This behavior feels personal.
It isn’t.
Most “lowest price?” messages are not buying signals.
They’re probes.
This page explains what those messages actually mean, why buyers vanish after asking, and how to respond without wasting time or undercutting yourself.
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What that message is really testing
“Lowest price?” is rarely a question.
It’s a test.
Buyers are usually checking one of three things:
- How flexible you are
- Whether waiting will pay off
- If you’re pricing defensively
They are not committing.
They’re gathering leverage.
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Why disappearing is the default outcome
Most buyers who ask for a lowest price:
- Are price shopping across many listings
- Are anchoring low to see who caves
- Never intended to buy at your asking price
Once they get a number, they move on.
Silence isn’t rejection.
It’s comparison.
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Why answering directly often backfires
Giving a lowest price:
- Anchors the negotiation against you
- Signals urgency or uncertainty
- Removes your leverage immediately
Once you reveal your floor, the buyer has nothing to respond to.
They got what they wanted.
That’s why the conversation often ends there.
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What buyers actually want instead
Buyers want confirmation that:
- There’s room to negotiate
- They’re not overpaying
- Waiting might produce a better deal
They do not need your best number.
They need reassurance that the door is open.
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How to respond without killing leverage
Better responses:
- Invite a reasonable offer
- Reaffirm value briefly
- Keep the decision with the buyer
Examples of effective framing:
- “I’m open to reasonable offers.”
- “Feel free to send an offer you’re comfortable with.”
- “Happy to consider offers in that range.”
This keeps the buyer engaged without conceding ground.
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When disappearing actually means something else
Sometimes ghosting signals:
- The buyer found a cheaper option
- The buyer realized the item wasn’t urgent
- The buyer was never serious
None of these are fixed by responding faster or lower.
Chasing them rarely changes the outcome.
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When to ignore the message entirely
Ignoring is reasonable when:
- The message contains no context
- The buyer has a history of lowballing
- The item already attracts strong interest
Not every inquiry deserves engagement.
Time is a cost.
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The mistake that drains the most profit
The biggest mistake is treating every message as a sale in progress.
Most aren’t.
They’re filters.
Your job is not to convert every inquiry.
It’s to protect leverage and respond only where intent exists.
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The question that reframes everything
Ask this:
Is this buyer trying to decide, or trying to extract information?
Your response should change based on that answer.
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What this usually connects to
Repeated “lowest price” frustration often ties back to:
- Overuse of best-offer
- Weak price confidence
- Fear of holding inventory
- Lack of response rules
Those are system issues, not messaging issues.
This page exists to help you stop leaking leverage in conversations.
The lowest price still gets ignored when buyer confidence is missing.