Question about auction reserves.

mercury1

The has been a lot of talk here lately about ethics and this might have already been addressed and I just missed it. If a Ebay seller has a high dollar item and a reserve, is it ethical or in bad taste to ask the seller what the reserve is set at? Thanks.

Clankeye

I see nothing unethical about it. You can ask and they can decide whether they want to tell you or not. I've asked and had it both ways. Sometimes they tell you, sometimes they don't. If they don't I find it is usually handled by just ignoring the inquiry.
One thing that is helpful is, if you do ask, do it nicely.

relayer

Not at all. It never hurts to ask and most sellers have no problem telling you since they want to sell the coin. Some even list it in the ad.

Adding a reserve is just a little cheaper than listing it with the opening price set at the reserve.

1jester

As a buyer/bidder, I hate hidden reserves. Mainly because I believe it's a bit unfair to give the seller all that marketing information for free (like who bids and when and how many times and for how much). I feel cheated a bit. I think if a buyer simply starts the auction at his minimum price, it would be more fair. However, I can understand why a seller would like all that free market info. I've never sold with a hidden reserve (but I'm not much of a seller).

Iwog

Reserves have no legitimate purpose in a true auction, and simply drive away potential buyers. Imagine going to a car dealer and being told "I'm sorry sir, but we can't tell you how much this car costs. However if you offer us enough money, we might let you buy it."

Asking a seller's reserve is entirely ethical, but I doubt I would waste that much time unless the item was really unique. As a buyer, reserves are simply another insult from arrogant dealers who have no fricking idea who they owe their living to. As a seller, I find that by not setting a reserve I get higher bids anyway.

goose3

If it's something I'm interested in, I won't hesitate to ask simply because I don't want to waste my time bidding on something if the seller has some astronomical reserve. Also, if the seller doesn't reply to me (with even a polite "no I won't tell my reserve"), I won't bid at all.