Let's pretend your house is listed for sale for $350K... and we receive an offer that a buyer's agent is calling "full price" when they send it over to us...

Scenario One: $350K with a $10K Closing Cost Credit

The home is listed at $350,000. The buyer offers $350,000 -- but also asks for a $10,000 closing cost credit.  The buyer would like you to consider this a full price offer, and technically, the offer price is $350K. But the net to the you is $340,000 after that credit. That's not a full price offer... that's a $340K offer pretending (not very well) to be a full price offer.  Asking for closing cost assistance is completely reasonable, and it's a normal part of some transactions, but let's just call the offer what it is... less than full price.

Scenario Two: $360K with a $10K Closing Cost Credit

This one is a little more interesting. The buyer offers $360,000 and asks for a $10,000 closing cost credit. The net to the you? $350,000 -- the same as the list price.  So... is that a full price offer?  In terms of what you will walk away with, it is essentially a full price offer. But there's a catch. Your home now has to appraise at $360,000, not $350,000. If the appraisal comes in at $350K (or anywhere below $360K), we have a problem to solve. So, this offer appears to be a net of a full price offer to you, but it might not end up being one after the appraisal has been completed.

So What Should We Call These?

I'd suggest we stop calling either of them "full price offers" -- and just describe them accurately.

The first is an offer below list price, structured with a higher offer price and a closing cost credit. The second is a full-price net offer with appraisal risk. Both can work out fine for you... and both might be acceptable to you... but they're not what we might immediately assume when they are called full price offers.