There is this great seat on Ebay, and the guy started the bid at 399.00. The page reads that the reserve is not met, does this mean if I 500.00 I might not get it becuase the reserve has not been met? Just wondering, mostly everything I bought of EBAY has been with out auction.

 

I'm not exactly an ebay expert but I dont believe a buyer/bidder has ability to see the reserve price. You are correct, if his reserve was $501 (and you would not know this) your bid of $500 would not win the auction.

 

so the idea is maximum bid what it is worth to YOU...

there will always be another one.


mike

 

eBay reserves are stupid...the seller should just start the min bid at what his "reserve" is instead of playing games with numbers

 

The reserve can only be seen by the seller. Once a bid that meets the reserve has been placed it will display that the reserve has been met.

However you are able to message the seller and ask him what the reserve is and most will usually tell you.

 

You could always ask.

 

Remember, eBay will automatically bid the smallest amount necessary for you to win the bid.

 

Put a bid on that you are comfortable with( even if it doesn't meet the reserve), you might get 2nd chance offering...

 

Reserves are not stupid. As the seller you want to sell your item for as much as someone is willing to pay. Sometimes for whatever reason an item will not be bid for near as much as it is worth, the reserve protects the seller from having to sell at too low a price and yet generate interest with a low opening price. As others have said, bid what you are willing to pay and enjoy the auction.

 

Also, you can message the seller and let him know the if the reserve is not met, and the seat does not sell that you would be interested in a second chance offer.

Personally I don't bid on items with a reserve and try to stay away from them. It usually means the seller is very proud of whatever he or she is selling and wants too much for it. If you are going to put a reserve on something just put the buy it now price on there for what you really want to sell it for. If it doesn't sell, lower your price and put it up again.