Shopify merchants often reach a point where fixed pricing is not enough. Some customers want to negotiate. Some want bulk pricing. Some want a better deal on a specific product. Others need a formal quote before they can place an order.
That is where two common Shopify app categories come in: make an offer apps and request a quote apps. At first, they can sound similar. Both involve a customer asking for a price before buying. Both can help merchants avoid public discounting. But they are not the same.
A make an offer flow is usually best when a product already has a listed price and the customer wants to propose a lower price. A request a quote flow is usually best when the final price is unknown, customized, bulk-based, or requires merchant review before the customer can buy.
Make an offer means the customer sees a product with a listed price, then submits the price they are willing to pay. For example, a product is listed at $900. The customer clicks Make an Offer, submits an offer of $750, and the merchant can accept, decline, or counter. If the offer is accepted, the customer receives a private checkout link at the agreed price.
A Shopify make an offer app is useful when the customer is thinking: Would you take this price? Is this your best price? Can I get a private deal without using a coupon code? This is common for high ticket products, one-of-a-kind items, slow-moving inventory, collectibles, vintage products, art, jewelry, furniture, and watches.
Request a quote means the customer asks the merchant to prepare a price before purchase. This is usually used when the final price depends on details not fully captured by the product page — bulk pricing, custom dimensions, custom materials, project-based pricing, special shipping, B2B approval, or a formal quote document.
A Shopify request a quote app is useful when the customer is thinking: How much would this cost for my order? Can I get a quote for 100 units? Can my company receive a formal quote? Can I submit product requirements before buying? This is common for B2B stores, wholesale catalogs, custom manufacturers, and industrial suppliers.
Make an offer starts from a listed price. Request a quote starts from an unknown or flexible price. With make an offer, the buyer is negotiating against a visible product price. With request a quote, the buyer is asking the merchant to calculate a price. That difference should guide your app choice.
Make an offer works best when the product is ready to buy. The customer can see the product, understand the offer, and decide whether they want to negotiate. This makes make an offer especially useful for direct-to-consumer Shopify stores in categories like:
In these categories, shoppers often expect some pricing flexibility. A make an offer button gives them a private way to ask without forcing the merchant to run a public sale — read more in our guide to price negotiation apps for Shopify.
Request a quote works best when the merchant needs more information before pricing the order. This is common in B2B ecommerce because pricing may depend on volume, customer account, payment terms, shipping location, product configuration, or approval process. Common examples include wholesale suppliers, industrial products, commercial furniture, custom packaging, print shops, manufacturing, and construction materials.
In these cases, the buyer may not expect instant checkout. They may expect a quote, a PDF, an invoice, or a sales representative follow-up.
Use make an offer when the product has a clear listed price, but you want to let the customer privately negotiate. Make an offer is a strong fit when:
Use request a quote when the customer cannot or should not buy immediately at a fixed listed price. Request a quote is a strong fit when:
A make an offer customer is usually close to buying. They have seen the product and price. Their question is whether the merchant will accept a better deal. A request a quote customer is usually still gathering pricing information. They may not know the final product configuration, total quantity, or approval requirements.
This matters for conversion. A make an offer flow should be fast — the buyer should submit an offer in seconds. A request a quote flow can be more detailed. If you use a long quote form for a simple price negotiation, you may create too much friction. If you use a short make an offer form for a complex B2B quote, you may not collect enough information.
For make an offer, the product page usually keeps the public price visible. The Make an Offer button appears near Add to Cart as a secondary buying path, giving the buyer the choice to either buy now or negotiate privately.
For request a quote, the product page may hide the price or replace Add to Cart entirely. The quote button may become the main action — useful when immediate checkout is not the goal.
With make an offer, the merchant usually reviews one product, one quantity, and one offer amount. The decision is direct: accept, decline, or counter. With request a quote, the merchant may need to build a full quote involving multiple products, custom pricing, shipping details, payment terms, and production time. That means request a quote is often more sales-heavy and may require a salesperson or custom quote document.
In a make an offer flow: buyer submits offer → merchant accepts or counters → buyer agrees → buyer receives a private checkout link → buyer pays through Shopify checkout. This is where Shopify draft orders are useful, as they can support custom pricing and checkout links.
In a request a quote flow: buyer submits quote request → merchant reviews details → merchant builds a quote → buyer approves → merchant sends invoice or checkout link → buyer pays. This is useful when the order is complex, but for a single product negotiation, it can feel slow.
A major advantage of make an offer is that it can act as a private discount code alternative. Public discounts are easy to run, but they can reduce margin on shoppers who would have paid full price, leak to coupon sites, train customers to wait for sales, and make premium products feel less premium.
Make an offer is different because the lower price is not advertised publicly. The customer has to ask. The merchant decides whether the offer is worth accepting. This is especially useful for merchants who want flexibility without changing the public product page price.
For most high ticket direct-to-consumer products, make an offer is usually the better fit. The product already has a price, but the buyer may hesitate. A make an offer button gives them that negotiation option without turning the product into a custom quote request. High ticket categories where make an offer works well include furniture, jewelry, watches, fine art, collectibles, antiques, and luxury resale.
For wholesale, request a quote is often the better fit. Wholesale buyers may need pricing based on order volume, account status, payment terms, shipping destination, or negotiated contracts. The deciding question is: Does the buyer need a custom quote, or are they making an offer on a listed product? If they need a custom quote, use request a quote. If they are making an offer on a listed product, use make an offer.
Make an offer is usually better for slow moving inventory. If products have been sitting for too long, you may want pricing flexibility without launching a public clearance sale. A make an offer button lets buyers tell you what they are willing to pay. You can decide whether the offer helps you move inventory profitably, without marking an entire collection down.
BidWise is designed for private price negotiation on Shopify — for merchants who want buyers to make offers on listed products, not for merchants who need complex quote building for custom B2B orders. The BidWise flow: a buyer sees a listed product, submits a private offer, the merchant accepts, declines, or counters, and the accepted offer becomes a private Shopify checkout path.
BidWise is a strong fit for stores that want a make an offer button on Shopify product pages, private offers instead of public discounts, counter offers, offer rules, draft order checkout links, and a brand-safe way to convert price-sensitive shoppers.
BidWise handles the full negotiation flow — offer, counter, checkout — without any coding.
Install BidWise freeChoose make an offer if: your products already have listed prices, customers ask for better prices, you sell high ticket or one-of-a-kind products, you want to avoid public discounts, you want private negotiation with accept/decline/counter, and you want buyers to checkout through Shopify.
Choose request a quote if: your prices depend on quantity, you sell mostly to B2B customers, you need to hide prices, you need to collect custom requirements or build formal quote documents, or you sell products where immediate checkout does not make sense.
Yes, some Shopify stores can use both. For example, a furniture business might use make an offer for floor models and vintage pieces, while using request a quote for commercial projects, bulk office furniture, or custom orders. The key is to avoid confusing the buyer — match the call to action to the product and customer intent.
No. Make an offer is usually used when a product already has a listed price and the buyer wants to negotiate. Request a quote is usually used when the final price depends on quantity, customization, B2B terms, or other order details.
It depends on the product and buyer intent. Use make an offer for private price negotiation on listed products. Use request a quote for custom pricing, wholesale orders, B2B sales, and complex orders.
Yes. With a Shopify make an offer app like BidWise, customers can submit private offers on product pages. The merchant can accept, decline, or counter the offer.
Make an offer can be better when you want selective private pricing instead of a public promotion. Discount codes are useful for broad sales campaigns, but private offers help protect public pricing and avoid discounting every shopper.
Yes. High ticket products are one of the strongest use cases for make an offer because buyers often want to negotiate before making a larger purchase.
BidWise is focused on private price negotiation and make an offer workflows. It is best for merchants who want buyers to submit private offers on listed Shopify products, then complete checkout through Shopify when an offer is accepted.
Make an offer and request a quote are both useful Shopify workflows, but they solve different problems. Request a quote is best when the customer needs custom pricing, bulk pricing, B2B review, or a formal quote before buying. Make an offer is best when the product already has a listed price and the customer wants to negotiate privately.
For most high ticket direct-to-consumer products, one-of-a-kind goods, slow-moving inventory, collectibles, vintage products, furniture, jewelry, and MAP sensitive catalogs, make an offer is often the better fit. BidWise helps Shopify merchants add private offer negotiation to product pages, manage offers in a structured flow, and send accepted buyers to Shopify checkout at the agreed price.
