Do auctions with a (hidden) reserve irritate you too?

There are a number of things that irritate me on coin sale sites, one of which being items on auction where I make a bid and it says RESERVE NOT MET. This immediately makes me wonder, "WELL WHAT US THE RESERVE, SO I CAN MEET IT IF I WANT?"

The absence of opportunities to learn this number is an affront to my intelligence, as I haven't the time to increase my bid by one cent at a time, or whatever the minimum bid increment might be, until I get it. Clearly, the intent is to get me to bid OVER the reserve, to which I say, I'm noting your user ID and will not consider your offerings any more. How about a button that says, "BID THE RESERVE AMOUNT & CUT THE Willie, read the rules about language here ,Thanks?"

Maybe I'm cranky, but I save a lot of time, and I think a good bit of money this way. Also, I avoid notifications like "YOU WON THE AUCTION BUT DID NOT MEET THE RESERVE," which makes me think, "SOUNDS LIKE I DIDN'T WIN ANYTHING. WHY NOT JUST GIVE ME A PAPER CUT AND RUB SOME LEMON JUICE IN IT?"

Hugs, fishes and a fair and honest marketplace,
Bill
http://SilverWilliesCoins.com
"Where all that glitters is not gold, but sometimes other nice shiny stuff, like Silver."

 

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I see on your site you have buy-it-now prices or best offer. Why not just tell me up front what your bottom price is?

 

You're far from the only one who feels this way.

But as long as bidders are human, they'll be driven by the psychology that says "Here's one listed with a starting bid of $100 and no bids; here's one that's got 10 bids and is up to $50. That second one must be a better deal! I'll go look at it first."

@jwitten also raises a good point.

 

If the amount you are willing to pay for a certain item does not meet the "Reserve" then you can always pass. On the other hand, if you're playing around with lowball bids to try to win an item as cheaply as possible, then you will just have to put up with the hidden reserve. What makes you think that the seller must cater to your whims?

Personally, I prefer to use a sniping service so I can set the maximum I am willing to pay and then forget about the auction altogether. If I lose, it is only because I wasn't willing to pay more than someone else. Fine! I will have money for the next item.

Chris

 

Actually, after a moment's thought:

I have a bottom price that I'd sell for, but I'd always be happy to sell it for a higher price.

And when you try the obvious rational approach -- listing as an auction with your lowest price as a starting amount, instead of a reserve auction or BIN/BO -- you'll end up getting less money on average, because psychology. More of your auctions will close with no bids, and the auctions that do get bids will attract fewer bidders, meaning there's a good chance the winning bid will be lower.

 

Excellent point! It sounds like he wants to have his cake and eat yours too!

Chris

 

actually, because I don't have one, that's why. I don't do this full-time and sometimes I just need the money and let's say a good customer of mine make a lower offer I often just give him a break. The other thing is that I always offer free shipping and I try to tell people that to save money they can offer a little bit less on each additional coin, and I do this because I don't offer a combined shipping plan, which I find nice, but my personal preferences I like to know the bottom line when I look at it listing so I always offer the free shipping. That is personal preference but I'm hoping to attract buyers that think the way I do. It's a crapshoot to be honest with you if I really want to coin I will click through to look but I'm a very impatient person and I like to know the bottom line right off the bat the one thing about best offer is when I make a best offer I make a best offer I don't try to give somebody out and lowball them I'll offer a fair price and I expect people to do the same thing I hate to haggle. Otherwise I try to price my stuff a little bit lower than the competition for the same grade and I also do it because sometimes I think my coins are just too nice and sometimes it price too high. bottom line is everything is negotiable.

 

So really, sellers having an auction format with a reserve is better for the buyer than a buy-it-now price with best offers. So why is he complaining as a buyer?

 

also when I do put things on auction I start at a penny and I don't have a reserve. I only do this with coins that people generally want.take a look at eBay auction says an example that usually have a starting bid and if you look at auctions for particular date mint mark and variety in order of ending soonest you might have pages of 0 bid 0 bids 0 bids 0 bits. If I have a coin and it's been out there for a long time at a Buy It Now price and it hasn't sold after a certain amount of time and I can see that 200 people have looked at it I kind of figured that it's overpriced and I'm not making any money having it sit in my inventory. So I lower the price and I try it again it's not an exact science all I'm trying to do is make a little profit I'm not trying to rip anybody off. It's not a video game where you win and take joy in beating your opponent. if my buyer is happy and I make a little bit of money I'm happy chances are they'll come back.

 

actually most of my buys are at Buy It Now if they have a best offer sometimes I'll make a best offer but If it's fair I just pay that, why try to beat somebody out of a couple of bucks if I'm getting something of value for what I can afford?

 

For me and the people I've talked to, the hidden reserve has an air of false advertising -- you expect that you'll win the item if you have the high bid, but you can't know that until you place the bid and see whether the reserve has been met.

By contrast, if I list a BIN/BO at $200, you know you can get it for $200. You can ask if I'll sell for less, but again, the expectation is clearer, at least in some sense.

 

I always have a negative reaction to hidden reserves. When I see multiple bids on an item with a low price I open the listing, but when I see the words "reserve not met" I run away. That's because I assume that, just like 90 percent of what I see on EBay, the seller is expecting an unreasonable above market price.

 

I have no sense of false advertising. It's right out there for all bidders to know. Its an auction with a reserve, so unless you meet the price, nobody wins. I'm not one to spend a lot of time on any listing. I look at the pictures, bid what I want, and if there is a reserve I did not meet, I move on to the next listing.

 

I have to say I don't think I've ever bid on a reserve auction on eBay and seen the reserve actually get met. It seems like a waste of time for everyone involved. I think the seller should just start at whatever price they will accept for it as buy it now.

 

I agree, I generally bid what my max on first bid. I don't have the time nor get much fun out of back and forth re-bidding to beat another higher bid. Especially if there's a number of bidders. I figure someone will just snipe it at the end anyway. I make my best offer and move on. If I get it I get it. Rarely am I bidding on a coin they didn't make many millions of.

 

You know, the reason we have so many options, firm price, best offer, auctions with starting bids, reserves, no reserve, 1 day, live auctions, long drawn out up to a month, it's because people are different and it's nice to have options. I'm just stating my opinion and looking for others to do the same. Variety is the spice of something, they say.

 

Agree, YET? eBay is the best pricing tool in the world as far as I am concerned. If I REALLY want to level set myself as to what the market will bear, I look at ending soonest eBay auctions that have been bid on. THAT'S YOUR MARKET price. Most eBay coin listings end unsold I think, both auctions AND BIN. The exceptions? Those with precious metal value AND a collectible value above melt. The GREAT thing about eBay is you have a the LARGEST audience number wise and ALSO the greatest Belle Curve spread of buyer education/sophistication.

Once again, though, MY opinion, and you know what WC Fields said about opinions.

 

And so, for you and a large class of other users, reserves aren't relevant.

If you're just placing your maximum bid up-front, or using a sniping service, it doesn't matter whether there's a reserve, because you're taking your own psychology out of the mix. But for other bidders (besides CoinTalk members, who of course are always 100% rational in their decision-making ), it matters quite a bit.

 

You make a good point, BUT? If I bid 11 bucks and the reserve is 11.50 and I move on? The guy lost a sale. I'm not gonna run away on that, but if I never know. Problem is you never know if the reserve is reasonable. The more sales someone has, which usually IS displayed, might make me stay. If it's a new seller, or someone with just a few sales, the odds are that they are expecting an unreasonably high price. We all go through that stage of our lives that something is worth more simply because WE own it.

 

"Well, then", reply the members of the chorus, "$11 wasn't really your high bid, was it?" (Apparently if you're in Chorus, you don't have to take Psychology.)