on 10/28/02 12:44 PM, TT Mooney at ttmooney_at_dilettantism.com wrote:
> Reserves are used to generate interest in an item and build up a
> history of bidding from buyers who may not want to initially pay over
> the reserve price.
>
> It's a time-honored auction tradition, and while you're right that it
> isn't as upfront as just setting your minimum bid high enough, it does
> lead to more bidding, especially in the early rounds of an auction.
Almost everyone I know simply refuses to even look at reserve auctions on
eBay. Virtually every time it's someone who wants some astronomical amount,
but wants to start at a very deceptively low price. The artificially low
initial price is probably what starts the bidding traffic, due to the
clueless who run in and start bidding things way up from the very beginning
just because they see the latest Powerbook G4 with an opening bid of $0.99
and think they're gonna get something for nothing. Not realizing, of
course, that the reserve is set to darn near what you can get it for as a
refurb or open-box system from a reputable dealer. Of course, these are
probably the same moronic bidders that I've seen run the price for items
right up past that shown in the mail order catalog I had open in front of
me.
- Eric.
--Eric Strobel (fyzycyst_at_NOSPAM^mailaps.org)
===================================================================== Bioweapons? HA! I laugh at them!! *I've* cleaned the coffee urns at work!!!! =====================================================================
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