Opening price vs (known) reserve Poll

[Leon]

A friend and I were having a discussion about auction items. I would like some input from others on the subject. The discussion was centered around people bidding in auctions, and when they will and won't bid. For full disclosure I will say I am no fan of unknown reserves. I don't personally like shooting at a target that is unknown. On the other hand, if an auction item has a reserve, and the reserve is made known in the listing, then I will bid. He says more people won't bid with even a known reserve than just starting the auction out at a sellable price. Personally, I am more prone to look at auctions with action (bids) on them than higher openings with no action. Your thoughts and votes?

(we all realize sellers need to protect themselves in today's market more than ever before)

[Leon]

I should have added one more option that said:

5) I will not bid in any auction with a reserve, regardless.

[Matt]

Maybe to put a concrete face on the theoretical - in the last REA auction, the California OJ started at $100k and ended after 2 bids at $110k. If it had started at $10k with a disclosed reserve of $100k, no doubt more bids would have come in, but where do you think it would have ended compared to where it did.

[FUBAR]

i definitely think you will get more action with a low opening bid, HOPE for a good price will cause added interest. REALITY soon replaces HOPE but then the interest is there.

[WillBBC]

The only time I will bed on an auction with a reserve is if it has already been met.

I don't like having the highest bid on something only to have it not sell regardless.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by WillBBC

The only time I will bed on an auction with a reserve is if it has already been met.

I don't like having the highest bid on something only to have it not sell regardless.

Not sure of other venues, but Grandslambids will take a high bid to a reserve and let the item sell, even if it wouldn't have been met with the next highest bidder.

In other words if a reserve is $100 and there is only one other bidder at $15 and your snipe is $110, then you will win the item at $100 when your snipe is placed, which was the reserve. regards
(I need to verify this with Matt but I think it's the way the system works)

ps..I am told ebay and GSB works this way....

[Section103]

So long as the high opening bid is fair; I actually enjoy tracking it through an auction and placing a last minute bid to claim it at it's minimum price. Sometimes the writing is on the wall that entering into a bidding war is a lost cause (for me).

[White Borders]

Originally Posted by WillBBC

The only time I will bed on an auction with a reserve is if it has already been met.

I don't like having the highest bid on something only to have it not sell regardless.

This is how I feel about it, too. Unless...

Originally Posted by Leon

Not sure of other venues, but Grandslambids will take a high bid to a reserve and let the item sell, even if it wouldn't have been met with the next highest bidder.

In other words if a reserve is $100 and there is only one other bidder at $15 and your snipe is $110, then you will win the item at $100 when your snipe is placed, which was the reserve. regards
(I need to verify this with Matt but I think it's the way the system works)

ps..I am told ebay and GSB works this way....

...is true, then I would bid at or above the reserve.
.
.
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Originally Posted by Rob D.

(As an aside, I'm very excited about executing my first double quote.)

And Rob D. isn't the only one that can put more than one quote in a post (see TBob's Has anyone received their winnings from the SCP auction yet? thread)

[barrysloate]

Jeff- you made a very good point and it is something I have been thinking about. There was a time in the hobby when retail sales and auctions were both pretty prevalent. Back then the auctions were informal and not necessarily the main method of selling memorabilia.

When the economy and card market got hot the auction became the way to go. One could achieve incredible prices simply by letting collectors fight it out.

In this bad economy the bidding war is not what it used to be. So I predict over the next few years we will see the resurgence of the fixed price sale. Auctions are just too risky in this climate.

[Matthew H]

I really don't mind reserves with full disclosure, although I don't know why people bid if they aren't planing to meet the reserve.

You are right about action, Leon.

It really boils down to whether or not a seller is willing to take market value for his card and that's fine with me. Just tell me what the reserve is, so I know if I should bid.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Matthew H

I really don't mind reserves with full disclosure, although I don't know why people bid if they aren't planing to meet the reserve.

You are right about action, Leon.

It really boils down to whether or not a seller is willing to take market value for his card and that's fine with me. Just tell me what the reserve is, so I know if I should bid.

I will generally not bid on cards with hidden reserves. To me it's a waste of time and I have better things to do... It seems that most times those hidden reserves are like the 4x of market BIN's.

[Cat]

I will bid in auctions with reserves but I won't place snipes (unless the reserve is already met). I will simply bump to the next bid level if it has a reserve. In the end, I do not win very many reserve auctions.

If it is an auction house and the item has a reserve and the auction house states that they will place floor bids up to the reserve, I will not bid at all.

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by Matthew H

I really don't mind reserves with full disclosure, although I don't know why people bid if they aren't planing to meet the reserve.

You are right about action, Leon.

It really boils down to whether or not a seller is willing to take market value for his card and that's fine with me. Just tell me what the reserve is, so I know if I should bid.

Matt,

I've had sellers come back to me with an offer to sell at my bid price which was below the reserve. That would be one reason...

Zach Wheat

[GoldenAge50s]

My thoughts:

An auction w/ a KNOWN Reserve--You might just as well make the Reserve your starting bid & have a NO Reserve auction---I don't see a difference. Knowing the Reserve, to me, does not get bidders if they think it's too high a price, no matter if you start it @ .01¢

My thinking on UNKNOWN Reserve w/a low start is to get the bidding going. I think one also has to have a reasonable reserve and I state that in my listing.

I sold all 3 T206's listed last week--all w/ a Reserve.

This week I had 4 T206's listed same way & NONE of the 4 sold--A few bids came in but they were very low. My Reserves were reasonable for the quality of the cards as they were a week ago.

Go figure!

[Exhibitman]

If the opening bid is the reserve there is no need for a reserve, it is just a higher opening bid.

As for whether or not an item is sold via an auction, if it isn't sold to me it doesn't matter to me.