want to know your thoughts on revealing the reserve price when you are selling something on ebay. every time i sell something i get a lot of e-mails wanting to know what my reserve is. what do you tell them ?????

There is no real reason not to reveal it, some folks won't bid if they don't think they have a chance at winning the item.  If I get multiple requests I just respond and click the "post for all to view" tab.  It's no big secret only the minimum that you are willing to accept for the item that you are selling.

 Since you asked. Do not use "hidden reserve" auctions with Ebay. They are the most profitable for Ebay and the least profitable for you typically. I suggest you start the auction at your minimum acceptable price. If you think the item will be well received, have a real auction and start it at a buck with no hidden reserve.

It certainly makes no sense at all to pay for a hidden reserve type auction and then reveal to everybody with the reserve is IMHO. Having a hidden reserve also can serve to waste alot of time not selling yet all the while Ebay continues to make theirs. 

 

JL Sargent:

 Since you asked. Do not use "hidden reserve" auctions with Ebay. They are the most profitable for Ebay and the least profitable for you typically. I suggest you start the auction at your minimum acceptable price. If you think the item will be well received, have a real auction and start it at a buck with no hidden reserve.

It certainly makes no sense at all to pay for a hidden reserve type auction and then reveal to everybody with the reserve is IMHO. Having a hidden reserve also can serve to waste alot of time not selling yet all the while Ebay continues to make theirs. 

 

I'd agree with the above,,,,,, Except, recently, I've noticed that when someone places a starting place that's right about where the product would normally sell for, the item usually expires without a single bid.  Most people won't bid on anything without feeling like they can 'Steal' it, Unless they've beel looking for that exact item and cannot find it. 

I feel like when you place a "realistic" starting place, or "reserve", you take away a potential buyer that MAY be persuaded to get into a bidding war and bid the item higher than the minimum reserve, rather than only limiting your market to that One potential buyer.

JMHO

theplummer:

JL Sargent:

 Since you asked. Do not use "hidden reserve" auctions with Ebay. They are the most profitable for Ebay and the least profitable for you typically. I suggest you start the auction at your minimum acceptable price. If you think the item will be well received, have a real auction and start it at a buck with no hidden reserve.

It certainly makes no sense at all to pay for a hidden reserve type auction and then reveal to everybody with the reserve is IMHO. Having a hidden reserve also can serve to waste alot of time not selling yet all the while Ebay continues to make theirs. 

 

I'd agree with the above,,,,,, Except, recently, I've noticed that when someone places a starting place that's right about where the product would normally sell for, the item usually expires without a single bid.  Most people won't bid on anything without feeling like they can 'Steal' it, Unless they've beel looking for that exact item and cannot find it. 

I feel like when you place a "realistic" starting place, or "reserve", you take away a potential buyer that MAY be persuaded to get into a bidding war and bid the item higher than the minimum reserve, rather than only limiting your market to that One potential buyer.

JMHO

 

jmho, i don't give a second look to "buy it now" prices or opening bids that are a "realistic starting place".  these are not auctions, they are simply an advertisement for an item for sale.  when i go to ebay, i want to see an auction.

 

 

gnatnoop:

when i go to ebay, i want to see an auction.

I'd suggest under their current format, you are not really seeing a FAIR auction on ebay.

What they should do in my opinion is, if any bid is made within the last 5/10 minutes, automatically extend the life of the auction by another say, 10 minutes.  This would kill any/all the sniping that goes on and allow genuine bidding up to the end.

How many bonafide auctions have you been to that give the crowd 30 seconds to bid and when the time is up, it's over?  I'd contend that as long as they have one or two competing bids, they will let the auction drag on as long as it needs so that there is a single bidder left.

If Ebay did this, it would kill the sniping bids, perhaps bring higher prices for an item (since there is time for a contra-bid) and perhaps bring higher fees to ebay.

I'm sure you know all the above...  I just can't see equating Ebay to "an auction" given some of its shortcomings when compared to real auctions.

What I've taken to do on some things is put a best offer opportunity in with a higher than I might expect buy it now price.  If someone wants to hit the BIN and pay what might be a premium, that's their privilage.  If they want to discuss an offer otherwise, they can do that too.  Meanwhile, I'm not paying anywhere near as much for this listing as I am with one with a reserve price.  I don't think I'll ever use a reserve price again, just for the listing fees alone.

 

If you're going to have a reserve price, put it in the listing.  That way everyone will know.  I buy a lot on ebay and I hate reserve price auctions.

I've started selling items on ebay after being a member since 1999.   The flip side is if you are selling items on ebay. You don't want to give it away. Also I've noticed that people who are selling rare items sometimes relist items many times just so  they can get more exposure. There is nothing wrong with that just shrewd sellers. Last year I was bidding on some massive Ballantine theater amps which were basically western electrics. It looked like I was going to win for $400. At the last minute the seller pulled the auction which I thought was BS. The seller should have had either a high reserve or a BIN.

 

Yes you are right reserve should be stated.

 Hey Coytee, there have been auction sites that did exactly what you describe. They extending time on the items until bidding ended, whenever that was. Yahoo Auctions was one that did exactly that IIRC. They are kaput now so I guess that business model didn't work out so well for them. I personally could care less about it, but I have attended many industrial auctions. They never extended an auction item 5 minutes for another bid. They extend it for a few seconds and if no takers its "sold". 

Coytee:

gnatnoop:

when i go to ebay, i want to see an auction.

I'd suggest under their current format, you are not really seeing a FAIR auction on ebay.

What they should do in my opinion is, if any bid is made within the last 5/10 minutes, automatically extend the life of the auction by another say, 10 minutes.  This would kill any/all the sniping that goes on and allow genuine bidding up to the end.

How many bonafide auctions have you been to that give the crowd 30 seconds to bid and when the time is up, it's over?  I'd contend that as long as they have one or two competing bids, they will let the auction drag on as long as it needs so that there is a single bidder left.

If Ebay did this, it would kill the sniping bids, perhaps bring higher prices for an item (since there is time for a contra-bid) and perhaps bring higher fees to ebay.

I'm sure you know all the above...  I just can't see equating Ebay to "an auction" given some of its shortcomings when compared to real auctions.

What I've taken to do on some things is put a best offer opportunity in with a higher than I might expect buy it now price.  If someone wants to hit the BIN and pay what might be a premium, that's their privilage.  If they want to discuss an offer otherwise, they can do that too.  Meanwhile, I'm not paying anywhere near as much for this listing as I am with one with a reserve price.  I don't think I'll ever use a reserve price again, just for the listing fees alone.

 

I have to say, I really like this concept, as long as there are "Active Bidder's" why not let the bidding continue.  Maybe there needs to be a time to "View" the item, say 7 days.  Then have a 24 hour bidding period, and once the 24 hrs are up, the only way to extend the bidding would be to have an active bidding process within minutes of each other, until it times out.

Only downside I see to this is, what if the owner of the item is on the other side running the bid up, just to see how high a buyer is willing to go, then re-list it again, knowing that there is a buyer for at least as much as the first auction second highest bidder ran it up too before losing it.

Your concept is great, but I believe there are ways to circumvent the "Spirit" of the Auction, As I feel there are practices that are at least "unethical" at this present time being performed all the time.  Sniping may be the only way a buyer has the ability to "fight back" against a unscroupulous seller.

Just a thought.