The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

When listing an item for auction on UK eBay, a "Make Offer" box appears by default unless you specify otherwise.
Some sellers appear to be unaware of this, and do not check their listings in detail when they go live.

I recently used the "Make Offer" option on an item, but the seller never responded and after 24 hours the offer expired.
I then entered a bid of the same amount as my offer and won the item for considerably less.
I thought about telling the seller that they had lost money by their inaction, but decided not to upset them.

I've come across this issue a lot of times and I came to the same conclusion as you, namely that a lot of Ebay sellers blindly list items without checking their listings.

I've made multiple offers only to be ignored because the seller doesn't accept offers. Yes, they would rather let the auction run its course and receive less money at the end! I'm not sure what percentage of sellers offering the "make offer" opportunity, actually are permitting offers. I suspect it's less than half.

Steve wrote: Sun Feb 09, 2025 3:30 pm I've come across this issue a lot of times and I came to the same conclusion as you, namely that a lot of Ebay sellers blindly list items without checking their listings.

I've made multiple offers only to be ignored because the seller doesn't accept offers. Yes, they would rather let the auction run its course and receive less money at the end! I'm not sure what percentage of sellers offering the "make offer" opportunity, actually are permitting offers. I suspect it's less than half.

eBay slaps it on there whether you like it or not from what I understand.

gramophone-georg wrote: Mon Feb 10, 2025 8:46 pm

Steve wrote: Sun Feb 09, 2025 3:30 pm I've come across this issue a lot of times and I came to the same conclusion as you, namely that a lot of Ebay sellers blindly list items without checking their listings.

I've made multiple offers only to be ignored because the seller doesn't accept offers. Yes, they would rather let the auction run its course and receive less money at the end! I'm not sure what percentage of sellers offering the "make offer" opportunity, actually are permitting offers. I suspect it's less than half.

eBay slaps it on there whether you like it or not from what I understand.

Correct, it's a default setting but the option to remove it exists for all those lazy a***s who cannot be bothered.