I have listed and even sold some things on E Bay. I always have a reserve, and I always wonder why people email me asking my reserve. I never give it out. If they have the money and the interest to buy it, why not bid and find out. They won't have to pay more than they bid, sometimes not as much if there isn't a bidding war. If I bid the max I want to pay for something and it doesn't meet reserve, I move on. If I bid and it is more than reserve, that still doesn't mean the bid will get that high, just that you have a chance to buy it. What's the problem? Dean
I don't know, I never ask a seller what his reserve is. I think maybe some guys are looking to save themselves the time spent watching/bidding an item if it turns out the reserve is way more than they are willing to spend. Heck, all they need to do is place a proxy for the most they want to spend, and if that bid reaches reserve, they would know right away.
Sometimes, If about 400 bids have been put on an item and is way up past what a normal person would pay, I'll ask what the reserve is set at, but other than that, I'll never ask.
Just Wondering When a reserve is used....can someone tell me why reserve price is not mentioned in the auction? Something as simple as "reserve is set at $xxx.xx" would tell a lot of people if they could (afford to) bid on this item. Plus...seller would not receive "inquiring emails". Seems like a "win-win" situation all around. Just my opinion.
It's easy to find out what the reserve price is, just bid 2 million dollar under a fake account, and retract your bid the next second, using the excuse that you typed the wrong amount. In the confirmation e-mail, mailed to you right after your bid, you will see the reserved price.
I personally don't see the point or why they allow the starting price being lower than the reserve. If it's because you want to sell at a lower price if it dosen't get to reserve, then you as a seller should list it at that lower price. It would also allow filtering for what your looking for in a particular price range. -nate
Dean I think you answered your own question quite well in your initial posting. Save yourself a lot time -- copy/paste your own posting into a Word document and save it some place convenient on your computer. Every time you are asked about the level of your reserve, copy/paste your "stock" reply into the e-mail back to the confused eBay bidder. Craig
i always ask what the reserve is, and i've always been told. one said that they dont usually reveal the reserve, but then he went ahead and told me. i won that auction. theres been times when i decided to go a lil higher than i would have because my max would've been slightly under the reserve, and once they told me, i met the reserve. on car parts its fairly easy to know what to bid, but on high priced items like nice cars, that would be much harder to do. i sold a part a while back that had a few hours to go, and was nowhere near reserve. one bidder emailed asking my reserve, i told him, and he met it with seconds to go. he is now one of my best customers. had i refused to tell him, i doubt he would've bid. i've read many a post on the forums where people said they refuse to bid on auctions where the reserve is kept secret. i always tell my reserve when i'm asked, but not that many bidders seem to ask. some sellers do list the reserve right there in the listing, some do not. i wish those who want to keep it secret would say so in the listing, ( some do ) i dont want to waste their time, but i dont want them to waste my time either. i stopped using reserves, i think i do better to just start it at my minimum.
I don't ask, I bid what I'm willing to pay and if it doesn't lift the reserve I move on. If I really want it I'll bid a little higher but not more than I'm willing to pay. If someone asked me my reserve I'd probably tell them, never had anyone ask.
You're Right Korrie I think the reserve price should be shown, makes no sense... It has been a long time since I had one, but I started making a point of showing what the reserve was in the description, and I always answered the reserve questions. Somebody said why ask, I think I recall asking one time, and was told, so I offered $25 more to end it early. Not sure, but I think I did this once. o No: Another time I offered a seller an amount to end it early, and promptly got a nasty response back about NEVER ending an auction early. It cost him $63. I never bid because he made me mad, and then the item sold for far less than it was worth. I got a big laugh out of that one. I found there are better ways win beside sniping, which I used only as a last resort, and even then it really wasn't sniping, because I had dial-up and could only bid within the last hour, NOT seconds.... o No: Now my style is to buy it here, or go without (unless someone posts it in the ebay section). Then I like to look if I'm interested. :3gears:
I always use a "reserve" and sometimes post it in the listing. When I have not posted it, I've received emails asking. I never hestitate to let them know. It guarantees a minimum, no more no less. It can also guarantee that your item won't sell. Not a problem. I purchased a 5th wheel trailer on eBay. Had I not solicited and received the reserve price I would not have won the auction. I saved nearly 7K over the retail price. It allows for some major jumps in last minute bidding...not a bad thing.
