Gun Broker starting bid
I've been watching gun broker for a third series colt woodsman sport in good condition. Could someone explain to me why a seller would have a starting bid lower than their reserve price? I see this done often and don't get it. Seems like a waste of time. Use small words I must be slow.
Just how it is to start the bidding war. Think of it as click bait. Allows the seller to refuse to sell with out hitting their minimum set amount. I think the reserve gets abused though sometimes.
"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
~Theodore Roosevelt~
On Evilbay the fellow sellers I know have all concluded that a low starting bid *usually* will get more interest from buyers and usually result in a higher sale price; So low starting prices are a good idea (Unless you have something so obscure that only 1 or 2 people would even buy it!) Reserves are about fear of mot selling your item at a high enough price I'd think - Fear isn't the best idea...
I understand reserves, I just think reserve and starting price should be set the same so a buyer knows if he is interested or not. Thanks for the replies.
I bid on the all the time. I plug in what I think it's worth if I'm interested and move on. Most of the reserves are stupid high so it lets folks know when they see the bid they know it is over priced. If I'm really interested I might gamble and see how stuoid high it is push it alittle and walk away. Haven't won anything either playing the game... yet.
A few years back I played the game on a combat commander. I bowed out at $1200. another guy ran it up to over $1400. We never found out what his reserve price was. The whole time I was bidding I kept thinking this is nuts, I can't hold the gun or inspect it. Some people think their stuff is made out of gold.
The bottom line is " nothing is worth more than someone is willing and able to pay for it." In any money transaction, you say what you are willing and able to pay, any more it is a no sale. It ain't nothing personal, it is just plain business. I have passed on many deals because I thought the price was more than I was willing to pay. Just my 2 cents worth.
I use to go to a big gun auction every month, for years. When they went on line and started the
Reserve / Minimum bid game I quit.
you are 100% correct.Originally Posted by bassnbuck
the seller is trying to get action without running potential buyers off.
(buyers that already know what they want to spend and will 'pass' on an item beyond their interest)
i agree with you
WebMonkey
Retired 19D
Psalm 91:9
Honda 919
I've participated in many auctions, both as a buyer and a seller. A reserve is supposed to be the minimum that a seller will accept for the piece, and it is pre-established with the website and can't be changed. In other words, the website knows what it is and the seller knows what it is, but the potential buyer doesn't know. Once it is reached the piece is sold one way or another, either at that price or at a higher bid. But, the buyer never knows exactly what the reserve is/was unless the figure is disclosed by the seller. You will sometimes see the reserve figure stated by the seller, which kind of makes the entire thing silly, because the original "basic" type of auction starts at a minimum figure set by the seller. So the seller can go with a basic auction and start the piece at (example) $500, or have a reserve of $500. Some sellers will then arrange for an opening bid to be made not too far below the reserve with the hope that someone will bid much more than the reserve, let's say $600, because they don't know what the reserve is and don't want to lose the piece. The fellow that bids $600 will never know that he could have had the piece for $500. So what it is, is a tactic to get a higher price. I've personally rarely used a reserve, and just start my auctions off at the minimum I want to receive for the piece. If the piece is in nice condition and the starting price is reasonable I'll usually get a higher price anyway, with bidders bidding on the condition. Reserves guarantee the seller that he won't lose the piece for less than he thinks it's worth, but you'll see many pieces with a reserve go unsold.
When I do a search for a gun I click on the "No Reserve" option because I don't like to waste my time.
The big benefit is that the seller can have his shill bidders bid up the item to just below the reserve price with no risk of sale & subsequent cancellation etc.
That way, it makes the potential real bidders think the item is actually worth the current price, and have a higher likelihood of submitting valid bids of their own - subsequently 'making' the reserve price and getting more money for the seller.
Low starting bid works, I sold a house valued at $110,000. it was an absoult auction and had a starting bid of $1.00. Some people thought I was nuts but day of sale had a crowd of 50-60 people and the bids shot from $1 to 80k in seconds and the slowed and final price was just under the 110.000 and that was during the housing crisis and had a non refundable 10% deposite and 30 day closing.
If I had've started the bid at say $80,000 it may or may not have sold for more but there would've been a much smaller pool of bidders.
It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years (Abe Lincoln)
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” George Washington
This ^^^ 100%. I'll put in my "best price" and walk away. Hard sometimes with that item I really want or need. Get's easier to do over time.
I filter out reserve auctions when searching on GB so I don't waste my time. I view a reserve as not really an auction but someone that wants to sell at a fixed price and hopes maybe they can get more.
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amen. i have bought in hundreds of auctions, and sold in hundreds, always looking at no reserve items and selling with penny start no reserve.
a "seller" using a reserve is generally not going to sell anything.
It'd be handy for the times where SWMBO orders you to sell off a prized gun I guess... Unless she looks at the auction entry.
sell a 500 dollar gun with a reserve of what ever you consider the lowest you will take
but sell it with no reserve and a low .01c starting bid you take the chance of selling it for .02c
setting your bottom dollar price as the starting bid is the same as a reserve
Hit em'hard
hit em'often
THIS!!!^^^^^^
I once won a evil bay auction when the shill backed out, they tried to hang a higher price on me than I would have ever had to bid if that shill was not there.
Psychology. Similar to the crooks who treat a business license as though it's just a license to steal and price something at $1,999.99. WOW, it's less than two thousand dollars. I rate business people like that about as ethical as a California democrat.
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms *shall not be infringed*.
"The greatest danger to American freedom is a government that ignores the Constitution."
- Thomas Jefferson
"While the people have property, arms in their hands, and only a spark of noble spirit, the most corrupt Congress must be mad to form any project of tyranny."
- Rev. Nicholas Collin, Fayetteville Gazette (N.C.), October 12, 1789
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