I criticized them last year because I suggested that they needed some sort of public 'offer feature' where anyone can make an offer that's lower than the buy now price. Anyone else can see the same offer, so they can't offer something less. The offers get better and better.

What's the point in all that? The seller can choose to end the auction at any time by taking the best offer. It speeds things up, and it gives buyers a chance to do a 'buy now' thing instead of a 'bid and wait a week for the auction to end' kind of thing.

People hate waiting.

Anyway, ebay has 'offers' now, as well as 'counter offers'
Although they missed one critical element.
Later people that make offers aren't stopped from making lower offers. Each individual offer can be either higher or lower. Which is nonsensical in the situation of running an auction.