How buyers determine your Reserve amount on Ebay

[baro-nite]

Garrett, as far as I know eBay doesn't run live auctions. I b'lieve, can't prove it, that nowadays the smart money (buyer side) sets up a snipe bid and goes to sleep. And there goes all the "fun."

But many bidders act as though it is a live auction, which is why both selling and buying tactics aren't as simple as they would be if every bidder (and seller) understood the nature of a second-price auction.

[Tin Can]

But many bidders act as though it is a live auction, which is why both selling and buying tactics aren't as simple as they would be if every bidder (and seller) understood the nature of a second-price auction.

How does your statement relate to eBay?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/quora/201...d_highest.html

And what exactly are you saying?

[baro-nite]

How does your statement relate to eBay?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/quora/201...d_highest.html

And what exactly are you saying?

The article you linked describes bidders behaving rationally. In practice, many don't, which, e.g., is the main reason sniping makes sense. Also, many eBay bidders bid as though it were a first-price auction, and it seems likely enough that most such bidders either don't understand second-price auctions, or haven't thought through the implications.

[Dan Fromm]

The article you linked describes bidders behaving rationally. In practice, many don't, which, e.g., is the main reason sniping makes sense. Also, many eBay bidders bid as though it were a first-price auction, and it seems likely enough that most such bidders either don't understand second-price auctions, or haven't thought through the implications.

The implications of a second-price auction when bidders try to be, um, strategic can be horrendous. We've all seen items sell -- or seem to sell -- for absurd prices when two bidders assume that no one else will bid absurdly high and bid absurdly high to make sure of getting the item for a sensible bidder's maximum plus the bidding increment.

Sniping makes sense for several reasons. Since snipe bids are invisible, idiot bidders who "follow the leader" have nothing to follow. Since snipe bids are invisible, nibblers/shills who run the bid up, sometimes to the high bidders maximum, and sometimes retract their bid have nothing to run up. Since eBay doesn't see snipe bids until a few seconds before the auction ends, snipe bids can be cancelled up to the last minute.

What's wrong with snipe bids is that snipers are invisible to the seller. Insecure sellers sometimes interpret no visible bids and no interest and accept offers to sell outside the eBay auction that are lower than the snipers' maximum. In this case the seller and highest sniper loose.

[John Jarosz]

At live, in-person auctions a bidder always has the chance to be the last bidder to win the auction. Ebay doesn't do this. 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.

[goamules]

duplicate

[Old-N-Feeble]

That may or may not be the case but it doesn't matter anyway. Ebay automatically bids incrementally for buyers so even if one buyer bids US$10K and the next highest bid is US$500 the higher bidder will get the item for US$505. That has nothing to do with the reserve price. It only has to do with how much the top two bidders are willing to pay.

[Alan Gales]

Will people who are wiser than I am explain the difference between a reserve set at $x and an opening bid of $x. Either way, the item won't sell unless someone wants to pay at least $x for it. The only difference I can see is that an reserve is invisible and tells me nothing about the least the seller will accept for the item. And then, if I'm willing to pay as much as $y for it I can bid $y and then que sera sera.

I think that you're all, um. overthinking the problem of extracting as much as possible from an auction's bidders without resorting to shills. On the other side, you're all overthinking the problem of paying as little as possible for an item that's being auctioned.

If you want to think I'm wiser than you, Dan, well that's fine with me. I don't believe it but go ahead and do what you want.

It's just aggravating. You wait a week to find out that the item is usually overpriced. That's my experience. When people ask up front what they want I watch it if it's interesting or pass it up if it's more than I want to spend.

If Garrett wants to use a reserve and it works for him then great. I wish him the best. Personally, I just don't like reserve prices as a Seller or Buyer and that's just my opinion.

[Old-N-Feeble]

Reserve prices don't bother me. I always bid the last few seconds anyway. If my bid doesn't meet the reserve price then I don't win the auction.

[Alan Gales]

Reserve prices don't bother me. I always bid the last few seconds anyway. If my bid doesn't meet the reserve price then I don't win the auction.

Some people they bother and some they don't. I've just read too many complaints about them though. That's why I never set a reserve price.