zircon4
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posted on July 5, 2004 02:52:27 PM new
Hi Everybody,
I got this email a couple of days ago and thought you all might find it interesting. So far only Australia and Germany are being affected but it is only a matter of time for everyone else I think.
Warm Regards,
Adrian
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No more Reserves.
On Tuesday 10th August, 2004, eBay.com.au will be removing the ability to use Reserves for all categories except Cars, Motorcycles, Boats and Other Vehicles. The changes will start being implemented at 12:00:01am AEST, Tuesday 10th August, 2004.
Research has shown that sellers who don't use a Reserve price on their listings experience a 34% higher sell-through rate than those sellers using Reserve, so here's your chance to be more successful!*
[ edited by zircon4 on Jul 5, 2004 02:53 PM ]
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fenix03
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posted on July 5, 2004 03:21:35 PM new
That's pretty open ended research results. I'm curious how that works. Did they actually compare sellers starting items at the equaivalent of the reserve price and compare it against thpse who staterted at $1 with a reserve or did they just compare unrelated EOA results.
If it was a generic comparison it means absolutely nothing. I sold off part of one of my collections a couple weeks ago. Listed two items at $1 with a reserve. Both closed about 10% above the reserve. The week before someone has listed one of the same items with a start price that was actually a little below my reserve but still over $100. No bids whatsoever. My reserve price auction not only closed successfully, but closed with 50% higher than the previous weeks unsuccessful auction with a least 10 unique bidders.
Sorry ebay - but reserves work as long as you take the time to help users learn when and how to use them.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
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sthoemke
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posted on July 5, 2004 04:07:12 PM new
In my opinion, reserves are a waste of time. Plus reserve auctions cost more.
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agitprop
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posted on July 5, 2004 04:29:15 PM new
There have also been numerous complaints on the Australian eBay boards about sellers ending (non-reserve) auctions early since they didn't meet the seller's expected price, then relisting the item. This really angers buyers that were bidding... 
Expect to see more of this behavior on eBay.com.au now that reserves aren't offered on general items.
Reserves aren't available in German, Austrian or Swiss auctions for historical and legal reasons.
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fenix03
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posted on July 5, 2004 04:31:10 PM new
I always love when people toss out their opinions that reserve auctions are a waste of time and then follow it up with a statement that shows that they don't actually know how they work.
A reserve auction only costs more if it does not end successfully.
If you have a reasonable reserve on a good item that is described and pictured well, chances are that the lower starting prices enabled by using a reserve will attract bidders and create the "excitement" needed to exceed the reserve. I think that maybe 5-10% of the reserve auctions I have run have ended unsuccessfully. I would venture to guess that most people consider a 90% sell thru rate to be pretty good wouldn't you?
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
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bizzycrocheting
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posted on July 5, 2004 04:47:30 PM new
If I hand-make an item, and know that it is worth at least $250.00, but also know that if I start the bidding at $200.00, I can pretty much bet that I won't get a single bid. BUT ... If I start the bidding at $59.99 and put a RESERVE in for $150.00, I can start a bidding war with someone who really wants it and is willing to bid on it at a lower price and watch it build. In other words ... RESERVES WORK!
Diane
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sparkz
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posted on July 5, 2004 05:13:40 PM new
A reserve is nothing more than another tool to help a seller have a successful auction. The key to it is for the seller to do his homework and then choose the approach he feels best to sell his item, whether it be bold, highlight, featured, gallery or reserve. I rarely use a reserve on my auctions because of the nature of the items I sell and the fact that I don't feel they will benefit my bottom line. On my consignment account however, it's an entirely different story. I have had streaks where I would use reserves on 50% of the auctions I had listed, and they worked quite well. If a seller doesn't know how a reserve should be used, then it is by all means a waste of time and money. But if you're really serious about selling certain items, and you're willing to do the research, then Bizzy and Fenix are correct, you can use them to make some good money.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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crowfarm
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posted on July 5, 2004 07:39:53 PM new
I agree, bizzy, reserves work.
I'm upset to hear ebay is doing away with them.
It's been my experience that if you have an item you want say $200.00 for ...it will sell better with a $200.00 reserve and a starting bid of $24.99 rather than a starting bid of $200.00.
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crowfarm
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posted on July 5, 2004 09:13:28 PM new
Can someone tell me why ebay is ending reserve auctions and where I can go to protest?
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sanmar
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posted on July 5, 2004 09:34:15 PM new
Gdamit: It really pssss me off. I use Reserves about 75% of the time on very collectible items. Used it & sold a set of 1921 Silver plate flateware today with a reserve & BIN. Tripled my cost. Why would I want to go any other way?
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fenix03
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posted on July 5, 2004 09:35:34 PM new
For now it is just on the Australia site Crow. Maybe it will prove to be such a failure there they will not try to impliment the change here.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
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sparkz
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posted on July 5, 2004 09:49:30 PM new
I wonder how the Aussie sellers feel being used in a lab experiment?
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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zircon4
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posted on July 5, 2004 11:00:00 PM new
Sparkz,
We are an experiment? Darn I just thought we were on the cutting edge of ebay's new listing strategies. Sort of brave pioneers in the all encompassing ebay universe. Whoops, I think I just reached the end of the universe. What are these bars? Hmmm perhaps we are Guinea Pigs after all. 
Warm Regards,
Adrian
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sparkz
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posted on July 5, 2004 11:13:40 PM new
Hi Adrian,
I sell a lot of pottery and china and Ebay recently decided to make us and the book sellers guinea pigs on their "items specific" experiment where they rolled up the subcategories. Apparently, enough glass sellers raised cain and got them to back down from it. I hope the booksellers can do the same. I certainly hope you can rally enough troops down under to nip this idea in the bud before it reaches us. You will win the undieing gratitude of many sellers.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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sanmar
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posted on July 5, 2004 11:24:33 PM new
sparkz; china is my bread & butter. I am really upset6 about the way eBay has decided to put all china in one category. Did you look at what the # is for china? It is what used to be for Noritake (94) Why that number?
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ArtNouveau
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posted on July 5, 2004 11:32:58 PM new
I couldnt agree more with you Bizzy.
Isnt the idea to maximize your profit, not necessarily your sell through rate? What a silly statistic.
eBay is doing a great job killing the higher priced antiques market on their site.
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davebraun
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posted on July 5, 2004 11:52:02 PM new
I rarely use reserve but am aware that it does work and have used it occasionally when I feel it warranted. I would not like to see this feature disappear.
Sell through rate means nothing/bottom line is everything.
I can turn my entire inventory on any given day if I price it low enough..so what.
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capolady
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posted on July 6, 2004 03:29:55 AM new
It makes absolutely no difference whether reserves work or not. It should be up to the individual seller whether or not to use a reserve. It should not be up to ebay to determine what is best for the individual seller
For some reason I have the feeling that individual sellers using reserves somehow hinders the sales of the big boxes and that is why ebay is changing their policies overseas. Don't ask me why because I can't offer empirical data. It's just a gut feeling.
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neroter12
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posted on July 6, 2004 08:01:56 AM new
Capolady, I have a tendency to agree with the gut feeling thing, but maybe for different reasons. Dont have any evidence either - but I dont get why, like with the comics thread - why start the bidding at 1.00 if your reserve is in the thousands? For fun? I could see bidders getting excited in their price range, but the gap is so large there. (?) I always presume there is a lot of shill bidding going on in those type auctions. I mean, a shrewd bidder/buyer just decides to take it to 100,000k in one or two bids?? Just seems abnormal or unlikely to me, but what do I know?
Just my 2 cents. 
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fenix03
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posted on July 6, 2004 09:36:26 AM new
Nero - it takes two bidders to take the lot to 100K and with a value stated abound $1m million, I don't think a couple eople hoping they could snag it at 10% of the value is all that shocking.
Shill bidding doesn't really make much sense in a reserve auction since if no one bids the reserve amount you have accomplished nothing.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
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bizzycrocheting
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posted on July 6, 2004 10:38:56 AM new
Oops ... My mistake!
[ edited by bizzycrocheting on Jul 6, 2004 10:40 AM ]
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tomwiii
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posted on July 6, 2004 12:36:40 PM new
852
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longtime1
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posted on July 6, 2004 12:39:28 PM new
fenix....now I believe it's you that's wrong. In a reserve auction, it only takes 1 bidder to bid at or above the reserve for the shown bid to go to the reserve price. The reserve price acts in affect as a second bidder in this case. That being said, I'm all for reserves. I don't think that there is anything inherently shady about reserve prices. There's shill bidding going on in reserve and no reserve auctions. Bidders should just go ahead and bid the most that they are willing to pay...period. If they meet a reserve price fine. If not, there's nothing lost.
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fenix03
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posted on July 6, 2004 01:00:30 PM new
Longtime - I was referring to the comic book auction specifically which had a 250k reserve so the 115k bidding level that was achielved prior to the BIN would have been an example of pointless shill bidding.
I'm still unsure of your point since the entire reason for shill biddinng is to drive up the price however in a reserve auction, it does not matter how many bids there are if no one hits the magic mark.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
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neroter12
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posted on July 6, 2004 01:43:28 PM new
Ha-ha-ha Tom! Ralphie did the shilling!!! I knew it!!
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neroter12
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posted on July 6, 2004 01:55:14 PM new
But fenix if you have something in that dollar range and only have amateurs messing with it at 10, 20,30 say even 200 bucks ... wouldnt it serve you well to pump it up and get some real buyers interested? The whole competition thing going and all?
I may be wrong but I've always thought thats what goes on at real auctions. ?
Then you see the people who started out messing it with at 30 get so caught up into it, they wind up bidding thousands that they dont even have! (and correct me if I am wrong but isnt there a lot of con games in antiquing,too? People I've talked to say yes.) I think designing women or golden girls or one of them did a funny take on that. (The end in 30 minutes - they did find out they were taken and righted it, of course.) I know its tv, but it often does parody real life. :-0)
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bizzycrocheting
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posted on July 6, 2004 03:10:32 PM new
Sorry, Ralphie. I was going to post something, and when I double-checked, I found out I was wrong. And now I'm explaining to a DOG!!!
Diane
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cta
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posted on July 6, 2004 03:25:56 PM new
I want to know which eye Ralphie is watching me with? One eye is on me, the other is looking where?
But seriously, I would also hate to see reserve auctions terminated. I use them only when necessary if I have a high ticket item that I at least want people to take a look at before deciding a high starting bid is too much to bother viewing. I've always had a high sell through rate, whether it's a reserve or a low starting bid. If people want it bad enough, they'll bid on it - reserve or not. And I don't mind a bit if someone asks me what my reserve is.
"The right to be heard does not include the right to be taken seriously." ~ Hubert Humphrey
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fenix03
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posted on July 6, 2004 03:55:10 PM new
::But fenix if you have something in that dollar range and only have amateurs messing with it at 10, 20,30 say even 200 bucks ... wouldnt it serve you well to pump it up and get some real buyers interested? The whole competition thing going and all? ::
I love having a bunch of penny ante bids in the opening days because they create that attention catching large bids number in the search. Even if you may not initially be interested in something, if you see it has 20 or 30 bids, aren't you at least going to take a peek? It implies a large amount of interest which (in my opinion) gives credence to a higher value of the items in question. I actually would be more trusting of a high dollar item that had 35 bids than one at the same amount with 4 bids because obviously more people are interested in it. Could just be me though
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
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bizzycrocheting
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posted on July 6, 2004 04:09:20 PM new
You're right, Fenix. I'm watching one that is closing out tonight. The bidding was slow and small in the beginning. But right now I have with 26 people watching and 16 bids. It still has about 2 hours to go. I didn't put a reserve on it, but it does go to prove your point. I think that the more bids you get, the more that watch. The more that watch, the higher the price will go. I wonder where this one will end at? And better yet, WILL I GET PAID??? LOL ...
Diane
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