I got Ebay offer on guitar I'm not even watching - is this a new thing?

Blueingreen

Yesterday I got an Ebay offer (£200 below the asking price) on a guitar.  All I'd done was look at it a couple of times.  I wasn't watching it, and hadn't asked the seller any questions and don't have a search for similar items.

Is this a thing now?  Can a seller ask Ebay to make an offer to anyone who's just looked at their item, even if they haven't shown any further interest?

(As it happens I might have been interested in the guitar, but it's collection only and the seller's location makes that completely impractical for me.  So I wasn't contemplating buying it, unless he'd changed his mind and offered to post, which seemed a very long shot).

beed84

Yes, it’s a thing. If you watch or view an item, potential buyers get notified of discounts or offers. Basically, it increases the seller’s chances of making a sale and eBay getting their nice slice of the pie.

mrkb

Its an eBay "being annoying" desperate to get thing sold thing .

I get "Sorry this item is no longer available" emails about things that appear in a search list (ie 1x12 cabs), but Ive never viewed! Grrrr.

Blueingreen

What makes it seem odd is that I must have looked at thousands of items over the years and it's never happened before.  I've had offers before, but only after registering more of an interest than just having a look.

Whistler

It may be helpful to log out of eBay for browsing purposes and then log back in when you are ready to bid or buy.

bgmartinsbridge

I used it with a pedal I had for sale on ebay.
Got a counteroffer at 2am offering 50% under the asking price, then sold it to someone for the offer price. So it does seem to work on occasions.

And on the reverse of the above, I had someone message me swearing saying how dare I send then an offer as they weren't even watching it. Seriously! 

roberty

It's quite aggressive isn't it. eBay is basically a giant money hoover. They'll be investing shed loads into driving sales and hoovering up even more. It is annoying how they try and push you down a particular pathway as a seller though. No lowballs, I know what I got etc etc

Blueingreen

Whistler said:

It may be helpful to log out of eBay for browsing purposes and then log back in when you are ready to bid or buy.

It didn't really bother me tbh, I was just surprised.  I'm not a heavy Ebay user by any stretch (I've probably averaged less than one transaction a year since signing up).  I'm not an easy person to tempt if I'm not looking for something specific.