How buyers determine your Reserve amount on Ebay

[Old-N-Feeble]

Alan, I take that a step further. I almost never auction anything. I list with fixed prices... sometimes with "Make Offer" option but those have set automatic limits. On the very rare occasion I auction something it's only because it's a very unusual item and there's no way to know how high the price might go.

[Nigel Smith]

Ebay would eliminate most of what's been discussed if an Ebay auction would end 2 or 1 minutes after the last bid. That way there would be no sniping, no automated bidding, etc. You still would have the issue of reserve price, but almost all higher end auctions have reserve pricing allowed.

We had a local site that did this. I once paid a bit much for a camera due to the 'one last bid' mentality... I'm sure the seller was happy!

[goamules]

Just so you know, perhaps because of people being busy with Christmas, my auction didn't reach the reserve. It did have a lot of bidders, and topped out about half way to my $500 reserve. With no reserve, I would have sold the lens for half the going rate. So you know, several have sold for over $500 in the past period. Mine is in similar or better condition.

So you can talk about how bad Reserves are from a buyer perspective, but when I go to sell an expensive, obscure item, I don't like being a lottery sponsor for someone to scoop up my item for less than I paid for it. If I was selling a highly known item, I use no reserve.

After Christmas, I'll relist it and try the other tactic for argument's sake: start the bid price at $499, no reserve. I'm sure either way, at the right market timing, it will sell for what it's worth.

[goamules]

I'm with Old-n-Feeble, I just bid the highest I will pay for any item, whether it has a reserve or not, I barely notice. If I happen to win or lose, it's usually a surprise, and I only check after the auction is over. Too much stress trying to watch and hope for auctions, I quit doing that a decade ago. If a Struss Pictorial comes up, for example, I'll put in my bid, if it says "reserve not met", I leave it and move on. There's no frustration, and I sure don't start upping the ante to see if I can win. The auctions with NO reserve are the ones that keep people watching, bidding, and hoping.

[StoneNYC]

Just so you know, perhaps because of people being busy with Christmas, my auction didn't reach the reserve. It did have a lot of bidders, and topped out about half way to my $500 reserve. With no reserve, I would have sold the lens for half the going rate. So you know, several have sold for over $500 in the past period. Mine is in similar or better condition.

So you can talk about how bad Reserves are from a buyer perspective, but when I go to sell an expensive, obscure item, I don't like being a lottery sponsor for someone to scoop up my item for less than I paid for it. If I was selling a highly known item, I use no reserve.

After Christmas, I'll relist it and try the other tactic for argument's sake: start the bid price at $499, no reserve. I'm sure either way, at the right market timing, it will sell for what it's worth.

If the bid didn't reach your reserve then the "going rate" is obviously less than you perceive. You mean to say the rate at which you want to receive which is obviously double the price of the going rate.

[Old-N-Feeble]

The used photo market is unpredictable. Just because something doesn't meet a reserve or sell the very first listing, it doesn't mean the item isn't worth the reserve or asking price. It only means no one who saw it had the funds or were simply looking to buy at far under the true market value. The same item may sell the next listing or the one after that and, if an auction, may sell for more than the reserve. That's a small bit of marketing 101.

[goamules]

If the bid didn't reach your reserve then the "going rate" is obviously less than you perceive. You mean to say the rate at which you want to receive which is obviously double the price of the going rate.

Bwahahaha....no, read more carefully grasshopper. Think about what I said on the season, the obscurity of rare items, and more.

Or if you want to try an experiment, take your most cherished lens, put it up for sale right now, during Christmas, with no reserve and .99 cent start, and see how you do! You may discover that the market fluctuates over the weeks, but there is an AVERAGE price on almost all items, even rare ones. You can risk selling during the slumps if you want, with no reserve. You find out at the end how your gamble fared. I didn't gamble, and didn't lose money. I'll sell it for the going rate later. I guarantee.

Dallmeyer 3Bs are selling for about $1800 right now, I'd guess (haven't checked much this year). You'll find a range of prices around there. Then, one will sell for $625, because it was a slow week, or everyone who wanted one had just bought theirs, or there was a big debate on TV and no one noticed ebay. It's hard to predict when the leading toe of the Bell Curve will hit. A reserve protects you from those slumps.

[Alan Gales]

The used photo market is unpredictable. Just because something doesn't meet a reserve or sell the very first listing, it doesn't mean the item isn't worth the reserve or asking price. It only means no one who saw it had the funds or were simply looking to buy at far under the true market value. The same item may sell the next listing or the one after that and, if an auction, may sell for more than the reserve. That's a small bit of marketing 101.

As you well know, Ebay is about who is looking when. I start most of my auctions at .99 to spur interest even on $500 items. If I'm worried about getting the price I want on an item then I list it at that price. Sometimes it doesn't sell so I'll relist it at $50 less. A lot of times it will end up selling for more than what I originally asked.

For those who think I'm crazy for listing items at .99. Yes, I've been hurt a few times but not by much. I've also made a killing doing this because people start bidding wars. If you make a sale only once in a while you might not want to do this but if you sell a lot it works quite well. Just ask Andrew Glover (Dagor 77) about his .77 sales.

[Alan Gales]

You may discover that the market fluctuates over the weeks, but there is an AVERAGE price on almost all items, even rare ones.

This statement is so true and so many people do not understand this!

[Dan Fromm]

Do you mean the Andrew Glover who complained bitterly to me about how little he was making on his sales that started at $0.77?