Alex,
The listing fee will be based on the reserve price regardless of the starting
bid amount entered by the seller. There is also a standard reserve fee of $2
on top of the listing fee that is refunded to the seller if the item sells. If
you start the bidding at the reserve than the reserve (and $2 fee) is
unnecessary.
Setting start bids well below the reserve is used to get bidders interested,
sort of a tease. If any of us saw a nice looking rebuilt TR-6 tranny with
overdrive starting at $1.00 it could be hard to resist, unless as an
experienced eBayer you know that the tranny will get to $1000 in a hurry,
reserve or no reserve. There are too many knowledgeable bidders who know the
true values of hot items for that tranny to sell for $1, $100 or even $500.
I've seen reserves used for two purposes other than just to "protect my
investment" approach. One is to set the reserve so high that no one will
possibly bid the reserve, see what the high bid is and decide whether to offer
the item at that price to the winning bidder after auction end. Neither seller
nor winning bidder is obligated in a "reserve not met" item but the winning
bidder is often thrilled to buy below the reserve. It gives the seller the
opportunity to say "Keep it" or "sell it" after the auction is over with the
only cost being the listing and reserve fee. A seller can gauge a bidder's
interest interest on the item by the number of bids that the bidder placed to
get to the reserve or outbid others.
The other strategy is to set a ridiclously high reserve so a bidder (or better
yet, bidders) gets so wrapped up in a "gotta get it" mentality that they keep
on bidding until the reserve is met, paying way too much for the item. This
takes some research on the part of the seller to get a feel for what bidders
may be willing to pay for "what's hot".
As an eBayer bidder and seller I've been on both sides of the fence. As a
seller I do not practice the first strategy, but have used the second with some
pretty good success, i.e. an old 1950s plastic model kit that I bought for $75
a few years ago (typical eBay value $60-$100)I ended up selling for $500
because there was a short period of pure feeding frenzy by four bidders who
were trying to outbid each other and going to price levels NEVER seen before
for the kits they were bidding on. Being the capitalist that I am I dove in
and made several killings. It was quick cash for my TR restoration.
Bottom line: When looking at potential high dollar items that are rare or NOS
try to research pricing and set a maximum price that you will promise yourself
not to go over no matter what. Typically the good stuff sells at realistic
prices. There are very few chances to walk away with the proverbial "$10,000
vase bought in a yard sale for $1" items. Most of the crazy bid prices are
either new eBayers with little experience in price setting or those with more
money than can ever be spent in a lifetime. My $500 model kit went to a fellow
who spent $19,000 on collectible plastic model kits in one month!
Greg
CD6250L
>
> From: Alex Cherington <a_flying_scotsman@yahoo.com>
> Date: 2003/10/08 Wed AM 04:50:58 EDT
> To: Mark Hooper <mhooper@pix-cinema.com>,
> "'Keith Meinhold'"
> <keith@navyboy.com>, 6pack@autox.team.net
> Subject: RE: Selling on EBAY
>
> Hi,
>
> If you start the auction at the reserve price are the
> listing fees more expensive than if you started it
> lower with a higher reserve?
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