How Reserved are you about your Reserve ?

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Posted By: Brian H (misunderestimated)

I'm sure this has happened to others. When I auction something on Ebay with a Reserve I inevitably am asked what my Reserve is.
I usually tell (somewhat reluctantly).... What does everyone else do ? And what is the "right" thing to do ?

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Posted By: barrysloate

I usually tell people if they ask, I don't think it's a big secret. If a bidder knows the reserve, he can decide whether or not he wants to pursue it further. Of course it's fine to keep it a secret, too. I really think it's no big deal either way.

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Posted By: ted

As the proprietor of an auction house, i must say that although the concept of a reserve is good, we try and steer most of our clients into using our no reserve format. They generate a far better return on investment. As a direct response to your question, if someone does inquire as to the reserve on an item, we do not disclose the amount. It generally reduces interest in the item and furthermore, it is unfair to disclose it to one person and not others. If you are in the habit of disclosing your reserves, i would suggest that you put the opening bid at the reserve and leave it at that. It will dramatically reduce interest, but it is the best way of doing it.

Hope this helps,
Ted

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Posted By: barrysloate

Auction houses and ebay are different in one important way. An auction house either does not allow a reserve or as you say has a confidential reserve which can't be shared with bidders. On ebay, it is plainly posted if a card has a reserve, and is legal within the ebay system. Also, when you say it is not fair for one person to know and not the other, that is just based on not asking. If ten people ask, all ten get the same truthful answer. And even if someone knows the reserve, it has little or no effect on the final price. If they ask and determine it is too high, they need not waste their time following the lot and can move onto something else. Ebay is unique in that it allows sellers to reveal a lot has a reserve. I don't know any other auction format that does that.

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Posted By: ted

We use online auction services to move our goods... not our own system, so it is with that understanding that i speak about eBay. As such, i stick by my former statements.

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Posted By: barrysloate

I don't think there are any right or wrong rules as long as one is ethical. I fully understand not disclosing reserves; ebay however does have a unique set-up in that regard. The first thing you see at the top of a listing is whether or not a reserve has been reached. Unusual system for sure.

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Posted By: Julie

and the 9 auctions he handled for my sure did better than the first two where I DID have a reserve. The reserve, to my way of thinking, tends to make people more cautious about bidding. At ALL.

The only cards I actually lost money on (against my original purchase price) were most of my Moe Berg cards. Everything else--well; I'd had most of them for 15, 20 years--500% profit or more. Even those I'd only had 7-10 years...

N o reserve...

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Posted By: David Vargha

Julie's right that no reserve auctions usually do better (although not always). As a bit-player on eBay, I have no problem divulging my reserve if I have one.

DavidVargha@hotmail.com

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Posted By: Dave Yoken

I've been doing quite a few eBay auctions for months now, and one thing I've noticed when I put a reserve on my auctions is that little to no bidders will tag the auction to their "watch items" list, even if they've bid on the item. Generally, auctions with no reserve get more watchers, more interest, and more bids. If you are concerned about not reaching a floor price, just start the auction at or just below that price. Putting a reserve on an auction, for the most part, kills a lot of potential interest in the auction.

Just my two cents, for what it's worth...

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Posted By: Glenn

I seem to get the best prices when I start the auctions at a penny with no reserve. It doesn't matter if the card I'm selling is worth $2 or $2K, there are always people who come along and bid a penny or 10 cents or 99 cents, which is fine by me, since apparently the number of bids an item has received (all else being equal) greatly affects what the less knowledgeable bidders are willing to pay.

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Posted By: Judge Dred

Why not just start the auction at a price the seller feels comfortable rather than start an auction with a reserve? In any case most people like to bid on auctions that begin with a low starting bid.

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Posted By: Lee Behrens

I personally am not fond of reserve auctions as a buyer or seller. I usually start my auctions where I am comfortable at the selling price. I have staarted too many auctions at .99 that fell below what I was hoping to get. i am willing to wait oout and get the price I am looking for rather than just sell it.

Lee

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Posted By: jay behrens

I'm giving up on 99 cent starts for auction. The most recent is example was a F-G t106 Phelps I listed. I originally lsited it at 99 cents to start. 5 days into the auction I didn't have a single. I moved the minimum bid up to 5.99 out of fear that I would have another t206 sell for under $5. I got a big within a few hours and it closed at almost $10. The t206 Overall I listed in similar condition and maybe better and 99 cent start ended up closing for less than $2.50.

Jay

I've just reached Upper Lower Class. I am now officially a babe magnet for poor chicks.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

I often start my auctions at a real low minimum bid and if no one places a bid after a day, I raise it to the normal price. If there are no bids after a few days, I typically pull the lot, often putting it in the consignment pile. The items I consign usually sell for more than I would get selling them myself, which explains and justifies the impatience.

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Posted By: Josh K.

who does everyone usually consign with and what is the typical arrangement?

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Posted By: warshawlaw

It used to be that you could save money on ebay using a reserve, but they fixed that glitch.

I usually don't bother bidding in an ebay auction with an undisclosed reserve. I am not an an easter egg hunt here; just tell me what you want. If the reserve is reasonable, a minimum bid at the same level will draw fire; if it is unreasonable (i.e., too high a minimum bid) it won't.

I don't particularly like being used as market research for someone trying to find out what it would go for, which is how I view someone using an undisclosed very high reserve, so I generally skip the bidding process or drop out quickly after a few iterations.

I also find that a lot of people with reserves then send me 2nd chance offers, which I routinely delete unread because of the great many spoofs out there.

Overall, I have always done better selling with the price either set or with a disclosed reserve.

I could see using a reserve to preserve a BIN from a lowball bidder, but I would always disclose the reserve figure. Ebay should fix the function so that you can set a BIN perpetually on the auction until the bid tops it.