What Does OBO Mean?

OBO stands for "or best offer." It's used in sales listings — especially classified ads, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and used-car listings — to signal that the price is negotiable and the seller will consider reasonable offers below the asking price.

How it's used:

• You'll see it written after a price, like "$500 OBO" or "$500 or best offer."
• It means: "I'd like $500, but I'm open to the best reasonable offer I receive."
• It invites buyers to negotiate rather than treating the price as fixed.

What it means for a buyer:

• You can politely offer less than the listed price — that's the point of OBO.
• Make a reasonable offer (lowballing far below the price often gets ignored). A common approach is offering somewhat below asking and meeting in the middle.
• The seller may accept, decline, or counter your offer.

What it means for a seller:

• Adding OBO signals flexibility and can attract more interest, but you're not obligated to accept any particular offer — you choose the best one.

Related listing abbreviations:

• OBO — or best offer
• FIRM — the price is not negotiable (the opposite of OBO)
• ONO — "or nearest offer" (common in the UK, means the same as OBO)

In short: OBO = "or best offer," a signal that the seller is open to negotiating below the listed price.