96 2.0 Prelude (Tango machine)

Rich · Post by **Rich** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 1:10 am

I can kinda see where you're coming from but I think you're wrong here. You seem to be hung up on the way the term 'no reserve' is used by some people on eBay when they also have a 99p start price. Yes they have no reserve, but that doesn't mean people with a higher starting price also can't have 'no reserve'.

Some people set low start prices to attract interest or just to save some money on listing fees, but if a reserve is not set then it is their own problem if it sells for a low price. In this case a sensible starting price was set, but still with no reserve so all bids above this price were acceptable.

There is a difference between start price & reserve. A starting price is just that - the price the bidding starts at. All auctions have to start somewhere. A reserve is the minimum they are 'obliged' to accept, above the starting price, not particularly how much they are willing to accept. The good thing about setting a sensible starting price and a higher reserve is that you don't have to sell unless it reaches your target, it may go even higher than that, yet you may also choose to accept bids which come in below your reserve.

A reserve is really just protection for the seller so the item doesn't sell for too little. Of course there are other ways of doing that but they are not called 'reserve'.

... Just my two penneth.

nickyboy · Post by **nickyboy** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 1:42 am

Start your auction low and set a high reserve, or start high to save reserve fees but risk losing interest. We are all in agreement with how auctions work, and the meanings of terms. I know the difference between a starting price and a reserve.

What I am saying is if you make your starting price what your reserve was going to be, basically starting high to begin with, then "no reserve auction" means nothing as the auction starts high to begin with.

If you saw a house for sale, loved it and wanted it, a same house would cost you about £150,000 to buy, and the estate agent said "well it is going to auction this Friday, and it's a no reserve auction, whatever the bidding get to, it sells at!"

You think wow I gotta get down there, might get a real bargain!

You get there, the auction starts with the words "Hello amd welcome, lovely house this, selling with no reserve! The bidding will start at £150,000"

You'd be like

A similar thread here, and people understand http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche- ... serve.html

Rich · Post by **Rich** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 2:01 am

True. Like I say, I see your point and it can sometimes be misleading - like in your example above.

I don't think it was misleading in this case though. The start price was plain to see and there was no hidden reserve above that. All seems fair to me and the term 'no reserve' has been used correctly and honestly; however if I had one criticism it would be that it didn't really need to be mentioned as reserves are scarcely used on eBay where a higher starting price has been set anyway. It is usually only said on auctions where the price is low to reassure buyers that they can still win the item if they have the highest bid.

mercutio · Post by **mercutio** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:33 am

i have been to house auctions with no reserve and they never start at 1p so i dont think thats a real world example. I can see both sides of the discussion and i see no problem with the use of no reserve while still having a starting bid a reserve is the amount you want for it a starting bid is the lowest you would see it gone for there is a difference however small.
A honest seller would use those differences.

Post by **Donald** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:25 am

Spilt milk everywhere!

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 11:36 am

Gorgon wrote:Spilt milk everywhere!

Reminds me of a horror smash I heard about, involving a cul-de-sac and a fully loaded milk float...

Tango Tiger · Post by **Tango Tiger** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 12:36 pm

It doesn't matter now. It's sold and I got what I wanted for it!

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sun Sep 23, 2012 5:29 pm

That's what matters, well done.

Did it go to someone on the forums?

Tango Tiger · Post by **Tango Tiger** » Mon Sep 24, 2012 9:24 am

No, but I did point him in this direction.

Strange thing was seeing "my" car again, I passed him on the motorway yesterday!!!!