Any eBay Experts out there?

[L1P1]

I bid on an item at eBay today. At first it was (if the info given is mostly truthful) a no brainer. As I stuck my toe in the water, it took me a few bids to become the highest bidder. But the reserve was not met. So after some thought, I increased my maximum bid to what I felt I would really pay. Still, the reserve is not met.

It's probably arguable whether or not it's a fair price, but the seller seems motivated. I assume he can't see my maximum bid since the actual posted bid is quite a bit lower. I'm hoping that he can and will lower his reserve. I'm pretty firm in my maximum, but if I'm close, it seems crazy that he wouldn't be able to see that.

Question: Why the secret reserve? Why waste people's time on a bid that won't be considered?

Question: Would it be a some sort of violation or bad etiquette to "Ask the seller a question" like "Dood, what's the freakin' reserve? We might be close and neither of us would ever know it."?

[racer2c]

I've purchased about a dozen things from eBay over the years. Each one was a 'buy now' item. I don't mess with the bids. Never had a problem with the 'buy now' things.

[DjDrOmusic]

I have asked people before what the reserve price is for an item and if I felt it was fair I would put it in as my bid which would automatically show that price and say that the reserve had been met. The seller can see your bid, and you should be able to hit the bid history link and see all the bids so far. Hope that helps. :)

[cart7]

Basically, a reserve price is a minimum price the seller will accept for an item. Often, a reserve will actually drive away bidding especially if a number of bids are placed and none meet reserve. It's possible the seller could contact you via Email if he's really motivated and you're close to his price and arrange a private exchange although, working outside of Ebays auction system and dealing directly with the individual leaves you at risk for fraud and removes you from any Ebay protections they provide.

[L1P1]

The seller can see your bid, and you should be able to hit the bid history link and see all the bids so far. Hope that helps. :)


I'm thinking that he can only see my current bid. Not my maximum bid. e.g. If the reserve was $15 and I see that the current bid is $10, I may decide that I'll go $13. I enter that as my maximum bid. But eBay may (in this simplified case) only will increase the displayed bid by $1. So now, it looks as though the bid is $11. If anyone bid $12, I'll automatically jump ahead at $13. But after I make my initial bid, does the seller see $11 or $13?

[L1P1]

It's possible the seller could contact you via Email if he's really motivated and you're close to his price and arrange a private exchange...

That's what I'm hoping for. According to what I've read, he's not obligated to accept the bid, but could. There's some wiggle room there. In this case, if there was interest, I could meet with him directly and inspect the goods myself and we could handle it in the time honored tradition of face-to-face haggling.

[chop456]

eBay rule #1 - Never bid until the last 60 seconds.

eBay rule #2 - See rule #1

eBay rule #3 - Never buy anything that the shipping costs more than 2x the item.

[dando]

It's @ the seller's discretion to sell for a bid below the reserve price. To avoid snafus with eBay's rules, contact them after the auction has ended. As noted in previous posts, much changes in the last 60 seconds of an auction. There are a number of sites and programs that are used to bid @ the last possible moment.

-Kevin

[MAXAR RE]

I bid quite prequently on eBay and have sold a number of things there as well, and I have no problem with Reserve Price auctions. Basically, it allows the seller to set a minimum price they will accept, and if that price isn't met, then they don't have to sell it to you. For this priveledge, though, eBay charges the seller a fee. I have sold 2 or 3 things with reserve prices, and my reserves have always been met.

Here's the full 411 from eBay:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/reserve.html

A reserve price is a tool sellers can use to stimulate bidding on their auction-style item while reserving the right not to sell below a price they have in mind.

Many sellers have found that too high a starting price discourages interest in their item, while an attractively low starting price makes them vulnerable to selling at an unsatisfactorily low price. A reserve price helps with this.

How does it work?

A reserve price is the lowest price at which you are willing to sell your item. If a bidder does not meet that price, you're not obligated to sell your item. You set your reserve price, as well as a starting price, when you list your item.

The reserve price is not disclosed to bidders, but they will be told that your auction has a reserve price and whether or not the reserve has been met.

All Reserve Price Auctions are subject to a Reserve Price Auction Fee that is refunded when you successfully complete your auction on eBay. If your item does not sell, this fee is not refunded.

[IlliniRacer]

Read everything carefully.

. . .unlike this poor sap:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=187&item=8151915701&rd=1

[Wheel-Nut]

What are you bidding on? Maybe I can help . . .

[tllips]

Read everything carefully.

. . .unlike this poor sap:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=187&item=8151915701&rd=1


:eek: :eek: :cry:
There oughtta be a law...

[RobGuru]

Read everything carefully.

. . .unlike this poor sap:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=187&item=8151915701&rd=1

Quite sure that bad feedback will be forthcoming to both parties in this one. Not gonna be pretty. :shakehead

[FRANKY]

I bid on an item at eBay today. At first it was (if the info given is mostly truthful) a no brainer. As I stuck my toe in the water, it took me a few bids to become the highest bidder. But the reserve was not met. So after some thought, I increased my maximum bid to what I felt I would really pay. Still, the reserve is not met.

It's probably arguable whether or not it's a fair price, but the seller seems motivated. I assume he can't see my maximum bid since the actual posted bid is quite a bit lower. I'm hoping that he can and will lower his reserve. I'm pretty firm in my maximum, but if I'm close, it seems crazy that he wouldn't be able to see that.

Question: Why the secret reserve? Why waste people's time on a bid that won't be considered?

Question: Would it be a some sort of violation or bad etiquette to "Ask the seller a question" like "Dood, what's the freakin' reserve? We might be close and neither of us would ever know it."?


One thing people do is keep their reserve sky high, wait to see what the bids come in, then relist the item a tad under the level with the highest bid. They basically squeeze every last penny from the sole bidder.

[Turn7]

ebay....the official stock market of the trailer park.


Where else can you buy, sell and trade coon dogs, used underware and Dale Jr #8 embossed maritial aids.

If you can't find it at Wal-Marts, ebay is the place.

[Ankf00]

so you're telling me they're an Oklahoma based corporation, in direct competition with Arkansas' Wal-Marts... gotcha

[L1P1]

Well, I guess I learned a thing or two.

First of all, I was bidding on an older Jeep Wrangler (for my son to drive).

My first mistake: Why bid at all until there are a few hours left? It makes no sense whatsoever. Why drive up the price prematurely? At least a couple of people suggested waiting until the last minute. That might've been bad advice in this case (although from past spectating, generally sound reasoning).

What I actually did was bid a day-and-a-half before the auction ended. And I bid well, because of my second mistake: I felt I knew where the reserve should be - and tried to find it.

And yet, I got the result I wanted - almost. When I joined the bidding, the price was at $2600, I was prepared to go to $3500 and the auction ended at $3050 - that being my bid. Except that the reserve was not met.

Well, not technically.

It turned out that I missed checking in by a few minutes and the auction was over. I was the high bidder, the seller had lowered their reserve to my high bid, but eBay added one dollar to the bid to make sure that I had a chance to positively confirm the bid. I missed that chance. Auction done. No winner. But I had the high bid.

Okay, no problem. I'd just send a message to the seller saying I'd buy it at that price. They sent me back a message with their phone number. I called the next morning and left a message on their machine before (unbeknownest to me at the time) embarking on the day from hell at work. No call back.

I called again the next morning and got a live voice. One that told me that there was someone already there collecting the car.

:flame:

Oh well. No money was lost and no crap was bought.

Lessons learned:

1) Don't bid up the price early. What, are you mad?

2) If you're a seller of a unique item, set the reserve at a zillion dollars. You can always lower it if you see a bid that's acceptable.

3) Pay attention at the end of the auction. It may make a difference.

4) 'Buy It Now' prices are the norm at cars.com and autotrader.com.

Arrrggh!!! :p