Can't set a reserve below £50.

tomstickland

It's not stupid. Plenty of other people will bid with reserves. I have items to sell for someone else and she has set reserve prices. I want to attract bids by setting the starting price lower than the reserve.

Wig

But you won't attract bids, you'll get people who wish to pay x amount bidding and if they are bel;ow your reserve their max bid will show and they will walkaway.

If someone wants your item they will know how much they are prepared to pay if you show a starting price that is below what they are prepared to pay they will bid, if it is above they will not bid.

What I'm saying is starting price shown or hidden reserve you will still only sell to those prepared to pay what you want so you might as well tell them upfront.

If you lose me as a potential customer there will be others who think like me who you also will lose.

If I want a Harry potter book (as I do), I know I am not prepared to pay more than 5 pounds all inclusive so I look for listings with starting bids & postage matching my price, if the item is reserved I ignore it. Theoretical of course because of the 50 pound limit.

tomstickland

You're just telling me what you think. Past experience has shown that not all people see it like that. ie: it's worked for me.

skintchick

I agree. People who think it is a low price bid, then get sucked into the thill and bid more than they might have done otherwise. So reserves are useful.

Wig

But how can you tell what people are thinking or what they would have done otherwise,......truth is, you can't. People up their bids all the time reserve listing or low start or realistic start, there will always be people who raise their bid, many people use an opening bid just to see how the land lies and so they can be kept informed on that listing.

*Fact* is you are losing customers by putting a listing up as reserved.

skintchick

You're the only one I know that it puts off.

tomstickland

Well, past experience has shown that, for me, setting the starting price at what I would like the reserve to be doesn't work as well as setting a lower starting price.
Anyway, that's my problem really, I'd just wish that Ebay would let me set a lower reserve.

Contains_Mild_Peril

In salerooms as well as online auctions, it's normal for bidding to start well below the reserve. Lower start prices do tend to attract customers.
However, that's not the only consideration. If you list an item with a start price of £50 it will cost you £1.50 basic listing fee. A 99p start will cost only 15p to list; fees for a £50 reserve would be £1 (2% of reserve), but since this is refunded if the item sells, listing with a low start price and reserve, rather than a high start price, can be much cheaper.