Lowering Reserve vs 2nd Chance Offer

[ayamenoop]

Hey Veteran Ebayers

Lets say you have a listing with a reserve price, it's ending soon and the bidding is still a long way away from the reserve price

Basically at this point in time I'm ok to accept a price lower than my original reserve

Should I just lower the reserve price in my listing? It'll encourage buyers for sure to see the "reserve met" notification but it might make them more conservative in their bidding

On the other hand a 2nd chance offer might make me look desperate for a sale

What do you guys think?

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@ayamenoop wrote:

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 ... Should I just lower the reserve price in my listing? It'll encourage buyers for sure to see the "reserve met" notification ..

When you lower a reserve, the limit is that you can reduce it to any amount that is at least $1 above the current high bid showing. You cannot adjust or remove the reserve in a way that results in the reserve being met. Also, you can't change the reserve if the auction has less than  12 hours left to run.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/selling-auctions/reserve-prices?id=4143#section3

[sam9876]

What type of seller uses a reserve?

[fashunu4eeuh]

I had an expensive “hot” collectible item. I was nervous about listing without a guarantee. But when i auctioned it with a reserve, the bidding was anemic and fell far under its value. It didnt come close to doing what similar items did on non-reserve auctions. So i waited a few months and relisted without the reserve. Bidding was robust and i sold it above what i had set as a reserve the first go-round. 

For whatever reason, having a reserve killed my auction. 

[castlemagicmemories]

I don't think buyers are going to be thinking that you are desperate for a sale.  They will either be interested or not interested.  

Many buyers don't care for reserve auctions, so that right there may be a deterrent to the bids you are getting.  You can start bidding at a price you would be willing to accept and avoid using a reserve.

As @fashunu4eeuh states, she had better results with a listing that didn't have a reserve as opposed to one that did.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@fashunu4eeuh wrote:

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 ... For whatever reason, having a reserve killed my auction. 

Some buyers dislike reserves so intensely, they will just hit the Back button when they see that an auction has an unmet reserve.

[moo*cow*corner]

If I'm looking at your listing correctly, it's an auction for a digitally delivered item. Not allowed. You have to list those in the classified section of ebay, not the regular video games category.

Therefore, your reserve isn't going to matter, because neither ebay nor Paypal is going to back your sale. It's likely to get shut down.

[dinpavent0]

I was actually going to say samething. I rarely even use auctions, but when I do, I just start with my lowest I am willing to accept. I do not use reserves. I personally hate them. Last christmas I was bidding on some xbox games for my son and it was so completely frustrating when bidding only to find that there was a reserve. I just hit back button and looked elsewhere. I already knew the going price for item so why not just put item up with your lowest price to start. I feel like most people feel the way I do.

[juststuffisell]

Relative to you current auction, I would let it run its course at this point and relist it mid february when people start getting tax refunds back.

In additon, my recommendation is never run an auction with a reserve unless it is on something that is really desirable - i.e. a Rolex watch will get a ton of bids regardless of it having a reserve.....

Either put the item up at a fixed price about 50% above your bottom number and set a best offer to auto accept and auto decline or.....

Run an auction for 10 days (for longer visibility) with your opening bid set at your minimum price you will ship the item for. You'll either get bids, or you will not. If you don't you re-think your price - or if like me, you don't care and just run it again with the next auction run for the same floor or throw it up fixed price for 3 times what you asked for at auction...lol Sometime you just do things because you can.

Reserves on most items do nothing but turn prospective bidders off. I have seen a ton of items I would have bid on over the years, but I won't waste my time bidding on something knowing that even if I am the high bid, I may still not win the auction. As you have found out, people don't typically bid on most items with a reserve.

Cheers

[juststuffisell]

Sometimes a very prudent seller. It depends upon what you are selling and what you expect the item to sell for.

Cheers

[castlemagicmemories]

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@dinpavent0 wrote:
I was actually going to say samething. I rarely even use auctions, but when I do, I just start with my lowest I am willing to accept. I do not use reserves. I personally hate them. Last christmas I was bidding on some xbox games for my son and it was so completely frustrating when bidding only to find that there was a reserve. I just hit back button and looked elsewhere. I already knew the going price for item so why not just put item up with your lowest price to start. I feel like most people feel the way I do.

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I agree.  Many buyers do hit the back button on an auction listing with a reserve.  You don't see many using a reserve anymore~so it seems they are not popular with buyers or sellers.  In the early days, some sellers held the view that the reserve price should never be disclosed; others listed what the price was in the description.

[tunicaslot]

Folks just tagging - but as noted by moo - it's for a digital item so all this advice is for naught pertaining to the auction the OP is referring to - it's not legit and won't be covered and should be pulled as it's not in classifieds.

Sometimes it's best to see what an OP is talking about before giving advice because the advice may not be germane to the situation the advice is needed for.

[reallynicestamps]

Many of your potential customers took one look at a ReservePrice auction and back buttoned.

You won't see them back again.

Most bids arrive in the last few moments of the Auction. You may also have some 'snipe' bidders who have already placed bids with electronic sniping services to be placed with eBay in the last few seconds of the auction.

Leave it be.

If it doesn't sell you will still be paying for the Reserve Fee at the original setting.

Use this as a learning experience.

When you see the bids, you will know the market for your item and can relist it as Fixed Price/30 days/ Immediate Payment Required.

The first guy who pays your set price, gets it.

[ayamenoop]

Didn't know the disgust for reserve prices was so palpable. TBH they've never phased me, I just bid and if it falls below the reserve, too bad then

But then again listing it at a high starting price might turn off people too especally in a voliatle collectables market

I think i'll check in just before it ends and reduce the reserve if its not yet been met. If it ends i'll make a 2nd chance offer if needed.

And if that doesnt work i'll relist with a higher starting price and no reserve.

[tunicaslot]

I don't buy as much as I use to in years past but - I use to do as you - I'd bid on reserves and at the end check it out to see what the bidding was and if the reserve had been met. If the reserve hadn't been met and the price was more than I was willing to pay - I'd just move on. Unfortunately with this new younger wave of buyers - auctions aren't as attractive usually as they want their items ASAP. Many probably do back click with a reserve listing as they don't want to waste time bidding on something where the reserve won't even be met in the end. Auctions were so much fun back in the day - but they are pretty boring now.