BIN strategy w/reserve

Well, if you bid on it, how much do you have to bid to knock out the Bin? This is a hard one. It is a bargain a the BIN..hmmm why, I wonder why is he selling it so much under?

>> hmmm why, I wonder why is he selling it so much under?

It's 3 years old. The price is fair at $23k. Any less is a deal.

To knock out the BIN, we'd have to meet the reserve... it could be the same as the BIN, but I think it's less.

Yes, he probably set the reserve around a thousand under the BIN. Well, a thousand is a thousand. If you want it that bad, maybe you should. Guess you have to make that decision. Of course, you can ask. Maybe he will tell you the reserve. If it is a motorhome or car, many times people will bid toward the auction end that have never bought much on Ebay. Kind of lures them in, I guess, so be careful.

Contact the seller and ask them if they'll disclose their BIN. Many will.

You could tell them you need to find another source to purchase it from if your max isnt high enough to meet their reserve and you'd rather move on now then wait serveral days to find out.

Also make sure you are registered with eBay to bid on items that expensive. We've had quite a few disappointed car snipers whose bids werent placed because eBay requires some extra info when you bid on items over $1500 I think.

Maybe someone else reading this knows more about that and can chime in.

Carp,

I echo the suggestions of the others -- contact the seller re: reserve. Very often, they will tell you what their reserve is. Regarding whether you should stomp the BIN by bidding the reserve, I defer to others with more experience than me on this forum.

Sara is correct on ebay requiring extra info from bidders before allowing them to bid on high ticket items. If I'm not mistaken, I believe the magic bid amount is $15000. Bids below that amount can be placed by all ebay bidders, but bids at or above $15000 will not be permitted by ebay until you give them more information (I think a valid credit card is what ebay requires).

Check back and let us know how it turns out for you!

Jabbergah

Some &^%$#@#$ used BIN last night for $22,000. I emailed the seller earlier before I went to bed and asked a bunch of questions, made it look like I was about to go for it... about 20 minutes after I sent the email, he replied with - "bummer dude, someone just bought it using BIN"

Damn... I wish I had blown the BIN to shreds. But then that may have introduced an emotional proxy fight, knowing there was in fact a legit buyer out there.

I'll have to be more aggressive if this item appears in the future.

And yes, I have done the ID-verify for over $15k auctions. Thanks to all.

jr

Bummer

I just lost one last night, but it was because the seller cancelled 14 bids and ended auction early.

Mine was big, but not as big as yours.

You people with $20K+ to spend on ebay are making me jealous.

The most I ever bid on anything was for a $140 collectible Nascar diecast car for my husband. I sniped it manually and won. But I almost had a heart attack the whole thing thinking to myself "I can't believe I'm spending th is much on a stupid little car!!" LOL

Nowadays it's a lot for me to spend $30 on an item. I'm a small time sniper.

Sorry you lost to BIN. I hope another one comes along for you.

Well, I have sold things in the thousands several times, but I normally don't spend like that either, Coralbelle! One reason is that when I am going down the road and see a car for sale, it will look perfect...until I get close...pictures are much like that . If you have ever looked at a house pictures in an ad and then gone to see the house, you'll know what I mean.

This item was a rare musical instrument - I am a professional musician. It's "simply" one of my tools.

I know many people who have purchased autos and other high-ticket items on ebay, all with positive results. Of course, we do our own DD and don't take anything at face value.

I bought my car via autotrader (through a dealer - certified vehicle) - and i'm 100% satisfied. There are deals to be had online, if you do your homework.

That's why we snipe. :-)

jr

Followup - the seller told me this morning that his reserve was $21,500 - knowing this, I would have simply done BIN.

next time...

thanks to all for your assistance.

jr

Well, now that is a whole other ball of wax! Yes, in that case, I probably would have bought it outright. But, things sometimes turn out for the best. I hope you find a nicer one for less!

I have been selling tickets to a sold out event. $90 each with BIN of $150. They seem to get bought using BIN fairly frequently (about 6 times out of 10) but once it went unsold. The other 3 times they have sold for $102.50, $113.50 and $127.50. Once the guy who bought it now didn't pay...

Never more than 1 ticket on sale at a time.

So... with a fairly good sample size, I'd say your statistical best bet is to BIN if you really want it. 60% of the time it gets bought with BIN. That being said, a simple bid of $90 would have taken that BIN option away (no reserve since i hate bidding on reserve auctions myself). And after that has happened, it has never gone over $150. If the reserve had been set at $120, would it really be worth losing over $30? Or maybe having to pay more?

You did the right thing to ask about the reserve, but in general, if you see a BIN, and you want it, go grab it if the price is fair.

:>~

to our forum, Iguana! Very interesting and good advise! Thanks for contributing!

Hindsight:

I SHOULD HAVE - tested the waters of the reserve -- bid, 18, then 19, then 20, then 21 and if the reserve was not met by 21k, then BIN and it would have been mine.

I've spoken with a handful of dealers today, and the inventory on the almost-new in mint condition market is next to zero. Unfortunately, like cars, new pianos depreciate about 30% in the 1st year. However, unlike cars, they can hold their value for many, many years after that. It makes zero sense to buy a new instrument if you can find a slightly used one in mint condition.

Yes, that is true. Too bad you don't live in my area. There are an abundance of fine ones here because we have so many very wealthy(not me)people come here, not only from the US , but Germany, etc. and they end up in estates.

"Every auction is a learning opportunity. On some you learn what works. On others you learn what DOESN'T!"

Carpe, sorry to hear that you missed out on this deal. Ironically, I can imagine your note to the seller may have been used by him to egg someone ELSE who may have contacted him earlier into doing the BIN! "Hey! I can answer all your questions and tell you my reserve, but I've got other people contacting me who are really serious about this item. Maybe you better do the BIN before it's too late!" Face it, had you gotten that reply from the seller, you probably would've pulled the trigger with the BIN option yourself.

How an auction is approached I guess is dependent on several factors: 1) How unique/rare is the item? 2) How BAD do you want it? 3) How fair is the BIN price? 4) How BAD does everyone ELSE want it?

Personally, I agree with you that the difference between the reserve & BIN ended up being not significant enough to risk losing the item and therefore I, too, would've taken the BIN option. HOWEVER, I can't see me NOT attempting to find out the reserve BEFORE taking the BIN, in which case I would've ended up in your position -- waiting for a reserve reply from the seller while someone else does the BIN!!

I echo the hope that another opportunity presents itself to you at maybe even a better price! Maybe, we ALL can learn something from this undesirable outcome for you.

Jabbergah

As usual, I am about 1 day behind of the curve.
I thought that once someone has placed a bid on a BIN/auction, it canceled out the BIN option. And that you can no longer BIN. I guess I had that wrong.

"Shop" and My Snipes

I'm not sure, but I think the Buy It Now stays avaliable till the reserve price is met.

I have seen it both ways. Guess we need to read up on it!

quote:

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Online Auction Format

When you choose the Buy It Now option on Online Auction Listings (available for single quantity only), your item has two ways to sell.

If a buyer is willing to meet your Buy It Now price before the first bid comes in, your item sells instantly and your auction ends.
OR, if a bid comes in first, the Buy It Now option disappears. Then your auction proceeds normally. (In Reserve Price Auctions, Buy It Now disappears after the first bid that meets the reserve.)

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Thank you Mrs. M. for the info. I guess we learn something all the time.

"Shop" and My Snipes