Reserve auctions...

stone384 · Post by **stone384** » Tue May 02, 2006 10:00 pm

...do they work. Any experiences? I am thinking of getting rid of a bunch of comics, nothing very special. I would like to sell them in 250 book (more or less) lots. I am not looking to get rich, but if I could get about $20 per lot I would be happy. I have found that when potential bidders look and see a $20 start bid plus $20-$30 shipping prices that they are very reluctant to bid. I was watching another couple of auctions where the guy had 300+ book lots, mostly commons from the 90's. Both his auctions went for $100+!!! His starting bid was .99. I am not quite ready to take the gamble on selling 250 books for .99, so I was thinking of a start bid at .99 w/ a reserve of $20.00. Thoughts?

Here is one of the auctions for comparisons
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1
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slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Wed May 03, 2006 1:52 am

That just isn't a large enough dollar amount ($20) for me as a seller to justify a reserve and as a buyer to bother with - if, as a buyer, I see your described auction starting at 99 cents but with a reserve, I prolly wouldn't bother with it. But that's just me...

If you want to get $20, then put it out there BIN for $20. Or, you could BIN for $25-28 but let people give you their "best offer." Again, that's what I would do, anyways.

-slym

ZephyrWasHOT!! · Post by **ZephyrWasHOT!!** » Fri May 05, 2006 10:14 pm

If you use a reserve...don't be a prick and play the reserve guessing game.

Other than control issues, I don't understand why so many people want to play the "I'm not revealing the reserve" game. It's stupid and pointless. This isn't Sotheby's.

Just tell folks the min you'll accept (ie, what the reserve is) and be done with it.

Shadowmatt · Post by **Shadowmatt** » Sat May 06, 2006 5:27 pm

I've only won one reserve auction, and that was for the entire Starlin run of Batman. I didn't win the auction, but I was the only bidder and didn't meet the reserve, but the seller gave me the option to buy anyway.

stone384 · Post by **stone384** » Sun May 07, 2006 12:07 am

I don't get why anyone would refuse to reveal a reserve. What's the point of hiding the price? Seems counter productive to me. I have never bid on an auction where the seller wouldn't reveal the reserve. Just discouraging....I might even put the reserve amount in the description.

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Shadowmatt · Post by **Shadowmatt** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:40 pm

stone384 wrote:I don't get why anyone would refuse to reveal a reserve. What's the point of hiding the price? Seems counter productive to me. I have never bid on an auction where the seller wouldn't reveal the reserve. Just discouraging....I might even put the reserve amount in the description.
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My thinking as well. Every time I've ever put an auction up, I'll just start it at the minimum that I want to sell it for if it's cheaper, but if it's more expensive, set it as a "buy it now".

stone384 · Post by **stone384** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:59 pm

I am reluctant to use the BIN cause I am a greedy *SQUEE*

. If I have a $20 BIN and it sells, especially if it goes quick, I am always thinking that I undervalued it and it could have gone for much more in bids. Which has happened all of once in the entire time I have been selling on ebay.

but stupidity er...hope springs eternal
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slym2none · Post by **slym2none** » Mon May 08, 2006 10:26 am

stone384 wrote:I am reluctant to use the BIN cause I am a greedy *SKREE* . If I have a $20 BIN and it sells, especially if it goes quick, I am always thinking that I undervalued it and it could have gone for much more in bids. Which has happened all of once in the entire time I have been selling on ebay. but stupidity er...hope springs eternal
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That's where eBay's "Best Offer" option comes into play. Set the BIN $10 higher and let people haggle with the Best Offer option. I've sold some cards this way, works pretty well.

-slym

hulk181man · Post by **hulk181man** » Mon May 08, 2006 10:36 am

Or just research an items sales history and use that as a gauge for the BIN.

If you set the value around or slightly below an item's going rate someone will often snag it --- I've had a lot of success with this. It also helps if you aren't appearing too greedy. By setting a price above the going rate it will turn-off some interested customers almost immediately.

gowaltrip · Post by **gowaltrip** » Mon May 08, 2006 11:41 am

I dont sell a lot, but I have sold quite a few books. I was able to sell one after another no problem, but sometimes, and I mean sometimes, I wasnt too happy with how low some of them went. So, I decided to put a Reserve auction up.I didnt get one bid and never used it again. I think it makes people mad. Its like playing games. I know it irks me when I see it. Dont want to guess, I want to win it if the price is right. Im certain some use it all the time and it works great. But alienating a great deal of your potential buyers is not a good way to go.

Start it at the lowest you would be happy with. If you get a bid, fine. It was the lowest your happy with. If you leave BIN out of the picture, you have the potential to get more, just no guarantees.

stone384 · Post by **stone384** » Mon May 08, 2006 3:21 pm

I don't have any experience with the Best Offer. I will do some research on it. As far as researching items, its kinda hard to reasearch random lots. I know I can look at generalities from similar auctions. I don't think I will do the reserve for the reasons gowaltrip stated. That about summed up how I felt, but I just thought I would check. Get a different perspective y'know?

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