Should i tell a bidder the reserve price

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Use TAB key to navigate results. Are you a seller looking to add a reserve price to your listing? Read our article on adding a reserve price to listings.

Whether you're using eBay's proxy bidding system or a sniping system when you bid on a reserve auction, you can't tell whether you're obligated to buy until the auction is over.

Even if your bid doesn't meet the reserve price at first, don't give up and bid on a competing item. Competing bidders could drive up the price, and if you have automatic bidding enabled, you could end up hitting the reserve and winning the auction.

If this happens and you've also bid on another item, you'll be on the hook to buy both of them. Because of the uncertainty described above, many bidders are reluctant to place bids on reserve auctions. As a result, it's common for reserve auctions to show a current bid well below the going rate for the item in question and for the item to receive fewer bids than a matching non-reserve item.

On one hand, that means bidders have less competition for the item, but the lower bids make it less likely that the reserve price will be met. Reserve prices are often set by sellers just "testing the waters," or those with unreasonable expectations. As a result, it's common to find that the reserve is not getting met, even as bids go higher and higher.

Chances are, the reserve price on the auction is set at an unreasonably high level, and all bidders are effectively wasting their time. Because they tend to generate fewer bids and are designed to protect a seller that isn't sure of the market value of their goods, reserve auctions are often used by new or inexperienced eBay sellers.

Their inexperience makes it more likely that they'll be slower to communicate, offer customer service, or ship the items. All these factors make reserve bids among the least desirable types of auctions, even though the current bid price could be lower than that of non-reserve auctions. For most buyers, the uncertainty of whether their high bid will be high enough to meet the reserve makes it too big of an inconvenience.

Still, bidders may find compelling reasons to enter a reserve auction. There could be a lack of competing non-reserve auctions for similar items, for example, or superior seller feedback that justifies the inconvenience and helps soothe some of the uncertainty. The drawbacks for prospective bidders on reserve price auctions are precisely what make reserve price auctions less desirable for sellers, as well.

The consequences of reserve use for sellers are not to be taken lightly. Because of the uncertainty and hassle involved in reserve bidding, reserve auctions draw fewer and thus lower bids than similar non-reserve items. The act of trying to "protect" your investment by setting a reserve price may reduce its sales value, even if the reserve is ultimately met.

It's common sense, but it bears repeating: the purpose of a reserve price is to cancel the sale of an item for which bids did, in fact, exist. This means fewer sales overall and lower average prices. Keep in mind, just because your item didn't sell, that doesn't mean eBay will let you off the hook for fees.

Setting a reserve price incurs a special fee, and if the item doesn't sell, that fee is coming out of your pocket instead of the sale price. Reserve auctions can surprise buyers, resulting in a higher non-paying rate.

I know I do. But I will not mess with a reserve auction. If you can't just tell me what you want for the item I can't be bothered. I do not want excitement. I want an item. And I don't want to have to ask how much I need to manipulate my bid up to in order to get it.

I bid once, bid my max, and never look at it again until the auction is over. And that's why a lot of potential bidders are lost. I'm not interested in playing guessing games in an auction. If a seller sets a reserve, I don't bid. Why waste my time and possibly lose out on the same item from another seller? I always advise against divulging one's reserve because it puts that figure in the subconscious mind of potential bidders and they get the idea that that is the price you want for the item rather than it being the minimum you are willing to be forced to accept.

While reserves are a perfectly legitimate form of insurance for the seller, I must agree with those that advocate simply setting the amount you're willing to take for the item reserve as the starting bid and avoid the extra fees ebay charges for reserves.

Rarely have I seen where a reserve is effective here on ebay. If a seller lists without a reserve but starts at a price you wont want to pay, you wont bid either. So what's the differance? The difference is that the reserve might have been at a price takikawa4 WAS willing to pay. Do you REALLY want "buyers" who would not bid if your minimum was shown as the start bid but can be emotionally manipulated to bid on a reserve listing again and again to find the reserve?

Studies done caused ebay. One on ebay. This myth of starting the bid low to build up "excitement" may have worked in the early days of eBay when it was a new experience, but very few people bid for "excitement" any more. Agree with this strategy totally. That builds up auction excitement so the bidding goes higher than it would have gone otherwise ". Your starting price has no direct effect on the number of bidders it "attracts".

It's the widget itself and its desirability to buyers that attracts them to your auction. Additionally, the starting price and the ultimate selling price have no direct quantifiable relationship.

And if you start low, there's a very real risk you'll sell low —and lose money. Auction "excitement" is a quaint old expression that simply doesn't occur on eBay amongst bidders who know what they want and know their prices.