eBay Reserve Auctions - “I’ve got a Secret”

A frequently asked question about eBay is, “Is it generally common practice to advise potential buyers what your reserve is set to? Or is it supposed to be kept a secret?”

Technically there are no rules on eBay that specify whether you can or cannot disclose an auction listing’s reserve price. I’ve seen auctions with reserves that list the reserve price in the description. I’ve seen seller’s who will tell the reserve price when asked. I’ve seen seller’s who won’t disclose it at all.

The real question is why you would want to list include a reserve price in the first place. A reserve price is a minimum price that must be met before the auction can be successfully won. By placing a reserve price, the seller has, in essence, placed a secret bid against every other potential bidder.

Auctions involve a certain amount of trust The bidder trusts that after they send you their money, you will actually send the goods. One way of engendering trust, is to remove as much of the mystery from the auction as possible. Remember that reserve pricing adds a certain amount of secrecy. This isn’t a game, these folks want to buy something.

Set a higher minimum price, if you are concerned about your item selling too low.

As one eBay bidder once told me, “There’so better way to tell me to stay away from your auction then the words ’Reserve not met’ at the top.”

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