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| Photo by Brock DuPont on Unsplash |
Hey folks.
A question that gets brought up all the time in eBay reselling circles is whether or not does eBay best offer work? While the idea of accepting a lower price for your very valuable and precious item may seem like a let-down, have no fear. For I am going to give you some positive news.
Really let go of how much profit you're making and learn to lave the cha-ching sound that pops up when you make a sale. Honest to God, if you can find joy and happiness in knowing that something got sold, then you are going to do very well on eBay in the long-term, especially if you're leveraging best-offers to increase the likelihood and chance of selling something at a discount price.
But are you brave enough to sell something for less than expected?
Think Like a Business Owner
Ever walk through a JC Penny store or Sears Outlet and notice all the discount prices going on. While you might laugh and say these are just promotions when you accept best-offers you're essentially doing the same thing.
While motives for discounts may sound murky, the reality is their gimmicks to entice you to buy something. Which is why you should be considering best-offers as your own little gimmick to get a customer to purchase inventory.
Ditto if you're looking to move something fast.
As crazy as it sounds, eBay reselling can quickly become a downward spiral into hoarding if you're not moving inventory at a pace that allows you to replenish it while maintaining steady growth and listings. While you may not think about storage and how much space you're actually going to need when you start out, you might find yourself in a pickle when that closest becomes full of unsold stuff.
Which is why best-offers are a great way to get rid of the stuff, and quick!
Would You Rather Sell Something Now Or Hope For A Better Tomorrow?
The question sounds almost like a Christian mythological teaching, but let's get real. If you're tired of waiting for your stull to sell at high prices and are continually declining low-ball best offers, you might be missing the forest for the trees.
Yes, you should have a mind on maximizing profits and getting to a point where you can sell less stuff and make a higher income, but chances are if you're new to this ballgame, you might not be working in your best interest. Which means sometimes you might want to accept a lower-selling price if it means a quick sale and income to keep you afloat.
Granted, this is a short-term strategy that will allow you to gain steam and increase your short-term income, but at the end of the day, that might be the deal breaker if you're going to succeed.
But again, are you willing to take a lower-selling price?
Is Your Item Really Worth as Much as You Think It Is?
Another great thing about best-offers is that it can mimic the effect that auctions have. Which is mainly, if you're unsure about how much an item is worth, a best-offer can give you a clue!
Does that mean you'll always get a fair deal? Absolutely not! But it does mean you'll get an idea of what people are willing to pay for items in the short-term. Granted, you can always cling to an item and wait for someone else to come along, in which case you're probably already doing well-enough in your business that you can weather losing a quick sale.
But again, if you're new and not sure if you're even going to be successful, now is the time to seriously consider most of the best offers that come your way and increase your likelihood of getting to a point where you can become more discretionary.
Not that accept a low-offer is going to break your business. As with everything, trust your own gut and use your wisdom and knowledge. But don't let stubbornness blind you out a good sale just because you refuse to accept reality and acknowledge your item might not be worth as much as you thought it was.
Accept a Least Offer that You're Willing to Live With
At the end of the day, if you price something relatively high and accept an offer at least value that you're willing to live with, you're going to make a profit and do well. But you have to accept not everyone is going to pay top-dollar, nor is your competition going to list items at as high of a price as you are.
It's an ugly truth about competition, but there will always be someone underselling a top-dollar item in hopes of a quick flip just to undercut your own profit. And while this may prove fruitless and frustrating, it's going to kill your business if you're not willing to budge on how much you can accept for an item.
So the best way to achieve results and get a good sale is to set a least-value amount that you automatically accept on your listing and live with a lower-priced sale. That, or wait for your message box to blow up with offers that you have to manually review every time. I'm not here to tell you how to run your business but I can tell you that using this automated service is a real-time saver.
And while you think it may not work, believe me when I tell you half the time I accept best-offers I don't even realize that they were best-offers in the first place. Such is the insanity of selling shit on eBay.
As always, though, keep in mind that while you can and should use best-offers to leverage your profits and help your business, they will only work if you're smart about what you're selling and willing to take a lower profit in the sake of a quick sale. That, or you're going to need to invest in a storage unit eventually.
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As always, God bless and much love. And may your treasure hunting be glorious!
Best,
Newbie
