You may want to get comfortable bidding and buying on eBay. Or maybe you’d like to gear up and take on the role of seller. Knowing these terms related to eBay listings can help you figure out how to buy and sell effectively.
Best Offer: You generally see this feature with a Buy It Now, fixed-price listing. If you like the item, but the price is a bit more than you’d like to pay, click the Make Offer button and make an offer to the seller.
Buy It Now (BIN): You can purchase an auction item with the BIN option if the seller has posted a Buy It Now price. If you feel the BIN price is a bit more than you want to pay, place a bid at the minimum bid level (or the most you’d like to pay). The, BIN option will disappear, and you may just win the item at a lower bid price.
Fixed-price listing: On the eBay core site, some items are Buy It Now items but have no opening bid to begin the auction. These items are up for sale for the price shown. Just click and purchase!
Minimum bid: This is the lowest acceptable bid for an item, but it may not be acceptable as the actual selling price. The seller determines the minimum bid, and it is not kept secret. This amount is often different from the reserve price, which is the lowest selling price that the seller would actually accept.
Proxy bid: You can decide the most you’re willing to pay for an item and allow eBay’s bidding program to place bids for you while you go on with your life. The proxy bidder ups the ante incrementally to beat out your competition until you’re outbid or win the auction.
Reserve price: The minimum price a seller is willing to accept for an item up for auction. Setting a reserve is optional, and only the seller knows the reserve price. If the bidding doesn’t exceed the reserve, the seller has the option to keep the item. eBay charges the seller a small fee for using this option.