eBay Best Offer Calculator [Free]: Auto-Accept, Decline & Counter Thresholds
Set your eBay Best Offer auto-accept, decline, and counter thresholds with fee-basis math for resellers.
Set Best Offer thresholds
Copy the auto-decline, counter, and auto-accept numbers into the listing before offers arrive.
Your Best Offer Thresholds
Enter these values directly into eBay's listing form under the "Best Offer" section.
Offer Response Strategy
| Offer Range | Example Price | Action | Your Profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below 60% | $60 | Auto-Decline | +$1 |
| 60–70% | $65 | Decline or Counter High | +$6 |
| 70–80% | $75 | Counter at 85–90% | +$14 |
| 80–90% | $85 | Counter or Accept | +$23 |
| 90–100% | $95 | Auto-Accept | +$32 |
Counter-Offer Message Template
"Thanks for your offer! I can come down to $90 — that's as low as I can go on this one. Let me know if that works for you!"
Counters at $90 - midpoint between your calculated floor and auto-accept line.
Negotiation Quick Reference
Why counter instead of decline?
- A counter signals willingness — more buyers complete the purchase
- Many buyers expect back-and-forth before committing
- A hard decline rarely brings the buyer back; a counter might close
When to accept without countering
- Item has been listed 30+ days with no other activity
- Offer is 85%+ of ask and clears your profit floor
- You need capital freed for the next sourcing run
How to Use This Tool
Enter your list price, what you paid for the item, eBay's platform fee (13.6% for most categories in 2026), shipping cost, and how many days items like this typically take to sell. The calculator also accounts for eBay's $0.30 fee on orders up to $10 and $0.40 on higher orders. Set your minimum profit in dollars and as an ROI percentage — the calculator uses whichever constraint is stricter.
- Tap a Quick Preset or fill in your numbers manually
- Set urgency — this adjusts the auto-decline threshold up or down while never breaching break-even
- Copy the three threshold values and enter them directly in eBay's "Best Offer" listing fields
- Use the counter-offer template for any offer that lands in the manual-counter zone
What This Calculator Computes
Break-even price
The lowest price at which you make $0 after fees and shipping under your inputs. Any accepted offer below this is an estimated loss.
Minimum acceptable price
The higher of your target-profit floor and your target-ROI floor. This is the true floor for any offer you should accept.
Auto-decline threshold
Adjusted by urgency mode. In Cash Needed mode, it's capped at break-even — you can't accidentally accept a below-cost offer.
Auto-accept threshold
Usually near 90% of list price, or 85% for stale listings, but never below the calculated minimum floor.
Strategic counter price
The midpoint between your floor and auto-accept line, kept below ask when the current listing can still meet your target.
Profit per offer band
Your actual dollar profit if you accept any offer in that range, so you can evaluate close-to-floor offers without mental math.
Common Mistakes with eBay Best Offer
✗ Enabling Best Offer with no auto-decline threshold set
Fix: You'll receive $5 offers on a $60 listing continuously. Set the floor before the listing goes live, not after.
✗ Using identical thresholds for all item categories
Fix: Clothing buyers negotiate far more aggressively than electronics buyers. Calibrate per category — 70% of ask on a $200 GPU is a serious offer; on a $15 top it's a lowball.
✗ Setting auto-accept too low out of eagerness to sell
Fix: Auto-accepting at 80% when you priced only 20% above cost leaves $0 margin. Run the numbers here before copying thresholds into the listing form.
✗ Ignoring days-on-market before declining an offer
Fix: A 78% offer on day 42 has different economics than day 2. Use the Days to Sell input — the tool will flag slow movers automatically.
✗ Responding emotionally or combatively to lowball offers
Fix: Counter once, professionally, or let auto-decline handle it silently. Hostile messages are visible on your profile and eBay's algorithm monitors response quality.
Practical Examples
Thrift flip: Nike hoodie listed at $45
Paid $6, shipping $7, eBay fee 13.6% plus the $0.40 order fee. Break-even is about $16. Your $10 profit floor lands at roughly $27. Auto-decline at $28. Auto-accept at $40. A $35 offer (78% of ask) still earns about $17 profit — worth a counter at $38, not a flat decline.
Electronics: refurbished tablet listed at $180
Paid $75, shipping $12, eBay fee 13.6% plus the $0.40 order fee. Break-even is about $101. Minimum for your 40% ROI floor is about $136. Auto-decline at $143 (normal urgency buffer). A $150 offer (83%) still earns about $42 profit — counter at $163, don't auto-decline it.
Collectible: vintage Pyrex bowl, $55 asking price, listed 40 days
Paid $4, shipping $9. A $42 offer (76%) earns $22 profit on a $4 cost — 550% ROI. Accept it. Holding for full price on a 40-day listing is a capital efficiency mistake, not a negotiation win.
Tips for eBay Resellers
- Set auto-decline and auto-accept before the listing goes live — you can't retroactively block offers already received in your inbox.
- eBay limits you to 3 counter-offers per transaction. Use all three if needed; don't cave after the first counter.
- Buyers who start negotiating are statistically more likely to complete the purchase than those who don't — a lowball opener doesn't mean a bad buyer.
- On low-margin flips under $20, consider disabling Best Offer entirely — the back-and-forth overhead erodes thin margins faster than any single offer saves.
- Review your auto-decline number if you run a markdown or sale — it may now sit above your repriced listing price and block all incoming offers.
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