No Reserve?

[waywardangler]

Exactly, syl.  I think they put 'no reserve' on ebay so bidders know it will sell at that minimum opening amount if there is at least that bid.  But it is not a true or legal 'no reserve' auction.

No auction on ebay is actually 'no reserve' because there has to be an opening amount of at least $.01 in order to list an item and that penny would be a 'reserve'.

[mariok54]

That was an interesting piece of research there, Wayward. I am just wondering whether the Law is the same here as over there, if so then I would say every auctioneer breaks the law every time they pick up their gavel. I have known many auctioneers refuse to sell to a low bid (even without a reserve) if they feel that an item is going too cheaply (ie way below the bottom estimate), and in these cases the bidders have no idea whether a reserve is in place or not. There aren't many auctioneers that could tick that second condition, unless of course they cover themselves somehow in the catalogue. You occasionally hear auctioneers say that 'it must be sold as there's no reserve', but that is usually when something is struggling.
I'll look into the law over here, you've now given me an itch that needs scratching! 

[waywardangler]

Our auction laws are governed by "Section 2-328 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), as adopted into law by the various states (except Louisiana)."  I think many auctioneers here break the law simply because they can and the bidders do not know what the auction laws are.

It would be interesting to hear what you find out about Great Britain's auction laws.

[syl]

An example of what I'm talking about. This is an ebay listing. It says no reserve but a $3100 minimum bid. To me that means there is a $3100 reserve. Am I wrong?
1994 Lincoln Town Car Limousine-No Reserve L@@K!!!Research 1994 Lincoln Town Car

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Item Location: Thousand Oaks, California, United States
 
Time left: 6d 20h (Jan 18, 201110:44:21 PST)
 
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[waywardangler]

Syl, I think we are starting to beat a dead horse.  From a previous post of mine on Jan. 5 after I researched this, "An auction without reserve has no minimum bid level by definition".  Any auction on eBay is technically a reserve auction because there is a minimum bid.  It does not matter what the minimum bid is, $.01 (the lowest starting amount on ebay) or $3100.  In the case you presented, $3100 is the reserve.  With a minimum start of $.01, the reserve is $.01.

[syl]

I know it's a dead horse but I just wanted to show an example of what I was talking about.

[waywardangler]

OK, your example was on the mark then. 

I was perusing a seller's offerings and all of them were reserves IMO because they all started high (what I thought was a retail selling price) and the % sold was like 8%.  The few items that sold, sold with only 1 bid (the minimum bid).  A fairly new seller with feedback of 15.  I am not sure what they were hoping for but selling at their minimum 'reserve' bid price ain't happening.  I do not think they know what "auction" means.  They should be using a "Buy It Now".

[mariok54]

Exactly Wayward, and that was the point that I was trying to make when suggesting it can also work in favour of the buyer, as opposed to the seller, as many potential buyers might be put off.