Best offer etiquette? (selling)

[1stMrsF]

So I often sell Buy Now instead of auction and I am currently listing a BNIB piece of kids garden toy equipment worth £350. I have priced at £275 allowed buyers to make a Best Offer and hoping to get £200+

I've had the same buyer make an offer of £150 and then today (a few days later) £120! I could see the sense in the first low offer, they said they could pick up next day so were obviously hoping I wanted a quick sale, but I've listed for a month hoping to get a good price at Christmas and if I don't sell it now i'll wait and list again in the spring. I've got 28 people watching so I don't think its unreasonable to hope to get a better offer.

My question is this: are my assumptions correct or is there some expected practise/etiquette with best offers that means all the offers are going to be as low as this? I have only done Best Offer once before with furniture that then sold on gumtree first so I haven't any previous experience to draw on.

TIA

[fergoose]

I think you just got a very cheeky buyer. I was selling a sofa for £300 once, someone offered £20 and said they would be here to collect in an hour - I ignored. But you will get folk chancing their arm.

Go back with a counter offer maybe of £240 and see what they say? They may come back and offer £200

[1stMrsF]

Thanks, that's a good idea.

[Havingkitties]

Definitely counter offer as that normally sorts out the non serious bidders e.g. When they counter bid to you back and don't even come halfway in their price, I usually know that they are a chancer.

My top tip is to wait it out! I've got numerous crappy best offers before on items (particulary when item has a long way to go before ending) and then all of a sudden someone just buys it for the buy it now price. That makes it all worth it!

[PurpleFrog]

Yes, wait it out, or counter-offer with something you'd be happy with. I had something similar with a Playmobil Victorian doll's house a few years ago. The first time I listed it I had lots of disappointing low offers. I ended up re-listing at the same price and someone bought it for the BIN price! People will get less fussy as it gets towards Christmas!

[sarahtigh]

I would change your setting you can set it to automatically reject offers below a certain price, it saves you replying to cheeky time wasters

if you do best offer it is assumed you will take at least 10% less may 20% you priced at £275, I would set an automatic rejection of an offer below £199.99, or maybe £175 (that is 27% -35% less than asking price so a very fair reduction) they can only make 3 offers so if they are all silly they then can only buy at set BIN