I think they should do away with Reserve Price!

relicsncoins · October 11, 2006 2:48AM

I hate reserve auctions on EBAY. If that is the lowest you are willing to accept, than why not make it a buy it now for that price or just make your starting bid that. I don't see the point of playing these hidden price games.

JJ

OKbustchaser · October 11, 2006 2:52AM

Actually, I feel just the opposite. Do away with the ridiculous "start at one cent" (or 99 cents) and quit wasting everyone's time.

Russ · October 11, 2006 2:53AM

<< Do away with the ridiculous "start at one cent" (or 99 cents) and quit wasting everyone's time. >>

That makes no sense.

Russ, NCNE

relicsncoins · October 11, 2006 2:58AM

<< Actually, I feel just the opposite. Do away with the ridiculous "start at one cent" (or 99 cents) and quit wasting everyone's time. >>

I have no problem with 99 cent auctions as long as there is no reserve. At least you know where you stand. With the stupid reserve auction you have no idea what kind of a bid it will take to win the auction.

JJ

BigDaddyz · October 11, 2006 3:05AM

I totally agree with dissing the reserve price.
Its really stupid.

Here's an auction, starting bid is only $1

Ok, I bid $3

Nope, reserve not met. What good did it do to start at $1. THAT is the real waste of time. If a reserve (the least you will take) is set, that should be the starting bid. I think people just start at a ridiculously low price to get a bunch of bids to make their item look more popular.

Not to hijack, but...
I hate the way ebay auctions end too. I think the ability to snipe should be removed (I know the snipers love it). If someone is bidding on an item, the end of the auction should be extended until there are no more bidders.

I wish they would at least give you an option of having your auction continue while bidders are active.

Russ · October 11, 2006 3:06AM

<< With the stupid reserve auction you have no idea what kind of a bid it will take to win the auction. >>

Just ask the seller what the reserve amount is.

Russ, NCNE

Russ · October 11, 2006 3:07AM

<< If someone is bidding on an item, the end of the auction should be extended until there are no more bidders. >>

Bad idea.

Russ, NCNE

flaminio · October 11, 2006 3:11AM

<< Bad idea. >>

I agree. It's been tried before on several auction sites, all with resounding thuds.

Russ, do you get the impression that precious few people actually understand how eBay works?

291fifth · October 11, 2006 3:18AM

I ignore all auctions with "reserve not met."

seemyauction · October 11, 2006 3:30AM

In my opinion Reserve Not Met = Waste of Time

solid · October 11, 2006 3:33AM

What would be fun is to watch live auctions, like Heritage, end each lot at a specified, exact time.

OKbustchaser · October 11, 2006 3:57AM

<< 

<< Do away with the ridiculous "start at one cent" (or 99 cents) and quit wasting everyone's time. >>

That makes no sense.

Russ, NCNE >>

How does that "make no sense"? You are NOT going to get that 500 dollar coin for 99 cents even if you do win the auction with that bid. It WILL be "lost in the mail", "sold off-site in another venue", "it was listed in error; sorry about that.", etc. You know it, I know it, the seller knows it.

This is the real waste of time. Just start the bidding at what you are willing to accept and let it go from there.

dantheman984 · October 11, 2006 4:02AM

<< 

<< 

<< Do away with the ridiculous "start at one cent" (or 99 cents) and quit wasting everyone's time. >>

That makes no sense.

Russ, NCNE >>

How does that "make no sense"? You are NOT going to get that 500 dollar coin for 99 cents even if you do win the auction with that bid. It WILL be "lost in the mail", "sold off-site in another venue", "it was listed in error; sorry about that.", etc. You know it, I know it, the seller knows it.

This is the real waste of time. Just start the bidding at what you are willing to accept and let it go from there. >>

Hi,
I start 99% of my auctions at .01 and no reserve and I usually get more than I expected. Once in awhile it goes below what I paid for it but that`s the chance I take.
Dan

OKbustchaser · October 11, 2006 4:08AM

Yes, and if you start the auction at what you "expect" you will STILL usually get more than you expect without wasting everyone's time getting the bids to that level.

Greeniejr · October 11, 2006 4:10AM

<< 
How does that "make no sense"? You are NOT going to get that 500 dollar coin for 99 cents even if you do win the auction with that bid. It WILL be "lost in the mail", "sold off-site in another venue", "it was listed in error; sorry about that.", etc. You know it, I know it, the seller knows it.

This is the real waste of time. Just start the bidding at what you are willing to accept and let it go from there. >>

Not only that but using a reserve price auction is a way to gather information on the pricing of an item. It is possible to have an idea of what a piece is worth but there is a real possibility that it is worth less and the reserve price auction allows you to get a better idea of what it is worth. This is especially true with items such as National Bank Notes where there is often a question of true wholesale and retail values. As a final point I really don't know of auction houses that allow their items in a live sale to go unprotected. There is a lot of literature out there about bidding behavior specifically the momentum formed by many bidders. To take away the opportunity to get a fair value from an auction.

Russ · October 11, 2006 4:15AM

<< << Do away with the ridiculous "start at one cent" (or 99 cents) and quit wasting everyone's time. >>

That makes no sense.

Russ, NCNE >>

How does that "make no sense"? You are NOT going to get that 500 dollar coin for 99 cents even if you do win the auction with that bid. It WILL be "lost in the mail", "sold off-site in another venue", "it was listed in error; sorry about that.", etc. You know it, I know it, the seller knows it. >>

That makes even less sense. I can only assume you have little, if any, eBay experience so I'll clue you in: $500 coins don't sell for 99¢.

Russ, NCNE

dantheman984 · October 11, 2006 4:15AM

<< Yes, and if you start the auction at what you "expect" you will STILL usually get more than you expect without wasting everyone's time getting the bids to that level. >>

This is the first time I have ever heard of someone complaining about an auction that starts at a penny and has no reserve. I bet 9 out of 10 people prefer it this way. Doing it this way is a true auction.
Dan

Russ · October 11, 2006 4:17AM

<< Yes, and if you start the auction at what you "expect" you will STILL usually get more than you expect without wasting everyone's time getting the bids to that level. >>

Huh? An auction takes the same amount of time regardless of the opening price.

Russ, NCNE

Coxe · October 11, 2006 4:30AM

You are not looking at it from the auctioneer's perspective. They get closing fees one time. Relisting adds a lot to their margins. High starting bids have been demonstrated to not get as many takers. Doing that as a normal practice will bury eBay in losing a large number of listings over time. Unblind reserves revealed in the closing day of an auction, like Heritage does now is an interesting development that seems to have a nice merit in its balance. The after auction reserve buys adds to it as well. (BTW, people should consider those purchases when their invoice would be taxable but close nough to $1,000. Suppose your invoice was $990. With tax you owe about $1,075. Buy an after auction lot for anywhere between $10 and $85 and you save on the overall bill, have another coin in hand, and HNAI got rid of another lot making a consignor happy.)

ABC123 · October 11, 2006 4:47AM

eBay is not for Everyone----Meg Whitman

BlindedByEgo · October 11, 2006 5:01AM

<< 

<< Yes, and if you start the auction at what you "expect" you will STILL usually get more than you expect without wasting everyone's time getting the bids to that level. >>

This is the first time I have ever heard of someone complaining about an auction that starts at a penny and has no reserve. I bet 9 out of 10 people prefer it this way. Doing it this way is a true auction.
Dan >>

I agree. Certain items are better for this type of auction, and other items are best launched as BIN or reserve price auctions. To the folks that say that they pass by one kind of an auction or another, I say "good!". There are thousands more behind you looking.

In my sales career I have studied buyer behaviour for years. I have learned that not everyone thinks or acts the same; what one prospect will notice or respond to, another will ignore. Ebay has been successful in part because it offers programs that address the widest variety of responders.

In the end, I want to sell my items at a profit. On items with a narrow appeal, a BIN or reserve auction is best. For items of wide appeal, an unprotected low start price auction will work better - more participants and more momentum - and is safe.

JrGMan2004 · October 11, 2006 5:04AM

<< 

<< 

<< Do away with the ridiculous "start at one cent" (or 99 cents) and quit wasting everyone's time. >>

That makes no sense.

Russ, NCNE >>

How does that "make no sense"? You are NOT going to get that 500 dollar coin for 99 cents even if you do win the auction with that bid. It WILL be "lost in the mail", "sold off-site in another venue", "it was listed in error; sorry about that.", etc. You know it, I know it, the seller knows it.

This is the real waste of time. Just start the bidding at what you are willing to accept and let it go from there. >>

You realize it's cheaper to list an auction starting at 99 cents than it is to start it at $500, right?

Coinhog · October 11, 2006 5:13AM

<< Yes, and if you start the auction at what you "expect" you will STILL usually get more than you expect without wasting everyone's time getting the bids to that level. >>

and ebay gets considerably more in listing fees. I love the 99c auctions. cheap to list. ebay and paypal get enough of my money

ebays mottot for coin auctions is "takes money to sell money"

flaminio · October 11, 2006 5:34AM

<< You realize it's cheaper to list an auction starting at 99 cents than it is to start it at $500, right? >>

One thing I don't understand about sellers is when they start an auction for an opening bid substantially less than what the coin is worth, but above 99c. Example: coin is worth $500, seller starts the auction at $100. All they're doing is incurring extra listing fees. If you're going to start at substantially below market value, might as well go all the way and start at a penny.

Michigan · October 11, 2006 5:53AM

Reserves make sense for very high priced coins with limited appeal but for something like a 1909-S VDB
Lincoln cent PCGS in say VF condition I wouldn't worry about starting at 99 cents with no reserve.
A bread and butter collector coin like that will get a ton of bids, why not start it off at 99 cents and save
on the listing fee?

ziggy29 · October 11, 2006 5:59AM

<< Reserves make sense for very high priced coins with limited appeal but for something like a 1909-S VDB
Lincoln cent PCGS in say VF condition I wouldn't worry about starting at 99 cents with no reserve. >>

Unless it was raw.

relicsncoins · October 11, 2006 6:06AM

The biggest problem I see with reserve prices, at least in coins is that many sellers set that reserve price near retail. It becomes a retail sale instead of an auction. Why would I mess around with photos on the internet for a coin I'm going to pay retail price for when I can just go down to a coin shop or show look at a piece in hand. A big part of ebay is trying to find a decent deal, and most reserve prices take that aspect away.

JJ

morgannut2 · October 11, 2006 8:16AM

--In fact most NON-Ebay auctions are just retail sales of "stuff"

pretending to be auctions. The exception is ANR, where they set some pretty low

starting bids to encourage action on the nice coins----And they seem to get it too!

mrpotatoheadd · October 11, 2006 8:41AM

What's the difference between a non-reserve auction which already has bidders when the current high bid is $10 and the high bidder's hidden proxy is $100 and a reserve auction with an opening bid of $10 and a reserve of $100?

In either case, you need to bid higher than $100 to win the item, and there's no way to know before you bid that you have to bid that high. It seems to me, if bidding in a reserve auction is a waste of time, it's equally a waste to bid in a non-reserve auction which already has bidders.

Michigan · October 11, 2006 9:03AM

<< What's the difference between a non-reserve auction which already has bidders when the current high bid is $10 and the high bidder's hidden proxy is $100 and a reserve auction with an opening bid of $10 and a reserve of $100?

In either case, you need to bid higher than $100 to win the item, and there's no way to know before you bid that you have to bid that high. It seems to me, if bidding in a reserve auction is a waste of time, it's equally a waste to bid in a non-reserve auction which already has bidders. >>

In that case I guess it is best to forget about the auction process entirely if you don't want to play those games and just
buy from a fixed price list.

bigbadchad777 · October 11, 2006 9:15AM

reserve prices stink!
normally i will bypass reserve auctions.

lloydmincy · October 11, 2006 9:25AM

I think they should do away with buyers who think they can buy a $500 coin for a buck. Don't like the reserve??? Don't offer anything.

lathmach · October 11, 2006 9:27AM

I feel the same as Baghdad Chad777 does about them.

Ray

Greeniejr · October 11, 2006 9:51AM

<< eBay is not for Everyone----Meg Whitman >>

"Damn you Walt Whitman".... oh wait---Homer

Bochiman · October 11, 2006 10:10AM

<< I think they should do away with buyers who think they can buy a $500 coin for a buck. Don't like the reserve??? Don't offer anything. >>

I agree with you on the "don't like the reserve, don't offer anything" but, who is calling it a $500 coin? The seller? Sure he is. Might even say it is "PQ" and really is worth $1000 or more.

Maybe the REAL market value is around $300. The reserve WILL chase some serious buyers away. If you aren't willing to sell it for less than $500, then just list it at that.

I like the fixed prices (sometimes) and the BINs and I also like the $9.99/99c starts. I really dislike the hidden reserves. But, don't tell me the coin is worth $500. It is worth (to me) what I am willing to pay....and, I am not saying I am one of those that just bids $1 across 1000 auctions trying to get a rip...I don't do that.

cupronik · October 11, 2006 10:33AM

From a seller's point of view auctioning a coin on ebay only makes sense if the realized price brings
MORE (including ebay fees, time involved, etc.) than the seller could sell the coin outright. A reserve
protects the seller from incurring a possible major loss. If the reserve is significantly above market then
the coin in question will not sell.

Buyers can choose to bid to the level they desire to pay. Nobody is getting hurt with these options.

I think they should do away with Reserve Price!

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