LOTS of interest / requests...what do you do?

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

I have my own policy on this, but would like to hear your thoughts/ideas:

 

When you get multiple requests (via email) for a particular item with a reserve, and they all basically say "how much?", do you:

 

A) tell them your reserve

B) give them an amount higher/lower than the reserve to see if they bite

C) tell them to bid & "good luck"

D) ask them to make an offer

E) other

 

Familiarity with the item is important, as is need for $$$. In my case, to be fair with an item on it's first go around, I go with C & D which will give me more info on its actual worth at the time. Also, you don't scare off a potential bidder.

 

Agree? Disagree? Insults? Name-calling? JLA sucks? C'mon, hit me with your best shot!!

 

Rick

[murph0]

Why have a reserve and then no BIN or anything. I know I avoid auctions that have reserves unless it's something really really nice, as do many others.

Reserves may stimulate interest by having the low starting point, but it also deters after a certain point when people get to.."well it's up to this price now and the reserve is STILL not met?!?! Screw this.." It's especially a problem with stuff that is readily available in another auction without a reserve.

 

Brian

[COI]

"Why have a reserve and then no BIN "

 

This is a good point. I usually don't give out reserves because I want people to bid acording to how much they want the book. This way, even if the reserve isn't met I have some idea as to the current market value of the book, and can re-adjust If I'm determined to sell. This is especially true when offering an uncommon, valuable item. But it usually dosen't work that way, as some people are detered by reserves. But I'd rather that happen than suffer under the unpredictable ebay system. I may divulge a reserve if the person asking is someone I deal with regularly, but otherwise If I wanted everyone to know my set price, I would put a BIN.

[Joanna]

I rarely do reserve auctions, but if I do and they ask the reserve, I tell them. If they want to deal outside of ebay, I explain that it's against ebay policy and tell them to bid. If they do this after an auction has ended, I tell them that I'll repost it and therefore they can bid. I never make deals outside of ebay on a book I listed there. Usually, it's because my minimum is the lowest I want to sell it for, but it's also against the rules and therefore not worth it to me. I get really tired of all these people trying to deal outside of ebay. It's an auction, for crying out loud -- if you want it then bid, if you don't like the price, wait for another one.

 

-- Joanna

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

Good points Brian, and I agree in general. But specifically with what I have listed currently, there is little or no past listings to refer to estimate the comics' worth. My DCs have only a few graded in the Census, and none have been offered up that I could find.

 

Plus, I can re-list the unsold with a better idea of current value based on the first auctions. Setting a higher but reasonable starting bid with no reserve the 2nd time around will better ensure a sale while saving me on the fees. I have to eat the reserve fee, but it's worth the peace of mind. Make sense?

 

And the BIN option can backfire if the margin between it & the reserve is too wide (why bother with it then) or too narrow (like in your example).

If I had ANY competition at all, I would not have set reserves on any of them except the IM/Subby of course. But the only similar item was the ASM 61 which had an 8.0 listed earlier...against my 9.2. This is the main reason why I chose these books to list at this specific time.

 

Rick

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

Exactly,

 

A reserve to me as a seller is basically a measuring stick & a 'bad-timer' protector. I try and set realistic amounts to my merch, but I don't want to give it away. This is still pretty much a hobby for me, though my business side doesn't trust ebay's fluctuations.

 

"Throw it out there and let the market dictate the price?" I don't think so. A bad week = fewer watchers/bidders. A good week = more watchers/bidders. I'll protect myself from the BAD weeks, thank you very much.

 

Rick

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

Joanna,

 

I'm curious; why is it against ebay policy to sell an item that has ended unsold? The way I understand it, no one is protected under ebay's rights when a deal is made outside, but that doesn't make it wrong...? You mean ethically- as opposed to legally?

 

And as for the reserve, if you would tell anyone who asks for it, why not just mention it in the ad? I have a friend who does this, and the logic escapes me.

 

Well, see you all in the mornin'...what the? It IS morning!

 

Rick

[Joanna]

I'm curious; why is it against ebay policy to sell an item that has ended unsold? The way I understand it, no one is protected under ebay's rights when a deal is made outside, but that doesn't make it wrong...? You mean ethically- as opposed to legally?

 

It's fee avoidance. It depends on the circumstances, of course, but here's ebay's rules on that:

 

* Fee avoidance - Circumventing eBay fees. Examples:

o Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to offer to sell any listed item outside of eBay

o Canceling a listing to sell the item to anyone who contacted the seller through eBay, or became aware of the item through eBay

o Ending a listing early to sell the item at a higher price to the winning bidder

o Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to offer to sell an item outside of eBay to any of your bidders in a Reserve Not Met listing.

o Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to sell duplicate or additional merchandise outside of eBay to underbidders

o Listing items in a manner that allows circumvention of eBay fees (click here for more information)

 

Notes: In a Non-Paying Buyer situation you may sell to an under bidder using Second Chance Offer. Your transaction will be covered by eBay services such as insurance and Feedback.

 

The people I'm talking about use ebay's "contact the seller" and then offer to buy the item after the end of auction. They obviously knew it was up for auction, but didn't bid because they wanted to deal outside ebay, having you sell the item for however much you would save on fees. They get it for less, and you get your minimum (minus fees) and ebay gets nothing. But without ebay, they wouldn't have known about the item. Ebay doesn't like to be cheated of its fees, so that's against their rules.

 

When I get these offers, I always wonder if someone is testing me as a seller, seeing if I'm going to bite and then reporting me to ebay. Since I list things at the minimum I'm willing to accept, there's no reason to play games outside of ebay, so I always pass.

 

-- Joanna

[Joanna]

Forgot to answer the question about reserves. Truth is, I've only had someone ask once. The bids weren't moving and I was frustrated, so I told him, hoping he'd bid. He didn't. I have no idea what I'll do the next time I'm asked. I figure I'll take it on a case by case basis. I run very few reserve auctions, so it's not something that comes up often.

 

-- Joanna

[Kevin Boyd]

(a) usually I will tell them the reserve if I am asked - unless the person I am selling for has specifically requested that the reserve be kept private

 

(b) no... I wouldn't want to misrepresent the price

 

© if they say it is too much, then I tell them to take the chance of letting someone else buy at that price and if it doesn't sell to contact me and I'll see if I can negotiate a better price

 

(d) I tell them to make me an ofer after the auction ends

 

Personally I have no problem with:

 

- receiving or sending e-mails after the auction ends about selling the item privately.

 

- receiving private offers before the auction ends. Most items I have up have a BIN, but if someone contacts me on an item that doesn't have a BIN and their offer is WAY over the reserve price then yeah, I might be willing to end the auction early and sell it privately.

 

Kev

 

[greggy]

In the past, when I did list most of my books with reserves, I did advise the ones who enquired the actual reserve amount. I feel that if you are going to give out this amount, you have to be truthful about the amount. This hasn't been an issue of late as basically everything I list has no reserves. I have never asked anyone to make an offer so I could sell a book outside of eBay while the auction was still ongoing. I have known of some sellers who ended auctions early to sell to someone while totally upsetting the other bidders. I just feel that the potentially goodwill lost is not worth the immediate sale.

 

I think I am going to sue you!

[scottish]

I use reserves on books I want to sell what I bought them for. A good example will be the ASM 129 9.4. I'll have a reserve of 700.00 on it.

 

I think reserves are good in that they at least allow bidders to think they have a shot and bid. If I post the ASM at 700.00 first bid it would probably still sell, but I wouldn't get nearly as many bids.

 

I will disclose reserves if asked...don't have a problem. I sometimes give a hint as to what it might be in the description.

[comicartfan]

I don't usually do reserve auctions, as I feel that if you get more attention and bids if people feel that they have a shot at it without someone's crazy reserve price. But, there are times that it's appropiate. Now, as far as giving out reserves, why not ? - Someone wants to know, so they have an idea if they want to pay that price. If the reserve is $500.00 and this guy only wants to pay $350.00, then he will pass. And this point will upset people, and I think it's perfectly acceptable to end an auction early to see the book to someone privately. I have been on both sides of this: I have ended auctions early for buyers - and have had people end auctions for me to buy the book and I have been very satisfied with the results. In the case that I ended the auction, I might have gotten more out of letting it ride....but I was very happy with the transaction, I got to know a dealer who is very well connected that I can go to for sales/trades etc. - Hey, it's a personal choice, and I feel it's my book and if i cancel the auction, that's my buisness.

[Zonker]

bump

(for swampy)