eBay's Second Chance Offer is a feature that allows you to make an offer to a non-winning bidder as a Buy It Now, for the amount equal to their original highest bid amount. These offers can be sent by the seller, to the non-winning bidders immediately after the auction ends, and for 60 days after the listing ends.

There are various pros and cons of this feature, and whilst it's entirely up to whether to use this option or not, I hope this guide will give you clear understanding of what the Second Chance process is all about.

The second chance offer is one of the most popular and most frequently used features of eBay amongst sellers. It allows sellers to offer an item to non-winning bidders without the hassle of having to relist the item, and therefore eliminating the cost of additional listing fees.

The second chance offer automatically becomes available when a listing ends, providing it had more than one bidder. As a seller you can choose to select this item in two situations.

1. You have multiple identical items. So if you had 5 duplicate items, and 10 other highest bidders. You could select which of those 10 users to send the second chance offer to.

2. Another reason you may choose to use this feature is if the original high bidder fails send payment, or decides they no longer want the item.

Of course however, just because you are now able to offer the same item to the 2nd highest bidder, doesn't necessarily mean they still want it. Likely reasons may include:

- They simply changed their minds. Sometimes users get caught up in a bidding war, and just want to win the item regardless of price. Perhaps now they have had time to think, and are not yet committed to purchasing it, they have had a change of heart.

- Perhaps they are new to eBay and may not fully understand the second chance feature and what you are offering them.

- They may have bought the item from another seller when they failed to win your original auction

- They feel uneasy about it. They may suspect that the item is faulty in some way if the original high bidder decided against purchasing it.

Personally I have used this feature many times on various auctions, and found it to be of great use. In situations where I found an item sold for a quite a substantial amount, far greater than I would have estimated, I would definitely opt to use of a second chance feature.

It allowed me to sell multiple items in quick succession, without the hassle of relisting, incurring only the minimal of eBay fees. Should you notice a sudden trend in a particular product you are selling, it also enables you to take advantage by quickly selling your additional items before any competition comes along.

Of course, should I find that an item under performs in an auction then I would be very reluctant to offer my further products as second chance offers. It would make far more sense for me to relist the item after I had edited my listing and description in an attempt to boost any interest.

In conclusion, as a seller I personally find the second chance offer a great feature if the right situation arises. It's completely up to you - the option is always there if you feel the time is right to use it. Another thing you may consider is whether you think it is fair on the high bidder to offer the same item for less to the users that were originally unsuccessful.

Note: Under no circumstances should you ever email a user regarding a second chance offer outside of eBay. Some sellers will closely follow the auctions of their competition and contact the unsuccessful bidders in an attempt to sell their similar item to them without using eBay.

It is against eBay regulations to strike deals privately, and never should you contact users that have nothing to do with your own auction. You could find yourself being reported to eBay and may ultimately have your account suspended.