Explainer series
How buyers read a tape
NDA first. Then a working file. Bid with a unit.
Buyer pathway
Debt Buyer Pricing and Bids
How qualified debt buyers price charged-off tapes on DebtHub: percent of face vs bps, media haircuts, vintage, state mix, and bid conditions.
Updated October 25, 2026 · portfolios@debtmarket.net · 561-254-6608
DebtHub · Buyer pathway
A bid is a recovery model with a unit attached. Credit card and auto deficiency usually trade as a percent of face. Thin specialty paper often trades in bps. Name the unit. Educational ranges live on the pricing study and evaluation studio. Neither is an offer.
Do debt buyers bid in percent of face or basis points?
Credit card and auto deficiency usually trade as a percent of face. Thin specialty paper often trades in basis points. Name the unit and write conditions such as media floor, title, and funding date.
What actually moves your number
- Asset class and product (card vs auto deficiency vs medical vs BNPL).
- Charge-off vintage versus last-pay. Fresh last-pay with old charge-off is a different file than the reverse.
- Media percent and whether COS exists.
- State mix versus your license map.
- Prior placements. Paper that already worked two agencies is not virgin paper.
- Balance tiers. A $400 average is a different collect model than $4,000.
How to write the bid
One number, one unit, written conditions: media floor, title, max deceased, funding date, capacity. A “4” with a verbal media caveat is how you lose the file to a buyer who wrote it down.
Pair with portfolio valuation and what buyers pay for paper.
| Bid input | If strong | If weak |
|---|---|---|
| Last-pay recency | Tighter skip, higher percent | Haircut or pass |
| Media / COS | Fewer disputes | Assume extra ops cost |
| License coverage | You can board the mix | Carve states or walk |
| Capacity | Seller trusts the close | You get skipped next time |
Questions this page answers
Does Triton publish a take-it-or-leave-it price?
No. Buyers bid. The studio and pricing study are education, not a quote.
Percent of face or cents on the dollar?
Same idea. Say percent of face or bps so the seller is not translating slang.
Should I bid the whole tape if I cannot work one state?
Carve it, or pass. Bidding states you will not work is how files stall after the PSA.
Paired reading: Seller pricing (what paper fetches)
Paired reading: Creditor sale proceeds
Apply as a buyerOpen evaluation studio
Desk: portfolios@debtmarket.net · 561-254-6608. Institutional only. Not consumer collections.