Would you post an answer on an eBay auction about the reserve price for all to see?

relayer

I have a coin listed with a 99c open, a reserve of $274 and a BIN of $319. In the text I say

The LOW reserve on this coin will please the serious bidder
And with a great Buy-It-Now price, this coin is great deal either way!

With 6 days to go, it has one bid and the bidder asked what the reserve price is (he didn't trigger it)

If I post the answer in the auction, I'm wondering if I'm dissuading a potential BIN bidder from, well, buying it now?

mozeppa

not really.... if you can live with $274 as a reserve....

i've seen it happen where the opening bid was made then the ending bid nearly doubled the bin price!....more than a few times.

Russ

No, since when I run a reserve auction I post the reserve right in the description.

Russ, NCNE

Coinhusker1

There are probably different views on this, but mine is why have a reserve if you disclose it in the auction listing? Seems like you have disclosed enough to me. However, you might want to e-mail the questioner the reserve amount, as he will likely not be interested in bidding at all if you do not.

slipgate

I seldomly will bid on coin auctions that have a reserve (or don't take payal - those two conditions seem to go hand in hand) - it seems the majority do not, the few coin auctions that I have bid on that had reserves the reserve was way higher that I wanted to spend.

19Lyds

I always ask what the reserve is. I need to know what the minimum price the coin will go for.

A question for the masses.......

If an auction starts at .99 cents and there is a reserve of $50 on the item being sold and there is only 1 bidder with a maximum bid of $60 at auction close, will that single bidder win the auction or will the coin not sell?

IrishMike

If someone asks, I tell them. I learned the hard way to do so, had a reserve of $300 and coin hit $299.00.

Edited to add I sold it yesterday for $323.00.

RBinTex

NEVER a bad idea to be MORE transparent vs. LESS.

TwoSides2aCoin

Almost everything I sell starts at face value and no reserve, or a dollar if a "dutch type" auction.

When I first started selling coins on ebay I used a Reserve Price, one time. A potential buyer wanted to know what my reserve on a 74D doubled die Kennedy in the mint packaging was. I told him. It went through the entire auction process with zero bids and with less than one minute to go, someone bought it at the reserve price. Guess who ?

The fun is taken out of auctions with "reserve" pricing and "buy it now" both engaged.

edit to add:

Now to address your specific question. No, do not give him the reserve price. If there is ONE bid now with 6 days to go and you have a coin that is obviously carrying some numismatic weight (over a hundred bucks), then let it ride, man... let it ride. Sometimes, these things wait til three minutes left then go bonkers. Just be patient ... tell him sorry, if you give the reserve price you have friends on the board here that will go snipe it and that won't be fair to him or anyone ... If he buys it, you'll get your reserve. If not, you may find it goes over retail ... .This is a buyer's market, not a seller's, remember that ! (what I mean, is: it is a fixed price and that is really not an auction). So, if a buyer wants it, he will buy it. If not, yer stuck listing a coin that you don't sell.

AU58WALKERS

I would have posted it right in the text to begin with.

Why the big secret with reserves?

larrynj

if the item with a reserve does not sell, are the fees less than if it had started with the reserve price?

ziggy29

<< <i>If an auction starts at .99 cents and there is a reserve of $50 on the item being sold and there is only 1 bidder with a maximum bid of $60 at auction close, will that single bidder win the auction or will the coin not sell? >>

My understanding is that as soon as the bidder places the $60 bid, the current high bid will show as $50 and the reserve will show as met.

Freak1c

If I have a reserve on an auction I would put it in the description and save myself all the E-Mails of having people ask me.

Freak

RBinTex

"if the item with a reserve does not sell, are the fees less than if it had started with the reserve price?"

You mean, if an item with a reserve does not sell does it cost you less than if you hadn't started with a reserve? That answer would be no. The reserve fee only gets credited if the item sells. i.e. you'd NEVER be better off (from a fee standpoint) with a reserve but might be no worse off.

Bochiman

<< <i>No, since when I run a reserve auction I post the reserve right in the description.

Russ, NCNE >>



Bingo! I do the same in the few items I sell and that have a reserve.
I also stay away from auctions that have a reserve and don't state it.

Hobbyist

<< <i>No, since when I run a reserve auction I post the reserve right in the description.

Russ, NCNE >>



That's the only kind of reserve auction I bid in.

relayer

If you want $274 as a minimum, you can either open it at $274, or put a reserve.

The advantage of a reserve is it allows people to bid on it, and it remains on their bidding page. Later, if they decide they're not as much as a cheap azz, they can bid it on it again, instead of it being forgotten at $274.

By adding a BIN price you can get a price that may seem a good deal to a particular person. And I've also had auctions close well beyond what the original BIN price was.

The disadvantage of posting the reserve is that it crumbs your BIN. Someone who sees the $319 as a good price, but also sees there is a chance to get it for $274 might take the chance of the auction ending less than the $319 and bid the $274 instead.

As a general rule, reserve auctions don't do as well on eBay.

In this case the guy who asked and I told the reserve was $274 has been outbid - and the price is now at $1.04

But now that it's on his bidding list, he may decide later he's not such a cheap azz afer all and may pony up the $274

DNADave

I always do no minimum, no reserve auctions....

relayer

<< <i>I always do no minimum, no reserve auctions.... >>

That's what your sig line link says - so you better

Bochiman

<< <i>If you want $274 as a minimum, you can either open it at $274, or put a reserve.

The advantage of a reserve is it allows people to bid on it, and it remains on their bidding page. Later, if they decide they're not as much as a cheap azz, they can bid it on it again, instead of it being forgotten at $274.

By adding a BIN price you can get a price that may seem a good deal to a particular person. And I've also had auctions close well beyond what the original BIN price was.

The disadvantage of posting the reserve is that it crumbs your BIN. Someone who sees the $319 as a good price, but also sees there is a chance to get it for $274 might take the chance of the auction ending less than the $319 and bid the $274 instead.

As a general rule, reserve auctions don't do as well on eBay. >>




Ok, even given that that is true.....by not posting your reserve, you may get people who don't even bother with your auction who may otherwise put a $274 or so bid or get competitive.

So, it is one of those things that you never know.....are you hiding the reserve but maybe getting a higher price or are you chasing off people who may bid and get into a bidding war?

I look at it in the latter way.

Keyrock

I always list the reserve price in the description. It cuts down on emails and I believe it only keeps interested parties in the hunt.

mozin

I never bid on Ebay reserve auctions unless I know the reserve.

relayer

It got up to $232 and then somebody hit the BIN for $319 with 2 days to go

-bought by an eBay reseller, so there's still more money to be made


If he had only known he could have got it for up to $45 less

AU58WALKERS

<< <i>It got up to $232 and then somebody hit the BIN for $319 with 2 days to go

-bought by an eBay reseller, so there's still more money to be made


If he had only known he could have got it for up to $45 less >>



Looks like NOT posting the reserve worked out well for you.

relayer

Even the losers get lucky sometimes