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OBO

It's time for an exciting new way of bringing alpaca sellers together with alpaca buyers!

It's time for OBO!

I’m Lisa Herd, Big Idea Coordinator for AlpacaStreet, here to announce the launch of OBO, which stands for Or Best Offer.  OBO is an exciting new venue for buyers and sellers to interact in a dynamic way to bring about alpaca sales.

The first thing to know is OBO is not an auction!  Auctions typically involve a big up-front fee; provide limited exposure of the alpaca to the potential buyers; and allow for no interaction of buyer and seller during the auction process.

Not so with OBO!  OBO is designed to provide a great deal of information to buyers and give both buyers and sellers ample opportunity to interact in order to create the best deal for both parties. OBO is designed to be an informal and relaxed setting with few hard and fast rules.  And in true AlpacaStreet fashion, OBO is fun, easy and affordable.  Here is how it works:
     ~Alpaca owner purchases OBO listings from the Place an Ad page
     ~They then go to their My Roster page and click the EDIT button for the alpaca(s) they wish to list on the OBO page.
     ~Click the green “Assign OBO” button on the top right of the EDIT page to place that alpaca in the OBO page.

That’s it!  The listing is automatically added to the OBO page and will appear as you see to the right.  Each listing will have a picture, name, description, Original price, Sale price, and Current Offer.   The button labeled “More Info/Make Offer” will go to the alpaca’s page. 

Here, people can see the complete description, more pictures, a video, and heritage information.  This is also where they can make an offer by clicking either the +$50 button or the +$100 button.

Here are some of the ways OBO is different from auctions:
~Buyers may “Undo”, or remove an offer.
~Owners are not required to accept whatever the best offer is.
~The OBO listing lasts the full duration of the promotion (usually 7 - 10 days), but the owner may sell or remove the listing at any time
~The owner will have a record of who is making the offer, opening up the opportunity for more direct discussion.

Like I said, the OBO is relaxed, fun, and truly unique!  Don’t forget, I also mentioned affordable!  Members of the Breeder Program MAX can purchase 5 listings for only $50!  Once activated, the listing will remain on the OBO page for up to 2 weeks unless the owner removes it by clicking the “Disable OBO” button on the alpaca’s EDIT page.  I should also point out that once a listing is assigned to an alpaca, it is gone.  You cannot disable one alpaca and activate another or re-activate the same alpaca using the same listing.  To find out how many listings you have left, put your cursor over the green “Assign OBO” button on any alpaca EDIT page.  If you don’t see the “Assign OBO” button, that means you have no listings available.

Anyone can participate in OBO.  In order to make an offer, you must be registered on AlpacaStreet and you must first login.  To post listings to the OBO page, you must be a Breeder Program MAX member, which is only $99/yr! 

See what is waiting for you on the OBO page!

If you have any questions or comments, email me!