Reserve Prices: So, Whaddayah Do When. . .

[Bullseye 2620]

. . .people on auction sites send you emails asking you to tell them your reserve price?

I thought that the uncertainty of the reserve price was a tool to encourage people to hit the "Buy It Now" button.

Am I wrong? What's the point of setting a reserve price if you're going to tell people what it is?

 

[k22fan]

I do not sell. I only buy things to use them for a very long time.

I only know of two reasons why sellers would use a reserve price. 1. To learn how much they could get for a gun they do not want to sell. 2. They expect no one will bid if they set an opening price at the minimum they will accept.

I assume shoppers ask what the reserve is to avoid tying up their funds. Even though their bid is below the reserve, for the time they are the highest bidder they have to keep the funds available in case the seller lowers the reserve. That can prevent them from jumping on a deal or bidding on a gun that they have a reasonable hope of actually buying. Consequently, I set searches to not show auctions with reserves.

Why would a reserve encourage a shopper to hit Buy It Now?

 

[LVSteve]

Send them a virtual bucket of rocks, a 2lb coal hammer, then invite them to produce sand.

 

[Protocall_Design]

I buy a lot of tools for the shop on eBay. Whenever I come across an item that has a buy it now price that's too high, I figure the reserve is probably not much lower, so I pass.

If you have a desirable item, I think you are better off setting the opening bid at the lowest price you can live with. Usually, a good value starting price will get people bidding and run it up. Better to not have the auction end on holidays or late at night when people normally have other plans like family or sleeping.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

I do not sell. I only buy things to use them for a very long time.

I only know of two reasons why sellers would use a reserve price. 1. To learn how much they could get for a gun they do not want to sell. 2. They expect no one will bid if they set an opening price at the minimum they will accept.

I assume shoppers ask what the reserve is to avoid tying up their funds. Even though their bid is below the reserve, for the time they are the highest bidder they have to keep the funds available in case the seller lowers the reserve. That can prevent them from jumping on a deal or bidding on a gun that they have a reasonable hope of actually buying. Consequently, I set searches to not show auctions with reserves.

Why would a reserve encourage a shopper to hit Buy It Now?

I am inexperienced with auctions. If I want to sell gun, I set the reserve to the lowest price I will take for the gun. I set the Buy It Now price to what I think the gun might be worth in a bull market, or to a buyer who really wants the gun and might be willing to overpay by a couple or several hundred. It seems to me that not knowing the reserve pushes buyers toward the Buy It Now option, but as I say, I am inexperienced in sussing out the psychology of this way of buying and selling.

I don't have this issue in face to face sales, of course.

Your No. 1 above makes sense to me, but I've never done it. No. 2 resonates also. I see "auction fever" all the time.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

If you have a desirable item, I think you are better off setting the opening bid at the lowest price you can live with. Usually, a good value starting price will get people bidding and run it up.

I had not considered that. It makes a lot of sense.

 

[Inusuit]

I dislike auctions with an unstated reserve price. If it has a buy it now option, that's different and gives me an idea of the reserve.

 

[iouri]

I just skip those with reserve. If I really really want it I just use buy it now, otherwise - meh I'd just move on. Why waste my time on sellers price research.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk

 

[Jack Flash]

Don't most sites show "Reserve Met" when the bidding goes above the reserve price?

If so, nobody is "tying up his funds" until the bidding goes high enough. Or don't all sites have a "Reserve Met" indicator?

 

[Sevens]

When you can set the lowest acceptable minimum/opening bid... the entire existence of the silly "hidden reserve" is not only nonsensical and useless, it quite obviously drives away interest and bidding activity on the item.

The evidence for my assertion is alive and well here simply in a small handful of replies, but if you really want more proof, just ask the successful volume sellers of even low to mid grade and mid to high grade guns as well.

If you wish to directly ward off serious bidders and buyers on Gunbroker, a hidden reserve is one of the easiest and best ways to do exactly that.

Most serious buyers skip right past them, they are usually a great waste of time and energy.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

I dislike auctions with an unstated reserve price. If it has a buy it now option, that's different and gives me an idea of the reserve.

What do you think the difference usually is between the Buy It Now and the reserve prices?

 

[bushmaster1313]

1. Gunbroker must think offering reserve price increases their total profit or they would not do it.

2. I still do not understand why they went to their "new" search engine. Since the new engine came on I spend much less time searching and viewing on Gunbroker

 

[sheepdawg]

Send them a virtual bucket of rocks, a 2lb coal hammer, then invite them to produce sand.

That's pretty much my reaction to sellers with reserve prices.

 

[muddocktor]

BRB, like others here, I usually just skip over hidden reserve price auctions too; just not worth my time to get the seller some idea of what the market will bear. I've never sold a gun on GB, but if I did I would put a starting bid at the lowest I would find acceptable and then maybe a buy it now price somewhat higher than the starting bid, for those who want it now and not take the chance of losing it in a bidding war.

The last gun I purchased off GB was a 27-2 and the seller had his BIN about $100 higher than what I was willing to pay. So I messaged him that if he would drop his BIN price by $100 I would immediately do the transaction. He was agreeable and did drop it and I bought it. Since his pistol had gone through at least 3 auction cycles that I watched without selling it, I think he was happy going with dropping the price and getting a sure sale. I was happy and he was too.

 

[k22fan]

Don't most sites show "Reserve Met" when the bidding goes above the reserve price?

If so, nobody is "tying up his funds" until the bidding goes high enough. Or don't all sites have a "Reserve Met" indicator?

I am sorry that I did not make myself clear. The seller has the option of removing or lowering their reserve. If they lower their reserve to below my bid and no one outbids me I have to either buy the item or get a non-paying bidder black mark on my account. As long as my bid is high spending the money elsewhere would put my privilege to bid at risk. At least that is the case on eBay. I'm assuming Gone Broker is the same.

 

[sigp220.45]

I used to sell a lot of stuff on eBay. I would almost always set an opening price of 99 cents and no reserve, no matter how expensive the item.

With a good title, a clear description, and clear photos, I never got burned. People like an actual auction, and bidding was good.

As a buyer, I never bid on anything with a reserve. Now, I generally just look for Buy It Now listings, since the days of real auctions seem to be over on eBay.

If I did list something with a reserve, I wouldn't disclose it.

 

[Absalom]

I am sorry that I did not make myself clear. The seller has the option of removing or lowering their reserve. If they lower their reserve to below my bid and no one outbids me I have to either buy the item or get a non-paying bidder black mark on my account. As long as my bid is high spending the money elsewhere would put my privilege to bid at risk.....

If you had read the Gunbroker rules, you could have saved yourself some worries:

"You may only change the Starting Price, Reserve Price, Quantity, or Title if there are no bids on the listing."

No seller can lower the reserve to capture the highest bid like you envision. You bid, you don't meet, you're FREE!!!

Changing the Starting Price, Reserve Price, Quantity, or Title – GunBroker

 

[OMCHamlin]

I just skip those with reserve. If I really really want it I just use buy it now, otherwise - meh I'd just move on. Why waste my time on sellers price research.

I list thing from time to time on eBay. I'm not saying that I have or don't have anything listed right now, nor that my user names are the same, but there are some simple guidelines that I follow, and they seem to work (generally);
1. Take pretty good pictures
2. Describe stuff honestly
3. Set a .01 starting price (nearly every time)
4. Start (and therefore end) all my auctions on Sunday at 2000 EST

I think the .01 starting price garners bids early on in the 7 day auction, which in turn spurs the old "if YOU want it, I want it MORE" gene in bidders, and I have often had much better luck with realized sales price then folks that set a "buy it now" price.
When I buy on eBay, I coast right by auctions with a hidden reserve. And I've tried to learn patience, everything comes by sooner or later (mostly)...

 

[Farmer17]

I just bought a 98% Ruger 22/45 off Gunbroker and I was wanting a threaded barrel to take a suppressor and they are a lot more rare, and it had factory wood grips and an optic rail which was exactly what I wanted for $230. It had a "Buy it Now" for $275 which I thought was a great deal but I just waited for other bidders to come. I was really nervous someone would hit the "Buy it Now" but there was never one single other bidder so I got it for the opening bid and was really happy. In the future if that happens again I will probably choose the "Buy it Now" option especially if a gun is rare or something I really want because looking back, I would have been sick to my stomach if I would have lost that gun over 45 bucks!

 

[BigBoy99]

To me, some one with a reserve price on the item is not trying to sell the item but fishing to get an idea of what people will offer for the item. They don't want to do their home work first such as searching for comparable items and seeing what they are selling for. They figure, "Let the bidders tell me what I should be getting for this item." Once they get an idea of what is being offered, then they can relist the item with a minimum bid of the highest offer they received.

If I see an auction with a reserve price, I immediately pass it over. If I want to sell something, I set the price at the minimum I will accept for the item and list the auction. If it sells, fine. If it doesn't, my starting price was too high. I drop the price and list it again.