Question:
I almost always use a reserve price with a low opening bid, so I have no idea what ‘game’ you are talking about. The "game," my dear top-poster (please, show respect for others and post in the traditional style), is that instead of bidders bidding against each other, they’re bidding against the seller. I’m sure you know that you’re costing yourself money every time you run a reserve auction instead of a straight one. Of course, cowardice is always costly. YABE
So if I have a rare, valuable item worth say $1000. I have to either start my bidding at a grand or risk getting nailed if only one person bids ? It’s not cowardice, just good business sense. BTW, I ’stolen’ many a item from ‘brave" sellers that listed with no reserve. I have two cars on Ebay right now with a reserve and I’ll sell them both. — Studebaker On the Net http://stude.com 58 Transtar Pickup 64 R1 GT Hawk 63 R2 GT Hawk/4 speed 63 R1 GT Hawk/4 speed/AC 63 R1 AT/AC 63 Avanti R3 clone 62 Lark 4 door 62 Daytonas HT/4 speed (sold) 56 Golden Hawk 55 President Speedster (on Ebay)
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – …when that happens, what’s the point of a reserve? Why not just start the auction at the reserve price <<< Here’s one perfectly valid scenario. Here’s one example. Take a look at the auctions for the Canon GL1. This camera almost always sells for about $1,300. If you start the auction at $1,000 nobody wants it (look at completed auctions and you see this. However, start the auction at $1 and it will always end up at ~$1,300. For some reason, people won’t bid when the starting price high even though that’s going to be end price anyway! Therefore, to me, the reserve price is simply insurance so that I can start the bidding low and make sure that I don’t get screwed by having to let the product go far below it’s fair value. In this case, why wouldn’t I let everyone know the reserve price if they ask?
You hit the nail right on the head. I’ve started cars at $500, that sold for over $15,000 by auctions end. If a bidder sees 30 or 30 bidders on a item, he also is more likely to jump in if he’s not sure of the value. Many bidders, will toss in a ‘What the hell bid’ early, than get sucked in to the bidding as the auction progresses. If I started the bidding at 15K, I’d never get a bid, if I started at $500 with no reserve, I risk taking a big loss. — Studebaker On the Net http://stude.com My Ebay items: http://stude.com/EBAY 58 Transtar Pickup 64 R1 GT Hawk 63 R2 GT Hawk/4 speed 63 R1 GT Hawk/4 speed/AC 63 R1 AT/AC 63 Avanti R3 clone 62 Lark 4 door 62 Daytonas HT/4 speed (sold) 56 Golden Hawk 55 President Speedster (on Ebay)
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – …when that happens, what’s the point of a reserve? Why not just start the auction at the reserve price <<< Here’s one perfectly valid scenario. Here’s one example. Take a look at the auctions for the Canon GL1. This camera almost always sells for about $1,300. If you start the auction at $1,000 nobody wants it (look at completed auctions and you see this. However, start the auction at $1 and it will always end up at ~$1,300. For some reason, people won’t bid when the starting price high even though that’s going to be end price anyway! Therefore, to me, the reserve price is simply insurance so that I can start the bidding low and make sure that I don’t get screwed by having to let the product go far below it’s fair value. In this case, why wouldn’t I let everyone know the reserve price if they ask? You hit the nail right on the head. I’ve started cars at $500, that sold for over $15,000 by auctions end. If a bidder sees 30 or 30 bidders on a item, he also is more likely to jump in if he’s not sure of the value. Many bidders, will toss in a ‘What the hell bid’ early, than get sucked in to the bidding as the auction progresses. If I started the bidding at 15K, I’d never get a bid, if I started at $500 with no reserve, I risk taking a big loss. If self-contradiction ever becomes an Olympic sport, you guys are sure gold medal winners. YABE
I’ll try and make it simple A.. A low starting bid, works better than a high opening bid for the price you need on a item. B. A reserve guarantees that if we do "A", and something unexpected happens, the bidder is protected. I don’t understand the confusion, reserves are a standard feature of most any auction I’ve ever attended. — Studebaker On the Net http://stude.com My Ebay items: http://stude.com/EBAY 58 Transtar Pickup 64 R1 GT Hawk 63 R2 GT Hawk/4 speed 63 R1 GT Hawk/4 speed/AC 63 R1 AT/AC 63 Avanti R3 clone 62 Lark 4 door 62 Daytonas HT/4 speed (sold) 56 Golden Hawk 55 President Speedster (on Ebay)
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – You hit the nail right on the head. I’ve started cars at $500, that sold for over $15,000 by auctions end. If a bidder sees 30 or 30 bidders on a item, he also is more likely to jump in if he’s not sure of the value. Many bidders, will toss in a ‘What the hell bid’ early, than get sucked in to the bidding as the auction progresses. If I started the bidding at 15K, I’d never get a bid, if I started at $500 with no reserve, I risk taking a big loss. If self-contradiction ever becomes an Olympic sport, you guys are sure gold medal winners. YABE
If "self-contradiction" ever comes up on a vocabulary test you happen to be taking, you’re fucked. Brian
Response:
The protection, my good man, is the market…as you have demonstrated. YABE
Except when bidders are manipulating the system with late bid retractions or eBay crashes/stalls (like THAT never happens). — Bill Shaw Email is munged with an obviously invalid domain. See http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2606.txt para. 3 if you need help figuring it out.
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The protection, my good man, is the market…as you have demonstrated. YABE Except when bidders are manipulating the system with late bid retractions or eBay crashes/stalls (like THAT never happens). If you think bidders are manipulating your auction, or there has been an eBay crash/stall that you think effects your selling price negatively, simply cancel the auction. YABE
With bid manipulation, I agree. However, eBay has a habit of crashing during peak times and if happens in the last few minutes of your auction, you don’t have the opportunity to cancel and are then stuck with a below market price per eBay’s terms of use. It’s not a big enough problem for me when I sell higher ticket items (which is infrequent) to bother with reserves, but if someone regularly sells big ticket items with low starts, I can see where this provides essentially free insurance against eBay’s foibles. For my higher dollar items with a decent bidder pool, I rarely need the snipers to hit my target price since the items are relatively distinct. With many other highly competitive products, you’re dead without them. — Bill Shaw Email is munged with an obviously invalid domain. See http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2606.txt para. 3 if you need help figuring it out.
Response:
I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Thanks Bob Tracey
99.9% of the sellers I have asked, have told. Some like to snipe in the last few seconds of the auction, to prevent others from running up the bid unnecessarily. Finding out what the reserve is for an item you DO want, is crucial if you snipe! Of course, if it is too high, the snipe will never occur <G! Cynthia
Response:
The "game," my dear top-poster (please, show respect for others and post in the traditional style), is that instead of bidders bidding against each other, they’re bidding against the seller. I’m sure you know that you’re costing yourself money every time you run a reserve auction instead of a straight one. Of course, cowardice is always costly. YABE
So you say… however, one item I sold, NOT rare, and fairly easy to find on eBay, went for $160 MORE than it has ever gone for on eBay in the past precisely because I HAD a reserve. Was the reserve that high? No, but my BIN was reasonable and the reserve made someone bid up to the BIN, in order to stomp it. Then, bidding took off still further, resulting in one banzai sale! Reserves used wisely work just fine for me and always have. Nor, in most instances, do I think that prices would have been higher without the reserves. And yes, if asked, I tell. Cynthia
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Thanks Bob Tracey This is an auction with an opening bid limit, why the hell would you tell anyone the reserve price? If they want the item, let them bid up to the reserve like everyone else. Best way to handle this is not to answer the inquiry! And the best way to handle such a seller’s attitude is to stay off eBay in the first place. If they ask, tell them the reserve. Any buyer inquiry you positively respond to can eventually lead to multiple sales. As I rightly said earlier, revealing the reserve is unethical, UNLESS you note in the description of the item that you will do so if e-mailed. Otherwise, you’re creating an unlevel playing field for the buyers. Additionally, if revealing reserves via e-mail should rightly flood every reserve seller with requests to reveal the reserve from every person remotely interested in the auction. And, when that happens, what’s the point of a reserve? Why not just start the auction at the reserve price?
Revealing the reserve = an unlevel playing field for the buyers? I’ve not heard so much hogwash in a long time. Just like there is in regular business, some buyers are smarter than others. That’s what’s unlevel — how smart of a buyer they are. A smart buyer will investigate the best product for the best price, for example, finding where he or she can purchase videotapes cheapest. One store sells them 2/$4.79, whereas the other store sells them 3/$7.99. The smart buyer will most likely go to the first store, because he or she is getting a better deal. In the same way, if I am a smart enough buyer, I will request the reserve. Because I am a smart buyer, I will have an advantage above Joe Q. Public. An advantage because of knowledge, not because of "an unlevel playing field for buyers." Any seller that wants smart buyers to bid on their reserve auctions will reveal the reserve when asked. Actually — any smart seller will reveal the reserve when asked. — Dan Sadro
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Thanks Bob Tracey This is an auction with an opening bid limit, why the hell would you tell anyone the reserve price? If they want the item, let them bid up to the reserve like everyone else. Best way to handle this is not to answer the inquiry!
And the best way to handle such a seller’s attitude is to stay off eBay in the first place. If they ask, tell them the reserve. Any buyer inquiry you positively respond to can eventually lead to multiple sales. — Many thanks, Don Lancaster Synergetics 3860 West First Street Box 809 Thatcher, AZ 85552 Please visit my GURU’s LAIR web site at http://www.tinaja.com
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Tell them you are sorry for playing the reserve price game, and that you won’t use it in the future. Besides, you’ll get a higher price without the reserve. But, I believe it is unethical to reveal the reserve price. I almost always use a reserve price with a low opening bid, so I have no idea what ‘game’ you are talking about. The "game," my dear top-poster (please, show respect for others and post in the traditional style), is that instead of bidders bidding against each other, they’re bidding against the seller. I’m sure you know that you’re costing yourself money every time you run a reserve auction instead of a straight one. Of course, cowardice is always costly. YABE
… but not nearly as costly as stupidity, where you end up giving an item away. — Many thanks, Don Lancaster Synergetics 3860 West First Street Box 809 Thatcher, AZ 85552 Please visit my GURU’s LAIR web site at http://www.tinaja.com
Response:
…when that happens, what’s the point of a reserve? Why not just start
the auction at the reserve price <<< Here’s one perfectly valid scenario. Here’s one example. Take a look at the auctions for the Canon GL1. This camera almost always sells for about $1,300. If you start the auction at $1,000 nobody wants it (look at completed auctions and you see this. However, start the auction at $1 and it will always end up at ~$1,300. For some reason, people won’t bid when the starting price high even though that’s going to be end price anyway! Therefore, to me, the reserve price is simply insurance so that I can start the bidding low and make sure that I don’t get screwed by having to let the product go far below it’s fair value. In this case, why wouldn’t I let everyone know the reserve price if they ask?
Response:
Best way to handle this is not to answer the inquiry!
What a wonderful example of "customer no-service"
Response:
The protection, my good man, is the market…as you have demonstrated.
The key word is that the market *probably* will move the price towards my intended price point. However, most sellers aren’t going to gamble that it always will. That’s why I refer to reserves as insurance. I technically don’t plan on needing it, but it’s nice to have it just in case. Therefore, I personally have no problem letting others know what the reserve is. Remember that this is one man’s opinion and definitely subjective. I’m simply pointing out what I believe to be a valid reason for setting a reserve in a situation where I don’t mind revealing it.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – …when that happens, what’s the point of a reserve? Why not just start the auction at the reserve price <<< Here’s one perfectly valid scenario. Here’s one example. Take a look at the auctions for the Canon GL1. This camera almost always sells for about $1,300. If you start the auction at $1,000 nobody wants it (look at completed auctions and you see this. However, start the auction at $1 and it will always end up at ~$1,300. For some reason, people won’t bid when the starting price high even though that’s going to be end price anyway! Therefore, to me, the reserve price is simply insurance so that I can start the bidding low and make sure that I don’t get screwed by having to let the product go far below its fair value. In this case, why wouldn’t I let everyone know the reserve price if they ask? Tom, I’m sure that when you re-read what you wrote, you realized it was hugely contradictory. You say that the auctions for the GL1 that if you "start the auction at $1…it will always end up at ~$1,300." Then, you turn around and claim you need protection from the product going for "far below its fair value." The protection, my good man, is the market…as you have demonstrated. YABE
Response:
I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Thanks Bob Tracey
Our policy is to reveal the reserve price on request but never to volunteer it. — Many thanks, Don Lancaster Synergetics 3860 West First Street Box 809 Thatcher, AZ 85552 Please visit my GURU’s LAIR web site at http://www.tinaja.com
Response:
I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer.
Bob, Before I bid on reserve auctions, I ask for the reserve price. REASONS 1) To find out if I am willing to bid enough to meet the reserve. 2) Because it tells me a bit about the seller, and how he/she acts. If I get a "the reserve is private and not 4 u to know thats why i set a resurve in the first place" type of response, I avoid it like the plague. If I get a "The reserve is set at $X." response, I bid. I, as a customer, prefer people who hide nothing about their auction, and feel more comfortable bidding on auctions from honest sellers. (makes sense, no?) 3) To find out if the seller knows enough about the item. If I see an item worth $100 with a reserve at $10, the words "INSTANT BARGAIN" flash on the screen, however the words "CLUELESS SELLER" also flash. I don’t like clueless sellers because they know next to nothing about the item, and even though the bargain will be tempting, it’s not worth the hassle. I hope I helped. — Dan Sadro
Response:
I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Thanks Bob Tracey
This is an auction with an opening bid limit, why the hell would you tell anyone the reserve price? If they want the item, let them bid up to the reserve like everyone else. Best way to handle this is not to answer the inquiry!
Response:
I almost always use a reserve price with a low opening bid, so I have no idea what ‘game’ you are talking about. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Tell them you are sorry for playing the reserve price game, and that you won’t use it in the future. Besides, you’ll get a higher price without the reserve. But, I believe it is unethical to reveal the reserve price. YABE
– Studebaker On the Net http://stude.com 58 Transtar Pickup 64 R1 GT Hawk 63 R2 GT Hawk/4 speed 63 R1 GT Hawk/4 speed/AC 63 R1 AT/AC 63 Avanti R3 clone 62 Lark 4 door 62 Daytonas HT/4 speed (sold) 56 Golden Hawk 55 President Speedster (on Ebay)
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Tell them you are sorry for playing the reserve price game, and that you won’t use it in the future. Besides, you’ll get a higher price without the reserve. But, I believe it is unethical to reveal the reserve price. I almost always use a reserve price with a low opening bid, so I have no idea what ‘game’ you are talking about. The "game," my dear top-poster (please, show respect for others and post in the traditional style), is that instead of bidders bidding against each other, they’re bidding against the seller. I’m sure you know that you’re costing yourself money every time you run a reserve auction instead of a straight one. Of course, cowardice is always costly. YABE
I can see your reasoning for thinking this, but there are other reasons for putting in a reserve. As you have to have a reserve to put in a buy it now price I tend to put in a nominal reserve at an amount lower than the item should sell for so that the BIN price will be available for a while. — Best Regards Niel Humphreys Snowdon Computers
Response:
I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Thanks Bob Tracey
Because they don’t want to mess around placing bids on an item. Most sellers will reveal their reserve price, when asked. Kris
Response:
I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer.
About half the time, a buyer asking what the reserve is on an item is asking because they genuinely want to bid but want to know in advance if it’s out of their price range. You could check the buyer’s bidding history and see if they bid on similar items with similar price ranges to give you some idea of their seriousness. If it were me, I’d tell them, but then I dislike reserve auctions anyway. http://members.aol.com/kimmurphy/ Kimberly’s Barbie Collection: http://members.aol.com/kimmurphy/barbies.html
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Thanks Bob Tracey Because they don’t want to mess around placing bids on an item. Most sellers will reveal their reserve price, when asked. Kris
I’m so glad you said that, Kris. The one time I asked a seller to divulge the reserve, he hemmed and hawed. I wrote and told him that I was the only bidder and had placed a half dozen bids that did not meet the reserve. I said that I had one more bid left in my bidding hand and to reconsider. He gave me the amount.
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I frequently ask because I don’t feel like playing games guessing a price. In fact, I believe the eBay help adivses to ask the seller (not that your obligated to disclose). It only behooves you to let the person know.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Thanks Bob Tracey
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Thanks Bob Tracey Because they don’t want to mess around placing bids on an item. Most sellers will reveal their reserve price, when asked. Kris I’m so glad you said that, Kris. The one time I asked a seller to divulge the reserve, he hemmed and hawed. I wrote and told him that I was the only bidder and had placed a half dozen bids that did not meet the reserve. I said that I had one more bid left in my bidding hand and to reconsider. He gave me the amount.
Well at RL auctions the reserve price is always the lowe estimate price. So I think that it is wise for the seller to let a bidder wo asks just what theri reserve is. I just now bought something quite special and I put a reserve on it . I know how much I would be asking for it at a show,IF I hadn’t decided to put it on eBay. I put a reserve on it for FAR LESS than I would have priced it at. So if the reserve is met, someone still is going to get quite the bargain. : ) Paulette~
Response:
I have a buyer emailing me and asking what my reserve price is on an item I am selling. I am new to selling on ebay and am not sure what to do in this situation. Could any answers please be accompanied with an explanation to help me understand the reasoning behind the answer. Thanks Bob Tracey
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