Reserve vs No Reserve

ndbilly

I'll apologize in advance as I'm sure this has been answered before but I couldn't find it in the archives.

An item is listed as "No Reserve", has 0 bidders but has a figure of $XXX.XX" as a starting bid. How does that differ from having a reserve?

TED GAR

I agree, it is a different way to do the same thing.

nmyers

The number of bids on an item is not a factor.

For a "no reserve" auction, the seller just enters a starting price; that is the minimum that he is willing to take. A bid at that price, or a higher one at the end of the auction, wins.

For a "reserve" auction, the seller enters a starting price, plus a higher hidden reserve price (which is just the minimum that he is willing to take.) He hopes that a low starting price will get people interested enough to bid up to his reserve. This type of auction often backfires, because it keeps away those potential buyers who don't like to play games.

Neal

manchie390

WHEN THE SELLER LISTS A STARTING BID THAT IS THE RESERVE, JUST A MIND GAME TO ME

rick

AdamsQuailHunter

Hello "ndbilly":-)

I can't begin to speak for others, however, in general, I REFUSE TO BID on a RESERVE AUCTION. Put your "starting price" as the minimum you will accept---let the "market" decide if you are in the "ball-park" or not!!!!!!!

There is a "seller" on this auction site that has "fly-reels" for auction

---

I refuse to bid on his auctions, but he put them up again and again since GunBroker.com does NOT have enough brains to charge him BIG BUCK'S for a relisting fee. I have bought several of the same fly-reels on "e-Barf" for far less---which I had rather bought here---I don't happen to like "e-Barf" and they are NOT friendly to firearms owners.

You do what ever you like. Personally----unless there is a SPECIAL reason to use a "RESERVE" --- and unless is it LESS than 2-X of the starting price ---- you can FORGET me bidding on it.

Check my "feed-back" here and and on "e-Barf"---I am adamsquailhunter on "e-Barf"

---

100% positive here and there.

NO---I am not a fan of "reserve-auctions" unless there is some "SPECIAL" reason for doing so.

My Very Best From My Family To Your Family During This Thankssgiving
Holiday Season:-)
AdamsQuailHunter on GunBroker
adamsquailhunter on eBarf

Bert H.

quote:Originally posted by AdamsQuailHunter
Hello "ndbilly":-)

I can't begin to speak for others, however, in general, I REFUSE TO BID on a RESERVE AUCTION. Put your "starting price" as the minimum you will accept---let the "market" decide if you are in the "ball-park" or not!!!!!!!

There is a "seller" on this auction site that has "fly-reels" for auction

---

I refuse to bid on his auctions, but he put them up again and again since GunBroker.com does NOT have enough brains to charge him BIG BUCK'S for a relisting fee. I have bought several of the same fly-reels on "e-Barf" for far less---which I had rather bought here---I don't happen to like "e-Barf" and they are NOT friendly to firearms owners.

You do what ever you like. Personally----unless there is a SPECIAL reason to use a "RESERVE" --- and unless is it LESS than 2-X of the starting price ---- you can FORGET me bidding on it.

Check my "feed-back" here and and on "e-Barf"---I am adamsquailhunter on "e-Barf"

---

100% positive here and there.

NO---I am not a fan of "reserve-auctions" unless there is some "SPECIAL" reason for doing so.

My Very Best From My Family To Your Family During This Thankssgiving
Holiday Season:-)
AdamsQuailHunter on GunBroker
adamsquailhunter on eBarf


AQH... I agree with you 100%, and will further add that I don't personally see (or understand) any "SPECIAL" reasons for a "Reserve auction"... simply just list what the minimum amount that will be accepted, and then get on with the auction. Internet auctions will never have the same type of bidding fever that occurs at live auctions.

Bert H.

Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!

jonk

Whenever I use a reserve, I always am willing to disclose it to interested parties but don't list how much it is. I will always note that it is a reasonable reserve, equal to what I paid for the item in question and no more. Give my excellant feedback on gb, ebarf, and aa, if people can't accept this than it is their problem. I always start auctions under $1 sometimes with sometimes w/o a reserve. I haven't noticed a price difference in how much I get at the end as I have sold identical items in both manners.

"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf

knucklehead14

I don`t know this as a fact but I think that the sellers fee
is higher when the seller sets a reserve price.
So they are basicly getting the same protection against
having to sell their items at a lower price than they want by setting a high opening bid and if sells, their fee for selling it on GB is considerable lower.
My own policy is to list the item with no reserve, set a very reasonable opening bid,
"not the price that I want to sell at as an opener" and let the
auction begin. If you have quality items, You will get the fair market price, sometimes a little higher. Most of theese sellers that use the reserve price or an insane opening bid here on GB arent interested in honest selling.
Since G B doesn`t seem to charge them for relisting month after month after month. they are just waiting for the one sucker bidder.
In my opinion GB should clean the closet of theese deadbeat sellers that are just cloging up the system with their Junk! Charge em for
the selling service if it doesn`t sell at the 2nd attempt. That would clean up the auction pages so their wouldn`t be so much of their non sellable JUNK! anymore. but then Gb auction site would look like a ghost town!
Just my opinion.


Bad spellers of the world

"UNTIE!"

ndbilly

Thank you all. Appreciate the answers.

bobski

sorry for being long winded, but this really should be addressed. i feel im qualified, so here goes.......the biggest mistake 'shoppers' and sellers make on this site (and others like it) is, they forget that gb is an auction site. the goal of an auction site is to make a more than realistic profit for the seller and to make finding unique items and shopping for hard to find items easier for the buyer. the goal of an auction site is to get someone 'desperate enough' to pay a little more in order to win a rare or hard to find item. problem...the more sellers flood the auction sites with common goods, the less competition takes place and basic retail becomes the norm. a gun worth 200.00 in a gun store will still be worth 200.00 on an auction site. there is no reason to bid. put a 1970 limited edition hi standard olympic 22 target gun 1 of 500 on auction, and youll get more interest because the website made seeing one easier and people will become interested and hopefully bite. with a reserve, the seller can feel the market without really selling it unless the bidder hits his reserve. so, when you see a no reserve auction like explained by the others, this is the retail price youd find just about anywhere. tack on a little s&h and remove the fees, and the seller is still ahead of the game because he bought it wholesale. now...how does an auction site benefit a seller you may ask? he's banking on his wares being viewed in areas of the country where the dollar goes farther, which increases his turnover, which makes more profit. he's hoping you are in an area where your pockets are full of spendible income and that his gun appears as a deal to you. how do auction sites hurt buyers? if you are from an area where money doesnt go as far, you will hestitate to bid on a gun that is common and too expensive for your area of the country. another problem...most collectors will pay extra for rare items. thats where auctions usually profit the most. try setting up an auction in the halls of walmart and people will just look at you crazy because they know the items are fixed and cheap already and you wont pay more for an item they can get off the shelf for less. as the supply in walmart dwindles, the need will increase and bidding will start working. just ask any survivor of a hurricane how much a sheet of plywood or a generator costs when the storm ruins a city! so, in conclusion....people put minimums on items with no reserve with hopes of selling at retail and reserves are for people with rare items and for those sellers that dont know the market and will sell only if they get what they think the minimum worth is. high demand/high price,(what most auction site sellers are suppose to be using auction sites for,) low demand/low price,( is what a seller does when he's trying to offload dead items that arent making revenue. sellers are just trying to get back the investment without profit.'break even.') high demand/low price,(is what buyers come to auctions sites for and are willing to bid on to win,) low demand/high price, (is what causes items not to sell. its caused by poor seller research.) i hope this helps. btw...all those with business majors will know this as (busmgt 120.) if there are those who still doubt me, just look for yourself how many new posters chime in and want the experts to tell them what a gun is worth. since most people dont know business basics or the strategy of auctions, they try to gather as much info as they can before engaging. this is basic consumer 'shopping.' people are just tying to gather trend data on an item and then they consult others who bought it and ask 'what do you think of,' or 'what are your opinions of' and then buy or bid on it based on status quo and the informed consumers ability to collect positive data and to reject bad data. welcome to capitalism folks! in the real auction world...this is called previewing the item. you make notes, then go sit down and bid or pass when the item come up. since previewing cant take place on a website, bidders depend on the expert room to help. im always open to rebuts, but remember, i didnt invent capitalism, dont blame me!

former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction.

nunn

The starting bid is NOT necessarily the lowest price the seller is willing to take.

I invite you to examine my auctions here, seller name nunn, or on Fleabay, seller name davidnunn, and see.

I usually start my auctions low, with no reserve, and let the buyers decide the value. Exceptions are items taken on consignment and items of limited appeal. Consignment items may have a reserve to protect the owner, and items of limited appeal I start at what I think it is worth.

SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the best gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net

bobski

good point nunn, but its never below your cost, is it? thus..break even rule applies. you wouldnt be in business if you lost money. thanks for your input! btw...still no people are willing to sell me a 9mm 226 slide spring and sig doesnt do emarketing. only phoncon 1-800 stuff. got any leads on one in stock, not factory direct? geesh, i wish all i had to do was walk down to the armory and ask for one like the old days!

former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction.

captkirk3@dslextreme.com

This Topic is REALLY a General Discussion Forum Topic...Albeit an interesting amount of insight went into the topic...It still belongs on the other Forum..........

Captain Kirk, Tech Staff