How to read a Botifex Deal Score

What a Deal Score is

A Deal Score is a number from 0 to 100 that Botifex puts on a listing. It compares the asking price to eBay sold prices and other market context. Higher generally means the listing looks more interesting as a flip. Lower generally means something that makes a flip work is weak, such as price, demand or speed of sale.

Think of it as triage. It helps you sort a long feed in a couple of seconds. It is not a buy button, and it is not a guarantee.

What it compares against

A deal is not a low price. A deal is a price that is low compared with what similar items actually sell for. That is why the score looks at sold prices and not at asking prices. Asking prices can sit for months. Sold prices show what buyers paid.

The five things behind the number

Botifex has said publicly that the score looks at five kinds of signal. The exact mix and weights are private, so we cannot give you a formula. Here is what each one means.

• Price versus the market. How the asking price compares with recent sold prices for similar items. This is the biggest piece.
• Demand. Whether items like this actually sell, not just whether they get listed.
• Speed. How long similar items tend to sit before they sell.
• Competition. How many similar listings are active right now.
• Listing quality. Whether the listing has a usable title, photos, a condition and a description.

When Botifex does not have enough market data, the score should be careful and not fake confidence. If the data is thin, treat the score with caution.

Where you see it

In your hunt feed, a Deal Score shows on each listing. Depending on your plan and the data available, you may also see more context, such as how fast similar items sell, a resale range or an estimated profit. You can use the score to decide which listings to open first.

A simple way to use it

When an alert comes in, follow these steps.

1. Glance at the score. A weak score is a reason to slow down. A strong score is a reason to look closer.
2. Check any extra context. If you see days to sell or a resale range, read it. A high score with a long time to sell is a different decision than a high score on something that sells fast.
3. Open the listing anyway. Check the model, condition, what is included and whether the photos match the title.
4. Treat any profit estimate as a sanity check. It is an estimate, not a promise. Fees differ by marketplace.
5. Set your max price. Decide the most you will pay before you message the seller.

Here is a made-up example to show the idea. Two listings for similar items look equally cheap. One has a strong score and the item type tends to sell quickly. The other has a weak score and similar items take a long time to sell. You research the first one first. You may still pass on both after reading the photos.

What it does not tell you

• Condition and authenticity. The score cannot inspect the item. Always check photos, accessories and, for high-risk categories, how to authenticate used items.
• Whether the seller is safe. A listing can look like a great deal on price and still be a bad one to engage with. If a seller pushes you to pay off the platform or rushes you, slow down.
• Your own knowledge. You may know a model is about to get popular, or that you already have three in the garage. The score does not.
• A guaranteed profit. Markets change. A category that was easy last season can be crowded now.

How the score differs by plan

How much score detail you see depends on your plan. See the pricing page for current details. New accounts start with a 7 day trial, no card needed, so you can see the full version first.

Build your own habit

Botifex does not publish a "good score" cutoff, so do not trust any number you read online as an official rule. Instead, build your own. For your first few weeks, write down the score of each item you buy and what you made or lost on it. After a while, you will see which scores have worked for your categories.

Want to go deeper? Read how the scorer is built in How We're Improving the Botifex Deal Scorer. For research you do by hand, read How to Research Resale Value Before You Buy. To get listings scored in the first place, see how to set up your first marketplace alert.