8mm Forum: Ebay "Reserve Not Met" Frustrations

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Posted by Melvin England (Member # 5270) on August 03, 2016, 05:23 PM:

Just one moment,please, so I can have a short meltdown moment....AAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!

Thank you. Now I will continue...

What a completely pointless and frustrating situation there is on Ebay UK at the moment.There is a particular seller that has some pretty damn good features for sale, some he has had to re-list, that,instead of making the starting price the lowest price he would accept should everything go pear shaped, he starts it at some ridiculously low price,then puts a hidden barrier in the way so that when you bid, you are told you are the highest bidder,BUT you have not reached the sellers asking price.
This is crazy.Let us say,for example,that he wants £100 for his feature, he starts it at £20. I come along as the first bidder, bid £150 but, because I am the first one, my bid goes to £20. Bidder #2 comes along and bids £30,#3 bids £75 so my automatic bid outbids at £76.... so I am still in the lead but can't have the item even though I am prepared to pay more than his "hidden" reserve price.No more bids. Net result... no sale... no purchase.
I tackled him about this in a PM but he just doesn't seem to grasp it.

For goodness sake just WHAT IS THE POINT OF DOING IT THIS WAY????!!!!

(...........now to meltdown #2.....)!!

Posted by Clinton Hunt (Member # 2072) on August 03, 2016, 05:36 PM:

I completely agree with you Melvin!
When I list things on Trademe here in New Zealand my starting bid is my reserve!
There's a 16mm Ampro projector (I think) on auction here with start of $10,but the actual reserve is $100 which shows after the auction ended.
It's been listed 4 times,each time the same bidders bid to around $30 so it closes without selling.Surely the seller can see his projector isn't going to sell!

Posted by Will Trenfield (Member # 5321) on August 03, 2016, 06:52 PM:

Totally agree, Melvin. It should be obvious to him that his reserve is too high and that he should lower it. Perhaps he doesn't want to sell.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on August 03, 2016, 11:34 PM:

The only explanation for the items being listed in this way, such as Hello Dolly etc, is to test the market so to speak.

This guy isn't the only person to carry out this tactic by any means. It happens on much of the real high end stuff also.

He is simply seeing what people (more than one) are willing to go to, to obtain this film from him.

He probably won't mind re listing them afterwards based on a different tactic once he knows.

Some might think £150 is a decent realistic offer for such a film as Hello Dolly for example, the owner might be expecting a little bit more than that shall we say.

When items are listed with a starting price of £250 or even £750 in some cases, nobody does anything, so if you're a seller you have to attempt to generate some activity without actually being prepared to give the item away for far less than you desire for it, if at all possible.

The marketplace fluctuates a great deal for film on e bay.
A seller will always try to get the attentions of all interested parties if they can.

Posted by Kevin Clark (Member # 211) on August 04, 2016, 12:29 AM:

Ebay charge you instantly for using the reserve price option so I don't see the logic in using it simply to test the waters price wise.

Much better to simply start the listing at the minimum price acceptable to you and see what happens.

Kevin

[ October 07, 2016, 07:06 AM: Message edited by: Kevin Clark ]

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on August 04, 2016, 01:06 AM:

Yes i agree on this to. I hear what Andrew is saying but at the end of the day if you do want to sell it you may as well start it at the lowest you are prepared to accept. On the other end of the scale i cant help having a laugh at some of the start prices, like Alien 400ft cut down starting at a ridiculous £200.
But if you have a reserve price it does seem scilly as there is a small charge to do this.
Have you e-mailed the guy as asked him straight, "How much do you actually want for the fill? What would you accept"?

At the end of the day if we do sell a film we do of course want to get the best price but this seems a pointless and lengthy exercise.

Posted by Kevin Clark (Member # 211) on August 04, 2016, 01:46 AM:

Hello Tom

I just checked the latest Ebay UK fees for reserve listings and they pre-charge you 4% of your reserve price - therefore a £100 reserve will cost you £4 even if the item doesn't sell.

Also I noticed they now charge 10% of the current bid amount if you end the auction early - to deter sellers from ending items early and selling direct to offers made outside Ebay.

Kevin

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on August 04, 2016, 09:26 PM:

Ebay is a strange place thats for sure. I have listed a buy it now on some items, get many watchers and in the end zero bids. Than I have done an auction with a starting price pretty low with a reserve that is $50 less than my original buy it now. Once the item reaches the reserve than the end price is usually higher than the initial Buy it Now price. Why? Who knows! I had read its about the psychology of wanting to "win" the item as opposed to just outright buying it. I mean...that would be too easy wouldn't it? [Smile]

I have had buyers email me with low offers and I respond telling them that I believe it is worth X amount. If it does not sell than I may consider lowering the price. I've yet to have to do that though. If you know the market and know what you want 9 times out of 10 you will get it. Unless you are delusional or the market is slow I believe.

Posted by Tom Spielman (Member # 5352) on August 04, 2016, 09:38 PM:

Reserve pricing has been on the way out for awhile now. It made some sense in the early days of Ebay but with "Buy it Now" and "Best Offer", both buyer and seller have more control over the actual selling price.

It does take some of the fun out of it for both too. The seller won't see the price go up and up, and the buyer won't have the same joy of "winning".

Posted by Kevin Clark (Member # 211) on August 09, 2016, 04:31 PM:

It looks as though the seller ended all his reserve price film auctions early - i wonder if someone made him an off-Ebay price offer? My understanding is Ebay will still charge him a seller fee if he does this with bids already on his items though.

Kevin

[ October 07, 2016, 07:14 AM: Message edited by: Kevin Clark ]

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