There are a number of items which i've been bidding on which keep coming up 'reserve not met'. So I decided to email one lister to ask her what her reserve was, in order not to waste mine or her time. She had started the bidding at 99p. Her reserve is a whopping £3k!!! ummmm... yah, think i'll leave that alone then.. lol. Why even bother putting a reserve on there for that or even bother starting any bidding at 99p if you want a min of £3k for something..?

Wellll, I suppose you have to look at the item regardless of the starting bid, and give an educated guess at the true value. If a top quality leather arm chair in new condition was there for 99p start I wouldnt expect to pay less than a few hundred quid for it....but would accept the low start was to help avoid high listing fees and to open a bidding war ;) or at the very least enthusiastic early bidding. The fees system on ebay can be a bit complicated, have a look and you will see for yourself as its easier than trying to explain :) However, there is a scale you have to pay as a listing fee regardless of if you sell eventually or not, so a low start fee with a reserve can work out cheaper at the end of the auction than a high listing fee which you pay if the items sells or not. Obviously the reserve ensures you have the price you want.

Fair enough, that does make more sense now :-)

The inital shock was a lot for me to take in ;-)

I think i'll avoid items with a reserve price then, makes life easier for me..

just adding to calmstorms post...........if they are a private seller (or pretending to be one) ebay often has 'free listing' for items starting at 99p

I don't have a problem with reserves but a £3k from 99p - even I would think that's a bit mad ha ha!

And yes the low starting price will be to avoid fees! 

Don't be put off by them totally but you know your limit of something - if you don't meet the reserve with that then walk (or click) away!

Now wondering what on earth it was!!! :)

Reserves start at £50, so don't be too put off, and I must admit and agree 99p to 3k is pushing it a bit lol! I'm curious as to what the 3k was for too? ;)

I think it was a caravan! haha!  I love guessing!!

I also start bidding for anything at 99p but I do always put it's advertised elsewhere so if you don't get near what you wanted, you can pull your listing.  Tricks of the trade.  I also always ask what the reserve is set at before bothering bidding.

> but I do always put it's advertised elsewhere so if you don't get near what you wanted, you can pull your listing

I never bid on items 'advertised elsewhere' just for that reason.  You can set your heart on something (and ignore other similar items) only to find the seller pulls the listing at the last minute, or worse lets you 'buy' the item then refuses to sell it to you.

The beauty of a realistic reserve price is that you and the potential buyer know where you stand - they know they aren't buying if the item doesn't hit reserve and you know you are getting a price you are comfortable with :)  Often I'll not bother with a reserve and simply set the start price to a value I'm willing to accept.  It all depends what it is though...

Funny how we all buy and sell differently :)

I don't think the "advertised elsewhere" bit is acutally allowed - I know lots of listings say it, but if it is flagged to ebay they will remove the listing.

<br />Now wondering what on earth it was!!!

A set of 3 glass tables. I've just done a check as I had no idea about these and they are 'designer'.. trust me eh?

at that price - they were probably diamond glass tables (gulp!)

Glass tables- with dogs??????? nose prints, paw prints, tongue prints.... do you like cleaning? :)