In case anyone was interested, I just placed a TIG water cooler and a High Frequency Unit on Ebay. These were in my mobile rig, but I very seldom get calls for mobile TIG stuff. I just got a Lincoln TIG 300/300 for the shop, so I don't need the extra gear. Both units work flawlessly. Here are the links:
"John L. Weatherly" wrote
John I need to ask a question. No I'm interested in your auction, but I have ask why did you put in a reserve price rather than start the bidding at "the reserve price"? Plus, you don't mention what the reserve price is in the text.
I've never understood why people do this. For everyone bidding, it is a guessing game (not to mention a waste of time), and frankly it turns me and others off to that auction.
Can you enlighten me?
Lane
That's it, exactly. I learned pretty early on that if there is a relatively high starting bid, there is a chance that there will be no bids at all. But as you can see, less than eight hours into it, the reserve has already been met on one of the auctions. Sorry, Lane. I didn't mean to offend anyone. Just needed to unload some gear.
Thanks anyway for looking
People do this do encourage bidding. Many people won't bid if the starting bid is the reserve price. They don't want to bid $200, but they'll bid up to maybe $50 to start and that gets them started.
The reserve is strictly there to protect the seller's interest. Ever been to an auction where there was a minimum price to sell? I have..and they don't always tell you up front what it is..it's marketing....
J
John No offense taken. I just didn't understand the logic behind it. And not sure I still do. To me it is misleading, I don't like guessing games, but that is my problem I guess. I have to admit that I have bid on auctions with reserves, but not until I've emailed the seller to ask what the minimum is. It would save hassle etc for the seller to mention the reserve in the text if they want to sell that way. Hey, if everyone was the same, this would be a dull and boring world eh?
Lane
Once you buy and sell as much as some of us on eBay, you'll start to see patterns. First off, reserve price auctions usually do bring slightly less because some folks like you don't like the idea. On the other hand, they usually work well enough for the seller.
It usually goes like this: You have an item with an average value of, say, $100. If you put in on eBay with an opening bid of $80, you probably won't get a bid. If you put with with an opener of $1.99 with a $90 resererve, it'll probably go for $110.
It's all in the bidder's head. People are unwilling to open at a high price because they want to try for a better deal. Once the ball is rolling, the wallets loosen, the pulse goes up, and the bids get placed. Doesn't matter if you don't understand why it happens, it just does.
I don't usually use reserves. Only on items where I don't know the value. On most stuff I research what it's worth and then just toss it out there and hope for the best. Maximum profits with a little risk.
GTO(John)
Who cares what the seller asks or sets as reserve? Put in the most you'd be willing to pay for the item, that's all that matters. If the reserve is more, you don't overspend, if the reserve is less, the bid engine stops as soon as you meet it, if others outbid you, then they paid more than you would. Since E-bay doesn't charge you to bid, what do you have to lose?
Stuart
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