Hidden reserves disguised as phantom bidding

[Hankphenom]

What about the scenario whereby the bidding never reaches the hidden reserve, but the buyer would have been happy to pay that amount had he known what it was, and obviously the seller would have been happy with the reserve price, but the item doesn't get there and doesn't sell? So now nobody's happy because of the hidden reserve strategy. I wonder how often that happens?

[HRBAKER]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

What about the scenario whereby the bidding never reaches the hidden reserve, but the buyer would have been happy to pay that amount had he known what it was, and obviously the seller would have been happy with the reserve price, but the item doesn't get there and doesn't sell? So now nobody's happy because of the hidden reserve strategy. I wonder how often that happens?

My guess, quite often. And,.........if the reserves were disclosed then the bidder could at least pick up the phone and say, "He, I'll pay the reserve now that the curtain has been pulled back and I know what it is."

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

What about the scenario whereby the bidding never reaches the hidden reserve, but the buyer would have been happy to pay that amount had he known what it was, and obviously the seller would have been happy with the reserve price, but the item doesn't get there and doesn't sell? So now nobody's happy because of the hidden reserve strategy. I wonder how often that happens?

That should only happen if you're not bidding as much as you are willing to pay. That's one thing that I've never understood is buyers who are willing to pay more if they know absolutely where the bar is set, but if not, will lowball bids until they lose the item. Maybe it's born of distrust of the auction houses and shill bidding driving up the price, but I run into this even when selling on eBay. I don't know how many times I've had a buyer come to me with some sob story about a photo or something belonging to their great-uncle and they really wanted it but were outbid and can I contact the buyer and see if they would sell it to them. And then I go back and look at the bid history and they only bid like $10 for it. Seems like an important piece of your family history should be worth more of an effort than that, shouldn't it?

Maybe I'm oversimplifying things, but it seems to me that if you bid less than you would be willing to pay and lose the item because you were either outbid or didn't reach the reserve, hidden or otherwise, then you don't have anyone to blame but yourself. If you bid as high as you are willing to go and still don't reach the bar, that's one thing, but if you're lowballing yourself, you must not want it as bad as you thought.

[Hankphenom]

Maybe I'm oversimplifying things, but it seems to me that if you bid less than you would be willing to pay and lose the item because you were either outbid or didn't reach the reserve, hidden or otherwise, then you don't have anyone to blame but yourself. If you bid as high as you are willing to go and still don't reach the bar, that's one thing, but if you're lowballing yourself, you must not want it as bad as you thought.[/QUOTE]

That sounds good in theory, but then why do so many people stay up all night to fight it out for the final bid? There's some psychology there that I've never understood, other than distrust of the ceiling bid process, but it's widespread nonetheless. If I didn't trust an auction house, I'm not bidding in their auction, otherwise I'm always happy to plug in my maximum and let it ride. Same is true of sniping on eBay. Of course, it's discouraging to be the underbidder, but you have to draw the line somewhere and let the chips fall where they may.