Ebay experts - do you "tell" the reserve?

[Rpsemont]

Calling all ebay professionals and experts:
I've listed my first item on e-bay. I put no minimum bid, but did set a fairly high reserve (for no minimum bid) Someone e-mailed me and asked the reserve. Should I tell them? I have the reserve set at about 50% of the price it would be if it was new - but it's in really good condition so I don't want to give it away. Plus, if someone bid close to reserve, I might contact them and give them the option, even if it didn't win. On the same topic, how many have listed things twice when the reserve didn't get met and how long did you wait in between listings? were you successful the second time?

 

[tinaluis]

I always tell buyers what the reserve is -- sometimes I even put it in the listing. I really want my items to sell so I settle at a price I can live with and let it rip. Just an FYI - the scenario you mention in your post about someone bidding close to the reserve but not quite and your offering it to them after the auction closes is a violation of eBay policy. They can suspend your account for doing that. I haven't had to relist due to the reserve not being met and I'm hoping someone else can help you out on that one. Good luck with your auction!

 

[patsal]

I do not set a reserve price, I just state the minimum price I'd be willing to take as the starting bid. If it doesn't sell, I relist (I haven't had much not sell the second time around). I don't have time to play games, I want the space in my house and the $ for the next vacation. If something doesn't sell I usually donate it to charity and take the tax write off it is better than "giving it away"!

 

[kashkdz]

As a very frequent ebay seller (and buyer too!), I personally do not list reserve auctions, nor would I bid on one. I've tried them before and did not like the fact the people would email me asking the price (as in your case). This actually defeats the purpose of listing a reserve auction; same goes for when the reserve price is displayed in the auction too. As a buyer, I wouldn't waste my time not knowing what the reserve price is, or not knowing whether the seller would be willing to sell the item if the reserve was not met. Instead, I would simply list my auction with the starting amount, being the lowest amount I would settle for selling my item. This way when someone wins the auction, they know for sure they won the item. Hope this helps.

 

[Rpsemont]

your offering it to them after the auction closes is a violation of eBay policy.

Geez, Thanks. I didn't know that.

 

[DizneyDogs]

Ebay does allow 2nd chance offers however. I personally don't tell people what the reserve is. I don't think it's fair to the other bidders.

 

[N.Bailey]

I've listed 2 or 3 items where I set a reserve price and I put what the reserve price was in all of the listings. This figure isn't a secret, it's just an amount you want before you'll part with your item. What benefit is there to not tell a prospective buyer? If they don't want to pay what your reserve is, they know they can move on without wasting anymore of their time.

From a buyers prospective, I rarely invest my time on a reserve auction unless, 1. the reserve has already been met when I find the listing, 2. the reserve price is stated in the listing, or 3. the item is very rare and it's something I really want.

If the item is something that's readily available, I won't waste my time anymore emailing the seller to find out anything. This includes sellers who won't put shipping charges in their listing, or sellers who refuse to take measurements of clothing they wish to sell (this one bugs me because the luxury of trying it on beforehand is gone).

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Neither my wife (rating over 700) nor I (rating almost 300) will list anything with a reserve. We start the items at the lowest price we are willing to accept and specify in the body that there is no reserve and "NR" in the title.

We have only once set a reserve, that was when we sold a car (1969 Cougar XR-7 Convertible by original owner) with a minimum bid of $500 and a reserve of $1,500. (We also listed a BIK of $5,004.10, which was the original sticker price.) It ended up selling for $3,150.

 

[DMRick]

Someone e-mailed me and asked the reserve. Should I tell them?

Sure..my goal is to sell the item..and since some people don't want to waste their time bidding up and up to find the reserve, I just tell them. Some people use a reserve to draw people to the auciton with a low starting price. It must work, (although I don't personally like them..seems false to me) that is how the "real" auctions often operate. You cannot post the reserve price in the titile or description, however.

As far as selling it to a lower bidder, eBay now allows you to offer a second chance auction to a person even if the reserve is not met, so you don't have to worry about going against their rules.

From eBay:

Making a Second Chance Offer


A second chance to sell your item

A seller can make a Second Chance Offer to a bidder other than the auction's winner when:

The winning bidder in an auction fails to buy the item
Reserve Price Auctions that don't meet the reserve price
The seller has duplicate items for sale but hasn't chosen to run a Multiple Item Auction

 

[mc97]

Go ahead and tell them...and if you decide not to - please have a better reason than it's against eBay regulations As someone else said, you listed the item to sell it, right? If this person needs to know the reserve to bid/buy...why not tell them? The worst thing that could happen is the person bids exactly your reserve and wins the item; however, if you didn't want to sell it for at least that amount...you should have set a higher reserve Been eBaying (selling and buying) since 1997 - most buyers prefer No Reserve auctions, but just do what you're comfortable with and have fun!