Ebay - no reserve

[RussianBlue]

Anyone else find the following vexatious?

A car is listed with "no reserve" however they have a significant 'starting price'

Isn't that starting price essentially a 'reserve' ??!!

Not in the market for a car - just an observation and mild vent.

[willtel]

I hate when people do that, those sellers don't understand how auctions work.

[Arne2]

I don't mind that. Yes, the high start bid amounts to the same thing as a reserve. The difference is that we all know what the "reserve" is on an item sold this way, no guessing involved. If the opening price is higher than you want to pay, no need to waste any time on it.

[1968SWTs]

Originally Posted by willtel

I hate when people do that, those sellers don't understand how auctions work.

I wouldn't say he doesn't understand.
No reserve is a good thing.
Ebay does a really annoying thing with reserves -
they use a variation of the "second-price auction", adding an increment with the proxy
an example:
12 bids where the highest bid is 15,000
a buyer wants to pay "market value" (other bidders validate the price, assuming no shills, no hobby bidders, no bidwithoutwife consent --ers)
so the buyer puts in 25,000
if the reserve is 24,900, his bid automatically goes to 24,900 (many bidders don't know this) , even though the "market value" may as low as 16,000
this may be fine, but if he were to turn around and try to sell it, he may only get 16,000 (the market value)

All I am saying is that the way ebay handles reserves is different than normal auctions and it annoys people.

"no reserve" auctions even with a high starting point are much more desirable
(but I agree with this thread, a high starting price will deter most bidders, especially those who doubt the market value)

by the way, there was a suit filed December 30, 2011 in California:

Block v eBay Complaint