What is the generally accepted meaning of 'OBO'?

I thought it meant, for example, '$500 OBO' means if you offer me $500, I'm selling to you, but if nobody offers me $500, I'm selling to the person who offers me the closest to $500, maybe $475, or $485.

Or does it mean if you offer me $500, I'm still going to wait for more offers to see if someone offers more than $500, and then sell to them? This seems like an auction to me.

'OBO' means 'or best offer'. So, '$500 OBO' to me means you would like $500 but will take a lower amount if a lower reasonable offer is made that comes close to your asking price. If you want $500 and nothing less, you would put '$500 firm'.

It's not really an auction as you are just letting people know you are willing to accept less than your asking. What you find to be a best offer is ultimately up to you.

Hope this helps.

Was an item for sale that I wanted recently @ 1450$ obo. I offered 1400$ and they said they would rather wait for a trade they wanted. So sometimes people are just people they want the best deal possible. I can’t blame them. It’s their stuff they can do what they want with.

I would use OFO in that case, to avoid dealing with hundred messages about taking 350 and 400.

Ok, so what I'm talking about is you put in your add $500 OBO. Someone responds with questions about the item. You respond and answer their questions about the item. They then offer you the $500 your asking for, so you ghost them. They message you asking what's wrong? You tell them you are just waiting for the best negotiated offer that could possibly come your way, even though they just offered you the best amount. Any amount that could be better would be an amount over your asking price. The rules say do not post "Best offer over $500." Because that is considered an auction. So it seems to me like the rules say don't post in your add that you are running an auction, but feel free to actually run an auction, which is to solicit bids and then sell to the highest bidder. Just don't admit it in your ad.

The fact that people are having a hard time understanding and answering my question, leads me to believe that this is the case. Auctions are permitted, as long as you don't admit it, and when someone asks about it, just talk around the question like it's not actually happening.

Am I also to believe that backpage was not a site for hookers??? I mean none of the ads actually offered sex for money, they all said that you could only purchase "companionship".

I read the information you sent when you reported the member's post accusing them of running an auction.

Based on that info, you and the seller pm'd and emailed a couple times for pics and info about the item.

You then sent an email saying you wanted to buy for the asking price.

You did not get an email response(no mention of how long you waited for a response), so you then sent a pm that also said you wanted to buy the item for the asking price.

You did not get a pm response(again, no mention of how long you waited), so you sent another pm and accused the seller of trying to run an auction.

The seller responded at some point stating they had no idea why you thought they were trying to run an auction.

At no point did the seller ask you for more money or indicate that offers of more than the asking price had been received.

Just to be thorough in this matter, I sent the seller a PM stating that I wanted to buy the item at their asking price and asked where he wanted to meet(I never mentioned the post being reported).

That was last night, the seller responded this morning that he has a deal pending to sell the item tonight at the asking price and that he would let me know if that deal fell through.

The seller never asked me if I would pay more to get the item.

There is nothing to indicate that the seller ever tried to run an auction for the item.

What happened here is that the seller did not respond to you fast enough and instead of being patient and waiting for a response, you let your mind wander and concocted a fabrication about the seller running an auction.

Well, I don't expect them to admit it to you during your "thorough investigation."

I also don't know what would compel someone to add that they had a pending sale "at their asking price." , unless of course they already knew someone was likely to report their ad. I've been told many times by sellers that they had a pending sale, never did they feel the need to mention detailed information on the price they made the deal at.

The problem isn't that they didn't respond to me fast enough. They responded plenty and promptly, up to the point I made my offer. Then they ghosted me. It is obvious to me that they read my offer because they edited their ad based on what I told them. They told me they thought the item was a gen 1, and I told them it was a gen 2, so they changed their ad a few minutes after to reflect that info.

When I asked the seller what they thought of my offer, which was their asking price, they responded with "I am looking for a fair offer to be negotiated between me and any potential buyer."

So you are right, they have not said anything that would prove they are looking for the highest bidder above and beyond their asking price. I never accused them of being a fool.

I have not concocted this, I am just simply able to read between the lines.

In difficult life scenarios try this perspective without so many words

Maybe it's not them

Maybe it's you

Wow, that's exactly how I worded it to the seller. See for yourself.

"I would like to know what price you are willing to sell it for? I thought you were willing to sell it for $300 so that is exactly what I offered. OBO means that you are willing to entertain offers lower than $300, but if you are looking to entertain offers higher, that is an auction. Unless I'm reading the rules wrong: https://vaguntrader.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/356832/1

I'm sorry if I am the one in error. "

This is from a PM I sent to the seller. In case you are wondering, the P in PM stands for Private.
Thanks to 'theCWA' it is now known that anyone who reports an ad to the moderators, could be outed in a public post. Way to go! All I was doing here publicly was asking a damn question. I never mentioned the seller's name, the ad in question, or their identity. If I have accused them of anything, I've done it in a private message, to them directly, and to the mods in what I thought was a private message as well. I guess I don't get the same courtesy back in return. Now I have to worry about if this person wants revenge for me reporting his ad.

Maybe the end of vaguntrader will be a good thing?

Epic moderating fail!

I think you'll be happy buying a firearm elsewhere

Banned

Amen, I've had this happen multiple times. Its very frustrating.