ebay reserve - what's the point?

[WarSong]

I've never understood this. What is the point of setting a reserver on an eBay auction? If you don't want to sell something for less than X, then why not just set the starting bid at X? It seems like reserves just potentially waste everyone's time. If the bidder is not willing to spend X on the item, then they are wasting their time trying to bid lower. If the seller is not willing to take less than X, then they are wasting their time and money if no one makes the reserve. Any thoughts?

 

[ed21x]

so people would overshoot with their max bid?

 

[KingNothing]

Because people see the ".01" starting price and think "Schwing!" and look at the item. Then people like me see the Reserve bit and think "Nope".

On a related note, I saw a digital chromatic tuner on Ebay go for nearly twice what it was selling for on various established websites. No reserve, just dumb people I guess.

Dumb people are your friend when it comes to EBay, as long as their stupidity doesn't extend to the hand-eye coordination it takes to pay you.

 

[dahunan]

Auction Hype...

People do NOT get excited when they see an item starting for $65... but if it starts at say $20 -- then they actually believe they may get it cheap... BUT then they keep getting outbid.. getting outbid makes them want it more than they ever wanted it before.. so they keep bidding and bidding and next thing you know it is up to $100...

More clearly

member A bids $20
member B outbids A at $23
member C outbods B at $25

Now there are three interested parties

If it starts at $65 then maybe you never even got members A, B, or C to bid. Once they invested the time to bid and track thier bids then their interest goes up and maybe they will keep bidding.


That may not be a perfect explanation, but hope it is at least understandable

 

[chowderhead]

I have thought about the reserve price.
Let say you want to sell an item at $250.
First option:
You start an item at $0.01 to $9.99, it costs 30 cents.
A reserve is $2.00 for anything over $200.
The $2.00 is refunded if someone meets the reserve i.e. $250.

If your item sells, your listing cost is 0.30 cents plus your final value fees (which is the same).
If the item does not meet the reserve, your total cost is $2.30.

Second option:
You start your auction at $250.
Your listing cost is $3.30 regardless of whether the item sells or not.

A couple of drawbacks to option number one.
1). Some people do not like reserve auctions.
- in this case you can add BIN @ $0.05 to tell people what the reserve is and to get the BIN buyers. The BIN price does not disappear unless someone meets that BIN / reserve price.
2). If your item does not sell, you have to start the item at the low starting price to have the listing fees refunded the second time if it sells the second time around. Still with the reserve, you are protected from the item selling for less then what you want.

The first option is cheaper but I think with Ebay it is hit or miss. You might get a higher ending price if you sometimes, or not.

 

[dethman]

Originally posted by: chowderhead
I have thought about the reserve price.
Let say you want to sell an item at $250.
First option:
You start an item at $0.01 to $9.99, it costs 30 cents.
A reserve is $2.00 for anything over $200.
The $2.00 is refunded if someone meets the reserve i.e. $250.

If your item sells, your listing cost is 0.30 cents plus your final value fees (which is the same).
If the item does not meet the reserve, your total cost is $2.30.

Second option:
You start your auction at $250.
Your listing cost is $3.30 regardless of whether the item sells or not.

A couple of drawbacks to option number one.
1). Some people do not like reserve auctions.
- in this case you can add BIN @ $0.05 to tell people what the reserve is and to get the BIN buyers. The BIN price does not disappear unless someone meets that BIN / reserve price.
2). If your item does not sell, you have to start the item at the low starting price to have the listing fees refunded the second time if it sells the second time around. Still with the reserve, you are protected from the item selling for less then what you want.

The first option is cheaper but I think with Ebay it is hit or miss. You might get a higher ending price if you sometimes, or not.

in case A, ebay bases your listing price on your RESERVE price, not your INITIAL price. so it would be 3.30 upfront either way.

 

[chowderhead]

in case A, ebay bases your listing price on your RESERVE price, not your INITIAL price. so it would be 3.30 upfront either way.

Ok nevermind. I did not know that. Ebay is tricky shady.