When you see a Buy It Now price next to the yellow Best Offer button, your first instinct is to fire off a number. Fight that instinct. The most powerful move you have is not the amount of your offer, but the timing of it. A fresh listing is a seller’s favorite child. They’ve just taken photos, written a description, and set a price they believe is fair. For the first 48 hours, they will reject offers that are more than 10% below asking, even if those offers are reasonable. They’re not evaluating your bid. They’re evaluating their own pride.

Wait. Check the listing’s age. Scroll down to see when it was first posted or whether it’s been relisted. On eBay and similar platforms, every relisting resets the clock, but you can often tell by the seller’s feedback or the item’s sales history. A listing that has survived two weeks without a sale is a wounded animal. The seller has paid listing fees, watched other comparable items sell, and started to doubt their initial price. That’s your moment. On day fourteen, an offer of 28% below Buy It Now has a far higher acceptance rate than the same offer on day one.

Of course, you need to know the true market value first. Use sold listings, not active listings. The Buy It Now price is a suggestion, not a fact. If a $200 item has sold three times this month for $150, then the real value is $150. Your opening offer should be $135. Not $140. Not $125. $135. The odd number signals that you’ve studied the sold data. Sellers see hundreds of round-number offers. A precise offer like $135 or $162.50 tells them you have a ceiling and you’ve done homework. That seller is more likely to counter with a number close to the market value, say $145, and you can accept that with satisfaction.

But there’s a situation where you should never make a Best Offer. When the Buy It Now price is already lower than any recent sale of a comparable item, the seller is either desperate to clear inventory or hiding a defect. If the item is flawless, they’re losing money on purpose and they won’t accept a penny less. If it’s flawed, you don’t want it anyway. In either case, click Buy It Now immediately. The reason is that a Best Offer gives the seller a chance to think. Thinking leads to relisting at a higher price or rejecting you. Instant checkout locks in the deal. You can inspect the item upon arrival and return it if the defect is unacceptable.

Another overlooked tactic involves using the Best Offer to negotiate shipping. Many sellers inflate shipping fees to recoup costs. A listing might show a Buy It Now of $250 with $40 shipping, making your total $290. The item’s market value is $230. Your Best Offer of $225 includes your acknowledgment that you’ll pay the shipping. Some platforms let you add a note. Write something like “This is my total budget including your shipping fee.“ The seller sees the net to their pocket, which is often more important to them than the list price.

You also need to watch the watcher count. If more than five people are watching an item with Buy It Now and Best Offer, do not submit an offer. Your offer signals that the item is desirable and the price might be too low. Sellers use offers as feedback. They’ll reject a reasonable offer, then turn around and raise the Buy It Now price. Instead, message the seller privately. Ask about the condition or the original receipt. Then mention that you’d be willing to pay $X if they can work something out. Private messages don’t trigger the same anxiety as an official offer, and sellers often prefer them because they don’t show a number to the entire marketplace.

Finally, respect the two-offer limit. You get three opportunities: your first offer, the seller’s counter, and your final counter. Never send a third offer on your own. If the seller counters your counter, that’s a sign they’re playing with you. Walk away. A seller’s last counter is often their best price, but if they’re not willing to meet you near the market value, someone else will sell you the same thing next week. The inventory on online marketplaces is endless. Your patience is the scarcest asset you have.