How low can you offer on Facebook Marketplace without getting ignored?
Quick answer
A lowball offer is one far below what an item actually sells for, sent with no reason. On Facebook Marketplace, 10-20% under asking with a reason is normal haggling. Going 30% or more under works only on listings that are stale, already cut, overpriced or visibly faulty. Check sold prices first, then offer once. On a computer, Sift, a free browser extension for Facebook Marketplace, shows price drops, compares the price with similar listings and suggests a fair offer when you press Is this a good deal?.
Price history
$320−20%
Tracked since Sep 8, lowest $320
Fair price
Below typical
Typical range $360 to $480
Median $420, 18 listings on this page
| What you see | Room to offer | How to pitch it |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh listing, fair price | Little: at or near asking | Offer the asking price for a quick pickup |
| Up two weeks or more, already cut, or reposted | 15-30% under | The bottom of the fair range, and say why |
| Round price ($100, $500) or “OBO” | 10-20% under | One number with one reason |
| Precise price ($347) or “firm” | Little or none | Pay it or move on |
| A fault the listing doesn’t mention | The cost of the fix | Name the fault and what it costs to repair |
| Free or giveaway | None | No offer, just turn up when you said |
These are starting points from experience. The hard numbers below come from eBay’s research and fee schedule.
What counts as a lowball offer?
A lowball offer is a bid well under what something is worth, made in the hope the seller is in a hurry. The term is most common in real estate, where Redfin puts a typical lowball at 10% to 30% below list price.
On Facebook Marketplace the problem is rarely the number. It is the missing reason. Offer $100 for a $200 dresser the day it goes up at a fair price and you are a lowballer. Offer the same $100 six weeks and two price cuts later, and you may be the first serious buyer in a while.
Our guide to negotiating on Marketplace covers first messages and etiquette. This page is about the number.
Sellers who write “firm”, “OBO” or “no lowballers” are telling you how they will take an offer before you send it; the Marketplace glossary decodes the rest of the shorthand.
What eBay’s bargaining data says
Facebook publishes nothing about offers, but eBay’s Best Offer data has been studied closely. A 2020 summary in the NBER Reporter has three findings worth knowing.
- Listings priced at a round hundred drew first offers 8 to 12 percentage points lower than nearby precise prices, yet were 15 to 25 percent more likely to sell.
- About 17 percent of bargaining threads ended with the seller accepting the buyer’s first offer.
- When offers went back and forth, the sides were especially likely to settle halfway between the last two.
So a round price like $500 tends to come from a seller who wants the item gone, and there is usually room. A price like $347 says the seller did the maths. And since one first offer in six gets a straight yes, never open with a number you would regret.
The halfway habit is the useful one. If you would happily pay $250 for something listed at $300, open at $200: a counter at the asking price puts halfway at $250. If that opening falls below the bottom of the fair range, though, it is a lowball and you won’t get a counter at all.
One caveat: this is eBay, and the round-number study looked at collectibles. On Marketplace a seller can simply leave you on read.
How much below asking to offer, by category
Examples use plain dollars; the same percentages apply in your currency.
| Category | Typical room | Why | Check the price against |
|---|---|---|---|
| Furniture (IKEA, sofas, dressers) | 15-30% | Bulky, and the seller is often moving | Local listings, and the new price for flat-pack |
| Appliances | 10-20% | Sellers want the space back | The model number, locally and on eBay |
| Phones, consoles, graphics cards | 0-15% | Fair ones sell within hours | eBay sold listings for the exact model |
| LEGO sets and trading cards | 10-15% under the price guide | The seller keeps what eBay would take in fees | BrickLink, PriceCharting or TCGplayer |
| Bikes | 10-20%, more in late fall and winter | Demand drops with the weather | eBay sold, and similar local bikes |
| Baby gear | 15-30% | Short use life, plenty of supply | The new price for the same model |
| Cars | No percentage | Inspect first, then price the repairs | Kelley Blue Book; Canadian Black Book for Canada |
Why “eBay sold, minus about 15%” is fair for collectibles and electronics
On eBay.com, most categories carry a final value fee of 13.6% of the total sale, plus $0.40 on any order over $10. A local seller pays none of that, with no shipping or returns to handle.
So if a LEGO set sold for $200 on eBay last month, its seller kept about $172 after fees. Offering $170 to $180 at pickup leaves the seller where eBay would have, which makes it a fair offer.
Read the listing before you pick a number
The listing page shows how long ago the item was listed. A crossed-out price means at least one cut, though Marketplace only shows the latest old price. A dresser you saw last month with a fresh date was probably reposted; our guide to a listing’s price history shows how to tell.
“Firm” means firm, while “OBO” or “make an offer” means the seller expects one; see what OBO means. A snowblower in April has few buyers. And a seller with five things listed will often take less for three of them.
One newer reason to check sold prices: in March 2026, Meta said its AI can help draft a Marketplace listing and “suggest a price based on similar items listed in your area”. Listed, not sold. Asking prices anchored to other asking prices drift up, so the real check is what the same thing sold for. The five-minute price check shows how, and how to find deals shows where underpriced listings hide.
Scripts for a low offer that still gets a reply
Each puts a number and a reason in the same message.
With sold prices
Hi, the last three of these on eBay sold for $140 to $160 shipped. Would you take $130 cash if I pick it up tomorrow?
On a stale listing
Hi, I see this has been up a few weeks. I can offer $250 and pick it up Saturday morning.
With a fault
The third photo shows a crack in the left drawer front. A replacement runs about $40, so would you take $160?
For a bundle, with the maths
You have the desk at $120 and the chair at $60. Would you do $150 for both if I take them in one trip?
When they ask for your best offer
$180, and I can be there by six.
Reply with a number. Asking “what’s your lowest?” hands the seller the first number, and whoever names it sets where halfway falls.
The one counter
Meet in the middle at $200? If that works, I can come tonight.
Once. If the answer is no, pay their price or let it go.
The exit that leaves the door open
No problem, I understand. If it’s still around next week, I’d still be glad to do $180.
Unsold listings get cheaper, and sellers remember the polite buyer with a number.
Getting lowballed? Replies for sellers
Decide your lowest price before you list, and put “firm” in the title if there is no room. If you will take offers, price a little above your floor.
- To a low but serious offer, counter with a number: “I could do $180.”
- If you won’t cut the price, offer something instead, such as the wall mount, the spare cables or help loading.
- A one-word “$20?” doesn’t need an answer.
- Block anyone abusive from the chat.
Keep the exits polite in both directions. Buyers and sellers can rate each other after a sale, and Meta says ratings may become public once you have five or more eligible ones.
Lowball bots and copy-paste offers
Searches for “lowball bot” and “lowball AI” come from sellers who get the same message over and over: a flat number, often half the asking price, from accounts that never answer a counter. Some resellers send one low offer to dozens of sellers, by hand or with tools, and wait for a yes. Meta’s spam rules ban engaging with content “either manually or automatically, at very high frequencies”.
Sellers learn to skim past any bare number as a result. More in bots on Facebook Marketplace, and if you buy to resell, the flipping guide covers buying low without becoming that account.
When a low price is the warning sign
A listing already far under the going rate needs a closer look before any offer. An iPhone at half its usual price or a “moving tomorrow” sofa for $50 is how many deposit and shipping scams open, and the pitch ends with a request to pay before you see the item.
Meta and the US Federal Trade Commission both warn against paying before you have seen the item. See the deposit scam and common Marketplace scams for what the messages look like.
Bring the numbers with Sift
Every script above needs a number you can back up. On a computer, Sift, a free browser extension for Facebook Marketplace, puts it on the listing. No account, it works right in Chrome (and Edge and Brave), and it takes a minute to set up.
A badge on the photo shows how far the price has fallen (↓ 25%); hover it for each dated change and the lowest price seen. A Reposted badge says when Sift first saw the item and at what price, and an age chip (3h, 2d, 1w) shows how long it has really been up, counting a repost from the first listing.
Sift compares each price with similar listings. Cheap ones get a Below typical badge, overpriced ones get Above typical, and a price far below similar listings gets a red Very low price flag, so you check it before you get excited. The details card adds plain links to eBay sold prices, Google Lens and Google Shopping, with BrickLink for LEGO and PriceCharting and TCGplayer for cards.
Trading card
Fair price
Below typical
Typical range $437 to $536
Median $480, 9 listings on this page
Check elsewhere
Sift also keeps a list of every listing you’ve scrolled past that got cheaper: the sellers most open to an offer. With Sift Pro, a price drop alert tells you when a listing you track gets cheaper.
Not sure what to offer? Press Is this a good deal? in Sift’s details card for an AI second opinion: a read on the price, a fair offer (“Offer $600, asking $650”) and a message to send the seller, ready to copy. For what the item actually sold for, the Sold on eBay link is one click away.
Questions people ask
What is considered a lowball offer on Facebook Marketplace?
An offer far below what the item actually sells for, with no reason given, such as $40 for a $200 bookcase listed yesterday. The same number can be fair on a listing that has sat for weeks or been cut twice. Sellers judge the reason as much as the number.
How much should I offer below the asking price on Facebook Marketplace?
Close to asking on a fresh, fairly priced listing, 10-20% under with a reason on a typical one, and 15-30% under on one that is stale, reduced or overpriced. Phones and consoles have less room, bulky furniture and baby gear more. Check sold prices first, then make one offer.
Is it rude to lowball on Facebook Marketplace?
Making an offer isn’t rude, and most sellers price with room for one. It reads as rude when the listing says firm, when the number is far under with no reason, when it arrives as a one-word “$20?”, or when you agree a price and cut it at the door.
Why do sellers ignore or block lowball offers?
Because most never become a sale. Sellers get many copy-paste low offers, some from resellers sending one number to dozens of listings, and replying usually leads to more haggling or a no-show. Blocking tends to follow repeat messages or rudeness after a no. A specific offer with a pickup time stands apart.
What does OBO or “firm” mean on a listing?
OBO means “or best offer”: the seller has set a price but expects offers. Firm means the price isn’t open, and an offer under it will usually go unanswered. A round price like $500 often has room built in too.
How do I respond to a lowball offer as a seller?
If the buyer seems serious, counter once with a number, such as “I could do $180.” If you won’t go lower, offer an extra instead, like a cable or help loading. One-word offers can be left unanswered, and anyone abusive can be blocked. Decide your lowest price before you list.
Should I offer less on a listing that has been up for weeks?
Usually, yes. A listing that has sat for two weeks or more, been cut or been reposted hasn’t sold at its price, and the seller knows it. Mention it politely, offer near the bottom of the fair range and give a pickup time. A niche item that was fairly priced all along may have less room.
Sources
- 01NBER Reporter Empirical analysis of bargaining (2020, no. 4)
- 02Redfin What is a lowball offer
- 03eBay Help Selling fees
- 04Meta Newsroom New Meta AI tools on Facebook Marketplace make selling faster and easier (March 2026)
- 05Meta Help Centre Ratings on Facebook Marketplace
- 06Meta Transparency Center Community Standards, Spam
- 07Meta Help Centre About scams on Facebook Marketplace
- 08Federal Trade Commission Buying from an online marketplace