posted on December 10, 2000 08:08:39 PM
Shosh ..... And I'll bet the auctioneers at those auctions started off with
"Do I hear $1, $2, $3" muhahahahaha
posted on December 10, 2000 08:23:00 PM
What'd be even rarer is seeing someone at a RL auction actually bid when the auctioneer starts out with "Do I have $400, I need $400 ..."
If there's anything bidders hate *more* than reserves, it's high openers (w/reserve or not).
For any of the doubters out there, I picked out an auction catalog from my bookshelf, and this is what I found under the "TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE":
6. Dur to the fungibility of the items sold, all lots may carry a reserve. For purposes of these Terms and Conditions of Sale, a reserve means a confidental price below which the Auctioneer will not sell an item or will re-purchase on behalf of the Consignor.
The prices realized for the lots in this particular auction ranged from $50 to $250,000.
posted on December 11, 2000 06:11:26 AM
Here we again on reserves.
Anyway R+L buyers are a completely different breed of bidder than those on ebaY.
I am very familiar with all the major auction houses in UK and the US.The people that bid on items understand reserves and the
need for such.
They also appreciate the true value of the items,either as a collector of such or as a dealer to make a profit on the items they buy.
The ebaY bidder is looking for one thing only a bargain.I find in most cases that they want to buy items at retail at 1/4 to less of the price.Sometimes things gets closer to retail but not very often.
Rarely do I come across serious collectors in the areas I have sold.Most who buy are new collectors or who buy on a whim and really no nothing about the item.
Reserves help to establish value,they have their place.
Bidders would like to see all sellers start items at 1c no reserve even on that brand new Mercedes Benz up for sale.
I think bidders need to be realistic and realise that sellers are there not to give the item away but to sell it and ideally at a profit.
More realistic to value opening bids rarely work I know that from experience.
1 dollar starting bids at no reserve on high dollar items give the sellers stomach ulcers.
But the bidders like that.
So a middle ground is a reserve that satisfies both in a way.Low starting bids with reserves get better bids than the same item at a realistic price.
I think it is stupid to put an item out or with a reserve at what you paid for it.I never heard of any business making money and staying in business doing that.
With the time and effort it takes to find and list items I am in it for the money not entertain the bidders.
This is an old argument that goes round and round bidders get used to it.This is not a perfect environment and it never will be.
I have to get used to low selling prices during ebaY I outages.Its a fact of life so I live with it.
posted on December 11, 2000 06:58:22 AM
I put a reserve on my auctions because eBay has to many down times. When I start an auction at a resonable price, bidders will always go to the same item that is started at $1.00. If eBay can guarantee it will always be up and running I would alter the way I list.
posted on December 11, 2000 12:29:42 PMThe ebaY bidder is looking for one thing only a bargain.I find in most cases that they want to buy items at retail at 1/4 to less of the price.Sometimes things gets closer to retail but not very often.
Rarely do I come across serious collectors in the areas I have sold.Most who buy are new collectors or who buy on a whim and really no nothing about the item.
Wow, my experiences have been the exact opposite. All of my high $$ items have gone to very serious collectors/bidders, who many times have paid far more than what the item normally sells for, anywhere! Maybe I'm just lucky?
Mr.P .... I too wondered what "fungibility" meant?
posted on December 11, 2000 12:45:16 PM
Mrpotatoheadd - Thanks! I had never run across that word before, and though I knew I could look in my dictionary (if it's in there), I figured that since you are so good with definitions, I'd just ask you.
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
posted on December 11, 2000 01:18:14 PM
Barbarake, perhaps the solution for you is to be sure you refine your searches as much as possible. Sometimes knowing all the *tricks* can help you zoom in on those more desirable items.
For example, pendant -penguin will weed out all the penguins. (Grins backatcha).
Pendant + 14K
Pendant + 18K
Pendant + Garnet*
and similar combinations, ensuring that you specify searches of both titles and descriptions, can help narrow the search.
posted on December 11, 2000 01:27:29 PM
Excellent, imabrit... except for the point reddeer brings up. I have had both: VERY serious Collectors, and New Collectors buy my Items. Once in a while, a new colector is overwhelmed by the idea of having placed even one bid on a high price listing. Those disappear after their first bid. Others are so taken by whatever caught their eye that they will end up buying it.
Hard to tell....
posted on December 11, 2000 04:36:38 PM
[i]Barbarake, perhaps the solution for you is to be sure you refine your searches as much as possible. Sometimes knowing all the *tricks* can help you zoom in on those more desirable items.
For example, pendant -penguin will weed out all the penguins. (Grins backatcha).
Pendant + 14K
Pendant + 18K
Pendant + Garnet*
and similar combinations, ensuring that you specify searches of both titles and descriptions, can help narrow the search.
Good luck! [/i]
Thanks - I need all the luck I can get.
I use all sorts of combinations in my searches. But - as an example - this is what I get right now (7:26 PM EST)
Pendant 14K - 2,053 listings
Pendant 18K - 212 listings
Pendant garnet - 618 listings
Pendant gold - 2,919 listings
My problem is that I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for (but I'll know it when I see it <grin>.
Now I know there must be some *nice* pendants hidden out there but - heck - they're hard to find!!!
posted on December 11, 2000 06:10:37 PM
You do know that you can do your specific searches within the jewelry sub-categories?? In other words you don't have to come up with quite so many results.
Naturally I was just making up my examples but if you have some idea as to what attributes you would like in this pendant, you could probably do some really refined searches that will at least get you closer to what you are really looking for. Let me know if I can offer suggestions.
I can see that "Dur" must mean "Due" but what is "fungibility"? Thanks.
