on eBAY: Willie Rowsome Bb Set for Sale - ca. 1905
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With this auction, bidders names remain private but the bid amount is public. Reserves are not public in an eBAY auction; the Seller can tell people privately or publicly about the Reserve price (or not at all). The Reserve for the auction is $10,000 - anything below that will not 'close' the auction; I put the Reserve in the auction listing.
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Hi,
It was not a 'good' auction. The set is relisted.
Jim
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... RK:MESE:IT
It was not a 'good' auction. The set is relisted.
Jim
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... RK:MESE:IT
- Joseph E. Smith
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- sturob
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Explain to me one thing, and this is not really a criticism.
Why do you start the bidding at $5K, but then right below, in the text, say that the reserve is $10K?
Why not just start at $5K? (WHOOOPS! SEE NOTE BELOW) I guess I can understand a secret reserve, but when you publish the reserve . . . what's the point? It can't attract more buyers with the lower opening bid, since if they look, they see that the opening gambit is half the reserve.
Stuart
EDITOR'S NOTE: The third paragraph should read WHY NOT JUST START AT $10K. I realize my comments don't make sense now. SORRY!
Why do you start the bidding at $5K, but then right below, in the text, say that the reserve is $10K?
Why not just start at $5K? (WHOOOPS! SEE NOTE BELOW) I guess I can understand a secret reserve, but when you publish the reserve . . . what's the point? It can't attract more buyers with the lower opening bid, since if they look, they see that the opening gambit is half the reserve.
Stuart
EDITOR'S NOTE: The third paragraph should read WHY NOT JUST START AT $10K. I realize my comments don't make sense now. SORRY!
Last edited by sturob on Wed Jul 14, 2004 10:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Everyone has a different approach to their auctions and their terms. So, I am balancing setting expectations on the Buyer's side with my objective of maxing my auction result and doing so expeditiously (auction listings do have a cost). So, technically, I could roll the dice and start the auction at .01 and hope that all the high rollers are following the auction and prepared to bid. Publishing the Reserve (or sharing it privately in e-mails) is strictly up to the Seller. I think that at these price points it is most fair to share the reserve upfront and hope that more than one bidder wants to outbid each other (a Seller's dream).
- sturob
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No, I understand that. And it's not wrong for you to disclose the reserve, I guess it just defeats the purpose of the reserve. Unless you think that you won't get $10K, and want to see how high the bidding is.
I've bought stuff on eBay from reserve auctions, though. If I don't get to the reserve, or the item never gets to the reserve, then that's fine. But, if someone does a reserve auction and then publishes the reserve price, it completely defeats even the knowledge-acquisition mode of the reserve.
Set the reserve at $10K, start the auction at 1¢, and then if people only bid up to, say, $6500, then you have a better idea of what the market will bear. If you set the reserve at $10K, tell people it's $10K, and start the bidding at $5K, what idiot would bid $6000? Not many, since there's no point. And on eBay, that's the way things go; if you set a high reserve, and don't tell people, they tend not to bid.
Having bought and sold stuff on eBay, including things (pipes, ironically) worth the price range we're talking about, I guess it's just my opinion, based on a lot of experience, that this particular type of auction is the least likely to succeed. Even with an expensive item with a reserve and a low starting bid, you'd be amazed at how quickly people will outbid each other to find out what the reserve price is. The converse, starting with your "reserve" as the opening bid, tends to work extremely well for things with a broader market (like Pat D'A's Fender).
I mean, do you expect people to bid less than $10K, knowing that you've now told them that you won't take less than $10K? And what does it tell you if someone does bid $6K? Not much, since I think I'm not the only one who'd be turned off by this kind of listing.
I want you to get the most for your set as well, actually. I just don't think this is the best way to do it. It's just my opinion, and you didn't ask, so I will shut up now.
Stuart
I've bought stuff on eBay from reserve auctions, though. If I don't get to the reserve, or the item never gets to the reserve, then that's fine. But, if someone does a reserve auction and then publishes the reserve price, it completely defeats even the knowledge-acquisition mode of the reserve.
Set the reserve at $10K, start the auction at 1¢, and then if people only bid up to, say, $6500, then you have a better idea of what the market will bear. If you set the reserve at $10K, tell people it's $10K, and start the bidding at $5K, what idiot would bid $6000? Not many, since there's no point. And on eBay, that's the way things go; if you set a high reserve, and don't tell people, they tend not to bid.
Having bought and sold stuff on eBay, including things (pipes, ironically) worth the price range we're talking about, I guess it's just my opinion, based on a lot of experience, that this particular type of auction is the least likely to succeed. Even with an expensive item with a reserve and a low starting bid, you'd be amazed at how quickly people will outbid each other to find out what the reserve price is. The converse, starting with your "reserve" as the opening bid, tends to work extremely well for things with a broader market (like Pat D'A's Fender).
I mean, do you expect people to bid less than $10K, knowing that you've now told them that you won't take less than $10K? And what does it tell you if someone does bid $6K? Not much, since I think I'm not the only one who'd be turned off by this kind of listing.
I want you to get the most for your set as well, actually. I just don't think this is the best way to do it. It's just my opinion, and you didn't ask, so I will shut up now.
Stuart
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I bid on auctions well below their reserve because it is easy to track the auction that way. You might be confused in that a reserve is private or hidden as a default on eBAY. Many, many auction houses publish the reserve. It is also common in real estate. It is also common on eBAY for people to share their reserve; there is nothing sacred about it.
As I said, there is a cost to each auction. Trying to set the expectations by publishing the reserve and having the starting bid where it is, hopefully, will end up with a successful auction for both buyer and seller. It's only an auction, terms can be tweaked along the way and/or in a subsequent auction.
Pipes at this amount is the high end of the market. The reserve protects my interest; I am hoping that publishing the reserve will motivate someone to step up to the plate.
My opinion, shared by others, is that this is the right price and that an instrument like this will appreciate over time. I cannot even really convey the rarity of this set. How many sets can you look at in your hands and in ONeill's book(s)?
As I said, there is a cost to each auction. Trying to set the expectations by publishing the reserve and having the starting bid where it is, hopefully, will end up with a successful auction for both buyer and seller. It's only an auction, terms can be tweaked along the way and/or in a subsequent auction.
Pipes at this amount is the high end of the market. The reserve protects my interest; I am hoping that publishing the reserve will motivate someone to step up to the plate.
My opinion, shared by others, is that this is the right price and that an instrument like this will appreciate over time. I cannot even really convey the rarity of this set. How many sets can you look at in your hands and in ONeill's book(s)?
- sturob
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Oh, no, I'm not arguing that it's not a valuable set.
I guess I just don't understand the workings of auctions. Thanks for explaining them to me . . . obviously I have ZERO experience with REAL auctions or I might have known something about how they actually work. eBay shmeeBay.
Stuart
Oh, if I open a copy of O'Neill's, and put my pipes onto the copy, then I can kind of pretend that I see my pipes in O'Neills. Closest I'll get.
I guess I just don't understand the workings of auctions. Thanks for explaining them to me . . . obviously I have ZERO experience with REAL auctions or I might have known something about how they actually work. eBay shmeeBay.
Stuart
Oh, if I open a copy of O'Neill's, and put my pipes onto the copy, then I can kind of pretend that I see my pipes in O'Neills. Closest I'll get.
- Steve Pribyl
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