Amazon has revealed a new ‘Make an Offer’ option which allows potential buyers to contact sellers on the site with the amount of money they’re willing to pay for their listed item.
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The new option puts Amazon more in line with eBay than ever before, essentially allowing buyers to bid lower than the price listed, and ensuring that sellers won’t frequently have to relist items if consumers aren’t willing to pay their asking price.
The new system has already been employed on over 150,000 options, with collectibles and artwork featuring the most uses of it. Take a look at the Jurassic Park DNA vial prop/script signed by Jeff Goldblum below to see how it looks on the site:
If the offer from the buyer is accepted, they can then immediately add it to their basket. However, the process isn’t the same as the digital auction house system employed by eBay, with all communications between buyer and seller being made in private. This means that no other buyers can gain information regarding a seller’s previous offers.
Speaking of the new addition, vice president for Amazon Marketplace Peter Faricy said: “The new ‘Make an Offer’ experience is a game-changer for Amazon customers looking for great prices on one-of-a-kind items, and for sellers looking to communicate and negotiate directly with customers in an online marketplace environment just like they do normally in their own physical store or gallery.”
The Make an Offer system has not yet made its way to all user-listed Amazon goods, but it will likely go through a steady rollout during 2015.
Photo: Getty Images
