When an auction is not an auction

[cluttonfred]

Does anyone else find it incredibly annoying when folks selling things on auction sites, especially gunbroker.com, set the lowest possible bid to be already pretty much at their reserve or "buy it now" price? That seems to defeat the entire spirit of an auction. I wish the sites would actually restrict how people can list things so that they can specify a reserve price if they need to but no minimum bid. A "starting bid" of $490 with a reserve of $500 is not an auction, it's just listing the gun for sale at $500.

 

[Grumulkin]

So what? I kind of prefer it that way so I don't waste my time on something I'm not going to end up getting. I generally don't even look at stuff with reserve prices.

 

[GBExpat]

... I generally don't even look at stuff with reserve prices.

That's me ... if there is a Reserve Price, I keep on walking.

Whenever I list a gun, I set the starting price at the minimum that would satisfy me. All of the guns that I sell were purchased years ago, so that is usually a relatively low price.

Many of the listings on auction sites are not auctions, just folks trying to sell off stuff with minimum effort/hassle.

 

[45_auto]

What's the difference?

A "starting bid" of $490 with a reserve of $500 is not an auction, it's just listing the gun for sale at $500.

You really believe that you can buy it for $500? If you're the only bidder you'll get it, but a $500 reserve is NOT the same as listing it for sale at $500. A $500 "buy it now" would be listing it for sale at $500.

A $490 starting bid with a $500 reserve is still an auction where you're going to have to bid against others and bid more than $500 to get the gun.

The $490 starting bid just keeps all those people from wasting time starting from a penny.

You could do the same thing with a starting bid of $500, but maybe some people just like the feeling of having a "reserve"? No big deal either way.

 

[Kaeto]

I hate those auctions where the starting bid is a penny but the reserve is over a hundred. Those just make you waste your time.

 

[OilyPablo]

It's interesting how the thinking goes if you are the one selling the item. Bottom line, auctions make money on people selling items, no one will sign up with the fear of their $1.00 item selling for 0.01$.

 

[carbine85]

I don't find many deals on Gunbroker.com. Most reserve auctions are looked past in favor of others. I normally track rifles for about month before I even start to bid. With that said I just won a rifle with a lower reserve and got a fair price. The buyer tried to charge $50 for S&H. We settled on $40 which is still too high. S&H is one area where they try to make up $10-$20.
I agree with the OP. Seems like most dealers put a high starting price and or reserve that's within $10. A lot of Gunbroker dealers don't know what the guns is actually worth and over price them.

 

[Normandy]

I recently put a collectable rifle on Gunbroker. I had paid $500 for it a few years ago. I had enjoyed the rifle from time to time, but it was no longer the main rifle in my collection to fill its slot, so I decided to "re-home" it.
I used an opening bid of $300, set the reserve at $400, and BUY IT NOW at $500. I got two bidders. One bid $300, one bid $350, and the next bid, $400, was the winner. So, I lost $100 (in strict accounting terms), plus the auction fee. But I freed up a bit of gun money, and the winning bidder added a nice rifle that fit perfectly in his collection.

So, I sold my $500 rifle for $400, essentially, but I was completely unwilling to sell it for $300, the starting bid. I, too, dislike the hidden reserve, but straight penny auctions have the potential of costing you far more.

 

[CDW4ME]

So what? I kind of prefer it that way so I don't waste my time on something I'm not going to end up getting. I generally don't even look at stuff with reserve prices.

Agree.
I detest reserve prices.
Set the opening bid at the minimum selling price.
If I see a reserve, I assume the minimum selling price is higher than the competition.

 

[buck460XVR]

It still comes down to gettin' something at a price you are willing to spend. I don't like certain big box stores either, but if they have something I want at a price I think is fair, I go for it. No reason to whine about it. Some folks put things out there at unrealistic prices just for the hope someone either with no idea of it's value or that wants it badly enough to overpay will bite. Happens many other places other than Gunbroker.

 

[il.bill]

I have purchased a number of firearms on GunBroker and check my 'Favorite Searches' regularly. If the auction has an unknown reserve, I will no longer bother with it at all - it is usually just a waste of my time.

I prefer a 'penny auction' with no reserve, of course. Let the free market determine the actual selling price. I do not mind a reasonable starting bid. If that is more than I want to pay, I simply move on, but I can appreciate the seller's desire to receive what he/she considers to be an acceptable minimum.

I have sold a number of items with 'no reserve' but a starting bid at least somewhere close to a price I hope to get. Often the items do not sell, so my starting bid must be too high for potential buyers, and that is OK. Neither one of us wasted our time with the annoying unknown reserve.

 

[Rule3]

Direct quote from Gunbroker on pricing.

"Reserve Price auctions are very unpopular with bidders. We receive complaints about them daily. We suggest that you set your Starting Bid to the least amount you will take for the item and let the bidding start. If you have priced your item fairly, you are likely to receive a higher price than your Starting Bid.

If you set a Reserve Price, we strongly suggest that you set a Starting Bid equal to at least 1/2 of the Reserve Price or you will very likely get complaints from bidders."

So to me it is do one or the other, not both.

 

[montanaoffroader]

I don't bother with Reserve price auctions. I don't lose any sleep over it, I'm just not interested in wasting my time playing games.

If someone wants a minimum price, that's where they should start the bidding, IMO. I have no problem looking at auctions with higher opening bids, I can look and decide if I'm interested in bidding at that price.

I also avoid auctions that don't clearly state the shipping cost. If the cost is high, I factor that into the bidding. If there is not a specific dollar amount listed, I don't bid.

 

[CraigC]

What difference does it make?

It's real simple, you find something you like, you decide how much you want to spend on it and place your bid. If it meets the reserve, you're in business. If not, move along. It really shouldn't matter to the bidder if there's a reserve or not. You either win or you don't. I don't understand all the whining about it. It's an auction, not Walmart.

I generally don't even look at stuff with reserve prices.

That's just silly. A low starting bid with a higher reserve price does two things. It let's the seller know how much people are willing to bid, which may be a lot less than expected. It keeps them from selling for less than they wanted. If they want more than you're willing to pay, then keep moving. I notice more and more, people really have a hard time with this.

For example, a friend recently listed a one of a kind custom handgun on Gunbroker. He really had no idea how much to ask. So he set his reserve price at the least he would be comfortable taking for it. He set his starting bid at less than half of that but high enough to discourage tire kickers. So that if he got serious bids, it would tell him what people were willing to pay for it. Rather than having it sit there for months without a clue. Luckily for him, it sold at his reserve price.

If there is not a specific dollar amount listed, I don't bid.

You do understand that shipping fees varies depending upon your location, right? It's real easy to complain about there not being a flat rate when you're not the one paying the difference if it's too low.

 

[Mike OTDP]

I'm not bothered by reserve prices, but the minimum starting bid needs to be a fairly high percentage of that reserve...and both starting and reserve prices must be in line with the real market.

 

[SuedePflow]

I think their system works perfectly. I usually don't like bidding on something and waiting a week to see if I win and for what price... The last time I bid and waited, I still ended up paying the going rate for the gun.

Today, I won an auction for a new M&P Shield. I used Buy It Now and paid (potentially) an extra $10 just to not have to wait 2 days for the auction to end. And I still got it for alot less than anyone is selling their use ones here ($339).

So I see nothing wrong with the system over at GB.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I prefer no reserve auctions where the seller uses the minimum bid as the reserve point. It saves me time and thought and starting at ids that are way lower than they would accept. I view it as being forthcoming.

What does irritate me is when I see no reserve, and a penny start. So I bid my lowest amount I'm willing to spend. Then there are other bids, and then I bid the max I will spend. Then if I am outbid and the reserve is never met, it just irritates me. Tell me the reserve or minimum price you will accept so I can give it some thought and make a decision if I want to pay that much. Don't waste my time.

There's a revolver I've been watching for months that no one meets the reserve on. Why? Because the seller is asking too much, and he doesn't have a minimum bid so people know where to start.

 

[WardenWolf]

I don't mind if it's outright for sale instead of an auction. I know what I'm getting, and if the deal is good I'll take it. But if there's a reserve price and it's not already met, I usually walk away. To me, reserve prices are dishonest and shouldn't even be allowed. They should have a starting bid price, and that's it.

On the other hand, I have taken advantage of peoples' too-high reserve prices before by contacting the seller after the failed auction and offering to buy it at a lesser price. I got my SKS that way, along with my sporterized Mauser. The Mauser had a reserve price of $350, but the highest bid (mine) was only around $250. I contacted them and offered them $250 for it, and they took it. I got a nicely sporterized German Mauser that still shoots 1 MOA with the original barrel. Can't argue with that.

 

[Swing]

I don't see anything wrong with what is, essentially, a "Buy It Now" auction. On the contrary, I'd prefer just to buy it and pay the cash now rather than spending time bidding over a week or so. If I had to hazard a guess, those that list such items like that are either shops that are selling inventory via auction or someone who just wants to move it fast.

As to Reserve Auctions, well, maybe a decade ago I would bother with them. Now, I just move on with bidding. Unless the seller says what the reserve is, there is no way of knowing if it is reasonable or completely asinine and therefore a waste of time to bid. There is a reason why Gunbroker cautions against it in this day and age. Still, it makes sense to still offer it in case a seller wants it for some reason. I won't bid on it, but there are plenty of people that will. So, shrug.

 

[cat_IT_guy]

Most of my guns from GB have been NIB and listed from a dealer (many of whom, I think, have a storefront). They are selling guns for profit. Maybe Im just impatient, but if they put the "buy it now" at what is a competitive selling price, I'd rather not dink around with the auction. Lets get the transaction started and the gun in the mail so that I can shoot it .

 

[bikemutt]

I generally don't bid on reserve auctions but really, it's not a waste of time to bid on one; if my bid doesn't meet the reserve I'm notified right away, then I move on.

 

[orionengnr]

Set the opening bid at the minimum selling price.
If I see a reserve, I assume the minimum selling price is higher than the competition.

Disagree 110%.
Setting an opening bid at the minimum selling price discourages bidders who are looking for a bargain...and discourages any "follow-on" bidders.
Setting the opening bid at .01, or 1.00, encourages people to jump in.
Once several bids are made...who knows where it ends up?

On the other end, setting a reasonable reserve prevents giving it away.

The thing that really annoys me is the auctions that set either an unreasonable opening bid or a high reserve, and then being able to re-list endlessly.

If GB would charge a listing/re-listing fee, then the seller would have some incentive to adjust his selling price if it doesn't sell.

 

[Grumulkin]

I hate those auctions where the starting bid is a penny but the reserve is over a hundred. Those just make you waste your time.

One time I bid on a Blaser shotgun barrel worth in the range of $3,000 on gunbroker.com. There was no reserve and the bidding, as I recall, started at $0.01. I won the auction for, as I recall, about $0.03 but the seller wouldn't honor the price.

 

[mquail]

I almost always narrow my search by checking the "no reserve" block. In the past I've thought an opening bid was pretty good then saw that big R I don't waste my time with them which is my prerogative

 

[Twiki357]

I also hate the reserve auctions and won’t usually even look at them unless it’s one that I really want. If a seller want’s a minimum sale price, then start the auction at that price. Why should a buyer have to keep guessing?

I’ve been watching and bidding on one gun on GunBroker for the last two months. It starts at $.01 every 10 days and reaches a fair bid amount, but never reaches the unknown reserve amount. You would think that he would wise up and lower the reserve or just say how much he actually wants.

The pawn shop I frequent lists their guns, also available in the store, starting at $.01 with no reserve. He has only had a couple of guns sell for less that the store price.