auction minimum bid

[tahoe4x5]

I am auctioning off a high priced item. This makes the reserve pricing fee too much to absorb. Is the minimum bid amount I set the minimum amount someone can bid, and thus purchase the item for?

Thank you!

[dryophelia]

@tahoe4x5 

As an inexperienced seller with an expensive item for sale, use fixed price (buy it now) with immediate payment required and do not accept offers. 

Reserves are expensive for a seller. IMO, eBay puts a high price for using them to discourage you from using it. 

New/inexperienced sellers offer don’t understand how eBay works. I have been here for 20 years and my limit is $150. 
To learn how eBay works with a $3000+ item is absolutely crazy to me. 

Do you have your checking account set up so eBay’s can pay you?

If you don’t want to ship outside the USA, then block bidders in locations you don’t ship to. 

No returns is just you telling ebay Al that you don’t want the item back It doesn’t mean no refunds.

Be careful of what you don’t know. eBay is not the our friend. They are not our partner. They are a huge corporation with shareholders. Their bottom line is ALL that matters. 

[lady_madonna]

@tahoe4x5 

IF you start an auction with a minimum bid, then if you have only one bidder, you will be required to sell the item for the minimum bid price.

Always choose your minimum/starting bid at the LEAST amount you would be willing to accept to sell your item.

[woodland_gnome]

The Starting Price is the minimum amount the item can sell for at auction.  It only goes up from there (if you have at least 2 bidders).

A Reserve Price is seldom if ever worth the fee plus the disadvantage of losing potential buyers who don't play that game.

However, your listing for the lens is not an auction listing, it is a fixed-price listing (even though it has a Best Offer option).   The "Minimum Offer" option on the listing form means that offers below what you set are immediately rejected without you being notified.

I suspect you are asking because you are getting discouraged that it hasn't sold yet in the 3 weeks it's been up, so you think maybe an auction would encourage a potential buyer to act soon.  You might ask on the Selling Board   https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/bd-p/selling-db   for opinions on whether that is a good idea, vs. either letting it stand or lowering the Buy It Now price (revise to require Immediate Payment if you haven't already set that in the listing form).   That is a pretty specialized item and my gut is that fixed price is best because those listings are "good 'til cancelled" (autorenew every month until sold or ended) and it can be weeks or months before someone in the market for one sees it (and the odds of TWO potential buyers seeing it in the same 7 day or 10 day auction is lower).