What do you when people ask what the reserve price on an Ebay item is?

Kiko

It keeps happening. At first I thought it was not cool, but now I'm not sure. What do you guys think?

OnlyThe10s

I almost never use reserves, but when I do, I politely say in my description, "I'm sorry I will not entertain offers on this card, nor will I disclose the reserve."

WinPitcher

Ray why not disclose the reserve? It is after all the least amount that you will accept for the card.

Many sellers that use the reserve mention it in the description, many that do not will tell you in an email.

It is rare for a seller not to disclose it.


I would have no problem telling a potential buyer it.

Steve

OnlyThe10s

I've never, one time, had a seller tell me their reserve.

I wish more sellers thought like Steve.

yankeeno7

I wont even ask anymore. I hate reserve auctions. Either start it at the price you are least willing to take or no reserve at all. But that's just me. I dont begrudge anyone who uses it.

But the auction goes on my watch list and 98% of the time people dont even bother bidding on those anymore.

Ive had about a 30% success rate getting people to tell me the reserve amount. I dont get why someone wouldnt either. All it does is help me decide to keep it on my watch list or not.

VitoCo1972

I usually ask on high dollar items. I get a 50/50 response from sellers. Why wouldn't you disclose? If the item isn't going to sell unless it meets the price, why not tell people what that price is instead of wasting their time? If they think reserves entice people to bid higher to meet that reserve without knowing what it is, I think they're crazy. Never once have it bid up an item to get to the sellers reserve. I always spend what I think I should on any item regardless. I think reserves discourage people more than encouraging them.

WinPitcher

The only people that have not told me the reserve are collectors trying to get top dollar

Dealers will almost always state it or disclose it in an email.

I have yet to have a legit dealer tell me no.

Guys like Mickey disclose it in the description.


Steve

Downtown1974

<< <i>Ray why not disclose the reserve? It is after all the least amount that you will accept for the card.

Many sellers that use the reserve mention it in the description, many that do not will tell you in an email.

It is rare for a seller not to disclose it.


I would have no problem telling a potential buyer it.

Steve >>

Kiko

ok..thanks for the opinions..i haven't done a lot of selling on Ebay so just wanted to know if there is a standard of etiquette with regards to this...seems like most folks think it's acceptable practice. ...I know the members of CU are at a higher standard than the typical Ebay seller, so I take some comfort in hearing your comments that it's ok.

Ray

bradm20

I never set a reserve when selling, but if I did i would have no problem letting a buyer know the reserve, and I ask sellers what the reserve is frequently.

WinPitcher

Ray

Instead of using, and paying ebay for a reserve type auction why not just start the item
at what you need to sell it for?


Always worked for me.


Steve

julen23

is that ethel pittman asking all the questions?

j

BobaFett72

i tell them. no harm.

smtjoy

Yea I have to agree with yankeeno7, I cant stand hidden reserves, I usually stay away from these auctions. To me the seller is losing money because many folks do not bid on it like me. Take steves advice and just start the auction at that price.

The only real reason I would use one is I am only trying to find out the market value on an item I dont really want to sell. I would list with a stupid high reserve and see where the bidding ended. This would give me an idea of what the item is worth.

TNTonPMS

I don't understand why they can't say what the reserve is ,I have always wondered that ?

What is the big secret ?

Kiko

Yes. Ethel Pitman is on the loose......Thanks for the opinions everyone

clydecoolidge

I would think that a seller disclosing their reserve would actually get more bids instead of less. A buyer is gonna have his/her top dollar that they will pay. If they don't know the reserve, but still want the item, they would probably set a max bid and be done with it. If a seller reveals the reserve to a buyer, that buyer would then have something to "mull over" and potentially come over their max bid if they really wanted the item. Not knowing the reserve is somewhat bidding "blind."

Anyway, I don't use reserves, but if I did, I would usually have no problem disclosing the reserve (there may be some circumstances when I wouln't, but I can't think of any at the moment).

theorioles

Hi....Speaking primarily as a buyer (I've never had a reserve on the few items I've listed for sale)...I can tell you flat out that I don't even follow auctions that have a reserve. They really aren't true auctions in my mind. I think you'd be better off setting a higher opening bid and leaving it at that. I have never bid on a reserve auction, unless the seller reveal the reserve to me and they have whenever I have asked.

Leiascards

If I ask for the reserve on an item I am thinking about bidding on and th seller does not tell me, I do not bid. If his reserve is more than the bid I was thinking of placing why should I bother with it. I have only had 2 or 3 sellers never tell me their reserve

iamthegreatcornholio

As a buyer and seller, conceptually, I like reserves, but they don't really work. The stereotype is that the seller wants too much money for the item especially if they don't disclose it. As a seller, I'm comfortable selling fairly liquid items (i.e., mainstream, popular stuff) with a low starting bid. For stuff that isn't that liquid, I prefer just to start the auction with a minimum bid I'm happy with. I do like the relatively new idea of best offer coupled with the high starting bid.

Alfonz24

<< <i>Ray

Instead of using, and paying ebay for a reserve type auction why not just start the item
at what you need to sell it for?


Always worked for me.


Steve >>



The only reason I can think of to use a reserve is to have the auction start out at a low amount. Since some people do their EBay searches by lowest price + shipping, this would lead to more views.

CDsNuts

I agree with cornholio that in theory, reserve auctions should work. But they don't. In very rare cases, I will set a high reserve and then mention in the auction that there is a good chance I will sell to the high bidder even if the reserve isn't met. This works for me when selling a high dollar item that I don't know the value of. For instance, I just got a 1992 Fleer Team Leaders Michael Jordan PSA 10. I think it could sell for anywhere between $400-$2000 in my opinion, but if I put it up and the right people don't see it, I'm screwed. However, if I put the card up with a $1200 reserve and it only gets bid up to $200, then I know I have seriously overvalued the card and I haven't risked anything other than listing fees. And if someone wants it bad enough (as is the case with many Jordan collectors), it's theirs. Best case is two guys get into a bidding war and the card goes for way over the reserve. Putting a reserve on an item like this is really a no-lose proposition for sellers other than the fact that they will be losing bidders who hate resrve auctions. But even after losing those bidders, the seller gets a decent idea of what his card is worth.

Also, I see no reason not to disclose the auction's reserve if somebody asks, but I really don't like putting it in the auction description.

Leiascards

That is about the only time I use a reserve myself is when I am trying to get an idea of the market value of a certain item that is not common on Ebay. I may not have the intent of seeling it but if the price is right..

1989FleerBillRipkencollector

When I rarely use a reserve and am asked, I tell.
Why not?

F1ferrari

I've had good luck when asking for reserves and if I were to put a reserve on an auction, I'd gladly tell a potential buyer what it was. In fact, I lost an eBay auction a while back for a 2005 Heritage white back set by not meeting the reserve. I wrote the seller asking what it was, just to be nosy. I had bid $35, and his reserve was $40. He told me that if I wanted it for $40, he would sell it for that to me. In fact, he had a few other Heritage cards I needed, and we struck up a pretty nice deal.

cohocorp

if someone doesn't disclose the reserve, i wont bid. it should be to protect the seller financially, not a guessing game.