
[ edited by sandraj on Jan 2, 2002 02:54 PM ]
posted on January 2, 2002 04:18:34 PM new
This happens so much I have an "e-mail signature" that is similar to my EOA letter. I include a Paypal Web Accept link with the item_name, price, and shipping pre-filled. It is a very effective and convenient way to close the deal. Buyers often compliment on how easy it was to buy from me.
posted on January 2, 2002 05:40:06 PM new
For sure there are eBay members who scan auctions that closed without a bid, and then offer to pay the seller half the price or some such deal.
posted on January 2, 2002 09:18:06 PM new
Isn't against ebay's rules to sell before your auction is over and if they find out you can be NARU. Read their rules carefully because if you don't you might not be a seller on ebay very long. I will not sell to anyone either before or after the auction. If they can't bid on your item then they can't have it. I would never expect someone to close an auction for me because ebay is large enough that one will come along soon.
If you don't sell it the first time and they still want it, put it on with a BIN, email them that you have done that and if they like your price they will buy it.
