ebstuff
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posted on January 19, 2002 08:13:50 AM
I never had this before. A buyer asked me to reveal me reserve in an auction. I told him it was not fair to other bidders but that the reserve and BIN price were below fair market. Did I do ritht?
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Landotters
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posted on January 19, 2002 08:20:48 AM
It's your choice either way. I for one, put the reserve in a footnote, just so they know what I want for the item, nothing lower. Sometimes they bid the reserve or more. But no, you did nothing wrong. Some buyers choose not to give the reserve out.
Good Luck,
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Libra63
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posted on January 19, 2002 08:29:17 AM
If when I am writing a description I try and remember to insert the reserve price, but sometimes I forget, but if someone writes and asks me I will tell them. This could work to the sellers advantage. i.e. If the bidding starts and never reaches the reserve the seller doesn't sell, but if the seller reveals the reserve and someone bids over that, that should bring other buyers and that might up the price.
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BananaSpider
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posted on January 19, 2002 08:32:01 AM
I think it is a mistake not to reveal your reserve price, especially if it is reasonable and attainable.
For instance, if your buyer has a max they are willing to bid and the reserve is attainable, they may consider bidding an extra few bucks in order to meet the reserve price. If a proxy bid is placed and the reserve is not met at auction close, the proxy will bid up to the reserve price and your item will sell.
I never bid on a reserve auction without knowing the reserve price. It is a complete waste of my time.
[ edited by BananaSpider on Jan 19, 2002 08:34 AM ]
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sulyn1950
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posted on January 19, 2002 11:39:17 AM
I also don't bid on auctions that don't either have the reserve in the ad or the seller won't tell me when I ask. I really like the auctions that say "email me for the reserve price if your interested". I find myself hitting that ask seller a question almost automatically!
I can see where a seller might think that by revealing their reserve, they will not get 1 penny above it or perhaps scare people off or have to deal with a "you gotta be kidding" email or having people wait until after the auction closes and if it didn't met reserve being asked to lower the price, but doesn't that happen anyway?
I also see lots of reserve auctions close with reserve never being met. I can't see that helping the seller at all.
As a buyer, I figure a seller started low to at least get the auction looked at, but because I find such a wide range of prices in the category I buy in, it's hard to figure what someone really wants. Normally, in my buying category anyway, "value" is in the eye of the beholder. If the reserve is shown in the ad or the seller is willing to reveal it, I know immediately if I can afford it or not and how much more I might be willing to pay.
As to it not being fair to the other buyers, well, they can ask too can't they?????
Just think, if you had 2 or 3 people email you for the reserve price and you told them, you might even get a little bidding war going on or a realllly good last minute snipe. 
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romantiques
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posted on January 19, 2002 02:57:14 PM
I see nothing wrong with answering that question when I'm asked. It just means I'm not selling for less than that. It's worked in my favor as a seller and a buyer. I've had buyers ask, then take it right to the reserve and end up with more than I may have otherwise with more bidders jumping in after that.
(not romantiques on ebay)
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mrfoxy76
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posted on January 19, 2002 05:16:08 PM
I always ask the reserve to see whether or not its worth bidding....if i am willing to pay say $100 and reserve is $150 forgetaboutit!!!
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buffalowoman
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posted on January 19, 2002 06:20:35 PM
I too always ask for the reserve price, if I think it is worth it and in my budget I bid, if not I go on, why waste time if you can't afford it. I agree, the reserve is best used as a tool so you don't have to sell for less than real value.
afullbarn on eBay
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barparts
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posted on January 19, 2002 06:37:05 PM
The reserve price should always be given to any person asking for it. Not doing so gives the appearance that you really don't wish to sell the item at a fair price or are trying to sell around the system and putting the buyer at risk of getting cheated or ripped off.
Personally, I don't list any auction with a reserve as I feel that all buyers should have the right to know the actual bids they are placing count. That they will actually know that the items price is and can plan accordingly.
Reserve auction and keeping the price a secret = Bad reputation
No reserve or listed reserve price = Good reputation.
JMHO
bp
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DeSquirrel
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posted on January 19, 2002 11:01:59 PM
How do you figure it's "not fair to other bidders"?
eBay uses proxy bidding, so a reserve has no effect on the bidder's win. If one bidder bids $10 and it's more than the reserve and another bids $20, he still pays only $10.50.
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ebstuff
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posted on January 20, 2002 08:14:49 AM
Thanks for the feedback from everyone.
Stage 2:
Reveal the reserve and buyer privately asks to buy it at reserve and seller end the auction? That seems wrong on all accounts. {fixed spelling]
[ edited by ebstuff on Jan 20, 2002 08:22 AM ]
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rarriffle
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posted on January 20, 2002 08:24:50 AM
Never stop the auction to sell it outright. You more often than not will get more than the buyer is offering you. if they didn't think they were getting a good bargain they wouldn't offin the first place.
I just politely say no to stopping the auction and ask them to please feel free to bid and good luck.
I agree with the others about telling the reserve price. By not divulging it when asked, it would seem to me that you were not only being rude but did not really want to sell the item.
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LAIOCHKA
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posted on January 20, 2002 05:52:25 PM
I often ask sellers what the reserve is ,
then I decide if I really want to bid
as high,
if anyone asks me I always tell them,
like someone else wrote here,
it's not unfair, the other bidders can ask too.
In one case, one of my buyers asked what the reserve was, I told her the price, she meet
the reserve on 3rd day of the auction and
when it ended 4 days later the bidding closed $160 some dollars over the reserve.
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pointy
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posted on January 20, 2002 06:25:08 PM
This question has come up many times in the past on Auction Watch. I am yet to get a reasonable answer as to why it's a waste of a bidder's time to bid in an auction where their bid does not meet the reserve. In fact, I think the opposite is true. I think it's quicker to just bid, rather than ask the seller what the reserve is and then wait for a response. Isn't it quicker to just go ahead and bid that $100(if that's what you feel the item is worth to you). You'll find out immediately if you meet the reserve, or if the seller has placed a higher reserve. By bidding you get your answer in seconds. By e-mailing the seller and asking you could wait for hours or days..
.
.
A $20 reward for a rational answer(to be judged by me, of course )
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DeSquirrel
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posted on January 21, 2002 06:05:14 AM
When there are 10 widgets of the same kind, why waste your time if the seller wants more than the going rate. Plus suppose many of said widgets close before the auction with the reserve.
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ms24ktau
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posted on January 21, 2002 11:06:06 AM
Maybe I'm being dense, but why have a reserve auction at all if you are going to reveal it? Why not just start the auction at the reserve price? I think the only reason reserve auction do work is because we humans are curious animals and might go ahead and bid to see if our offer will meet the reserve. I'm not being argumentative...I'm just wondering about the value of a "reserve".
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springmoon
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posted on January 21, 2002 11:22:05 AM
I also never reveal the reserve price -- it defies the purpose. I might as well us BIN.
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DeSquirrel
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posted on January 21, 2002 11:32:16 AM
As i said before, in a proxy bidding situation a reserve has little or no meaning. Its only function on eBay is to protect the seller from too low a price. It has no impact on the buying process
In an auction with regular bids, if someone bids 500 and you bid 1000 and the reserve is 600, you pay 1000. On eBay you pay $600.
In a reserve eBay auction the seller runs the risk of nobody meeting the reserve. If he discloses the reserve, it can only serve to increase the sale price as any prospective buyer knows the figure and must be at it or higher.
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springmoon
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posted on January 21, 2002 12:23:07 PM
Then why is the reserve price hidden?
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bidsbids
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posted on January 21, 2002 01:37:59 PM
I must be old fashioned but the instant I see the words Reserve Auction I go to the next auction.
I think they should be abolished altogether as eBay is already extrememely confusing to new bidders. I think the Reserve Auctions have cost eBay untold millions of dollars as many new users give up and say "Too damn confusing for me". The Reserve Auction aspect may be the straw that breaks many new users back.
Now attack my logic, I'm use to it by now.
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mrfoxy76
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posted on January 21, 2002 01:44:55 PM
its pretty simple yet soo many people don't seem to get it....instead of a reserve just START the auction at the minimum price you want for the item EVERYONE knows where they stand.............simple yet soo many people don't do it
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BananaSpider
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posted on January 21, 2002 02:43:11 PM
Hmmm...I really dislike a reserve.
The purpose of the reserve is to set the minimum acceptable bid to complete the sale. How does revealing the reserve price defy this purpose? It doesn't. Setting your opening bid at this price accomplishes the same exact thing.
For a seller, Buy It Now is not a real alternative to the reserve because once the first bid is placed the Buy It Now option disappears. Now you are obligated to sell regardless of bid amount, which could turn out to be well below your Buy It Now price.
The only way adding a Buy It Now price, instead of a reserve, could serve the same purpose is if you set the Buy It Now price at just above the opening bid amount. This, in essence, would have been your reserve price (minimum acceptable price), right?
You know what I dislike even more than a reserve? A reserve and a Buy It Now set at the same amount. The Buy It Now doesn't disappear until the reserve is met. What's the point? Why do it? Overkill? Why not set the opening bid at your minimun acceptable price and forget it. It is the same difference, just more straight forward.
Another thing about those reserve auctions is the proxy bid. Say the high bid is $41.00 and the buyer proxy bids their max of $50.00. They just successfully outbid $41.00 and are now the high bidder at $41.50 (reserve not yet met). Or has the reserve been met? MAYBE! The reserve might only be $44.00 and eBay will be placing that $50.00 proxy bid at the close of auction.
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rarriffle
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posted on January 21, 2002 03:03:28 PM
BananaSpider, If the bid is $41.50 and the reserve is $44.00, when the new bidder bids $50.00 the bid increases to the amount of the reserve, not just $42.50.
If the reserve is $44.00 and the first bidder bids $50.00, the auction bid automatically goes to $44.00 to cover the reserve.
The main reason NOT to start the bidding at the same price you would put a reserve at is because the beginning bid would be so high people probably wouldn't bid. Bids bring more bids, so if you start the item low then you will get more bids.
I personally do not use a reserve unless I am selling an item for someone else.
I cannot understand sellers who do not want to disclose the reserve amount. If the item is that precious that you don't want to sell it then KEEP IT!! Don't make it difficult for your bidders.
Twice I have had people refuse to tell me the reserve amount. Both times the item went unsold.
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bidsbids
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posted on January 21, 2002 03:11:53 PM
The only way adding a Buy It Now price, instead of a reserve, could serve the same purpose is if you set the Buy It Now price at just above the opening bid amount. This, in essence, would have been your reserve price (minimum acceptable price), right?
Wrong. You can set the BIN price at 30% or even 50% and still get a lot of bidders taking it. Many bidders are impatient and don't want to wait a week. Many bidders have lost out on items in the past to snipers and really hate the actual auction format and prefer the simplier fixed price system when it is available. It's worth a nickel a shot to try to capture these bidders. The BIN fee will make some sellers cease it's use or lower super high BINs and that can be viewed as positive to the sensible sellers that may stick with the BIN price.
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BananaSpider
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posted on January 21, 2002 04:09:37 PM
rarriffle
Wow! I just looked it up on eBay and you are right. Anyway, that is the way it used to work, once upon a time. I read somewhere that not long ago BUY IT NOW auctions were closing when the reserve was met, but not anymore? Everything changes, huh?
I have been away from eBay a long time and am not sure if I am so glad to be back!
bidsbids
I was responding to springmoon
I also never reveal the reserve price -- it defies the purpose. I might as well us BIN.
The purpose of the reserve is to set the minimum acceptable bid to complete the sale. How does revealing the reserve price defy this purpose? It doesn't. Setting your opening bid at this price accomplishes the same exact thing.
For a seller, Buy It Now is not a real alternative to the reserve because once the first bid is placed the Buy It Now option disappears. Now you are obligated to sell regardless of bid amount, which could turn out to be well below your Buy It Now price.
Sorry for any confusion.
BTW, I never understood the purpose of a low starting bid with a high Buy It Now since the Buy It Now disappears after the first bid. It would seem particularly counter productive to pay an extra nickle for that kind of listing.
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bidsbids
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posted on January 21, 2002 05:04:52 PM
I think a lot of sellers were just adding a very high BIN price to their regular pricing strategy as a wild and free shot at geting a sale once-in-a-while. With the addition of a nickel fee the sellers will have to be more careful setting the BIN price.
I have never used a reserve price in any of the thousands of eBay auctions that I've ran. I wish sellers would stop using them. I know that there are a lot of other eBay users other than myself that instantly ignore reserve auctions. I know that most reserve auction sellers use that option as a means of drawing bids and attention to their reserve auctions. I feel like I'm being used every time I even remotely think about bidding on a reserve auction. I feel like those sellers are carnies in a midway at a county fair.
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pointy
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posted on January 22, 2002 11:30:44 AM
Reserve prices have been around far longer than Ebay. It has and still is standard practice to have secret reserve prices since the beginning of offline auctions over 200 years ago. You may say times change, but you can not refer to sellers on Ebay who use reserves AND all the world's most respected offline auction houses as carnies. This is the way most of the world's great paintings, antiques, and other treasures have been sold.
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