I went to a coin shop today...

Just an FYI but Ebay now automatically makes listings have the 'make an offer' option unless you go through some process to shut it off and many sellers don't even know it's being added to the listing.

And regarding having people make crazy low ball offers I personally always love it when they rationalize why they are offering x amount or tell me that my item is only worth y and I better accept or no one else is going to buy it, etc.

 

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I bet they make you bid on the lube too.

 

Yeah this is what I'm going to do moving forward. Especially since these aren't items I have to sell they are just ones I want to sell may as well try and get what I'd like out of them.

 

Thing is, you have to enable Best Offer up-front, but what you're willing to accept may change over time. You can also get valuable feedback from the offers you receive.

If I put something up BIN, I'll list it for 30 days. If somebody offers me 80% five minutes after I list it, I'll likely decline -- I'd like to give it some time to see if someone will pay what I'm asking. If it's been 25 days and I've gotten several offers, none higher than 60% of my asking price, I might well take an 80% offer.

You'll see this sometimes in the bid histories available through some of eBay's overseas domains -- someone eventually accepts an offer that's actually lower than an earlier offer, because that offer expired or was declined, and nobody else stepped up with a better one (or even one as good).

Of course, you could list with no BO, and reduce your BIN price over time. But that gives you no feedback about what people are willing to pay, and also rules out the possibility of getting your original asking price from someone who just took a while to spot your listing.

 

Probably just a timing thing as opposed to correlation but the 83-CC I got about 15 offers for in a week it drew a ton of interest. Highest offer was $265 (list was 319 at the time) most were around $200. When I switch to buy it now only today at $305 it sold in less than an hour. So again may be just timing but I also wonder if people see the Make Offer button and think "this coin is on sale I'm not paying above the sale price" and stop short of what they'd pay if it was just regular buy it now. Lucky timing for me though, I countered at $290 to most people and none accepted. Then goes for $305 a day later.

Do any of the big sellers use the Make Offer option? David Lawrence is the only one I can think of but his coins are so overpriced I have never been close to a player.

 

It does cheapen the listing a little in my opinion. You're basically telling them offer me less then I want

 

What I do is I list with a set price in mind, and the first offer over that price gets it. If I get greedy, then inventory sits for a while (which ties up my meager budget). Otherwise, inventory moves very quickly sometimes, makes the buyer very happy, and I am happy with the sale price. I also list at about 20% above the going rate, so most "low" offers are generally accepted.

 

I list all of my listings with a Best Offer. I see it like this, if you go to a show or a shop, that dealer will usually have a price listed on the coin. I always ask the dealer what his best price is on that coin and it almost always is lower. They put the sticker on it knowing that more than likely it will sell for less, but there are people who will just pay what it is marked at.

I see eBay as the same. I price all my coins about 20% higher than what I want to get out of them. A lot sell at my BIN price, but it also gives wiggle room for people like me who like to haggle. I don't think it cheapens your listing, it just makes it more true to an actual show experience.

 

You simply can never tell what people will do with BIN. I listed a silver lot below melt once, and got an offer within minutes that was maybe 20% lower; the same guy did a BIN a few minutes later.

I listed a key-date Morgan in G/VG with a fairly stiff BIN, and got an offer for about 20% less. I decided to think about it for a while and see if any other offers came in; the next day, the guy did a BIN -- and then sent me a message asking if I could "throw him a bone". I was into the coin for a lot less, so I gave him a 10% refund, and got an extra-happy customer.

I listed a holed, engraved and worn proof trade dollar for $1195, a reasonable price for an undamaged XF example. I got offers for $505, $195, and $700. I had no way of guessing what people would actually offer until I listed it. (And if I'd put it up for auction, it might have ended before either of the high offerers saw it.)

 

And, like a show, I imagine it scares off a few people who don't realize how the game is played, or don't have patience for the game -- but in aggregate, you probably come out ahead.

On the flip side, there's nothing stopping a prospective buyer from asking a BIN/no-BO seller to adjust the BIN price down, either. The danger there is that, if the new price is too attractive, someone else might snatch it before you have a chance. It's all the same for the seller, of course, but tough luck for the buyer...

 

Plus a show the cost of getting there is on the buyer and the sellers don't have to pay to ship something since you basically have to have free shipping now on eBay or most people ignore your listing. If the best offers work for someone more power to them

 

I often do similar by setting my BIN at the price 'I want' and often times end up having in mind a price 'I'd take' as well if someone offers. Sometimes though similar to what @-jeffB what stating I'll set my BIN somewhere realistically too high and simply try to get a feel for what an item may go for if I'm unsure.

I also try and not get offended at any low balls unless the person is rude in the message along with their offer which occurs from time to time. Most times I just use auto reject to simply avoid dealing with low ball offers.

 

Do you get notified when an offer is autorejected? I don't auto-reject anything at my current level of activity -- I'm trying to learn about the market, so I want to see everything, and my volume is low enough that it's not an issue. If eBay will still let me know about offers that it automatically rejects, though, I'll probably start putting in a low threshold (i.e. less than melt, less than offers I've gotten at shows, etc).

I do remember the person who offered $74 for 100 40% Kennedys, with a comment in the offer that she sells them for $1 each. I thanked her for her offer, and told her I'd be happy to buy all she had at that price. Didn't hear anything back on that.

 

It sends me an email stating that I have an offer, but I don't think it alerts that it was auto rejected. Which is sometimes a bummer as you get the excitement of 'oh a possible sale' and then find out it was a ridiculous low ball.

Reminds me of an old woman a couple of weeks ago when my in laws had a yard sale and I brought a few odds and ends coin wise to sell. She offered me $15 for about 10 BU 1924/25 Peace dollars I had out stating 'that's what she pays in California'. My response was she should buy all she can there as I'd gladly pay her at least $20 each

 

lol I've never got a message like that. That would drive me nuts though.

Only message I got almost made me sell to the guy cause he gave the highest offer at $265 and said something like "I know it's a low price still but it's all I can do no problem if too low, thanks." which I respected.

 

The best are the offers where they act like they are doing you a favor and/or are entitled to a discount even though they are offering you 20% of the value.

 

I just let them fester. Other buyers cannot see what the offers are, but if they see that there are competing active offers, they are more inclined to make a higher offer.

 

What is an old coin worth? obviously more than it's face value, but why? It has entertainment value. How much that value is, depends on the individual. When dealing with individuals, you have to keep that in mind. The kid that paid the $1100 for the 1909 obviously knew or thought that he would get that much enjoyment out of owning it, because he couldn't buy a piece of bubble gum with it otherwise. If a person goes to the fair to ride the rides, it is for pure entertainment, the carnies know what the market will bear for what they are offering, and even though we sometimes think it is too high, we think the thrill is still worth it much like the kid.

 

Thats a very interesting way of putting it!!!
I can relate, every couple months i will treat my kids to an evening of fun @ Dave and Busters. Going in, i know that im gonna spend atleast $100, sometimes $2-$300. They overprice the video games, like $2- $2.50 for a 30 second game. You spend all this $$$ to accumulate hundreds of tickets, then go 2 redeem your tickets for a prize. A bunch of junk thats cheap and falls apart and to get anything good, u would hafta spend $1k probably.
A complete rip-off all the way around.!!
Why do i even go? Its entertainment !!
Who wouldnt want to control a 6 foot tall rock em sock em robot, and kick some other Dads ass !! Plus Moms driving, so Dad can get drunk and have as much fun as the kids!