Will the reserve be ridiculous?
My reserves are generally set at about 60% to 80% of what I believe to be the "true eBay standard market value" of any item I sell.
I use them to prevent taking a huge loss on a "bad auction day",
rather than to squeeze high bids out of people, or to sabotage my own auctions
(some people set their reserve super_high so an auction NEVER closes;
then they negotiate off_line. Officially forbidden but there it is. I do not do this).
(some dealers set their reserve super_high, never make an auction sale, just use eBay as an advertising medium. Again, this is not me).
How does one bid against the reserve?
The incremental_bid method
Think of the reserve as a competing bidder.
Let's say you bid $100 on an item. If you see the words 'reserve not met' -- that means somebody out there (it happens to be me) is willing to pay at least $105.
Is the item worth $110 to you? You have to look within your heart to find out whether you want to go higher to beat that competing bidder. If so, you bid higher.
As in a live auction, you would like to know how serious this other bidder is -- how high he will go before he gives up --
but the only way to do so is to bid against him. When you see the message 'Reserve met'
then you know he has given up the fight and is letting you win the auction.
The "true maximum" bid method
Figure out your "true maximum" (see below) and bid it. If you don't meet reserve -- forget it, you and I will never agree on a price. Case closed.
If you do meet
reserve, well then, hooray -- the reserve is no longer an issue between us! Also, supposing your "true maximum" is $3000 -- your bid will NOT show as a "$3000 bid" --
it will just show as the reserve amount.
Your "true maximum bid"
Of course you don't have to bid $100 _110 _ 120 _ 130_ etc if you know how much the item is really worth TO YOU.
How do you find your "true maximum" ?
Let's say you think it is $2000. You have to ask yourself the magic question.
"What if some guy came along with 5 seconds left in the auction and bid $2001?"
Would I
(a) be really mad at missing out, or would I
(b) say 'GEEZ if ya want it that bad, take it. That's a ridiculous price.' "
If the answer is (a) , your true maximum might be $2002. To find out, ask yourself the magic question as "what if some guy bid $2003 ..."
and remember,
If you bid your "true maximum", then your (visible) bid will only show as high enough to beat some other bidder.
Your bid amount will NOT be increased to $2000 unless there is somebody else out there who is willing to bid up to $1995 and force you to beat him out.
Bottom line
Most of my stuff meets reserve anyway. So if you bid high enough to compete with the other bidders, you don't really need to think about the reserve.
What about snipers?
You know -- that bidder who comes along at the last second and beats you out of your item. Do you have to stay up all night bidding, to prevent being sniped?
No, all you have to do is bid your "true maximum". Yes, I know the item only shows a $200 bid now and it looks like a terrific deal because it's worth $3000 to you.
You still bid the $3000 so you can go to bed and not worry about the sniper!
Then, when the sniper attacks -- maybe she'll whisk that precious item out from under you because she really wants it, she bid $3010, and she would have outbid you no matter how late you stayed up, so what difference does it make?
Or maybe she can't beat your (secret) true maximum bid, and she won't get it because she doesn't want it as badly as you, and eBay will automatically ensure that your bid prevails.
Or, if no sniper shows up, you get it for the $200 after all!