Whats the point of reserve prices on ebay?

[jmoe316]

I mean, the whole point is that if the bid price does not match or exceed the reserve price, the seller doesn't have to sell it, right?

Well if that is the case, if the seller does not want to sell an item if it does not match or exceed 100 dollars, why doesn't the seller just start the auction at 100?? Or do they think they will attract more people if they start it at a penny?

I dont know, to me, if the seller wants at least 100 for the item, then start it at that price.

Thoughts?

[thesilentshadow30]

They do it that way because it doesn't cost as much as if they start the auction at $100.

[evilmregg]

The point, generally, is to get bidding started on the auction with a low price that appears attractive to the bidders. Then hopefully other bidders will come in and they'll get into a bidding war with each other until the price reaches the reserve.

[zionoverfire]

Well it is suppose to create interest in the auction, but I've notice auctions with a high reserve often do not get sold. One of the problems with a reserve is that the bidders don't know how high it is.

[markholladay]

I agree with the OP. I dont like them. I can understand a little that it would make me want to bid if it is starting out low. But when i dont know what the reserve is is makes me want to give up.

[crowbb]

Reserves annoy the hell out of me as a bidder. I tend to stay away when I see a reserve.

[judyjudyjudy]

They do it that way because it doesn't cost as much as if they start the auction at $100.
That's not true, they charge you by your reserve price if you use a reserve. So if you have a reserve price of $100, it's the same fee as if you were to start the auction at $100.

[Jeoff]

Yea reserves piss me off too. If you aren't willing to receive the ebay price for your item you shouldn't be selling it anyways!!

[postaboy]

The ebay fees is ridicoulous if you put a reserve on your auction. Just putting a reserve over $100 is an extra $2.20. I rather save that and buy a burger w/ cheese.

[flybrione]

If the reserve is meet the reserve fees are waived. So you do not have to pay the large fee for listing it at $100, so you pay a low fee for the .01 listing price and if your reserve is met, the extra $2.20 fee is waived.

I only use reserve on auctions were I do not want to get less money than what I paid for them. Most of the time customers tend to email me and ask me what the reserve price for the auction is and I will just tell them. Hopefully if they really want it and know the reserve they will bid within the auction close to win the auction which has happened with my auctions before.

I rarely use reserve but once in a while it is useful.

[zionoverfire]

If the reserve is meet the reserve fees are waived. So you do not have to pay the large fee for listing it at $100, so you pay a low fee for the .01 listing price and if your reserve is met, the extra $2.20 fee is waived.

I only use reserve on auctions were I do not want to get less money than what I paid for them. Most of the time customers tend to email me and ask me what the reserve price for the auction is and I will just tell them. Hopefully if they really want it and know the reserve they will bid within the auction close to win the auction which has happened with my auctions before.

I rarely use reserve but once in a while it is useful.

Why don't you just sell it as a buy it now? It seems to me if you want at least a set amount for an item the buy it now option works pretty well.

[postaboy]

If the reserve is meet the reserve fees are waived. So you do not have to pay the large fee for listing it at $100, so you pay a low fee for the .01 listing price and if your reserve is met, the extra $2.20 fee is waived.

I only use reserve on auctions were I do not want to get less money than what I paid for them. Most of the time customers tend to email me and ask me what the reserve price for the auction is and I will just tell them. Hopefully if they really want it and know the reserve they will bid within the auction close to win the auction which has happened with my auctions before.

I rarely use reserve but once in a while it is useful.

Oh that explain it. thanks man! I just can't afford another $2.20 because my ebay balance fee are over $30

Why don't you just sell it as a buy it now? It seems to me if you want at least a set amount for an item the buy it now option works pretty well.

Yeah, it does! I usually put it in all my auction and half of them end up BIN. The thing I hate about it is that when someone put a bid on it, it disappear. So, there a chance it won't meet your BIN what you wanted it for.

[Skylander7]

It's nothing more than a price floor. It keeps an item from being sold below the seller's minimum acceptable price. Alot of times, items with higher reserves don't sell due to a seller overestimating an item's worth in pursuit of higher revenue.

On a side note... the next time a $4.99 Circuit City or Best Buy clearance come around, look on ebay at the price floors some of the Fat Wallet asshats set on those games. It's not rare to find a $49.99 Metal Arms or something that was likely purchased at $4.99 by the seller

[STATIC3D]

The best thing to do in the case of listing an item with a reserve is to actually post the reserve price amount within the description.

I started doing this because some reserve auctions would not get a bid. When people can see what the reserve amount is, they are more willing to bid and don't feel like they may just be wasting their time to bid and then find out the reserve is more than they would have been willing to pay anyway.