The short answer
There is no public evidence that turning on Best Offer boosts your listing in eBay's search ranking. What it does is raise conversion: more people who see the listing start a conversation, and some of those buy.
On cards under about $5 it mostly creates work. On cards above $20 it is usually worth having on, with auto decline set so you are not answering messages about a $12 offer on a $30 card.
The theory that Best Offer is an algorithmic boost circulates constantly among sellers. We have not found eBay documentation that supports it, and we would rather say that plainly than repeat it.
What it definitely does
It removes the moment where a buyer decides your price is final and closes the tab. Some percentage of those people will send an offer instead, and a share of those become sales that would not have happened.
That is a real effect and it has nothing to do with ranking. It is the same reason a shop that will haggle sells more than one that will not.
Where it costs you
| Card price | Best Offer on? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Floor cards, $1.99 | No | Any accepted offer is below your cost of shipping it |
| $5 to $20 | Optional | Depends on whether you want the messages |
| $20 and up | Usually yes | The conversation is worth having on real money |
| Anything scarce | Yes | You may be underpricing and offers tell you |
On a $1.99 card the arithmetic is brutal: you keep $1.42 at full price, and the shipping label is $0.88. There is no room underneath that for a discount, which is why our floor cards do not take offers.
The settings that make it usable
Auto decline below a number you choose, so lowballs never reach you. Auto accept above a number, so the good ones close while you sleep. Between those two lines is the only range where you actually get a message.
Set both. A Best Offer listing without limits is a listing that generates notifications instead of sales.
What offers tell you even when you decline
A stream of offers clustering around the same number is the market telling you your price. If eight people all offer around $18 on a $30 card, the card is a $20 card and the listing has been sitting for a reason.
That information is free and it arrives without you having to accept anything.
What actually moves a listing
Price, photos and title, in that order. Our data says 60% of cards that sell do it within a week, so a card still sitting after a month is usually priced wrong rather than lacking a negotiation feature.
The same applies to paying for promotion: a feature cannot fix a price the market has already answered.
The counter offer nobody uses
eBay lets you counter rather than accept or decline, and most sellers never touch it. A counter keeps the conversation open with someone who has already shown they want the card, which is the most qualified buyer you will get that week.
On a $30 card, countering a $20 offer at $26 closes more often than declining does. It costs one click.
What we do
Offers off on floor cards, on above $20, auto decline set aggressively. We have not measured a ranking effect either way, and we would be suspicious of anyone who claims to have, because eBay does not publish the ranking factors and A B testing it across a catalogue of two dollar cards is not realistic.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Best Offer improve eBay search ranking?
There is no public evidence that it does. What it demonstrably raises is conversion: some buyers who would have closed the tab send an offer instead.
- Should I enable Best Offer on cheap cards?
No. On a $1.99 card you keep $1.42 and the label costs $0.88, so there is no room underneath for a discount.
- What settings make Best Offer usable?
Auto decline below a floor and auto accept above a ceiling. Without both you get notifications instead of sales.
- What actually makes a listing sell?
Price, photos and title, in that order. Most cards that sell do so within a week, so a card sitting for a month is usually priced wrong rather than missing a feature.
