Quote:
Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan
There must be a reason for people not doing that, otherwise no one would. Probably they want their listing to show up when you list from cheapest to most expensive.
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Indeed. I see it as false advertising and a disrespectful waste of bidder's time, but it's there for a reason.
I think the main reason is that it's a concept familiar to off-line live auction goers, so it makes the experience more familiar for them. Flawed, and inappropriate, but familiar. Many people might stop using it once they understand the differences, but I guess from eBay's point of view, it helped attract a new user, so mission accomplished.
Also keep in mind that it only works to feature that false low price and attract that sort of ill-gotten attention if NO ONE BIDS!
That is, the false super-low starting price only gives you extra attention if the price STAYS TOO LOW TO SELL THE ITEM!
Once people bid the item up to near it's reserve price, then it's right there in line with all the other auctions for a similar item that were listed at a realistic price to start with.
The difference being, some people were turned off by the reserve, felt no need to waste time trying to get the deal that attracted them, which the seller had no intention of actually offering, and they go and bid on one of those other auctions instead. That keeps the reserve auction at that enticingly low, misleading price, unsold.
That's likely why,
statistically, reserve auctions end with lower prices, and fail more often, than non-reserve auctions.
As I mentioned above, I can see that when the value of an item is highly speculative for both seller and potential buyers, then a reserve might be appropriate. The auction becomes essentially a mini stock exchange for establishing the value of that one item.
But for everything else: Evil.
I've read on some of the forums and FAQs on eBay, they have considered eliminating the feature from time to time.