I see your point, but consider this. The one thing that reserves get the auctioner is an amount that someone WILL pay. Say I was to auction my extremely rare NeXT Cube prototype. Others might not value it with the same amount that I would, and a reserve would help with that. However, a reserve would allow the auctioner to reevaluate the value he places on an item, if no one meets the reserve amount.
If I valued my NeXT at $2,500, but the top bid was at $300, it's highly unlikely that I would decide to complete the auction with the buyer. If, however, I valued it at $1,000 and the highest bid was $875, I might ultimately decide that having the $875 in my bank account was worth more than having a piece of computing history in my collection. If you like, substitute "SE/30" for "NeXT Cube prototype" and subsequent references to the machine as you read this message. ;) Eagle On Monday, August 12, 2002, at 12:18 , Mike T. wrote: > I agree! Reserve sucks. If you won't accept less than a certain price, > just > start the auction at that price. Or even better, start the auction at > slightly less than your acceptable price and offer a Buy It Now! price > right > above your price. I know the first thing I look for is a buy-it-now > price > and if it is reasonable, I'll use that rather than bother with the > auction. > .................................Mike T. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "the pickle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Compact Macs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Monday, August 12, 2002 10:20 AM > Subject: Why Reserve Auctions Suck > > >> At 07:50 -0500 on 12/08/02, Keith Johnson wrote: >>> Huh? Why would you tell what the reserve is if you're hoping people >>> bid as >>> high as possible? IMO, it's very rude to ask what the reserve is. >>> Unless >> >> Reserve auctions drive away bidders. Most people I know who frequent >> eBay get >> very frustrated when they see an auction with a reserve price that >> isn't >> disclosed and a $1 (or similarly low) starting bid. People who put >> reserve >> prices on auctions do it for the sole purpose of protecting their sale >> price, >> in which case they should just say what it is, start the auction at >> that, and >> stop wasting the time of everyone else who *knows* what they're >> selling isn't >> worth what the reserve price is. >> >> If the item being sold *is* worth its reserve price, there won't be >> any problem >> getting that price, and they can just start the auction *at* that >> price without >> putting a reserve on it. -- Compact Macs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/>. Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Compact Macs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/compact.shtml> The FAQ: <http://macfaq.org/> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive:<http://www.mail-archive.com/compact.macs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
