Auction Experts: Question on a Reserve Listing.

[monica-sells]

I have an item listed (Reserve Auction) starting at

$1.00 with a Buy it now of $100.00

Current Bidding is at $25.00

My Reserve on this item is $79.00

Bidder 1 has bid $24.00 and was surpassed by Bidder #2 @ $25.00 (Current High Bid)

Bidder #2 has also made a proxy (hidden) Maximum Bid of $80.00 (which exceeds the reserve)

Here is my question...even though Bidder #2 is "willing" to bid $80.00 (which exceeds my reserve but below my Buy It Now)..that price will not be recognized UNLESS another bidder forces the price up to that level? In other words, the $80.00 (Maximum) would not be recognized as winning the auction because it exceeded the reserve?

....I hope my hypothetical question makes sense

[nobody*s_perfect · Accepted solution]

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@monica-sells wrote: ......even though Bidder #2 is "willing" to bid $80.00 (which exceeds my reserve but below my Buy It Now)..that price will not be recognized UNLESS another bidder forces the price up to that level? In other words, the $80.00 (Maximum) would not be recognized as winning the auction because it exceeded the reserve?...

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When a bid meets or exceeds the Reserve, the high bid showing will immediately jump up to the Reserve price. In the scenario you describe, the $80 bid has met the Reserve, so the auction will show with a high bid of $79.

[wastingtime101]

Since your question was answered, I thought I'd add info about fees.

Using a reserve results in a non-refundable listing upgrade fee, charged at the time of listing, whether or not your item sells.

That fee is $5.00 or 7.5% of reserve price, whichever is greater (maximum fee $250).

[monica-sells]

@nobody*s_perfect 

even though that bid is "hidden" (no one has matched it yet, but bidder 2 is leading)

wouldn't the bidding be "stuck" at $25.00 UNTIL another buyer outbids it? or does the current (maximum, hidden) bid immediately jump to 79.00, even if there is no competing bid?

do you have the ebay help page handy to correlate that?

Thanks!

[nobody*s_perfect]

No, just 24 years as a seller.

[lisa5768]

@monica-sells 

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822&st=3&pos=1&query=Sellin...

[slippinjimmy]

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@monica-sells wrote:

@nobody*s_perfect 

even though that bid is "hidden" (no one has matched it yet, but bidder 2 is leading)

wouldn't the bidding be "stuck" at $25.00 UNTIL another buyer outbids it? or does the current (maximum, hidden) bid immediately jump to 79.00, even if there is no competing bid?

do you have the ebay help page handy to correlate that?

Thanks!

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Sellers can NEVER see a Proxy Bid, you can sometimes tell if there is a Proxy Bid but the amount remains hidden to all except the bidder.

Keep in mind that many buyers like myself will never bid on any listing with a reserve.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@monica-sells wrote: ... wouldn't the bidding be "stuck" at $25.00 UNTIL another buyer outbids it? or does the current (maximum, hidden) bid immediately jump to 79.00, even if there is no competing bid?...

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The high bid showing would immediately jump up to $79 even if the next-highest bid was $24. 

[monica-sells]

no disrespect intended...sorry if I came off that way

I am trying to get an answer for a "board shy" member........

to clarify...

Assume I am Bidder #2...

Listing shows high bid of $24.00....

I bid $25.00 to lead the bidding (and the listing reflects that as current leader)...

before I leave the listing, I put in a maximum (hidden) bid of $80.00 (exceeding the unknown reserve)......

at this point, does the active listing bid increase to $79.00, even without competing bids before I leave the page (and the reserve disappears)......or does it stay at the current high bid of $25 UNTIL another bidder bids.

Thanks for your patience....I am simply confused

[stuff4divas]

@monica-sells  here is the reserve listing info link> https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/selling-auctions/reserve-prices?id=4143

[jameshen1]

Yes.  If the current price showing is under the reserve amount, any bid at any time that is equal or greater to the reserve will jump the price up to the reserve.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@monica-sells wrote: ... Listing shows high bid of $24.00....

I bid $25.00 to lead the bidding (and the listing reflects that as current leader)...

before I leave the listing, I put in a maximum (hidden) bid of $80.00 (exceeding the unknown reserve)......

at this point, does the active listing bid increase to $79.00 ...

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Yes, the bid would jump up to $79.

Regardless of any other earlier bids on an auction, if a bid is placed which meets or exceeds the reserve, then the high bid showing will immediately jump up to the Reserve price.

[monica-sells]

Thanks everybody....I can now feel confident passing this on to my "board-shy" associate.......

[nobody*s_perfect]

@monica-sells   Don't forget to also pass along the additional tidbits that were mentioned in this thread: Adding a Reserve is an expensive option that can drive away bidders.  

[lacemaker3]

@monica-sells,

You can show your associate this picture ... it shows what the bid history looks like, when the reserve price has been met.

Look how the highest bid shown is $50, while the next highest bid is only $28. Meeting the reserve price (in this case, it was $50) is the only reason that the bid price would jump so much, between the highest and next-highest bids. (This only works if there is a large gap between the two highest bids, like this.)

Since eBay no longer shows either "Reserve met" or "Reserve not met", this is now the only way to tell.

This listing was in Can$, but it works the same on eBay.com. It's pretty hard to find a listing with a reserve, now that eBay doesn't show it anymore. This picture was shared by the user who was the highest bidder shown in the screenshot. I blocked their user ID out for privacy.