I HATE EBAY....

[Rockapin-up]

RESERVE PRICES!!!!!!!!!!!!:rage: :rage: :rage:


Why can't ebay sellers just put the price they want, instead of makeing someone like me go nuts by trying to bid more than I want. If they would just put the price they want then I would know if I can afford it or not [bad]


Okay i'm done complaining

 

[Kimberly]

That's why I won't bid on items that don't state their reserve. I can understand they use the reserve to protect their merchandies yet keep their fees low, but they should at least state what the reserve is as a courtesy to their potential buyers.

 

[Rockapin-up]

YES YES, THAT'S ALL I ASK.........




(RUNS OFF INTO THE NITE WAVING HANDS AND SCREAMING AT THE MOON) lol

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

I totally agree. I don't understand the point of reserves. And then in the end, all these people bid on the item and the reserves not met, so the seller doesn't end up selling the item anyway. It doesn't do anybody any good!!
And then the bidder sends a "second chance offer" to the person who bid the highest yet didn't win the item because of the reserve. I NEVER accept a second chance offer, just out of principle!

 

[Zemke Fan]

You guys are all wet...

The reserve price (or opening bid) serves a useful purpose. If I buy something at $A and decide that I don't want it, I surely am not going to start the listing at $0.99... I'm going to list it with a reserve (or opening bid) set at $A. Moreover, I'm not about to tell the world what I want for something. If I wanted to do THAT, I'd post it as a Buy-It-Now price. My experience as a seller is that people with experience in a particular category will be able to judge the worth of something and bid accordingly. Frankly, the tactic I have taken recently is to set a BIN price about 25% above what I expect the item to sell for. Most of the time someone without adequate patience comes along and snaps it up at the inflated price...

Anyway, eBay is a VERY involved marketplace where pricing strategies and timing are everything...

EDIT NOTE: I came back and looked again at what I had written. (Don't drink and type, kids.) And realized that what I meant was a high opening bid vs. a reserve. I, too, have evolved in my listings to where I rarely use a reserve, but set my opening bid as IF it were my reserve. It's the minimum I will accept for an item. Like I said, I also often use a BIN if I want to make a 20-25% profit for something for which I know there is strong demand... such as a vintage 7-3/4 hat!

I think the challenge as a seller is to realize that there are periods of time when prices (in general) are lower than other times. During the "lulls" I don't relist something that hasn't met my reserve (opening bid). Instead, I wait until demand returns.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Why not just do away with the whole "reserve" thing and just list an item with a minimum bid that is, or is close to your reserve? Or even with a "Buy it Now" that is your reserve? That's what I do anymore, knowing as I do that most folks hate that whole reserve thing so much.

 

[Leading Edge]

Thanks Zemke Fan, now I understand why sellers set reserves.
AND

I agree with Maj. Nick: set a minimum price or set a BIN, but don't set up a secretive "guess what you'll have to bid" price. I had one experience at that game - did not like, nope did not like it at all :rage:

I, too, boycott eBay reserve listings!

 

[Mr. Steve]

What's best?

If I want to bid on something I want, I don't care how they set it up. I do agree with what was said about the second chance offer.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Thanks Zemke Fan, now I understand why sellers set reserves.
AND

I agree with Maj. Nick: set a minimum price or set a BIN, but don't set up a secretive "guess what you'll have to bid" price. I had one experience at that game - did not like, nope did not like it at all :rage:

I, too, boycott eBay reserve listings!

Yep, it's the whole guessing game thing that most folks disdain, myself included.

 

[ShooShooBaby]

last time i sold stuff, the fee you paid up front was higher if your starting bid was higher. for the sake of keeping me costs down, i usually started my auction lower and set a reserve for the minimum i would take, if it was a really good item. i know high prices and bidding wars can be annoying to you, the buyer... but with the overhead (time and money) that goes into selling on ebay, a seller is not going to make it easy for you to get things supercheap! it can take some time checking and documenting flaws, measuring, begging your friend who fits the item to model the item, taking pictures, writing a description, etc. and their fees aren't exactly cheap, either. and then there's the contacting the bidder, getting paid, paypal fees, and packaging and sending the item. etc! not to mention finding and paying for the items in the first place. one of my friends who sells A LOT says that, additionally, the cheap starting price gets people interested in the item the way a higher price won't, even if they're expecting it to go sky-high anyway.

anyway... as a buyer i feel your pain at the things sellers do to keep prices high, but as someone who has sold stuff, i identify with them as well! it's important for them to make their money, so they can keep going out and finding those items you love so much.

 

[Vintage Betty]

I've been on both sides of this issue, as a buyer and seller, and I have to say, that in most cases I will not sell without a reserve unless the item is a low price.

I am happy to tell anyone the reserves for items I sell. But unfortunately, when I have started items at the Buy It Now price, I just don't have the same amount of traffic the item generates when I list a low starting price with a reserve.

What happened to me repeatedly is that items sold way under my purchase price for the item, because I tried the .99 starting bid. I ended up selling a mint 1940's swing dress to the UK for $14.99 and I lost money.

On the other side of the coin, when I ask for reserve price as a buyer and am refused, I almost never bid on that person's auction on principle. You wouldn't walk into a shop and be refused to be told the price, why should I bid on an auction where I am not being told the reserve? Either I will pay it or not, I just don't understand the logic of sellers who refuse to release the Reserve Price.

Comments anyone?

Vintage Betty

 

[Flying Scotsman]

I just email the seller and ask what the reserve is. I only had one seller not tell me, and I didn't bother to bid on the item.

I view the reserve price stuff as just a marketing tool for sellers, to let them get buyers interested at lower prices. I'd much rather see it done away with, and just starting bids at the reserve price, but I doubt they will do that.

Regular "going-going-gone" auctions don't do the "reserve" thing...they start the bidding at the reserve.

But hey, it works for Ebay sellers, so I guess it's here to stay.

 

[CanadaDoll]

I've never had a single seller tell me their reserve prices[huh] , as such I've missed out on a few very nice things

 

[Adelaidey]

I've asked for reserve prices before and never gotten them

Maybe that's why reserves frustrate me so... I wouldn't mind if they just told me that they wanted 60 bucks for something that I was only willing to pay 30 bucks for. But noooo.... I just keep bidding like a fool and give up frustrated. [huh]

ShooShooBaby, thanks for the bit of info that the seller pays higher fees for a higher starting price-- that kinda justifies reserves for me. But I just wish they would tell me!

 

[reetpleat]

I agree that the reserve price is kind of silly, but why let it get to you too much?

If you bid your best price, and it does not meet a reseve, so be it.

If I bid on something and it didn't meet the eserve, then they sent me another chance to have it at my orice, why not take it. What principle am I standing on. the only result is it gets relisted an sold, and you didn't get it at the price you were willing to pay when you could have. Kind of cuting off your nose to spite your face i think.

Of course, I alwasy start at the minimum price I want, and never use reserves.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Why not just do away with the whole "reserve" thing and just list an item with a minimum bid that is, or is close to your reserve? Or even with a "Buy it Now" that is your reserve? That's what I do anymore, knowing as I do that most folks hate that whole reserve thing so much.

because people are less likely (according to sellers on the boards) to buy things with higher starting bids. For some reason - even if they're prepared to pay $25 for something - they won't bid on something with a $25 opening bid. I've had quite a few suits this way.

bk

 

[mikepara]

Ebay grrr

The whole Ebay thing is a rip off for sellers. Ebay has millions of posts everyday, resulting in millions of auction start price fees, millions of selling price fees, then they rip you off by charging you when someone uses Paypal. They should ditch the starting price charge and get rid of the reserve price fee. The buyer should pay some of the paypal charge at paypoint.(Its not like you can really not use Paypal, if you want to sell the thing!) Final value charge would still earn them millions a day. Ripoffs.

 

[Rockapin-up]

I'm starting to see the whole reserve thing, from you great people here, but I still don't like it . Wow and I had no idea about all the extra fees with paypal and all. I just pay with money orders with sellers that allow it. Thanks everyone for explaining both sides to me.........but I still don't like reserves

 

[The Lonely Navigator]

Hello,

I'm divided on Ebay for many reasons:

I don't like the fact of people having to register their credit cards on there. If one didn't have to have a credit card, I would register as a buyer.

Like others said, the fees do get ridiculous. :eusa_doh:

But at the same time...it has been the very same place where I've been able to get Cape Horner stamps I've been looking for to add to my collection. There are also many other things that I simply wouldn't be able to find readily, and even at what I consider a decent price. (My mother trusts me to use her Ebay account to buy things on there.)

When I go to look for something, I tend to be the 'Buy It Now' type, but for what I purchase, the prices are practically pocket change. I also pay with money orders only as well.

I guess I just take the bad with the good and somehow make the best of it.



Prien

 

[Zemke Fan]

Just do what I do...

The whole Ebay thing is a rip off for sellers...The buyer should pay some of the paypal charge at paypoint.(Its not like you can really not use Paypal, if you want to sell the thing!) Final value charge would still earn them millions a day. Ripoffs.

... include the PayPal fee in shipping and handling and/or charge a 3% surcharge for PayPal. Either way, I get no complaints on my auctions.