Offers when don't have Offers selected & back stories

[TheoTheopolis23]

Out of sheer curiosity, does anyone else relatively regularly receive messages from people making offers (when you haven't selected Allow Offers) along with convoluted, sob story ish back stories.

The offers are usually pretty low.

The items are high end high street and relatively high end fabrics.

They can "only afford" this amount and apparently feel it's perfectly reasonable that a seller should sell them this item for what they can afford, rather than what the market value might be (and in spite of the item often having quite a lot of watchers and therefore other potential buyers).

Are you experiencing this too.

I usually just don't reply because I can guess how it'll go if I get into a dialogue with them about their need for this specific item to attend a family party, the first one since COVID or that they missed out on the last one like this because they couldn't afford it etc etc.

Yeah I just ignore them. I did it once for someone and they then tried to say the zip didn't work. I sent her a video of the zip working perfectly well (I do this for expensive items as it's an easy way for them to force a return) and said it works, you just don't fit into the dress. Never heard from her again thankfully.

Also had a few people who have asked me to discount an item as they've seen 'the same' cheaper yet the one they've seen is used, not new with tags like mine and a completely different size.

Some of the sob stories are very very odd though.

This is the latest one;

"Hi there hope you don’t mind me messaging you, would you accept an offer of £11.85 plus postage totals £15 and my max affordability. Hope I don’t offend I won’t usually ask it’s just i missed out on same poncho that sold for a fiver and gutted as didn’t have the money at the time to bid. Crossed fingers you can accept and suits you too".

Sometimes it's just a message with "would you accept £x (about half the listing price) or "Please send me an offer for £x).

I sent her a video of the zip working perfectly well (I do this for expensive items as it's an easy way for them to force a return) and said it works, you just don't fit into the dress. Never heard from her again thankfully.

Dear goodness, I've not even thought of that. I haven't had anyone try that on me. Im not usually selling expensive items and that probably screens out a lot of scammers. Thanks for this heads up as I do have a couple of pricey-ish and popular brand dresses for sale. The lengths you have to go to!

Also had a few people who have asked me to discount an item as they've seen 'the same' cheaper yet the one they've seen is used, not new with tags like mine and a completely different size.

That's sort of what she's trying, as you can see in her msg.

She's mentioned the same cape sweater selling for a fiver. A new with tags one of these (White Stuff merino alpaca mix cape) is extremely unlikely to have sold for a fiver. It could only have been a used one (or else the seller had a very shitty, unlucky auction. Even that is unlikely for a nwr White Stiff item as the second I listed it, it gained watchers - so clearly people have saved searches for white stuff items .
But she's had to mention the fiver, as though it's relevant or her offer is generous.

As an aside; if you couldn't bid on an item that sold for a fiver cause you didn't have enough money m; should you really be prioritising buying relatively high end high street items off sites with delivery costs? Wouldn't you just see what's decent and equivalent in your iocal charity shops etc. I'm not being facetious; 95% of my clothes are from charity shops.

It's the same as the person who "needed" a Jack Wills pure merino sweater for their first family get together since COVID; but couldn't afford my price so I should sell it to them for what they could afford.

Why don't you just get another navy sweater in your budget, new or used (?) Why does it have to be a pure merino off with a delivery cost.

(I start to feel bad about these messages but my skeptical side is kicking in, so I wanted to put this behaviour in context with other sellers).

@TheoTheopolis23
if you couldn't bid on an item that sold for a fiver cause you didn't have enough money m; should you really be prioritising buying relatively high end high street items off sites with delivery costs? Wouldn't you just see what's decent and equivalent in your iocal charity shops etc.

Exactly. If they can't afford it why are they even buying it.

I have 2 eBay accounts and have had the same person give me a different sob story on each account - same background story but with different details such as daughter mentioned on one and granddaughter on the other. It's tiresome and I now try not to reply at all.

I once read that you need to think of eBay as your time being money - ie would you waste hours of time sorting out disputes when you'll have to pay them back anyway or waste time replying to irritating messages when you'll earn nothing from it. But I've never managed to get fully into that mindset 😄

Oh my ... Lol (about the varying sob stories to different sellers).

I didn't even know you could have more than one account (is it as a business seller, I'm just a private seller)?

That's very true re your time on eBay; and equally true about it being difficult not to get drawn into back and forths. I'm not replying to the low ball offers, I do reply to queries and try to be helpful even if it's not going to Def be a sale.

ATM I have a Norwegian buyer who can't buy an item in spite of the fact I thought my items were by default included in the global shipping programme (and have been for any other item). I've checked and Norway is included in the gsp too. Now I'm going to have to try eBay support (the buyer is not offering to contact them) .... For a £10 item before fees, I think most ppl just wouldn't bother.

@TheoTheopolis23 Both my accounts are personal. I use two different email addresses but they're almost identical and I've not had any issues.

I've sold to Norway with no issues via GSP before so if you have any conditions set such as you won't sell to someone who has X amount of unpaid items, it's likely they're included in that. It's not worth the hassle usually.
Last week I let someone past my exceptions as she gave a sob story, said she'd pay immediately. Then didn't pay. Said she'd pay at the end of the week but that was past my 4 days auto cancel so it was a waste of my time messing around for her.

I'm getting so fed up of the collection only buyers who don't read the listing and expect me to post it for free. How can they think that £4.99 covers both the item and 5kg of postage fees 🙄. It's written on the listing 4 times yet they 'didn't see it'. It's sold 4 weeks in a row to people who won't collect and I'm fed up of people's stupidity now.

Every once in a while I get fed up and don't use eBay for a few months but I'm trying to reduce the amount of things in the house and while it's 80% off listings I'm too tempted 😄.

They get blocked immediately. Fucking chancers.

Had a brilliant one yesterday. Someone offered half-price for an item but on top wanted P&P included AND another book for nothing.

I make craft items which I sell for very competitive prices. A recurring problem I'm having is that people will message with a request for the 'best price' for say 3 of the items. I reply that I'll combine the postage but that's never what they're looking for, they want that plus a discount.

There was a thread on here a while ago with a lady who had bought 5 items from a seller, all with free postage. She was aggrieved that the seller wouldn't offer her a reduction as the free postage would have been 'factored into the price'!

Uuugh that would be even more irritating/disheartening when you make your own items.

I honestly think some of them are ... Ah, not the full shilling, as they say round here.

It's written on the listing 4 times yet they 'didn't see it'

I suspect people don't read the listings.