There are times when a flat NO is appropriate but on most low balls I encourage my seller to counter.  Even if its is only a hundred bucks lower... The buyer gets a taste of their own technique and they have to make  the decision to walk away.

Good post. I tend to agree with Dan, I feel you must keep the ball rolling, so I always encourage a counter from the seller. Unless the "low-ball" offer has contingencies attached ie. the sale of there present home!

Here is a recent response I received from one of my sellers on a low-ball offer:

"Sorry Donna.  This offer is just too low.  You can tell the Buyers that if they want property at wholesale prices they can go to the auction and pay cash just like I do.  I can wait a year and a half for a better offer and still not pay as much in interest as I would be giving up here.  Not even a counter."

The buyer's agent got all snitty, but I didn't see a new offer from that buyer.  And the buyer's approval letter didn't even have an amount for the offer price, so even if we did counter, the buyer probably didn't qualify for it.

I agree some people seem to be more on a "fishing expedition". Still, I've had it happen that sellers counter back at full price, and as an agent I would never get "snitty"/unprofessional about it. After all, it gives the buyers agent another opportunity to educate the buyer on a reasonable offer price and the buyer a chance to reconsider and improve his offer IF they are serious. In the current market, I've been involved in a number of situations where buyers started low but ended up with a contract that satisfied both parties.