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I rarely bid on reserve items. It's like a trick. Why not just set the starting price for the minimum you'll take?

I rarely bid on reserve items. It's like a trick. Why not just set the starting price for the minimum you'll take?

I like reserves because if you start your auction low you can get a few bids. People often will hunt through items and only stop on ones with bids. (I know I do that). I want an early bid to attract viewers. I will often take a good auction down and not relist it if it does not recieve a bid after 4-5 days (I usually sell on 10 day period for the extra 10 cent cost).

I rarely bid on reserve items. It's like a trick. Why not just set the starting price for the minimum you'll take?

SIGH! I've been through this explanation before. Reverve pricing is NOT a trick. The fact of the matter is, many/most folks won't initially place a bid if you set the starting price at the minimum you will accept. Let me give you a solid example:

Several years ago I was selling lots of digital cameras on eBay. I wanted at least $400 dollars for the Sony Mavicas. The time I set the bidding at $400, guess what? NO BIDS. But when I started the bidding out at $2 or $5 dollars and set the reserve at $399, I almost always got $400 or more. Why? Because the bidding is like a ladder. Most people feel better if they slowly move up the bidding ladder by small increments rather than toss in the whole wad at a large inititial price. Is this rational? Perhaps not but that IS the way it is. And when I use this strategy, it works most of the time.

No tricks. It just makes the bidders feel more comfortable when I allow them to bid in increments.

I rarely bid on reserve items. It's like a trick. Why not just set the starting price for the minimum you'll take?

SIGH! I've been through this explanation before. Reverve pricing is NOT a trick. The fact of the matter is, many/most folks won't initially place a bid if you set the starting price at the minimum you will accept. Let me give you a solid example:

Several years ago I was selling lots of digital cameras on eBay. I wanted at least $400 dollars for the Sony Mavicas. The time I set the bidding at $400, guess what? NO BIDS. But when I started the bidding out at $2 or $5 dollars and set the reserve at $399, I almost always got $400 or more. Why? Because the bidding is like a ladder. Most people feel better if they slowly move up the bidding ladder by small increments rather than toss in the whole wad at a large inititial price. Is this rational? Perhaps not but that IS the way it is. And when I use this strategy, it works most of the time.

No tricks. It just makes the bidders feel more comfortable when I allow them to bid in increments.