Gun Broker question

[deadin]

Actually my question concerns any auction, I just noticed this on GB.
I've done a lot of on-line buying and selling via EBay, etc. and have my own philosophy on how to do it, but this one I can't figure out.
Why would a seller list an item with a $400.00 starting bid, a $725.00 Buy it Now and indicate there is a reserve. Then he lists the reserve as $725.00 in the description. Why not just start it at $725?

 

[Blacksmith58]

From what I understand:

Reserve Price= What the Seller NEEDS to get price.

Buy Now Price= What the Seller WANTS to get price.

A Low Starting Bid is just to get the bid started. High starting bids tend to not get sold. Cause everyone tend to be Buy-Low-Sell-High. A low starting bid get you hooked into the process!

 

[SWID]

A seller can do anything he wants, and some of them do what seem like strange things.

It probably makes perfect sense to him.

 

[kleinkaliber]

Some sellers do some odd things. Starting price the same as buy it now, etc. Seems to me the auctions that do the best are the no reserve, low opening bid auctions. Look at the penny auctions on Auction Arms. Meanwhile, the reserve, high opening price auctions get re-listed over and over, never selling. I understand not wanting to lose money on a sale, but don't you also have to move product to make money?

 

[deadin]

but don't you also have to move product to make money?

This is true,....if you are "in the business".
In the long run your "losers" will probably be more than covered by your "winners", but it takes volume.
For us who only occasionally sell a gun or something and can't afford to take too much of a beating, a high starting bid or reserve is the only way to go. If I am cash deficient and have a gun that I've around $500 in (and it's worth in the same area.) I'm tired of it and want some else to play with, I need to get close to the $500 to stay in the game. I put it out there on a penny auction and for some reason someone gets a bargain at say $300, I'm sunk. (Things like this do happen. That's what keeps us going back to the auctions as buyers.

)

My original question was why would anyone set a reserve and a Buy it Now the same, and then say so? Nobody's going to get it for less than the $725. If a I feel it's worth that, I will just bid the Buy it Now. If not, I won't bid. I can't see a "bidding war" starting on this one.

 

[morsecode]

Yeah, he does seem to have that skewed a bit.

If I needed to get $725 out of a piece I'd set the reserve at $725, put a Buy It Now at $775 or so, and start the bidding at $99 just to get some page hits.

If the gun is truly saleable or otherwise a great deal at $725 you might get that one interested party to opt for the Buy It Now before someone else beats them to it. If it doesn't hit the reserve I'm still protected.

Having said that, I rarely use a reserve as they seem to kill the action on most ordinary items. I understand the need to use them for rarer pieces though.

 

[kleinkaliber]

I guess it's his way of using an auction site as a classified for sale site.

Deadin, I agree with you on the occasional seller not wanting to let a gun go for less than they have in it. My peeve is, for example, a run of the mill Colt Police Positive with about 50% finish that gets bids to $275 but doesn't meet reserve. Same gun gets re-listed with same results repeatedly. Eventually, the gun gets listed with a buy it now of $800. If it never bid beyond $275, why would one think someone would buy it now for $800? (I hope they didn't have $800 tied up in the gun, otherwise, that must have stung!)

 

[deadin]

kleinkaliber,
I've known a lot of guys over the years that just couldn't stand to lose money on a gun. (I think they didn't want to admit they paid too much for it in the first place.)
I don't enjoy losing either, but am philosophical about it when I do. I look at the loss as "rent" for owning the gun until I get tired of it or as the cost of the lesson in learning I didn't know as much as I thought I did about values. (Or as punishment for letting my "got to have it" urge take over.

)

When you combine the "can't stand to take a loss" with the "gotta make a profit" groups, guns like the Colt Police Positive you mentioned show up.
The only answer is to just sit on it until inflation, etc. catches up with it.

(Of course, these guys seem to be right on top of appreciation, so their prices climb right along. I guess they will be buried with them.)

 

[perrazi]

i always thought they shouldn't have reserves. decide the least you will take for the item and start the bidding at that price. as stated before if to high then it just sits anyway.

 

[pete-driver]

As i have stated before little red R no bid from me.

 

[deadin]

As i have stated before little red R no bid from me.

That really doesn't matter to me, one way or the other. I just bid what I'm willing to pay. If it doesn't make the reserve....so what?

The one that turns me away is the "15 minute rule".

Great for the seller and the auction company. Sucks for the bidder. (Just my personal opinion.

)

 

[ArgMauser]

I agree with deadlin. The "15-minute rule" sucks. With regard to the pricing policy (starting price, reserve, BIN), that's up to the seller and I don't give a darn.

 

[44wheelman]

Prolly a $400 start bid so people will at least look at the auction..

What is more stupid, is having an auction go over the buy it now price!!! That happened to one I bid in - bid $10 less than the BIN price (wasn't something I really wanted- just was a good price), got an e-mail I was outbid, went back to look at it - it ended up selling for $55 over the BIN price.... what idiots, how do you bid more..never mind.

 

[gunlovingirl]

A lower starting bid will get the bidding started. I've seen many times where a gun may have, as an example, a $200 starting bid with a reserve of $500 and a BIN of $600. And the gun actually sold for more than the BIN price. I've found, after 11 years on Ebay, that a reasonable reserve is fine, a reasonable BIN is fine, but when you have a high start bid, often the item will go unsold.

 

[mountaingun629]

Bought a Ruger on GB - there wasn't a "buy-it-now" price but there was a reserve. Turned out the reserve was only a dollar more than the start price. I have no idea why he even bothered putting a reserve on it, but I ended up with a terrific deal!

Myron