posted on April 14, 2005 05:53:22 AM new
This morning I receive an email from a bidder asking me my "best offer". I reply the price and shipping is already stated on the auction page.
I get a rude reply from the bidder.
I do not like to turn sales away but I am getting tired of people asking for something for nothing.
It's bad enough I have to keep my prices so low because my main competitor chooses to make a couple of dollars on each sale. Sellers who sell things so cheap hurt the rest of us or so it seems.
posted on April 14, 2005 07:03:06 AM new
You are absoutely correct,some sellers actually lose money because they sell so cheap.I could never understand why someone would do this.Are they that desperate to make a dollar or two?
Who needs the aggravation of dealing with someone nitwit you always get for a dollar or two?The only reason I could see doing this is,if you have something you just want to get rid of instead of throwing it away.Im going to put up 8 Abbott and Costello vhs movies for 9.95,and hope I get a bid on them.I have the complete dvd sets of all their movies so I really dont need these.But this is rare as I usually dont do this.But what I think you're talking about is selling the same article over and over again for a buck profit.Too me,its not worth the hassle-I have better things to do.
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Baseball season has started,but they have it all wrong.3 strikes and you're out,4 balls you walk.I can tell you right now a man with 4 balls could not possibly walk
posted on April 14, 2005 07:46:20 AM new
What I never understand is amazon.com where you have people selling things for a penny. I've done the math, and see now situation where it could possibly be profitable, even if you have a pro seller account. Well, I understand actually, sometimes online selling is not about making money, and sometimes online buying is not about getting the best deal. Sometimes it is about people trying to improve their self image (i.e. being able to brag to friends about getting a gadget for pennies, while at the same time the postage and handling charges make it much higher than it would sell for at walmart)
As far as best offer emails, I get these even though I don't participate either. For auctions, I state that once an auction has started, I won't end it. If it is a store item (and it rarely is) I just delete the message. Usually I find these requests to be bottom dwellers from people who see something at a very low starting bid and want to take advantage of a seller who doesn't know very much. I am sure they score from time to time which keeps them going. Not from me though!
posted on April 14, 2005 10:44:59 AM new
I've gotten a couple in the Ask the Seller A Question email. One was almost crying poverty, and the other thought it was just too high. Both asked for a much lower price.
(and one wanted FREE SHIPPING TOO)
I can't I am right now selling over wholesale, and barely making a profit (I have yes, but not get rich quick thing at all! )
Anyway to both that 'offered' to pay less.... I did not reply and deleted the emails, maybe that was harsh, but didn't have an answer (well I did, and it probably wouldn't be very nice )
btw the submit best offer on ebay is one of the worst things they could do, one of the worst!
posted on April 14, 2005 11:05:23 AM new
Do you think "BEST OFFER" works for enough people to keep it around?
As a buyer I decided to try it. The items were $9.99 and 7.99. I asked both sellers for two dollars off or free shipping. Both said no, then one of them changed their mind and said yes to free shipping.
I don't know if it works or works well.. I DO know my direct competion uses it, and that blows me away, when I know exactly how much her wholesale prices are, she's losing money, from what I can tell.
I just think when people use it, buyers get it in their head that they can try to do this (submit their best offer) to every seller, well this seller (me) deletes their emails
posted on April 14, 2005 01:18:38 PM new
I see the "best offer" as a tool to use for extra sales if you have many of the same item or if the starting price is a little on the high side.
posted on April 14, 2005 01:51:25 PM new
Ya, I think these low-balling sellers have to be out of their minds. Not only because they are making tiny profits, but because the buyers that win auctions for pennies are always the ABSOLUTE worst! I've had buyers who've paid .99 cents for an item (one that's worth at least $10), then they've written to me after they've received the item complaining and threatening negative feedback because I charged them a flat rate of $1.75 shipping, and the actual postage was only $1.33. Hello?! My auction clearly includes the word "handling," so I could have easily charged even more. Do they think I'm footing the bill for their puffy envelope when I've made a ten cent profit?
On the flip side, I'll sell something worth $10 for $60, and charge $4 extra for shipping, and I've never had a complaint from these buyers!
eBay is definitely filled with it's fair share of crazies, and these types of auctions seem to draw them out of the woodwork. I think they're the same people I've seen at my garage sales who ogle longingly something marked "25 cents", ask if I'll take 15 cents for it, then when I say "no" (because I hate them...ha!), they actually put it down! Sorry, didn't mean to break your bank!
posted on April 14, 2005 02:04:57 PM new
mandaray3, you are right on with your observation. I've posted this story here before, I had a bunch of CD's that I just wanted to get rid of. I placed them online at 1 cent (for all 25!) and $9.99 shipping. I figured if they went for a penny, I would still have a few dollars out of the sale after shipping/handling, and I really just wanted to get rid of the the CD's. I had one bidder, the lot went for a penny - so be it. The SOB buyer then wrote me and said that he was fine with the items being shipped media mail, and that should cost $3, so he wanted to basically pay me $3 for the lot. Usually I am pretty professional in my replies, but I couldn't be in this one. I think I asked him if he wanted my blood too, because that is basically what would be next. I informed him he just won 25 cd's for a penny, and that the $9.99 fee stood and as stated in the auction, it would ship media mail. I then told him that I would rather throw the cd's in the trash than mail them to him for a loss. He promptly paid me, and his response was, well, nothing lost in asking. I think there are a lot of people who operate like that, I guess some people do give in from time to time.
There definitely is room for haggling on some things (not when you win at auction though) - When evaluating an inventory to purchase, I have to admit that my initial offer is lower than I expect to pay because I expect the seller to make a counter offer, and we meet somewhere inbetween those numbers. My first offer is accepted though a decent amount of the time (I do try to be reasonable though!)
posted on April 14, 2005 03:38:33 PM new
Hey eBay vet,
Funny, I read your story in your first posting and completely identified with it. I absolutely HATE that! I quite often get people asking if they can pick up their items when they find out they live in the same town...They do it even when the shipping's only a couple bucks! How is it possibly worth their time? And I NEVER let them pick it up. I don't want any of the crazies coming to my house, and honestly, one of the reasons I sell on eBay, rather than in a retail location, is that I don't want to talk to my buyers face-to-face! Don't they get that?!
Anyway, I always try to mark my shipping charges up enough to cover both packaging and listing/final value fee costs and get SO sick of buyers who complain about the shipping once they've won the auction. I list the shipping price in the auction, so they know full-well what it's going to be (it might be different if I didn't list the shipping price at all, then charged a hefty fee once the auction closed).
Here's a situation that got me peeved: I sold 5 rolls of wallpaper a couple days ago out of a multiple-quantity store listing. The shipping cost of 1 roll of wallpaper was clearly listed, and a "surprise" shipping discount of 30% was automatically applied to all the additional rolls during checkout (the buyer didn't even know she'd get this discount). After the auction closed, the lady wrote me asking how much the package weighed. I avoided answering directly, saying that my system calculated the total weight, and applied a discount to additional rolls (I knew where she was going with this). She wrote back saying that she had calculated that she was being charged for a 26 lb. package, and she didn't think this package would weigh that much. Remember, her total shipping charge was MUCH less than what was listed in the auction. I explained to her that the listing said "shipping AND handling," and that this included packaging costs, delivery confirm., etc., but I still went in and lowered the price for her (it's just not worth fighting with whiny, penny-pinchers). The ironic thing is that this same buyer is also a seller and all of her negatives/neutrals came from her buyers, complaining that she marked up her shipping to more than the actual postage cost!
I use Endicia for my USPS shipping and pay 10 cents extra a package to use their "stealth" feature, which hides the actual cost of shipping (the only info. on the label is the address, weight, and a bar code). 10 cents a package adds up, but it's worth it to me if I can avoid the sniveling. Crazies/newbies are likely to neg. you for upcharging them 25 cents, even after you've provided fast shipping and excellent service.
posted on April 14, 2005 04:08:41 PM new
They charge you 10 cents a package? I pay an extra $5 a month for the premium account and it is free with that. I can't imagine shipping without stealth mode these days. Ever since I went that route, not a single complaint about me charging $2.99 for something that has $1.55 postage on it!
posted on April 14, 2005 04:29:50 PM new
On some of Ralphie's "high-price" items, the profit is pretty hefty -- so we add $20 to the FIXED-PRICE & check the "ACCEPT BEST OFFER" box...
Had one last week where the BEST OFFER was $20 below -- so we accepted & had a profit of $100 instead of $120 -- hey! IT SOLD!
So we DO use it sparingly. We do ANYTHING to SELL SELL SELL!
(did YOU say: "anything?"
"In terms of timetables, as quickly as possible—whatever that means."
—On ElmerW Fudd's time frame for shoring up Social Security, Washington D.C., March 16, 2005
posted on April 14, 2005 04:57:19 PM new
Hey eBay vet, you're right, they don't charge me an extra 10 cents per package for that, since I have the Premium account too. I guess I was confused because I HAVE to buy delivery confirmation in order to be able to use the "stealth" feature, and I wouldn't buy delivery confirmation otherwise...So in my mind, "stealth" costs an extra 10 cents (the delivery confirmation fee- which I've found out is actually 13 cents, now that I looked it up).
posted on April 14, 2005 05:03:23 PM new
Hey eBay vet (Sorry to veer from the topic everyone),
Have you had any experience collecting insurance claims through Endicia (actually U-Pic, since they contract it out)? You can e-mail me directly at [email protected] if you'd like to keep this discussion on track.
posted on April 14, 2005 05:25:45 PM new
I don't mind posting here, I think it is all relevant to online selling!
As far as delivery confirmation, I think it is worth it, esp. at 13 cents - Just today I looked up 3 different packages to customers where they say it was not delivered, yet they showed as delivered. I haven't heard back from any of them yet, but after I give them the delivery information, I usually don't. It's worth the 13 cents.
As far as insurance, I use a company called DSI - So far, my experiences are only very positive with them. I pay a flat fee monthly that covers all of my packages. When I file a claim, they actually call me and let me know - Amazing customer service. I don't have any experience with upic, I believe they are kind of the same. I was intrigued with the flat rate, because now when I ship a package. I really don't have any worries about them not getting there, or getting damaged. I am covered. For me, it averages out to about a quarter a package, domestic and international, and covers up to $250 per package, which is almost always sufficient for me.
Wow! That sounds like the way to go. Mind if I ask about how much it costs a month? My insurance costs are starting to get pretty high with all the packages I've been insuring individually with U-Pic.
Do you usually send your customers a return label, or do you have them mark the package "refused," so you don't have to pay the return shipping? That's what I've been having people do. I figure, if the USPS smashes the box and breaks the item, the least they can do is send it back to me, right?..But I have yet to see if U-pic cares that I didn't pay the return postage or not. The thing that makes me worry is that I know U-pic looks up the delivery confirmation to see that the package was received, but when it's marked "refused" and sent back, the delivery confirmation ends up showing my address in the end, since that was the final destination. I wonder if they'll ask how the person who received the item could know it was broken if it looks as if they didn't even open the package, but simply refused it at the door.
posted on April 14, 2005 05:51:04 PM new
i had one of those "best offer" questions today - buyer offered me less than half of the listed item's price AND wanted me to include s & h in that.
i replied: "thank you for your inquiry. you will have to look elsewhere to bottom fish." and then i put them on my blocked bidder list. seldom get these, but they are always annoying.
posted on April 14, 2005 11:09:58 PM new
I pay a rate of $200/month - I've had it now for 5 months. I just filed my first damage claim yesterday, and it was a pretty small amount. I actually don't know how they are going to handle it, I have advised the customer to hold onto the package. If I have to have it come back to me, then I will just include those costs in the claim. I ship mostly via media mail, so marking it refused won't help me, because returned media mail comes postage due. Also, a package that has been opened can not be marked refused, it violates postal regulations...
posted on April 14, 2005 11:17:43 PM new
My favorite was an item with 3 or 4 bids, highest being $25. some cheapskate sent an email offer of $15, because I have a reputation of being such a nice guy....
ER, Thanks for the nice guy comment, no thanks on my accepting less...
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