Nope that ain't it. On eBay an auction starts at the listing, in this case
$800. Ebay will NOT accept a lower bid. The reserve is a gimmick to get a
better price. Lets say he set the opening at $800. He can set the reserve at
$10,000 if he wants to. Probably it would be more like $1200 ;-) The reserve
is what he really wants for the car.
If you bid more than the listing but less than the reserve and the auction
finishes with out the reserve being met, the seller does not have to sell.
He/she can relist it. They can contact the highest bidder and ask if they
want the car at that bid, or not.
Typically what you will see on eBay is a car listed at $1000 with a "secret"
reserve set at $2000. The bidding starts at $1000 with the bids going up in
$50 or $100 increments. If the closing time of the auctions the bids stand
at $1900 then the auction is over and the seller is under no obligation to
finish the sell. If the bidding closes at $2100 the seller is obligated to
sell the car at the high bid. The reserve is not revealed. It is a trick to
get the bidding started at a lower price than what the seller actually wants
for the item.
eBay will NOT accept a lower bid than what the seller lists the item for,
regardless if there is a reserve or not..
Well that's the way I read the instructions when I was trying to sell a car
on eBay. I would guess that a "regular" auction may not work the same way.
It works out that the reserve is a safety thing for the seller. The bidder
has no influence.
Larry
On 1/2/01 7:47 PM, "Michael Ellsworth" <mikeells@shianet.org> wrote:
> You're missing the point, in a "NO RESERVE" auction, there is no minimum
> bid. That's what no reserve means.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <Jeff24fan@aol.com>
> To: <mikeells@shianet.org>; <busyrider@springmail.com>;
> <spridgets@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2001 7:06 PM
> Subject: Re: Car for Sale in Penn.
>
>
>> Mike,
>>
>> You're supposed to place a bid HIGHER than the starting amount in
> increments
>> of $10... it is not sold yet.. still has 9 days to go. On auctions, you
> don't
>> go lower, you bid higher against others.....
>>
>> Kristen
>> '59 Bugeye
>> '79 Midget
>> '01 Eclipse
>
Larry Macy
78 Midget
Keep your top down and your chin up.
Larry B. Macy, Ph.D.
macy@bblmail.psycha.upenn.edu
System Manager/Administrator
Neuropsychiatry Section
Department of Psychiatry
University of Pennsylvania
3400 Spruce St. - 10 Gates
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Ask a question and you're a fool for three minutes; do not ask a question
and you're a fool for the rest of your life.
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