reserve not met....??

I just looked under My Ebay, and it said there that my high bid was $256., but high bid was $177.00.........???????

Very discouraging........

MARGRETDZN

The reserve is over $256. Your bid only brought up the price to the next ebay increment. That's how ebay handle reserve auctions.

Oh, as I find this out

I even wired the seller and asked him how much his reserve was, figured that maybe my bid was missed........but the reserve was well over $325.

The things you find out as you go along..........

So then, why would someone who always has regular multiple auctions on, only put one or two on a reserve?
(just to break my........!!!)

MARGRETDZN

I think they do it just to frustrate bidders.
I have stopped bidding on any auction that states "reserve not met". I figure that the seller hasn't got the guts to say what they want as an opening bid. Why not just set an opening bid instead of a reserve.


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An advantage for the seller is the possibility of creating a bidding war, but unlike a non-reserve auction, the item only needs 1 bidder instead of 2. In a reserve auction, one lone bidder can get into a bidding war just with the reserve price. Someone may be initially opposed to spending say $100 for something, so a BIN or a starting price of $100 won't sell. But if the item starts at a lower price, the seller has a chance that a lone nibbler over a 7 day period will finally "talk" themselves into the higher price. After all, haven't you seen that in non-reserve auctions, and isn't that what snipers try to avoid - BIDDING WARS and NIBBLERS?

You might find this good reading:
>>> CLICK HERE <<<

Rick, that was a very good comment and I also like your reference to the other thread - interesting reading - thanks

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Thanks y'all for the thorough answers, and especially the link to the page of the pros/cons of reserves...

There truly are two sides to this issue......
Funny, I used to sell on Ebay about 5 years ago,
handmade jewelry, and I had a hard time getting what I get on the street-----
but I was new to selling at auction and didn't have the experience/confidence of putting a reserve price on---I just wanted to see if it would sell..

If I do it again in the future, I will definately put a reserve price on......it's the only way, especially for "special" items....

I was wondering if another way would have been what some sellers do.......
keep the bidding as usual, but say "you can buy it now for $xxxxx?
But then they would be obligated to still let it go at auction high bid if no one wanted it at that price, I guess....

Two sides to every issue.......!!!!

Margaret

MARGRETDZN

Lexie

Sorry Book I couldnt help myself I had to fix your link

Lexie

quote:

---

I was wondering if another way would have been what some sellers do.......
keep the bidding as usual, but say "you can buy it now for $xxxxx?
But then they would be obligated to still let it go at auction high bid if no one wanted it at that price, I guess....

---

I once sold an auction with a reserve and a Buy It Now price. It was the most expensive thing I've ever sold on ebay. It sounds silly but my reasoning was that I wanted to get rid of the item but I also wanted to make sure I didn't just give it away. If someone chose not to use the Buy It Now option, there was no way I was going to let it go for the low opening bid that I used to lure buyers to look at my auction. The reserve price was a little lower than the Buy It Now price. The buyer had to decide whether to just bite the bullet and buy it or nibble away at it, only to find it wasn't much lower than the BIN. I ended up selling the item on the first day for the Buy It Now price. I got the price I wanted and the buyer was very happy at her end too. She got a bargain and I got rid of something I no longer needed.

Coralbelle, I'm glad it worked in this case. I personally don't like reserve auctions and don't use them. I just try to start my things at a reasonable price and go with the flow. I have never had a problem yet and I have sold tons of stuff from a dollar up to 8000 dollars. Buy it Now to me is not an auction. I just like a plain ol' bid as you will auction. I guess I run my auction as I would like to bid on an auction.

I don't care if there is a reserve or not. I decide my price and if it is high enough, I will both meet the reserve and win the auction. If not, then I will not win the auction--whether somehone else does, or no one does. For me, it is the same as any other auction.

Chatter, I guess it is this notion embedded in my head. I feel like they are saying I have an amount I really want and if you'll pay it or more you can buy it. An auction to me is buy at the top bid, no matter. Lol, must be an old person thing!

Mrs. M
Great, as you can tell, I agree with you 100% on this.


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