ITWire

Want to get the best buy out of eBay?

Then eBay’s upcoming “best offer” facility may well be the best way for buyers and sellers to come to the best price at what is widely regarded as the world’s best online auction site, despite issues with eBay trying to force Paypal on all eBay users.

The news comes from eBay’s “General Announcements” section, which tells us that from “early November, Best Offer will be available across all categories on eBay.com.au for items listed in fixed price or classified ad format.”

Actually, Best Offer is already available at eBay Australia, but in one location only: the Australian eBay Motors store.

eBay says that: “Best Offer is a great way for buyers to get an item they want at a price they are willing to pay and an excellent opportunity for sellers to increase the likelihood of a sale.”

eBay even boast that its “data shows that sellers using Best Offer on eBay.com have seen an average 10% increase in conversion rates” which is based on eBay data taken from May to September, 2008.

Interestingly, on a website that has increasingly charged for every tiny little option, each new line and every new photo, eBay is doing something quite unusual: it is making Best Offer a “free feature”.

Well, it’s free for now – who knows how eBay might change its mind in the future? :-)

The service launches in November, which is only a few days away, but eBay has already prepared a site with plenty of info for who want to “be ready to take advantage” of the new feature.

And in another sign that eBay is thinking of the people that actually ensure it has a bottom line, instead of just the bottom line to the exclusion of all else, eBay says it “wanted to get Best Offer out to you before the Christmas rush”.

However it notes that Best Offer “won’t be supported by Turbo Lister or most third party listing tools until next year.”

The eBay Team says that: “In the meantime, you can still take advantage using the Sell Your Item form, Selling Manager or Selling Manager Pro.”

So, as I said at the beginning of this article... finally some positive news about eBay who has made its best effort in getting Best Offer out to buyers and sellers... just before the year’s biggest money making opportunity, whether there’s an economic downturn or not!