To make a really cheeky offer on eBay...

[Merryoldgoat]

Ive been trying to sort out my house since being on mat leave and have kind of found a style I’m going for which suits the place.

I’m looking for a 50s sideboard and I’ve found one that’s perfect. However, it’s got a wildly unreasonable starting price of £205. I missed one last week which was almost identical which went for £1 (yes, ONE POUND ).

I was thinking of offering £50 - is that wildly unreasonable? It’s been on for ages and they’ll never get anything approaching that price for it. Will that rile them up madly?

Sorry for the very boring AIBU

That should say ‘found one on Ebay’

Go for it, worse thing that could happen they say no

I often find that people who put high starting prices and a buy it now are wildly unreasonable in what they are expecting. I offered 10.00 recently on three night garden figures where the seller wanted 18.00. Offer refused. I will no doubt see loads more in different job lots or at the car boot.

They can only say no.

Give it a go! Why not?

I just don’t want to piss them off and make them unwilling to negotiate.

I think I’ll just offer and see what happens.

Some of the prices are just insane for this tatty old furniture. I’m willing to restore it etc but it’s mad.

August is a terrible time for Ebay sales, maybe keener than you know.
If you can get it for £1, then why not wait for the next £1 sale? I'd do that.

It's usually better to wait for the last minute (but make sure you know what your upper limit is). If they don't want to sell it to you for what you offer that's fine (you can put a minimum bid on so it's up to them).

Ice Cream

The issue is it’s got a starting price of £205 so I can’t bid lower. I can make an offer but as it’s less than a quarter of what they’re looking for I was a bit reticent...

Do you have any local charity shops that sell furniture? Or any house clearance companies nearby? You could ask there. I have a G plan 50s side board my dh found in a local vintage/junk shop for around £80 a few years ago. £1 seems very cheap and might not be the same quality as the one you've found on ebay.

If the price is too high, it's not 'the one'. I recently furnished my new house entirely with g-plan 50's/60's furniture from EBay. There's so much of it always being listed, just bide your time and another will definitely come along in your price range. This type of furniture always pops up in BHF furniture shops too if you have one in reasonable distance? (Make the offer anyway but I imagine it'll be declined). Your best bet is amateur furniture clearances on eBay rather than dealers or professional business sellers. Good luck!

Thanks everyone!

I know the £1 was very unusual and I’d have paid over £50 for that one.

I got a beautiful 50s teak cabinet for £20 a few weeks ago so I know it’s out there - I’ll just be patient.

I’ve found some people on eBay have wildly unrealistic views about what their stuff is worth. Could you try messaging and explain your low offer with a link to a similar item which sold for £1? They might still refuse to look at lower bids, but after a while if the item hasn’t sold, they may realise they are asking too much.

I remember once looking for a wooden toy horse stable for my DD. Couldn’t find one near enough to my house. When I went on about 6 months later I noticed the same seller still trying to sell her horse stable for about £50 more than others were selling theirs for. I suppose she felt that if she held out for long enough so desperate person might pay over the odds - maybe they did?!

I always list new stuff at a stupidly high price, tbh, it's worth a try. If I was that seller, I'd probably tell you to check back later (by which I mean in 4-6 weeks) to see if I had decided to reduce the price by then.

Make the offer, but I wouldn't expect them to take it, tbh. But definitely do not offer more than you are genuinely happy to pay.