Apparently many sellers here aren't interested in making money.

I ask a question about an item, or why I can’t see the make offer option when they supposedly accept offers, or about shipping, or about … well, anything. And in response I get … crickets.

This has happened to me several times. Does the Contact the Seller feature send my notice to an email that the seller doesn’t use? Or do sellers simply not care? I understand that most of us sell on multiple platforms and maybe it’s difficult to reply to all inquiries.

But seriously folks, if a seller doesn’t bother replying to my message, I’m not going to buy from him.

asked over 1 year ago

9 Comments

EmpressDepot says: December 16, 2022

Hello Relztrah. To think about ruling out a seller is to check the last time they were active. This can be found by going under the Profile Link in their booth. By this, Bonanza encourages transparency for the interested shopper. Yes, I have had a few times in the past where sellers do not answer.

EmpressDepot says: December 16, 2022

….do not answer. I’m sorry you’ve had bad experiences. Most of us are not like this.

EmpressDepot says: December 16, 2022

[URL removed] When you do not see the make offer link but the listing states they do accept offers, I would say more than likely that the listing was transferred from another site and rolled over to Bonanza. Tips like this tell me they have not conformed their listings to Bonanza. I don’t buy from these.

HotCornDiggity says: December 17, 2022

Hello, I am new here and have received no offers or buyers messages yet. I ran a little test and put 1 of your items in my a cart and did not get the offer link. Tested with a couple of other booths accepting offers and same. I will contact support and report back what I hear.

EmpressDepot says: December 17, 2022

That was a good observation hotcorndiggity. :)

EmpressDepot says: December 17, 2022

I’m not sure what “marketplace facilitator” means right beside the OBO in peoples listings that offer OBO. I read the link but just not sure what that would have to do with OBOs

HotCornDiggity says: December 19, 2022

EmpressD – I read that too and it was unclear but now we know a buyer will not be able to make offers if they live in a state that collects sales tax.

EmpressDepot says: December 20, 2022

Isn’t that sad Diggity. It’s just so weird. I guess eventually they will have to do away with OBOs for every state then because all states are headed that way…….

HotCornDiggity says: December 20, 2022

I agree EmpD. I made a couple suggestions to Bonanza. Perhaps changing the offer option to item price only so tax is not part of the offer. Otherwise informing more clearly the option doesn’t work for most buyers would avoid confusion and frustration. We’ll see. :)

3 Answers

Being the holidays, the seller may be away. Most sellers here will respond within 24 hours if not sooner, however, as with any online site there are those that do not take selling very seriously and just ignore the buyers. Happy Holidays!

answered over 1 year ago

Below is the response from support regarding difficulty making offers.

Ever since it became required to collect sales tax/VAT for locations that require it, offers on Bonanza have been limited only to buyers that are located in states and countries that do not collect sales tax/VAT. Unfortunately this has had the side effect of excluding a large number of people from being able to make offers on Bonanza. We are open to revising how our offer system works in the future, but we don’t have anything on this front being implemented in the immediate future. 

Thanks for posting about this Relztrah – at least there is an answer for the can’t make offer issue. Why some sellers don’t reply to messages remains a mystery however.

I will be turning the allow offers option off in my booth to help avoid confusion :)
Happy Holidays all, Deb

answered over 1 year ago

I don’t really understand why sellers use the make offer option in the first place. Do you want to sell the item or not? If so, then put them minimum you’ll accept as the fixed price. I think that many of us here are eBay refugees who think that now that there is no end date like with an eBay auction, well, I can put a much higher price. What happens … and I have learned this from experience … is that stuff collects dust in your booth until you lower the price.

answered over 1 year ago

5 Comments

HotCornDiggity says: December 19, 2022

I don’t mind if you see my dust, just please don’t write in it : ) Seriously, I agree and learned the same selling on Etsy for 7 years. Thought I would try the option here to see, as a newbie, if it attracts buyers who like making offers. Now I know that won’t be happening.

HotCornDiggity says: December 19, 2022

Original post wondered why the offer link did not appear when a seller’s item said offers accepted. Getting to the answer was my quest and support was very enlightening.

EmpressDepot says: December 20, 2022

Offers can be good, especially if a seller has something that he knows/feels is worth something but he or she is not sure what to price it at….like for example, an item where there is not much on the internet to educate the seller on the item.

HotCornDiggity says: December 20, 2022

Hopefully Bonanza will modify so the option works again for those who want it. :)

EmpressDepot says: December 30, 2022

Hopefully they will. I don’t think it is effecting eBay…maybe Bonanza has a way to see how OBOs are really doing behind the scenes. I don’t know.

Question Vitals

Viewed: 741 times

Asked: over 1 year ago

Latest response: over 1 year ago

To Answer Brilliantly

Remember these tips:

  • Use links to other sources to support your opinions
  • Use examples where possible
  • Put yourself in the inquirers shoes: what extra info would be helpful?

Should I post a comment or an answer?

You can only post one answer, so make it count. Maybe your reply is more fitting as a comment instead?

Post an answer for:

  • Replies that directly and specifically answer the original question

Post a comment for:

  • "Thanks," "Me too," "I agree," or "Works for me" types of replies
  • When you would like the original poster to provide more details
  • When you have more to add to someone else's question or answer

See also our Roundtable FAQ.

Formatting

Community help posts follow certain formatting guidelines, which may impact the look of your post. If you're interested in tweaking the format, instructions are available here.