A buy box is the set of rules that decides a purchase before you see the lead. Write five things down: the markets you will buy in, the property types that fit your exit, the most you will pay per lead and in total, who will work each lead and how fast, and which unknowns you will accept until you speak to the seller. If a rule is not written, it will bend the first time a card looks exciting.
Write the buy box before you open the feed. Then use it on every card, every time.
The test: two readers, same card, same call
Turn “I want motivated sellers” into rules specific enough that two people reading the same card make the same call. Start with:
- Your exit strategy for this test: wholesale assignment, flip, rental hold, or something else. One per buy box.
- A rough idea of the price range where your exit works in each market. You will check the actual numbers later; you need the range to know which areas to include.
- Your calendar for the next two weeks, so the capacity line is real.
- The buy-box worksheet, printed or open.
Seven rules to write, in order
1. One strategy, markets in the card’s units
Write one strategy at the top. Then list the markets by the unit the lead source actually uses. If the source shows a city and county, write your markets as cities and counties, not as neighborhoods you cannot check on the card.
For each market, add one line on why it is in: you know the comps, you have a buyer list there, you can drive to it, or you have a contractor there. A market with no reason is a market you will regret.
2. Split must-haves from preferences
Most buy boxes skip this. A must-have is a rule that makes you pass. A preference makes a lead more attractive but does not decide it.
| Example rule | Must-have or preference? | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family or small multifamily only | Must-have for most flip and rental plans | Your exit and financing depend on it |
| Seller timeline under 90 days | Often a preference | A longer timeline can still become a deal; it changes your follow-up plan |
| Vacant | Preference | Occupied properties can still work; they add steps |
| Not currently listed with an agent | Must-have for many investors | A listed property changes who you negotiate with |
| Repairs “major” | Depends on strategy | A flipper may want it; a landlord buying turnkey may pass |
These are illustrative rules to show the split, not a template for your strategy. Write your own, and keep the must-have list short. Four to six hard rules is a workable number; fifteen means you will pass on everything or ignore the list.
3. Write the hard exclusions
Exclusions are the “never” list. Write them as plainly as the must-haves: mobile homes on rented land, commercial property, a county you cannot service, any lead where the seller has asked not to be contacted. Exclusions stop you arguing with yourself on a busy day.
4. Price per lead, test cap, weekly capacity
Write three limits:
- Price per lead. The highest price you will pay for one lead, by grade or by type if your source prices that way.
- Test cash cap. The total you will spend before you stop and review. See Your first ten exclusive leads for a staged way to spend it.
- Handling capacity. How many new leads you can contact properly in a week. Be honest. If you can make first calls on four leads a week, a buy box that allows twelve purchases a week is wrong.
The capacity line saves the most money. A lead you cannot call quickly is a lead you paid for and did not test.
5. Mark each rule: checkable on the card, or after purchase
Now separate two columns on the worksheet: rules you can check on the card before paying, and rules you can only check after you buy and talk to the seller or run your own diligence.
Do this with the source’s real fields, not the fields you wish it had. On DrivenSellers, the public product materials describe the card this way: Before purchase the card shows the grade, listed price, area, motivation, timeline, occupancy, repairs, listing status and equity; the seller name, phone and exact address unlock after purchase. That means rules about area, motivation, timeline, occupancy, repairs, listing status and stated equity can be checked against the card, as stated by the seller or the source. Rules about the exact address, title, liens, actual condition and comps cannot be checked until later.
| Your rule | Checkable before purchase? | How |
|---|---|---|
| In my target county | Yes, if area is shown | Read the area field |
| Not listed with an agent | Partly | Card shows listing status; confirm on the call |
| Equity above my floor | Partly | Card shows a stated estimate; verify with your own numbers |
| Clear title, no major liens | No | Title search after contact |
| Repairs within my budget | No | Card states condition in words; you need a walk-through or contractor estimate |
| Seller is the owner with authority to sell | No | Confirm on the call and in records |
The grade is a separate case. DrivenSellers describes A+ as most likely to sell soon and C as not likely or without a clear plan. DrivenSellers publishes the score behind it: Each lead gets a 0–100 score from five parts (timeline up to 40 points, reason up to 30, room to make an offer up to 10, property fit up to 15, not listed up to 5); A+ is 80–100, A 65–79, B 45–64 and C 0–44. That score rates the seller’s stated timeline, reason and situation; it knows nothing about your buy box, and it has not been validated against outcomes. Your must-haves (area, property type, occupancy, repairs, equity) belong in field rules, not in a minimum grade. Use the grade as the vendor’s label for sorting, and set any grade-based rule as a price rule (“I will pay up to the B price”) rather than a forecast rule (“A+ leads will sign”).
6. Decide which unknowns you will accept
Every lead has gaps. Decide in advance which gaps are acceptable until the first call, and which ones make you pass. Write them as two short lists on the worksheet. Example: “Acceptable: exact condition, mortgage balance. Blocking: area not shown, property type unclear.”
7. Date the first rewrite
Two to four weeks out, reread the buy box against what seller conversations told you.
A finished wholesale buy box (illustrative)
This is not a recommended buy box. It shows how short and specific the result should be.
Before you open the feed
- One strategy, written at the top.
- Markets listed in the same unit the source shows.
- Four to six must-haves, separate from preferences.
- Exclusions written as “never” rules.
- Price per lead, test cap and weekly capacity written as numbers.
- Every rule marked “checkable on card” or “check after purchase.”
- Acceptable and blocking unknowns listed.
- Review date set.
Five buy boxes that don’t filter anything
- A wish list, not a buy box. “Motivated, lots of equity, fast timeline” describes every seller you would like. It does not tell you when to pass.
- Rules the card cannot answer. If your must-have is “no liens,” no preview will satisfy it. Move it to post-purchase diligence.
- No capacity line. The buy box allows more leads than you can call.
- Reading the grade as a promise. The grade is a vendor score of the seller’s stated answers. The scoring model is published; any link between grades and closed deals is not.
- Never revising. The first five seller conversations are the best evidence you will get about whether the rules are right.
The worksheet
Use the buy-box worksheet. It separates the fields a platform exposes from your external requirements, and it prints cleanly for handwritten notes. When you start reading cards, carry the rules over to the lead decision scorecard.
Applying the box before you pay
On a source where you read each card and choose, every “checkable on card” rule filters spending directly. On DrivenSellers, ordinary buying needs no plan: No membership is required to buy a lead; paid plans are optional. Lead prices are listed by grade (C $99, B $169, A $249 and A+ $349 per exclusive lead), so your price-per-lead rule maps straight onto the card.
Once your rules are stable, DrivenSellers also describes a saved buy-box feature: AutoMatch can alert you to matches, hold a matching lead for 15 minutes, or (plan members) auto-buy up to a monthly cap. Use alerts or holds while you are still learning; leave automatic buying until your buy box has survived a review. The DrivenSellers walkthrough shows where the card fields appear.