??? on ebay seller lowering reserve???

[shadroch]

I'm not sure if this is a new policy or if it just never happened to me before.

Yesterday I got an e-mail from e-bay saying that the seller of an item had lowered his reserve,on a lot I was bidding on.I was the high bidder,but reserve had not been met.Even after he lowered the price,my bid was not up to his new reserve,so no harm done.

My question is if you bid on an item and it fails to make reserve,do I need to worry that he seller will lower the reserve to my bid?

Like most ebayers,I shop with a budget in mind and if I bid and it fails to reach the resrve,I often just move on and bid on other books. Do we now need to worry about keeping cash in reserve for this type of auction?

I've been burnt twice by ending up winning books I'd bid on,when the high bidder retracts their bid.You think you've been outbid,then bang, get a notice you won .Can this happen by the seller lowering his reserve last second?

[greggy]

The reserve can't be lowered below the high bidder's maximum bid.

[shadroch]

Thanks,but can it be lowered to the max. bid?

If I bid $206 and he's asking $250,can he lower it to $206

[Jeffreykli]

Thanks,but can it be lowered to the max. bid?

If I bid $206 and he's asking $250,can he lower it to $206

 

To take it further, what if you bid $206, but the underbid is only $100? Then your bid would show up as $102.50 (RNM). What happens if the seller tries to reduce the reserve?

 

If he tries to reduce it to:

 

$225 -- I assume no problem.

$200 -- Does he get an error message?

$100 -- Error message because it's lower than the current bid?

 

[greggy]

Thanks,but can it be lowered to the max. bid?

If I bid $206 and he's asking $250,can he lower it to $206

Not according to the notice that was sent a few weeks ago.

[shadroch]

Thanks. Who was the message sent to?

Sellers? Buyers? I didn't see it but I don't read most ebay messages. This one was emailed to my address,not just added to my ebay account.

[greggy]

Here's the link on eBay --> Link

 

Refer to point 4. Although it may not be that clear when they are referring to one dollar about the current high bid - Current bid showing or the high bidder's top bid - but the part that says that the "next bid meets reserve" implies that the seller can't automatically make you meet reserve. Whether the original top proxy bid is erased is another question.

[Jeffreykli]

Here's the link on eBay --> Link

 

Refer to point 4. Although it may not be that clear when they are referring to one dollar about the current high bid - Current bid showing or the high bidder's top bid - but the part that says that the "next bid meets reserve" implies that the seller can't automatically make you meet reserve. Whether the original top proxy bid is erased is another question.

 

See Point #18, the example.

 

In the example, the reserve is set at $100, and the top bidder has a bid of $75 placed, but the current bid is $51.

 

The seller can lower the reserve to $52, (lowest allowed), and the high bidder's proxy bid is reduced to $51. The high bidder cannot be automatically responsible for the item. Email notification is sent to all bidders, and there's supposed to be something on the auction that states that the reserve has been lowered and the next bid meets reserve.

[greggy]

Here's the link on eBay --> Link

 

Refer to point 4. Although it may not be that clear when they are referring to one dollar about the current high bid - Current bid showing or the high bidder's top bid - but the part that says that the "next bid meets reserve" implies that the seller can't automatically make you meet reserve. Whether the original top proxy bid is erased is another question.

 

See Point #18, the example.

 

In the example, the reserve is set at $100, and the top bidder has a bid of $75 placed, but the current bid is $51.

 

The seller can lower the reserve to $52, (lowest allowed), and the high bidder's proxy bid is reduced to $51. The high bidder cannot be automatically responsible for the item. Email notification is sent to all bidders, and there's supposed to be something on the auction that states that the reserve has been lowered and the next bid meets reserve.

Dammit...you lawyers take time to read all the details!

[Jeffreykli]

[DKB]

Seems Red Hook learned something new in this thread!