Ebay question. Is it ok to make an offer?

I was watching a Lincoln that didn't sell and ended with no bids. It was listed too high for me but the seller was not asking for offers. Will Ebay let me contact the guy with an offer or is that a no no? I want the deal to go thru Ebay. Can I do this without ticking anyone off?

 

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Yes, it has been done before. I contacted a seller about an unsold listing, told him what I was comfortable offering and the result was a new listing intended just for me, still via ebay. If he agrees, stick to the screen as he's relisting, so that no one else snipes the public listing intended for you.

 

The seller can relist and add the OBO option then turn down any offers until he gets yours.
When he accepts yours the sale is completed.

 

You can contact any seller with "Ask a question", eBay can't tell at that point what you`re asking him about.

I tried it several times but no luck, seller usually just relists it, for same price or slightly lower. One time the coin that had no bids got plenty of bids the next time it was listed.

 

I do this all the time.

 

Ebay is darn near anonymous and definitely too many sellers to worry about accidentally offending one to not try and save a few dollars when you can. Its not like they are gonna come through the screen and beat you up for asking, the worse they will say is 'No'. Surprisingly there are many yeses though, I have great success at negotiating this way. It also opens a dialog with the seller instead of just hitting BIN, paying, and never really conversing with the seller.

Ive only been outright ignored a few times, and most of the 'no' answers are usually "i have to get at least this much through ebay in order to remain viable"

 

Larry, I used to contact sellers all the time with offers even though no BIN or Make Offer was noted. For that matter, I've even made successful offers under these circumstances on active listings before any bids have been entered.

Chris

 

I see nothing wrong with this, and I don't think you'll offend the seller, as long as you aren't making a low ball offer. I think most sellers would appreciate the interest in their item.

 

As a merchant on and off ebay, I'm not offended when someone makes an offer, particularly on a coin that didn't sell while listed. I think it's appropriate, although you have to remember that ebay is so paranoid about buyers and sellers doing business on the side that communication sometimes can be difficult.
If I get an viable offer from an established client, I'm happy to set the coin aside and wait for their check to arrive. Or I can send a paypal invoice, or even relist the coin and send them the item number...whatever works easiest.
I'm glad you got the coin and at a great price too!
Nick

 

As a seller on eBay I get offended if folks DON'T make an offer.

 

I find the low ball offers very annoying.

 

Yes they can. There are several things that if you include in messages it won't go through. I had someone PM me a while back asking for a list of football cards I was looking for. I tried to send him my email and a link to a site where he could find a list and both were blocked. I had no intention of attempting to make a sale outside of eBay. I was trying to get a long list to this guy so I could buy on eBay...but it tripped some security features designed to restrict off site communication.

That said, you can negotiate best offer prices via their message system. However, if you send any means that will allow you to communicate off eBay...it will get blocked.

 

Yes, and good luck.

 

I'm a huge fan of business on the side. After 12+ years, I haven't even broken 250 transactions. I try to give ebay the initial fees, you know, for the introductions. I really like it, when a dealer has his/her own page. It's usually not too hard to find, considering ebay pretty much allows the advertisements. They always get theirs through paypal, though.

 

Absolutely. I have often done this with auctions that end, but there is no sale. I make my best offer, and have negotiated many a decent deal on coins to get a mutually acceptable price.

 

Thanks everyone. I'm going to give it a try.