'ladystark' is correct. Although not explicitly stated anywhere, there is a sort of unwritten etiquette to Make An Offer. When sellers add it to their listings, they can set auto-decline or auto-accept amounts but many chose not to do that so they can communicate directly with the buyer no matter the asking price.
There is therefore an acceptable range a seller has in mind even if they don't have to set in stone on their listing form. Sometimes there will be more wiggle room than others. It can depend on where the buyer is located, it can depend on a seller's past history with the buyer, or the number of items that buyer wants to purchase in their order. Or it may be simply how fast the seller wants to make a buck, or how slow or brisk sales have been at that given time.
Regardless, offering a seller something like $1.00 on an item where the asking price is $189 will only get a buyer added the the Seller's Blocked Buyer (BBL) list after said offer is rejected. And, yes, I am using an actual example from my own experience as a seller.
Once an offer is placed, a seller has three choices: accept, decline or counteroffer.
If the sellers 'accepts' the item is yours as soon as you pay. Please don't forget to pay.
If the seller 'declines', the buyer has an opportunity to make another two offers, provided the first one was not so insulting the buyer has ben added to the BBL.
If the seller makes a 'counteroffer', the buyer has 48 hours to decide whether that price is right for them. I assume that the buyer can decline a counteroffer and go on to make any remaining offers they have left as opposed to countering the counteroffer.
Nonetheless, if the item looks good to you, try to make an offer. If there is more than one offer on the item and the seller makes counteroffers to all buyers, it sells to the first one accepted. The same as an offer doesn't reserve an item, someone may come along and buy it while you and the seller haggle.
Best of luck to you with this.
