deskthority

What is the difference between them? I think some sellers ignored it and usually never stated it clear.

As far as I understand, while accepting offers, sellers will have the the fair price on their mind and may sell to the person who first offers that price. Seller has the right not to sell the item if he or she isn't satisfied with the price for it.

In the other hands, in the auction, the buyers/ customers will decide the price for the item, not the seller. The price will depend on the demand on the item. Seller does have to sell the item even if the price is not good.

Each way has its own advantages and disadvantages. I think some "making offers" sale out there are turning into auction while the sellers still have the right to cancel the sale . It's kind of unfair for the buyers, I believe.

The auction has a fixed time it ends. You can take offers infinitely.
PS. But it is uncommon to make offers public.. Greedy

auction = you want to sell the item no matter what.

making offers = you only sell it if you find the right price.

I only do 'make offer' if I was unsure what value it have. So it's like a price check to me, and then say 5 people offer $20 I would sell it to the first person that offered it. Or I would post a price, and if it's not selling then add or best offer. That makes sense to me. I did forum silent auction one time, and it was much less pleasant than fix price sale. If you want to do auction, or highest offer I think you should go to ebay. It's already set up for auction (with reserve option) with at least some sense of fairness and transparency since you can see bids. Also if out to just make maximum money, it has a bigger exposure on ebay that a small niche forum which maybe is unknown to potential buyer. I feel fixed price sale or trading is best for person to person on forums. Forums like this are a community so person should not be there just to rip off and leave.