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Thread ID: 110849	2010-07-04 03:13:00	OT - On-line Auctions	WalOne (4202)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1115655	2010-07-04 03:13:00	I recently placed a ridiculous bid of $1.50 in Trade-me for an as-new fax machine. There was no reserve, I was the only bidder, and won the auction! My questions is, if an auction is run with no reserve, and bidding starts at $70 or whatever, is there some difference? To my mind that $70 really becomes a reserve. Or am I missing something I should know about about - some trap for the unwary? :confused:	WalOne (4202)
1115656	2010-07-04 03:16:00	so you bought a fax for $1.50. I have run auctions with start = reserve and set a $1 start price. If it sells it sells I don't usually care it saves me putting it in the lanfill	gary67 (56)
1115657	2010-07-04 03:35:00	I recently placed a ridiculous bid of $1 . 50 in Trade-me for an as-new fax machine . There was no reserve, I was the only bidder, and won the auction! My questions is, if an auction is run with no reserve, and bidding starts at $70 or whatever, is there some difference? To my mind that $70 really becomes a reserve . Or am I missing something I should know about about - some trap for the unwary? :confused:No . I don't think you are missing anything . The $70 start price is the reserve . It is the lowest price the seller will sell it for, so in fact there is a reserve!!	Pato (2463)
1115658	2010-07-04 05:01:00	I dont understand why people list starting bid with a higher reserve, I mean if im gonna buy something I want to know how much they expect for it, not some random number	hueybot3000 (3646)
1115659	2010-07-04 05:14:00	But if you're the seller, you want the best price possible for it. And if you don't know what the item is worth, it's hard to put a reserve (or a Buy Now) on it, in case you overestimate and scare away potential buyers. When I list on TM, I usually put up a modest Start Price, sometimes a reserve a little bit higher, sometimes equal to Start Price, but never a Buy Now. I sold a phone (that I had bought on TM 12 months earlier for $100) for $230 this way. Market demand. Love it!	johcar (6283)
1115660	2010-07-04 05:14:00	No. I don't think you are missing anything. The $70 start price is the reserve. It is the lowest price the seller will sell it for, so in fact there is a reserve!! no - the 70 dollar start price is not the reserve, it is the start price! when selling an item, there can be various ways of selling, including having both a start price AND a reserve price. So an item may be listed with a start price of $70 and a reserve of $90 BUT you wont see the reserve price, only the start price and the fact that the it does in fact have a reserve price. Only when the bidding reaches $90 will the notice saying "reserve not met" change to inform bidders that "reserve price reached" or something (cant remember exact wording) of course, there can also be no reserve at all, so any bid will purchase the item - whereas a bid on an item that has not reached reserve, but may be much higher than the "start price" will not hope that clears it up for you :)	bevy121 (117)
1115661	2010-07-04 05:29:00	I've sold a $1 PCMCIA card before on trademe without the dongle - I just wanted to get rid of it and get a bit more feedback points. Only one person put a bid.	Nomad (952)
1115662	2010-07-04 05:37:00	Sold on behalf of someone else's $5 cash register - one bid, jsut wanna get rid of it, +10yrs use.	Nomad (952)
1115663	2010-07-04 05:40:00	One man's landfill item is another man's treasure... :)	johcar (6283)
1115664	2010-07-04 06:37:00	Thanks guys. Helps answer the question. Re, the references to landfills - I got this for an older friend recently gone almost totally deaf who can't afford a hearing aid, is not PC literate. This fax enables her to communicate with the outside world. With the two rolls of ribbon, the $1.50 fax will probably see her out. :p	WalOne (4202)
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