Making Offers on non OBO BIN's

I just messaged a seller on eBay making an offer on a buy it now item that didn't have the 'make an offer' option. It's the first time I've done this and am not sure what the unwritten rules are on this so to speak.
I'm wondering if any of you have done this before? If so, how often and has it ever worked out?

 

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Yes, the majority of the time it works out, but I usually buy other coins from a given seller, which probably makes it more appealing to consider the OBO. Sometimes the seller emphasizes that the auction is not a OBO listing, but they're polite about it. I'll do it as often as I see it, though this may drive sellers crazy. I don't really see the harm in it. The seller can ignore it if it's already at its lowest.

 

I get seriously irritated when people send me offers on coins I didn't do via BIN/Offers. If I wanted "offers" I'd have asked for them.

 

What if someone buys a couple dozen plus of your items?

Just offering my scenario.

 

Well, we can both be right.

I answer politely, of course, and I'm also quite willing to do Offers for certain coins.

 

It really depends on how the person asks. If they are polite in the way they ask I will respond. If they are weasels then I completely ignore them. I might even block them. By weasel I mean they say something like "you're never going to sell that, but I'll give you $25 for it", or something to that effect, for example.

 

Offering to buy multiple items would be a more polite way of asking. The bottomline is you are being considerate of the sellers desire to make some profit while also looking to improve your price. In your example, I don't see anything wrong with it.

 

@bsowa1029

Oh, gosh! Here we go again!

I think you know that I respect your opinion..........most of the time, but.........

I'm glad I'm not buying anything any more. Heck, I've made offers hundreds of times, even on items that were just straight auctions (with no bids). Of course, I've always been polite, and more often than not, it has worked for me. Even when the seller comes back with a counteroffer, I have almost always succeeded in buying an item for a mutually agreed-upon price that was fair to both of us.

Chris

 

I make offers on items from time to time. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It depends on the seller.

 

As a buyer, I did it once when I saw a coin geting absolutely no bidding action because his price, frankly, was too high. I didn't tell him that, but offered him a price. He countered but we couldn't agree. We both went our merry ways.

 

I've done it plenty of times. Sure the "best offer" button makes things easier but if I want a coin I'm going to try to get it at a price I can live with and where the seller can make money as well. Usually sellers don't get offended but in the rare case that a seller seems to get angry about it(usually the same sellers whose items are way overpriced in the first place) I just add them to my blacklist and move on.

 

This is a place where I wonder if I'm just being too ornery about it, which is why I accept all that stuff gracefully. I just can't_stand people who want to bargain even though a fixed price is listed. You don't try to bargain at the grocery store or Walmart; why would you expect to dicker with somebody else's fixed price? And if it's an auction, you know, maybe I want it auctioned.

 

When was the last time you sold a home?

Chris

 

It is generally accepted in numismatics that bartering is the norm. Prices are flexible, and many dealers will go back and forth with you.

 

That's fine! All you have to do is say, "No!" which is your right, but I never once had a seller refuse to negotiate.

Chris

 

I have had success doing it. I agree with physics-fan's thought.

 

I've done it plenty of times, I've never had a seller seem upset by it and gotten some great deals doing so. As a seller myself the only time it's really bothered me is when someone is making a ridiculous low ball offer. But usually it's not really the offer part that I mind it's just the low ballers being pushy or rude. Offering wild explanations or claims 'like these are selling for xyz, I'd accept my offer your not going to get anymore than that' etc.

 

I asked politely and it actually worked out. I got a quick reply saying they adjusted the price to what I offered.
I have had one person on Instagram, two times, talk crap about a coin I had for sale and then make me a low ball offer. Did not even acknowledge that guy.

 

Coins and groceries are two different things. It's understood that at a grocery store the price you see is the price you pay.
I think haggling is part of the coin hobby.
Would you not ask for a better price if you went into a coin shop?

 

Depends on my feel for the situation. Standing there and talking to someone face to face is quite different than making an online purchase from a venue where auctions, flat sales and offers are strictly defined.

I must be different from most sellers; if I have a specific price in mind, I name it, and I have no wiggle room left after that. Then again, I've been in retail for half my working career and probably have a different mindset than most.