[geeks] eBay question

[Hicheal Morton]

On 9/5/07, Sridhar Ayengar <ploopster at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Charles Shannon Hendrix wrote:
> > On Wed, 5 Sep 2007 11:22:51 +0300
> > "Geoffrey S. Mendelson" <gsm at mendelson.com> wrote:
> >
> >> On Wed, Sep 05, 2007 at 01:57:48AM -0500, Bill Bradford wrote:
> >>> If you don't like the seller's terms, don't bid.
> >> But what are the sellers terms? He advertises a minimum bid he has no
> >> intention of honoring.  That is IMHO false advertisement.
> >
> > You are completely misunderstanding what a minimum bid is.
> >
> > It is not the "lowest price the seller will accept", it is simply the
> > starting bid of the auction.  All auctions start the bidding at some
> price
> > level.  In a live auction, the auctioneer will speak, "Let's start
> bidding at
> > $10, do I hear $10?"
> >
> > He isn't saying they will accept $10, he's just getting the ball
> rolling.
>
> And, in fact, the auctioneer will *lower* the first bid if there's no
> interest.
>
> Peace...  Sridhar
> _______________________________________________
> GEEKS:  http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/geeks
>



One can use the eBay messaging system to ask the seller what the reserve
price is!

It is relatively easy and provides a lot of information--does the seller
respond immediately, within a reasonable time, or never?  How does the
seller respond?  Some sellers will provides details that address the
respectability of the seller, her honesty, command of the language and the
norms of social interaction.  Tons of social information to help decide if
one wants to deal with this specific seller!


I have asked many times and found that about half the sellers will respond
with the reserve price.

Sometimes, the seller will add the reserve to the auction page as a revision
so everyone can see.  Some don't--at one point eBay recommended that sellers
not reveal the minimum.  You could find really "anal" people who, in my
experience, provided very good descriptions on the auction page, above
average packing, prompt shipping--a great seller but not someone that I
would probably like to have as a friend.


All this being said, I think it is great that a lot of you don't bid on
reserve auctions!  Keep it up!  It cuts down the competition for me!

In all transactions, it is a BUYER's market.  Why?  The buyer decides
whether to buy or pass!