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Hidden reserve price auctions.
Fatstrat
Member Posts: 9,147
What is the purpose of having a hidden reserve price on an auction? I'm sure there must be a good reason, but I sure can't think of one. If anything it puts me off. Especially if I email the seller and ask, and he refuses to tell me. I'm simply not interested in a fishing expidetion to find the price. If they don't want me to know the asking price, I assume (usually correctly) that it's too high and pass on by. There'll be another gun of the same type soon enough. Your thoughts?
Comments
WACA Historian & Life Member
The secret for the buyer, regardless of Reserve, is to research the item, determine what you are willing to pay and write that figure down, so that it can be seen by you during the bidding. DO NOT for any reason bid above your pre-determined bid price. When you do this with discipline, you will never have to regret what you paid for any item. Too many bidders are convinced not to lose an item because of a bid of $5 more than they intended to bid. They become caught up in the bidding and end up paying too much for an item. If you pre-set you high bid, you cannot lose, even in a Reserve style auction.
Lastly, if the bid goes above your pre-set price and the item is still marked as "reserve not met", at that point, email the seller and let him know that you are willing to pay your pre-set figure in cash and that you are a serious buyer. I have bought firearms many times by telling that to the seller, even while the sale is in progress. In some cases, he pulls the firearm down when bidding slows, as the high bid shown is not a genuine bid! In other cases, the seller runs the firearm through a few times, does not get a higher bid than what I am offering and sells me the firearm. Let them know that you are serious by giving them a couple phone numbers and chances are, if their reserve is not met, they will sell to you. "A bird in the hand" and all that!
If the seller does what you ask, then it isn't an auction. It is a fixed-price sale. We have that option, called "Buy Now," for those who like a fixed price sale. I like auctions.
My seller name is nunn. Watch for my stuff.
In some cases, dealers who understand how auctions work could cut out the non-dealers and auctions could go on. Many dealers carry on both buying and selling via auctions. The sweet part for non-dealers is that they have the right to jump in a pay what the dealer would pay and save a bundle.
I agree with "nunn" and appreciate auctions and how they work. Most people who have problems with auctions and how auctions work, simply have not taken the time to "learn the ropes!" Internet auctions have created an unlimited target market, making it possible for both buyers and sellers to deal in items with those, who in any other way, could never have been contacted. I have sat in Md. in front of my screen and seen a bidder in Hawaii get my item. Conversely, when I was looking for a certain firearm, I was able to find one at auction in Idaho! In most all cases, both the buyer and seller are made happy by the transaction. It is only those who sit on the sidelines, not knowing how to be a winner in the auction game, who remain unhappy!
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?item=43143357
For example, if he wants $5,000 for it, he should start the bidding at that amount with no reserve. However, if he wants a reserve to "test the waters" and see what kind of serious buyers are out there, he should start the bidding between $4,000 and $4,500. Having a starting bid at a ridiculous amount of 13 cents accomplishes nothing but to insult the intelligence of potential legitimate buyers.
here is the problem
most of us gun guys live by a certain code, a man is good for his word, and plays his cards on the table, {i said most}, and then comes the internet auction, the key word in this is internet, most of us have been to a billy bobs auction of some sort, where you can look a man in the face, most of us have been to a gun shop, and guns show, where you can not only handle the merchandise to see if the guy is nuts for pricing it the way he did, and get a feel of him to see how your transaction is going to go, but now it is done over a computer, all the natural instincts we have relied on are useless, remember the pictures floating around that shows a big fat woman in her underwear talking on a sex hot line?, now we add this in the equation of our already handicapped ability to bargain and walk away with a happy face
I am assuming you are referring to a "hidden" reserve as him refusing to tell you his reserve price, actually it is a unwritten rule that you DO NOT ASK THIS, so do not get angry when it is refused, now there is a very good reason for a reserve price
first "why do you want to know it"?,
Say the reserve is 200.00, you want to know it because you want to get the item for 201.00, even though 200.00 is the minimum price set by the seller, why would anyone refuse the chance to get more for their item
the internet auction has always been in favor of the seller, they are the ones listing and paying the fees, "not the buyer", the question is not how much the person wants for the item, the question is how much are you willing to pay
Sorry for posting my question on this forum instead of the "Discussion forum". I have some issues w/things that go on in that forum and elect not to participate on that forum. My interest is in firearms, including buying/selling. So I just stay up here.
However, "free listings" on Internet gun auction sites has changed things a little. While a great tool to encourage sellers to list their goods, it encourages the "game players". "Game players" are often the gun show dealers who carry the same guns, year after year, to show after show, at prices 25-50% over market, but refuse to lower the price. These "game playing" dealers, with the addition of "game playing" individuals, are now on the Internet. They list guns at ridiculous prices, & rarely, if ever, sell them. THESE are often the people with reserve auctions, or with ridiculous starting prices. They aren't serious about selling their items, so I never bother bidding on them.
When I list a gun on GB, it usually sells the first time listed. I start the auction at a reasonable price, with no reserve, include detailed photos & description, provide shipping details & cost, & don't "play games".
I fear that "game players" will kill the online auctions. Many people are discouraged from browsing because they have to wade through page after page of listings by the "game players". I'm one of those who no longer has the patience to browse.
Neal