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Hidden Reserve

riley priley p Member Posts: 217 ✭✭
edited March 2013 in Ask the Experts
I'm sure this has been asked before..... Could some reasoned intelligent person explain why anyone would put a hidden reserve on an auction? Is it specially to piss off a potential bidder?? I mean, there's got to be some kind of thinking behind it but darned if I can figure it out. If a seller doesn't want to sell something, well hell, don't list it. I can easily understand a high opening price, and a buy it now. but what is the point of concealing the value of putting the item in play??? As often as not if an item has a hidden reserve I just pass it by and look for something someone is actually interested in doing business on. Am I alone in this??

Help me out folks, I'm just too damn dumb to get my head around this.
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    hrfhrf Member Posts: 857 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Some listers appear to use a very high reserve as a way to determine market value without obligation to sell.

    There/s one such example I've been watching with a minimum opening bid of $500 that's been bid as high as $1300 without reaching the hidden reserve.
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    Hawk CarseHawk Carse Member Posts: 4,369 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I was wondering the same thing.
    A local FB runs auctions and nearly all have a reserve. It turns an auction into a guessing game. A lot of GB and other auction goers I know do not give a reserve auction a second look.


    I've been to a live local auction with a real cute custom, the live floating reserve. Most of the sellers were present and when the bidding appeared to top out at a price below extravagance, the auctioneer would turn to the seller and ask "Fred, will you sell it for that?" The answer usually no, so the next item came up.
    That really soured me on that auctioneer, more accustomed to selling real estate and farm machinery than guns.
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    nmyersnmyers Member Posts: 16,880 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I see a reserve used on the auto auctions, but sometimes the seller will lower the reserve if bidding is close to it. Makes no sense there, either.

    Since I started checking the OMIT RESERVE AUCTIONS block, I found my frustration level has dropped.

    Neal
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    slumlord44slumlord44 Member Posts: 3,702 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I realy do not have a problem with it. The alternative is to have a minimum bid. Same difference to me. Difference to me is if the minimum bid is too high I will never bid. If there is a reserve on an item I really want I will bid on it and run it up to what I am willing to pay. To me if you only bid on something with no reserve you are looking to steal it. I have no problem with that because I will do it myself. In my experience a good item will generate a bid is realistic. I rarely see somethig that is nice that I am interested sell for a low price when it has no reserve. The reason for a seller having a minimm bid is that he is not willing to give it away. I have no problem with that even though it does not usually happen. The whole reserve thing is just a non issue to me.
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    goodgunpartsgoodgunparts Member Posts: 103 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Never have sold on this site. I did sell parts and other things on that other action site when they did not have so many bad things going against them.

    Never did have anything I like so much as to have a reserve on it. I either listed it cheep to get things going when I knew the item would sell for what I would take, or listed it for what I would take and hoped more then one person would like it.

    I also did buy it know listing for items I knew what the value was and had buyers for.

    The problem with listing some items for auction is you never know if the right people will see it and bid. I am sure some people bid hoping to steel an item. When I went to real in person auctions that is what I did. The only time I would bid high is if I needed it.

    I am sure some sellers may be looking for appraisals on their item. So bid what you want to pay for it and if you do not get it go to the next item.
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    nunnnunn Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 36,013 ******
    edited November -1
    If you see something you like and want, and it has a reserve, simply place your maximum bid and forget it. If it hits the reserve, you will know it. If not, just move on. We are talking about just a few keystrokes here, but some people act as though they are donating an organ.

    I think the problem is that we just want to KNOW, but some questions in life are unanswerable.

    I have had positive results from reserve auctions, as both buyer and seller.

    Have you ever been to a live, on-site auction? Very often there is a reserve, and at the beginning of the auction, the only ones who know what the reserve is are the auctioneer and the owner. You don't know about the reserve, but you bid anyway.

    If you simply ignore reserve auctions, you may miss out on some bargains.
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    Spider7115Spider7115 Member, Moderator Posts: 29,714 ******
    edited November -1
    I don't have a problem with a reasonable reserve but to start an auction at one penny with a reserve over $1,000 is ridiculous. JMO.
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    He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 50,960 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    A fair price is what most of us want, not to steal something. A fair price is pretty much always a range, not a set dollar figure. A range because my top bid might be $10 while Nunn would be willing to go $12, and Spidy would go $14 (him being so rich and all). I am just unwilling to spend much time with guessing games. Tell me what you need, and I will know right away if I am bidding or not. Fortunately I have always mangaged to find what I wanted at what I thought was a fair price or even a bargain, without messing around with reserve auctions. No one is forcing me or any buyer to bid either way.
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    carbine100carbine100 Member Posts: 3,073 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have 100 or so transactions on GB and over 1000 items bid on. I'll guess less than 2% of my bids are on reserve auctions. I come here to buy and sell, not play guessing games. I will very seldom consider bidding on reserve auctions, so many times they have been a waste of my time. I do filter reserve auctions out of my searches most of the time.
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    nunnnunn Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 36,013 ******
    edited November -1
    It's not a guessing game. That's what I referred to earlier; your curiosity is getting the better of you, and you are making it a guessing game. Just bid and move on. If you win, fine. If not, well, you at least tried.
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    riley priley p Member Posts: 217 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Lots of words written. Some I agree with, some not so much. No one answered the question? I still don't understand the thinking behind the "decision" to list a hidden reserve. If I want to have an idea of what something is going for (which I do for every listing I offer) I do an advanced search for sold similar items. From that I base my starting price. Shouldn't everyone? That's the starting point; "this is the least I'll take for this item" There is NO POINT in being coy or elusive. Why does anyone do it? In live auctions (I'm only a half hour away from J.D. Julia and Poulin's) the auctioneer has a starting number listed and if that doesn't get a bite, he "fishes" for something that will. Nothing wrong with that. Why do folks here want to play pointless games???
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    Riomouse911Riomouse911 Member Posts: 3,492 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I believe it's a bit of a business game; First off, a low starter gets people looking at the item. Second; there is a minimum that a person will take, and anything above and beyond is a bonus. With a buy it now, that's all you're going to get; nothing more, nothing less. But a hidden reserve allows for a minimum return on the item listed, plus it might let two or three guys who are in a bidding war go over the top on the price. (We've all seen that)

    I don't like reserves either, but if it's something I'm interested in I'll bid anyway. I'll place a bid to my max. If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose. (I lose more often than not) If it's under the reserve.. I guess I don't need it that bad and I won't pay what they think it may be worth...so I'll keep on looking. [:)]
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    Spider7115Spider7115 Member, Moderator Posts: 29,714 ******
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by riley p
    Lots of words written. Some I agree with, some not so much. No one answered the question? I still don't understand the thinking behind the "decision" to list a hidden reserve. If I want to have an idea of what something is going for (which I do for every listing I offer) I do an advanced search for sold similar items. From that I base my starting price. Shouldn't everyone? That's the starting point; "this is the least I'll take for this item" There is NO POINT in being coy or elusive. Why does anyone do it? In live auctions (I'm only a half hour away from J.D. Julia and Poulin's) the auctioneer has a starting number listed and if that doesn't get a bite, he "fishes" for something that will. Nothing wrong with that. Why do folks here want to play pointless games???

    Agreed.

    224_mafioso-the-carrot-or-the-stick_flash.jpg
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