Hidden reserves disguised as phantom bidding

[scgaynor]

Agreed

I was responding more to the comment about bidding in auctions in hopes of getting a bargain.

My comment was not even a negative comment, I was just stating that bidders want an item cheap and sellers want the most that they can get. There is no perfect auction process that guarantees both people are happy.

Higher minimum bids decrease the bidding and usually the price realized. Lower minimum bids foster competitive bidding, which usually brings higher prices in the long run. It is hard to make consignors understand that though because they get scared. Each auctioneer has to make a business decision on how they want to handle that.

The best solution for a bidder is to have some bidding discipline. Set your price and don't go any higher. If you don't hit the reserve, then you were not going to win the item anyway.

Scott