Is it OK for someone to make a 'buy now' offer, and should I accept?

[LisasCat]

Need help from eBay experts out there. I've listed an item, for which I have absolutely no idea of the true market value. It was something I cleared out from my dad's place when he died. There are lots of things like this that I need to sell, and I simply don't have time to read up on the subject and become an expert. So I've listed it from £0.99, and figured that the market would decide whether it was valuable or not.

So a couple of hours after listing it, someone sent me a message asking if I would accept £40 plus P+P for it.

My questions are:
a) is this allowed?
b) if it is, how do I go about selling it to him, and then de-listing the auction, without pissing anyone (ebay or other potential bidders) off?
c) is this a known scam that I should be wary of?

Your knowledge would be hugely appreciated, oh wise ones.

Not an expert but if you haven't got a buy it now or best offer option on, then you'd be doing this unofficially. You'd therefore probably lose any protection from ebay. Could cause issues if buyer says it broke in the post or something.

More importantly, sounds as though it might be worth more than that and they are trying to get it cheap. Did they give a genuine reason for wanting it before the auction ends? Are they claiming it's more than you'll get for it at the end of the auction?

Tbh I can't see any incentive for you to pull the listing early. If they want it, they can bid for it. If they get it cheaper than £40, then they're lucky and you're unlucky. But at least you're doing it all officially imo.

yes it is allowed, but it is entirely up to you if you accept. You can change the auction to a buy it now, there will be fees involved in this, and you both still get buyer and seller protection too. You may find you get a far higher price if you let the auction run, this buyer may be trying for a cheeky buyer.

If you want to you can add a reserve, lowest is £50, to the auction, to make sure you get what you want for it. This does cost extra though.

Get an estimate. Don't end up kicking yourself. Just in case.

Have you done a search on completed items to see if you can get a rough idea of what price it might go for?

Thanks for all the advice. The thought of losing the ebay protection unnerved me. So I did it all properly - re-listed as a Buy it Now, sent him the new number, he paid immediately, I've removed the old auction listing, and everyone's happy!

make sure you send it with a signature for that value of item - courier or recorded delivery.

I ask sellers all the time if they have a buy it now price if I want something, Ive been on ebay ten years.

I buy and sell.

If someone asks me I put a BIN on the listing if there are no bids so they can bin it. Or if I have more than 12 hours to go and I have bids I create another listing on BIN, so that when they buy I end the auction listing.

When I do it with others, I bid they end the listing and add the additional costs to the postage so I still pay via paypal and im still protected.