Bidding

Question

I entered a bid for an item at it's starting bid. Came back that the reserve price was not met. I do not want the item if I have to bid higher for it. I want to move on and purchase a different item, but am held back from doing it if I am still obligated too this purchase even though my bid was lower than the reserve. Am I released from this purchase?

rock.star · Accepted Answer

No, if the reserve is not met there is no sale, you are free to move on.

woodland_gnome · Answer

RESERVE NOT MET

This means none of the bids made so far has been at least as high as the "reserve price" that the seller (optionally, for a stiff non-refundable fee) has chosen to make the minimum sale price for the item. The seller believes that setting the starting bid at a lower price than s/he is willing to sell for will result in higher average prices at auction than simply setting the starting bid at his/her true minimum s/he is willing to sell the item for (a dubious belief at best, and especially dubious that any increase would be high enough to offset the steep reserve fee in the long run).

If the (refreshed) Listing Page continues to say "Reserve not met" after you place your bid, it means your bid (including any hidden maximum) is lower than the reserve price and therefore cannot win that auction, so it is safe to move on (unlike simply being outbid, when a cancellation of the higher bid before the auction ends can make you the winner at the end and obligated to pay, so it is not safe to move on until the auction ends without you as the winner). Even if the seller lowers the reserve, eBay will lower your hidden maximum bid if needed (to $1 below the new reserve) so you can't win unless you rebid an amount that meets the reserve at the time it is placed.

The seller can make a Second Chance Offer to any losing bidder who has not opted out of receiving such SCOs (in My eBay: Account: Communication Preferences). Such SCO will be at the highest showing bid of that particular bidder (in the case of the highest bidder who lost because the Reserve was not met that will be the showing bid, generally 1 bid increment over the underbidder's maximum, not his/her maximum bid) except in Motor Vehicles and heavy equipment categories where the seller can set the amount up to the Reserve Price amount. This is merely an OFFER which you would be under no legal or moral obligation to accept, so it doesn't affect your ability to safely move on once your bid doesn't meet the Reserve, but is something to think about before you move on if this particular item is especially desirable to you.

If you bid an amount that does equal or exceed the reserve, the "Reserve not met" will disappear from the Listing Page and the Bid History Page (unfortunately the indication that there is a met Reserve got lost in a reformat of the Bid History Page) and the new "current bid" will be the exact amount of the reserve (or less than an increment above it if a prior bidder had a maximum bid just under the reserve). If your new bid is not at least as high as the reserve, "Reserve not met" stays up and the "current bid" is recalculated under the general rule: generally 1 bid increment over the underbidder's maximum bid.

eburtonlab · Answer

The seller is allowed to set a reserve amount (for a fee). If the auction ends below the reserve amount, there is no sale, and the high bidder is under no obligation.

If you bid higher and meet or beat the reserve amount, the reserve amount becomes the showing bid amount, and that would be the amount you would pay if there are no further bids. Once the reserve has been met, the auction becomes just like a regular auction where the high bid wins.

If you do not meet the reserve amount and the seller lowers the reserve amount below your bid amount, your bid will be adjusted to one dollar below the new reserve and you can then decide whether you want to bid again and meet the reserve amount, but you are not obligated to.

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/reserve-prices-work?id=4018