The rising BIN prices upon negotiation, is it becoming a pandemic?

[GPX | 1,403]

In the past few months, I’ve bumped into  a handful of sellers who are making my joy for the hobby a little less..

Basically, the common theme I’m witnessing is the following:

- I message to negotiate an offer or sending an actual offer when listed as BIN ONO (Buy It Now Or Nearest Offer).

- seller says he’s changed his mind on the price and thinks it should go for 50-100% more. 

- ignores my offer and changes the BIN prices to the above new charge.

- sometimes I don’t message further and I see them bump it up even further (which I’m guessing they got messages from others later on).

- does not bother to negotiate on an offer despite listing BIN ONO.

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Even worse, I got some shanky communications like (from 2 separate sellers):

- I purchased the game at a listed BIN price. Seller cancels and said they made a mistake. I had to ask them to relist it at a higher price and then repurchase at that higher price!

- another one outright told me each time I make an offer or message, he’s going to raise the BIN price, so I should message less and might as well just buy it at his raised prices. I told him to stop being a deluded moron. 

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Anyone noticing more of these types of behavior? I’m concerned it might be a global thing and eventually no sane collectors will keep collecting, dealing with these types of egotistical maniacs.

[Mega Tank | 1,093]

1 hour ago, GPX said:

I told him to stop being a deluded moron. 

That's going to get you far.

I have always struggled with OBO on eBay because sellers don't really want to negotiate. $200 OBO? $150, automatically denied. $175, automatically denied. $190 automaticall denied. $195, *waiting for seller*. OBO isn't meant to be a few bucks off, it's meant to indicate at least more flexibility in price, but clearly some don't understand that.

Recently, I did see several auctions from the same seller get cancelled out and relisted at much higher BIN prices. Some people like working as hard as they can to get more money out of items. It's a crazy world out there.

 

[a3quit4s | 4,344]

It is hit or miss for me, I’ve seen the example that @Mega Tank provided for say $200 or OBO and have submitted an offer for $175 and been auto denied. I’ve also reach out to sellers that aren’t accepting offers and asked if they would take less and they have agreed. The NES homebrew market on eBay is a total shit show right now, I’ve seen overpriced games sitting on there for months on end without a price drop. This doesn’t even include the one seller who has a great collection of homebrews but has asinine prices listed. I’ve seen games get sold at auction and then the same games pop up asking for more. It’s all crazy man

[Tulpa | 3,704]

50 minutes ago, Mega Tank said:

Recently, I did see several auctions from the same seller get cancelled out and relisted at much higher BIN prices.

Sounds like they were just using/abusing the auction to find out what the highest price they could get would be.

 

[final fight cd | 227]

While I haven’t experience anything exactly like what was described, there has been times the seller lists the OBO option but everything is declined up until like $5 from the BIN.
 

So as an example, the BIN is $150 but submitting $145 is still auto declined.

at this point it’s like F you. Why even have a OBO offer then? If the OBO wasn’t there id just hit the BIN and everybody would have been happy.

Edited July 20 by final fight cd

[a3quit4s | 4,344]

3 minutes ago, final fight cd said:

While I haven’t experience anything exactly like what was described, there has been times the seller lists the OBO option but everything is declined up until like $5 from the BIN.
 

So as an example, the BIN is $150 but submitting $145 is still auto declined.

at this point it’s like F you. Why even have a OBO offer then? If the OBO wasn’t there id just hit the BIN and everybody would have been happy.

I haven’t sold on eBay in quite some time but didn’t it used to be that if you listed a price for BIN and accepted offers your auto accepted offer had to be like more than 10-20% from the BIN price? Am I remembering that incorrectly?

[final fight cd | 227]

33 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

I haven’t sold on eBay in quite some time but didn’t it used to be that if you listed a price for BIN and accepted offers your auto accepted offer had to be like more than 10-20% from the BIN price? Am I remembering that incorrectly?

Maybe I am over exaggerating. But the situation made me question why there was a OBO option at all. And it irked the shit out me. 

[Mega Tank | 1,093]

41 minutes ago, final fight cd said:

Maybe I am over exaggerating. But the situation made me question why there was a OBO option at all. And it irked the shit out me. 

I currently have a "seller offer" that is sent automatically by eBay for 12% off. Dropping the price from $375 to about $330. I find it funny eBay will send these out, but if I send an Offer, it would probably be rejected lol

[Gloves | 12,251]

55 minutes ago, Mega Tank said:

I currently have a "seller offer" that is sent automatically by eBay for 12% off. Dropping the price from $375 to about $330. I find it funny eBay will send these out, but if I send an Offer, it would probably be rejected lol

Ask for a buck off get told to get bent. Every time.

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,093]

I haven’t had this happen and I rarely ever BIN. I either make offers or if OBO isn’t on the listing, i’ll put it on my watchlist until the seller sends me an offer. 

If I remember right there was a while where sellers complained OBO was automatically applied to their listings without them realizing it. Maybe that still a thing

[a3quit4s | 4,344]

12 minutes ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

I haven’t had this happen and I rarely ever BIN. I either make offers or if OBO isn’t on the listing, i’ll put it on my watchlist until the seller sends me an offer. 

If I remember right there was a while where sellers complained OBO was automatically applied to their listings without them realizing it. Maybe that still a thing

You don’t even need the watchlist, I’ll get seller offers for stuff I just clicked on. As long as your logged in it tracks every item page you’ve looked at 

edit: keep using the watchlist though, I wouldn’t want you to miss out on something cause of me lol

Edited July 20 by a3quit4s

[Tanooki | 5,113]

I've seen the price hike stuff, and I either outright ban them or remember never to buy from them again, nor if I ever sell anything in the future give them access either.

Too often I've hit the OBO where it's more like Only(a) Buck Off type bullcrap, it's bait and switch basically to get someone who gets frustated to pay their fake best offer price at full price.  Clearly it works, some people are doing this or the tactic would stop as it's paying off.

Garbage like that is why I stopped buying domestic video games on ebay and largely much of anything else.  Almost any game I've picked up in the last few years has been imports (FC, SFC, GB-A) stuff because they don't seem to suffer the same fate.  Maybe it's the harder to move aspect, competing with Japanese sellers, or whatever but that's far less toxic.

[fcgamer | 5,006]

I have a friend who did that. Then again, the same guy kept giving him the same sob story of desperation to try to get the item cheap. So he did this after the fourth or fifth negotiation attempt.

[GPX | 1,403]

10 hours ago, Mega Tank said:

That's going to get you far.

I have always struggled with OBO on eBay because sellers don't really want to negotiate. $200 OBO? $150, automatically denied. $175, automatically denied. $190 automaticall denied. $195, *waiting for seller*. OBO isn't meant to be a few bucks off, it's meant to indicate at least more flexibility in price, but clearly some don't understand that.

Recently, I did see several auctions from the same seller get cancelled out and relisted at much higher BIN prices. Some people like working as hard as they can to get more money out of items. It's a crazy world out there.

 

I was using a snarky comment because I know there’s no point discussing further with that particular seller. Though hoping that comment would make him rethink his approach to selling in the foreseeable future. There were actually several to and fro messages that really shows there was a kid mentality somewhere that was expecting people to essentially pay up at the BIN price or with any type of communication, he’ll continue to raise the prices further. 

Just to reiterate, I’m not talking about sellers who list BIN OBO, and expecting people to pay at very near BIN prices. I’m more specifically referring to ones who seem to be selling for an ego trip and their selling is more the side quest. I'm hypothesising that this is a new seller attitude since the pandemic plus the WATA craze, and bringing out more of these particular types of sellers.

 

[GPX | 1,403]

8 hours ago, final fight cd said:

While I haven’t experience anything exactly like what was described, there has been times the seller lists the OBO option but everything is declined up until like $5 from the BIN.
 

So as an example, the BIN is $150 but submitting $145 is still auto declined.

at this point it’s like F you. Why even have a OBO offer then? If the OBO wasn’t there id just hit the BIN and everybody would have been happy.

This is similar to my above OP example. It seems they’re doing it out of a power trip or something because they really never intended to sell at anything other than their BIN prices. Some don’t raise their prices further, then some act like they’re Gods of game gatekeeping, and can do whatever they want with the prices, and like to see others beg for mercy. Kind of like a kid chanting “I have something you don’t, na na na-na na!”

[Tyree_Cooper | 858]

i try to always use auctions instead of buy-it-nows, i move stuff to bins only when it doesn't sell after several attempts at lowering the starting price. i think some people don't really want or need to sell their oh so precious shitty item, and whenever they get a question or an offer, it reinforces the idea in their mind that their item is sooper raritis coz other people are listing it for 300000 rupees so fuck off man, not only i will not accept but i will raise the price hahaha you want it badly eh? then you pay for it sucka.

to be honest, but it's just my personal experience, most of these sellers are in flip it land aka usa of freedoms. though i can't complain too much since most of the buyers are also there (for now).

Edited July 21 by Tyree_Cooper

[RH | 5,206]

10 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

I haven’t had this happen and I rarely ever BIN. I either make offers or if OBO isn’t on the listing, i’ll put it on my watchlist until the seller sends me an offer. 

If I remember right there was a while where sellers complained OBO was automatically applied to their listings without them realizing it. Maybe that still a thing

I know this has happened to me but it’s been a while.  I have been polite to people that sent offers and told them it was a mistake.  I then go and update the listing to cut off the OBO.

But with that said, I’ve never seen someone jack up the price. That seems pointless. If you want to brag about what you own, eh, go over to Reddit. 
I’ve also had the same experience where you try to OBO and it’s auto rejected up to about 5% off. Or rather, the acceptable amount had to be less than that because it was all auto denied.  I don’t get it.  Your going to negotiate or not, and this behavior of having a $500 item you mark to have offers as little as $2 less is ridiculous.

I’m mean, I have had obscure stuff that I’ve offered OBO.  People have immediately sent offers, often in a range that was possibly acceptable, but since the item was posted in less than 24 hours from their offer, I’ve told them that their offer was too low but that I also want to float the item a bit to see if I get better deals.  Even then, I’ll tell them when their offer is acceptable and say something like, if I still have the item in 2 weeks, ask for the same price and I’ll accept.  Some of these people did come back and I kept my end of the agreement. Others just raised their OBO, and a few times other people have stepped up and bought my items at full price or with a much higher OBO.

My point is, I can see a point in denying an OBO, even if I think it might be fair but I’m still nice because the negotiator might end up being a buyer.

[Estil | 1,291]

Sound like (as Eric Cartman would say) we got a lot breaking balls out there on Ebay!

[jonebone | 1,329]

That's not the norm, just an unfortunate circumstance with a seller.  Some people will play hardball more than others and some have flexibility.  Just the way it goes.

I'll speak from the seller side.  I get so many unsolicited comments: "What's the lowest you'll take?" or my favorite, "$xxx" where they literally type a price and no other words at all.  A lot of that stuff is annoying and I just don't have the time to respond in my day. 

Also, if a buyer ask a ton of questions I've learned it's just best to block them and move on.  No offense to any buyer that does this, you have a right to ask as many details as you want to feel comfortable about a purchase.  But as a seller, I have a right to refuse a sale and just keep waiting for a less picky buyer.  Especially in this era of free returns.  As a seller, that means you have to eat shipping both ways for absolutely any return reason.  So just remember both point of views in the transaction... both sides get frustrated with the shenanigans of the other.

[Hammerfestus | 4,100]

3 hours ago, jonebone said:

That's not the norm, just an unfortunate circumstance with a seller.  Some people will play hardball more than others and some have flexibility.  Just the way it goes.

I'll speak from the seller side.  I get so many unsolicited comments: "What's the lowest you'll take?" or my favorite, "$xxx" where they literally type a price and no other words at all.  A lot of that stuff is annoying and I just don't have the time to respond in my day. 

Also, if a buyer ask a ton of questions I've learned it's just best to block them and move on.  No offense to any buyer that does this, you have a right to ask as many details as you want to feel comfortable about a purchase.  But as a seller, I have a right to refuse a sale and just keep waiting for a less picky buyer.  Especially in this era of free returns.  As a seller, that means you have to eat shipping both ways for absolutely any return reason.  So just remember both point of views in the transaction... both sides get frustrated with the shenanigans of the other.

I definitely do this as a seller.  Someone that keeps pestering  can be assumed to be a pain in the ass throughout the whole experience so I absolutely avoid selling to them.  I also don’t accept OBOs from California.  You want this $15 item for $12 and I have to pay $8+ to ship it?  Yeah that’s a no from me.  
 

Anyways, I‘ll send dickish counter offers sometimes if someone shoots a particularly absurd lowball.  Normally it’s just ignore though.  If someone does it to me I just move on with my day.  Or just pay the BIN.  Actually don’t pay the BIN.   You cannot BIN it after  a rude OBO response.  Brings shame on your whole family.  Seriously don’t do it.  You’ll have that copy of Paperboy you wanted but how will you be able to look at yourself in the mirror as a man.  The money you’ll lose in the divorce after your wife leaves you will be way more than the $18 you would’ve saved with the OBO.

[GPX | 1,403]

Just to reiterate, this topic isn’t about low ballers. They existed since the dawn of eBay. It’s about buyers putting a reasonable offer or the willingness to negotiate, but upon each sign of communication, a seller would up the BIN price. I also want to emphasise this is only a minority of sellers that I’ve recently encountered. But certainly this seems to be a new trend among some sellers, as I don’t seem to recall it happening like this pre-pandemic. 

[The Count | 596]

I suppose I'm fortunate that I haven't ran into that scenario yet. I would like to see sellers turn off the OBO function if they truly aren't entertaining offers. That's annoying.

[RH | 5,206]

52 minutes ago, GPX said:

Just to reiterate, this topic isn’t about low ballers. They existed since the dawn of eBay. It’s about buyers putting a reasonable offer or the willingness to negotiate, but upon each sign of communication, a seller would up the BIN price. I also want to emphasise this is only a minority of sellers that I’ve recently encountered. But certainly this seems to be a new trend among some sellers, as I don’t seem to recall it happening like this pre-pandemic. 

What are you buying? As in for what era/systems and what condition.

Sometimes the behavior is isolated to groups. Maybe it is NES carts, but if, say, you at working on Jag games, maybe a group of people are getting high on their own supply and they’ve created a mini-culture of this behavior. (Note, the Jaguar was a random selection of a system, but it makes the point. Regardless, maybe they are all awesome people. )

[3rdStrongestMole | 442]

1 hour ago, GPX said:

Just to reiterate, this topic isn’t about low ballers. They existed since the dawn of eBay. It’s about buyers putting a reasonable offer or the willingness to negotiate, but upon each sign of communication, a seller would up the BIN price. I also want to emphasise this is only a minority of sellers that I’ve recently encountered. But certainly this seems to be a new trend among some sellers, as I don’t seem to recall it happening like this pre-pandemic. 

Trying to get into the heads of these idiots is nearly impossible,  but my guess:

They are afraid to sell for anything less than the highest value of the item. They think that if you're willing to accept $$ (their BIN or a little cheaper) they are probably undervaluing their own item because "why would someone want it otherwise!?"

Hence the price hike, then wait for more attention from potential buyers.

This seems excruciatingly tedious, but they are most likely so egotistical, they can't fathom someone else "getting a deal" off them. Even if it's like, $3.50.

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,042]

I have the complete opposite experience. I've gotta amazing deals over the past couple years through best offer. Basically, everything I've bought over the past 2 years as either been bc a low ball offer has been considered. 

As a seller though, if can be exhausting. My idea of a low ball offer is 10+25% off the list price. These gutter dwelling troglodytes routinely send offers 50-80% off and use all their offers in the span of 30 minutes if you don't let them bake. I always send them the vomit emoji when I decline lol.

But also as a seller, a TON of my sales are through best offers. I know shipping is a lot these days and I get a decent chunk off of shipping costs through eBay and buying supplies at whole sellers so Im quick to list stuff a market price and then take a 10-20% off offer bc of that and depending on locating. If if an east coast sale, I'll almost always accept the offer. Maybe take that into consideration when looking at the items.