to reserve or not to reserve?

Sets

that is the question. I have decided enough nickel and dime stuff for now, so I am going to start to list some better items on ebay auctions. The question of the day is, do reserves discourage bidding, if so, why? I am not nor have I ever shill bid or had a friend shill bid, a friends friend, and so on. Which means I can't afford to let an expensive item go for .99 or a consigor's item go for .99, or 25% of smr etc, which happens on ebay all the time? I prefer to start auctions low to encourage bidding, rather than have a high starting bid. What is the best approach? Any opinions appreciated. I know one school of thought is let the market set the price but if is not my item is that fair to the consigor?

justanoldtimer

Sell them to me cheap and let me worry about res. or not to res. lol

If the card is worth the SMR price then they will pay it and more depending on the player, Grade and eyeappeal .. Some 6's 7's and 8's are centered better then others and you will get more.. 6 years on ebay and I'll still see the same card same year same grade on the same page and one will sell for a lot more then the other.. So far Ebay is like my wife I just can't figure her out

BigRedMachine

I personally am extremely discouraged by an auction with a reserve. The best way to maximize your money in an auction would be to get as many people as possible wanting your card, after all, an auction is all about competitiveness. I think it's more worthwhile to start with a low opening bid then to worry about that 1 auction that may get overlooked. And if you list your auctions with good, quality pictures and a nice description, and list them for seven days, you'll get good action IMO. (don't do one day auctions, they get overlooked. For example, about every two or three days I search "1966 sayers psa" so if one came up in a one day auction, I could possibly miss it. Give your buyers plenty of time to find your item)

I have an ebay feedback of 500 pos, 0 negs, so I've done a little buying/selling, but others on this forum with more experience may know something I don't.

windcarver5

IMHO reserve auctions turn bidders off. If you have no competitive
bids then a bidder who really wants what you're selling cannot bid
against themselves to raise the auction level enough to make the
reserve.

A possible solution to this is to prominently display what your
reserve is so there is no question as to how far the bidding needs
to go to reach the reserve level.

The solution that works best for me is to start your auction about
50-60% of what you require for the selling item. If there is any
demand for your card, the market will take care of it, you should
realize at least a decent return on your card and you don't have to
relist until the cows come home to sell.

Sounds like I really have a clue, don't let that stop you and good
luck!!

lostdart58

Can you give us some examples of what kind of items you are talking about here? graded or ungraded?

$10 items?? $25.00 items??

bowdowntome

Reserve auctions discourage me, in fact I don't think twice about hitting the back button when I see them. Nothing is unique enough for me to waste my time playing guessing games. When I sell stuff, my minimum bid is the lowest bid I would accept, and be happy with, if it ended with only 1 bid. Alot of the items I sell have small market appeal anyway. Also, I don't bother listing things with less than a $9.99 start bid, unless it's an item I picked up for pennies and can package it in a matter of minutes.

bsfastball

I've found the most important thing is a BIG SCAN. I've sold cards for much higher when they were 1) of high quality in their grade class and 2) a large scan was there to back up any claims about quality. I sold a PSA 8 Topps mini Yount RC for $15 above SMR because a good scan supported my PSA 8+ claim.

EagleEyeKid

Reserve Auctions = no bid from me
I see those blue parenthesis and move on.
Then I curse the seller (in my mind) and hope
that he/she is stuck with the item. 75% of the time, my
mental curse works because I see the same item by the
same seller again the following week with no reserve and
then I'll set up my snipe.

jskirwin

Why run a reserve and then list what the reserve is?
Why not skip the reserve and set your minimum bid at the lowest you'll accept for the card?

MorrellMan

<< <i>Why run a reserve and then list what the reserve is?
Why not skip the reserve and set your minimum bid at the lowest you'll accept for the card? >>



Agreed 100% (no reserve) - a reserve auction is, IMHO, deceitful. I used to bid on reserve auctions and was always disappointed that the reserve wasn't met, so my high bid got nothing. I now never bid on reserve auctions. It's a sale offer disguised as an auction.

Set your opening bid at something reasonable - but know your market. If there aren't a lot of players for what you are offering, you'll lose money by starting too low. If the card has a flock of interest from lots of different bidders, it will invariable seek it's own level.

Sets

thanks for the replies so far, I appreciate it. A few people asked what type of items I am talking about. Mostly PSA/GAI 8-9's. Check my auctions in my sig for an idea. I don't like starting an auction at a high bid, that seems to discourage bidders more I think. I want item to sell but I do have to protect my consigors, and investment. Please keep the replies coming as I am sure next week I will make adjustments based on this discussion. Thanks.

lostdart58

<< <i>

<< <i>

Set your opening bid at something reasonable - but know your market. If there aren't a lot of players for what you are offering, you'll lose money by starting too low. If the card has a flock of interest from lots of different bidders, it will invariable seek it's own level. >>



DITTO....especially know your market (values). Graded vintage material will usually reach it potential especially PSA 9's Graded modern material is a turkey shoot. (hence i will not deal with it)

Good Luck !!!

Sets

bump.
auctions ended, some met reserve, some didn't. I need more opinions though is a higher opening bid better?