posted on March 18, 2001 06:28:24 PM
I read that vrane has added the "virtual reserve" to their services. This allows a seller to post an auction at a token minimum and no reserve, and then at a given point in the auction, if the "virtual reserve" price has not been met, automatically cancel all bids and close the auction. For the seller with minimum scruples this is great - they get the mimimum fee and maximum attention grab of opening a valuable item at no meaningful minimum, without the corresponding risk of a disappointing sale price.
I have noticed some sellers acting in an equivalent manner and feel that this is an ugly abuse of the system, roughly equivalent to shilling. The ability for a newbie to get cold feet and do this once or twice, or for anyone to need to cancel an offering due to unforeseen circumstances is okay and justified. But as a standard operating proceedure it degrades the site and I would like to recommend that ebaY consider rule changes to cut this practice off (asap).
I don't have any particularly good ideas for compromise rules (i.e. to stop this abuse without much effect on more justifiable cancelations). Perhaps someone could suggest some.
