Klarinet Archive - Posting 000080.txt from 2006/12

From: "Dee Flint" <deeflint01@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] OK. I give up
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 11:50:58 -0500


----- Original Message -----
From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 11:09 AM
Subject: RE: [kl] OK. I give up

>I buy and sell a lot of things on ebay. And one of the
> techniques available to a seller is to state a price that is
> below what s/he will sell it for. It is called "the reserve
> price" and no one knows what it is until someone bids enough to
> stumble over it. But any bids made up to the time that the
> reserve price is made known are met with a statement that the
> bidder is still under the reserve price, or too low to accept.
>
> Now having stated how the reserved price system works, I'd like
> to mention that it is one of my least favorite bidding
> techniques, either as a seller or a buyer. That is because as a
> buyer, I'm working blind, and as a seller I see it as arrogant to
> lure a person into a buy position and then say, "Sorry poopsie,
> that's not enough money."
>

You have several options.
1) Set no reserve and no minimum bid. You will get bids, however, you are
obligated by the agreement with eBay to sell at the highest bid no matter
how ridiculously low it may be. This would not be a good choice on an item
like a basset horn. If no one is looking in that time period, some savvy
entrepeneur could buy it for a song and keep looking for buyers. He/she
will find one sooner or later and make the money that you should have.
2) Set a minimum starting bid. Problem is you may get no bids whatsoever.
This protects you from the ridiculous low bids but may (depending on the
amount) discourage all bidders.
3) Set a reserve that is reasonable (it does NOT have to be below what you
are willing to sell it for). If the bids never reach the reserve, you still
have the OPTION of selling to the highest bidder if you think the bid is
reasonable. I would always do this for an item that has a limited market
and is valuable such as a basset horn.

I have no issue with the reserve approach. It seems to me to be the most
flexible. It puts you in control and protects you. And if you don't like
the "secret" reserve price, you can list it in your article description.
Many do.

If my max bid doesn't meet the reserve, I don't want the item anyway as I
know it's overpriced simply because I do my homework on the value of the
item in the market before placing any bid.

> It irritates the hell out of me when I see it happen as a buyer,
> and so I deliberately chose never to use it as a seller. I hold
> the opinion that an intelligent buyer will appreciate the fact
> that the seller establishes a reasonable selling price, which is
> exactly what I did. Certainly, assuming that the buyer is an
> idiot is no way to approach a sale. And assuming that the seller
> is either ignorant or a crook or both is also no way to approach
> a sale.
>

It is not treating the buyer like an idiot. It is not assuming that the
seller is ignorant or a crook. It is simply a mechanism to protect the
seller in the case where no one happens to be really looking for that item
at the time yet speculators would grab it in a heartbeat.

Also keep in mind the psychology of auctions. If the minimum opening bid is
at the fair market price, no one will bid. If the min opening bid is below
that, buyers will bid and then may keep going.

> In the years of working ebay, I have developed a 100% approval
> rating, and I did so by making the most serious effort to supply
> an item at a price that is attractive and reasonable. So far, I
> have been fairly successful, and never sold anything at other
> than a reasonable profit, and, once or twice, at an astonishingly
> high profit.
>
> What I think I will do now, is go to the Oklahoma clarinet
> festival next summer with the instrument so that any interested
> parties can see and play it. The price will remain unchanged,
> which is because I am more interested in selling it to someone
> who will appreciate it than simply disposing of it. Keep in mind
> that I am in the best kind of financial position; i.e., I don't
> need the money to live. But that does not mean that I will allow
> myself to be manhandled.
>

If you end up going back to eBay, my recommendation would be to have a
reserve price (list the amount in the description), a very low opening bid,
and a "Buy It Now" price.

Dee

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