When I first started buying and selling on Ebay in 1998, sellers were
always willing to tell you their reserve price if you asked. They
weren't interested in playing some kind of mystery game or qualifying
the bids hustle, they only wanted to make sure their item went for at
least X dollars. I never liked reserves or used them myself, but figured
as long as the seller was willing to tell me what it was, I might bid on
a reserve auction and see what happened if I thought the reserve was
reasonable. But unless I was really desperate for an item, I would never
bid on a reserve auction where I did not know the reserve figure because
I would be essentially wasting my time with no way of knowing in the end
if what I was willing to pay was anywhere close to what the seller
wanted to get.
As for the $486 poster going for $20... if that actually happened, in
the long run that kind of extreme is not good for either buyers or
sellers or collectors or investor/speculators -- just as a $486 poster
going for $1,486 is not good either. Both extremes distort the market.
That's why I so heartily approve of auction sites like those run by
Bruce and Rich, and the few Ebay sellers who still hold true auctions.
Everyone likes to get a bargain, but stealing stuff is not good for the
long-term health of the poster community, nor is consistently paying way
too much.
-- JR
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