posted on September 14, 2000 09:23:50 AM
May I ask a question? When you set your start low and you use a reserve, do your auctions usually end WELL ABOVE the reserve or does the bidding STOP once reserve is met?
If your items always go well above reserve, you probably don't EVEN need a reserve. If the bidding STOPS once reserve is hit, what has really been gained EXCEPT to run off potential bidders? A start price equal to the reserve would have been sufficient to get the sell right?
I am also very surprised that in your specialty you have to be concerned about getting your items looked at! I really thought sellers of high end collectibles were immuned to the guy looking for a $500 item for $1.00!!!!! Or that you might have trouble attracting bidders. I learn something every day.
posted on September 14, 2000 09:25:52 AM
I have only had one reserve auction and I told people to email me if they wanted to know the reserve. If I remember correctly, no one who emailed me bid. In general, most who email me about an auction bid anyway..
I feel that disclosing a reserve is not necessary if the amount is reasonable. I would say that there's a modest or low reserve on the item and let it go. People either know the value of something or they don't.
posted on September 14, 2000 09:36:37 AM
Whats the difference in disclosing your reserve in email vs in the description? You said you place the reserve price there for: 1. to get people to look. And 2. to protect your investment price.. So, once they have opened the door, why not tell them the price your asking? You have accomplished getting them to look by that point. You say you'll tell them the reserve if they ask. So, why make them email you for it, when you could display it in the auction and have them bid right away instead? *IF* they are interested enough to email you, and then bid once they know what the reserve is, then wouldn't that same person be equally interested enough to bid on it with the price already disclosed?...Maybe more so, because then you've saved them the hassle of emailing you. If your willing to disclose it anyway, you might as well save everyone some time and disclose in the auction. Bidders might feel less "played with" if they are able to find the price in the description.. IMHO of course
posted on September 14, 2000 09:52:17 AM
Sulyn1950
I start most of my reserve auctions at $9.99, and most of them end up at well over my reserve.
I have 3 reserve auctions up at the moment, all 3 are well over my reserve amount & all 3 had the reserve met within the first 48 hrs of listing them. I should add that all 3 items are fairly rare items & not something you'll see very often on eBay.
I honestly don't care what the reserve haters on AW think, I've always done rather well using this selling gimmick/formula.
posted on September 14, 2000 10:02:34 AMshartelona: "Unless it's my imagination running wild with me, it seems that items without a reserve end up selling for much higher than exact items with a reserve."
I'd say that is definitely true in some cases, and I have actually experimented with this on a number of occasions. The problem is that it doesn't work ALL the time, and unless you are a high volume seller and can absorb the losses when it doesn't work it can be a real nightmare. I have started auctions EXTREMELY low with no reserve and seen them go much higher than my reserve would have been. But I have also started them low and then watched them end below my cost, whether due to eBay outages, sniping, people "watching" the auction and forgetting to bid, the fact that the "right" bidders didn't see the item, or whatever.
sulyn1950: "May I ask a question? When you set your start low and you use a reserve, do your auctions usually end WELL ABOVE the reserve or does the bidding STOP once reserve is met? "
It's all over the map, really. I generally set my reserves high enough to cover my costs plus a few bucks [but not as high as I would actually LIKE to get for the item], and low enough so that they are likely to actually be met during the auction. Sometimes the reserve is met early on and the bidding keeps on going, and other times the reserve is met and the bidding stops all together. And, of course, sometimes the reserve just isn't met.
"I am also very surprised that in your specialty you have to be concerned about getting your items looked at! I really thought sellers of high end collectibles were immuned to the guy looking for a $500 item for $1.00!!!!! Or that you might have trouble attracting bidders. I learn something every day."
Actually, the pocket watches I sell aren't really all THAT "high end". Sure, I've sold a few wathces worth $1000 [that I paid close to that amount for in the first place], but most of my stuff sells in the $100-300 range. As for attracting bidders, there are a LOT of pocket watches for sale on eBay at any given time, and the categories are VERY cluttered.
midnightdesigns: "You said you place the reserve price there for: 1. to get people to look. And 2. to protect your investment price."
Actually, that's NOT what I said. I said that I use reserves 1. to get people to look, 2. to protect my investment, and 3. to encourage early bids which make my item more attractive to other bidders.
Regards,
Barry
---
The opinions expressed above are for comparison purposes only. Your mileage may vary....
[ edited by godzillatemple on Sep 14, 2000 10:06 AM ]
posted on September 14, 2000 10:34:28 AM
Hi Barry,
I have <<almost>> sworn off using reserves as a seller. Time & again I simply find that items will do better -- often FAR better, if started reasonably (or low) with no reserve.
This is often borne out when I try something with a reserve, it gets about half way, and duds.
So I re-list, no reserve, lower start, try to figure out maybe a slightly better title or category -- and time & again, bingo, items beats what the original reserve was, with about 3 times the number of bids placed.
I figure reserves often (not always) decrease the number of potential bidders by about half at least, I think many people just move on to the next auction.
I also am very much finding that reserves for items under $100 have more negative repurcussions for success, than not using a reserve.
Reserves are ok about that I feel, but only if you have a very special item -- if there are numerous others listed on eBay, without reserves, guess where they'll shop 1st? And I strongly feel the reserve should be set as reasonably low as possible, not shooting for the absolute maximum penny -- that way it is often reached half way through the auction, so seller is satisfied, and it clears the way for bidders to relax & continue bidding.
The most negative thing I often see is that if an item has a reserve which has not been met in the last day / last hour / last 5 minutes, then bidding will just die, as bidders must be wondering where the heck the top is!
Hope some of my observations here are useful.
I do about 120 to 250 auctions a month & now only use reserves on about 5%, and am even trying to cut back on that. My average sale overall exceeds $40 of late, with numerous items over $100. The most recent major success was a genuine rare antique item, was definitely worth hundreds, but as quite unique I simply started at 24.99 & let it run. Ended up selling last week for 965.00!
posted on September 14, 2000 11:22:29 AM
I mostly buy and all my auctions carry no reserves because my overhead is low enough.
But to wear my bidder hat....which is my bigger hat...I say this:
Skip the language altogether and list the reserve price in the auction. Or start at $19.99
And don't make the reserve "retail" because then bidders think, oh great, no deal here.
What keeps me excited in bidding is thinking I have won something that 1) I want a lot and 2) I got a good deal on.
Sure, if you are selling Beaulieus to the Super 8mm crowd or fast 1.2 50mm Minolta lenses, then you can get picky because these will get ugly at times and insanely high.
Some auctions I watch or bid on seem to be blessed by a great first impression...the bidders still seem to think the 19.99 price is there and loses all sense of reality (like price comparing on the web) and bid like a maniacs. (were they my auctions!!!) Sometimes the sniping is so bloody that there are 8+ bids in the last minute.
Sometimes I am shocked that no matter how high my proxy was, the battered high bidder will pay even more!
So for me IF the item is a rare hotty, I will give the reserve the time of day.
posted on September 14, 2000 12:40:21 PM
[i]it gives me the sense that you're not negotiable on the reserve. If that's so, it runs counter to the practice of most of the sellers I've dealt with, who at least want to appear as if they're willing to come down. I hate to suggest fudging, but will remind
you again that we don't know what the actual reserve is.[/i]
Wouldn't it be a convenience to pear-o's peculiar twist if there was a reserve after an auction had ended.
Unfortunately that is not the case. Without auction, no reserve applies or can be negotiated. Only during auction can such a practice be engaged. I hope that this is couched in a simple enough grammar for pear-o. I'd hate to resort to the strange noises with which he expresses himself.
posted on September 14, 2000 12:54:54 PM
Snooklets,
Much as I just hate to argue withum your sweetness, I have to gently inform you you're blowing smoke. Regarding the unmet reserve, nothing changes in a closed auction--the screen says "reserve not yet met" in both the live and closed versions. The reserve price--which simply means the price below which the seller will not part with the item--does not evaporate when the auction closes. Naturally, you know all this and are just being tiresome about the word "reserve" tied to "auction." *Sigh.*
I'm sorry I can't fully appreciate your artistry, but I have a suggestion. Paypaldamon seems a mite overextended these days, and your particular approach to semantics would mesh perfectly with his. Go for it, krs--these opportunities pass our way but once...
pareau's post about one possible way to negotiate with a bidder on an item with an unmet reserve was quite clear. A seller still has some information after an auction closes (i.e., the reserve/minimum acceptable amount) that the bidder is not privy too, so that gives him (potentially) a negotiating advantage if he is willing and able to take it.
You're welcome to consider it a "peculiar twist" if you'd like, of course. ITs a pretty straightforward concept to the rest of us.
posted on September 14, 2000 01:15:12 PM
Such a reliance on the word 'yet' when in a closed auction 'yet' can never be. There is no auction.
If there were subsequent negotiation between a previous bidder at auction and a seller of an item that would be quite another thing.
But that other thing cannot be alluded to while auction is live as you suggested that a seller imply in the wording of his auction in your original post, for to do so would invite a charge of fee avoidance.
The ebay attempt to set percentile parameters on reserve pricing was initiated as a measure to prevent the practice of setting unreasonably high reserve prices so as to assure that the reserve would not be met and the buyer and seller might agree on a price after closure.
Yet you suggest to Barry that his wording should not preclude an assumption that he might be willing to negotiate his reserve.
posted on September 14, 2000 01:22:20 PM
I buy alot on ebay, and I think it is completely fair. I wouldn't waste your time with the question in the first place -
either I can get something at a bid I am willing to make, or I can't.
posted on September 14, 2000 03:13:56 PM
Barry, Barry....you have been grinding this topic for almost 3 years now......for God sake....stop playing both sides of the fence. You have enough data to know that it makes not a whit of diff whether you tell or how low the reserve or how high the minimum.
Just stop trying to re-invent the wheel, set the reserve, place a cheep starter and let it fly. Its not gonna matter. When they write do not tell them....let them bid or not.
Pay the friggin dollar once in a while and just be happy that you are not spending the 15 to 25% it costs to sell in a bricks and mortar auction.
All this worrying and studying the aspects will be better served doing more to find better merch.
Oh, and lets not forget that you were the guy who said that you would never post at AW, lo these many moons ago. Do you still keep the Hut @TNB or do you sub let? LOL
