best offer = higher profit

quick summary: best offer can give you a higher profits because it allows you to raise your store inventory prices.

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example: you list an item at auction for $19.90.  it doesn’t sell.  You decide to put it in your store.  You raise the price to $24.90 and give it the best offer feature.  You’re happy if it sells for anything over $15.   Two weeks later an offer comes in at $22.  Higher than what the auction price was.  You accept the offer.  You’re happy, the buyer is happy.

I love the ‘best offer’ feature on ebay, because it benefits the seller in a couple of ways.  With an auction, you can freely list an item that you are unsure of its value because when done correctly the market will determine its sales price.  Best offer can act the same way.  You can price your item in your store higher, and the market will let you know what it is worth.  If low offers keep coming in, then your item is probably priced too high.

2. Best offers give the buyer options.  ‘Okay this item is priced way over value, but… here’s what I’m willing to pay for it.’ Best offer allows you to find a buyer’s maximum willingness to pay, and you get the opportunity to choose to accept it or reject it.  It also helps you determine a more realistic market value for an item if low offers are coming in.

3. Best part of Best Offer – you can raise your prices! Often times you will get the buyer who comes across the item, just wants to buy it right then, (or doesn’t know what the best offer feature is), and just clicks ‘buy it now’ – at your higher sales rate.

Raise your prices a % above what you want for it.  The new raised price needs to be realistic, such that the buyer feels that it is worth even making an offer.

4 Problems with store inventory items without best offer – if priced to high, they may just sit, and sit, and sit and never sell.  Buyers see the high price, and just go away because they have no options.  Very few (or likely none) will actually contact the seller to see if they will lower their price.

One problem I have with ebay & best offer is that ebay currently doesn’t let you bulk accept offers (you can get around this by setting a best offer auto accept $ value or % on blackthorne).  I typically set mine at a % of the listed price.

Conclusion: Offer ‘best offer’ on all your store inventory listings.  One thing to be careful of – if you are selling similar items, be careful that buyers don’t see your accepted best offer values in completed listings. Then they know exactly what to offer.

There supposedly is a way to turn your listings off from showing up in completed listings, but this is something I need to look into.