Re: IML: Why no Reveal the Reserve Price?

["Steve B." <Imperial59@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> What's the big deal about concealing a reserve price on an Ebay car 
> auction? In asking that question, I'm getting the feeling there's an easy 
> answer that I just haven't figured out.  I'll take the risk of sounding 
> stupid, however (it's familiar territory) and take the plunge:

My Opinion:
Setting a reserve price and then starting the bid low gets people to start 
bidding and gets them "in the game".  Once they are in the game they are 
more likely to keep playing.  If you listed a nice Imperial with a starting 
bid on 10k dollars I would skip right over it and continue to look for a 
cheap one.  If you start the bidding low and I get in on the game I will 
continue to play until I can't afford to play anymore or I win.  If I think 
I am close to the reserve price I am liable to keep bidding against myself 
to reach the reserve on an item even though I wouldn't have used the buy it 
now feature to get the item at the same price.

Ebay says "Why have a reserve price? Many sellers have found that too high a 
starting price discourages interest in their item, while an attractively low 
starting price makes them vulnerable to selling at an unsatisfactorily low 
price. A reserve price helps with this."



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