help me understand Gunbroker

Two things that are similar on Gunbroker that I dont understand:

1. NO RESERVE!... minimum bid $1650.00.  Uhm isn't that the same as a reserve?

2.  Reserve STARTING BID $.01!  Whats the point of starting the bid at a penny if the reserve is $2000?

Some is marketing/selling strategy. If I sell something that I think is in fair demand I often just start at a penny but run for 10 days, that can get more buyers interested, gets them bidding even if at a low amount. I've had good results.

You can also use reserves and buy it now prices to your advantage. It also depends on if it's a business and they've absolutely got to cover certain costs.

My favorite auctions are $.01 starting and no reserve. You really get to see what an items value is.

1.  No, it's the starting bid.

2.  To gain interest from folks who might toss a low bid and get lucky.  Also, I believe the seller has the option to lower the reserve or accept a bid below the reserve, if he/she so chooses, so a bidder who tosses out a low bid might get lucky.

They charge you if you put a reserve on your item even if it doesn't sell so I start an item at what I would normally use as a reserve.  If it doesn't sell at that, I don't get charged. I don't sell on there as a business so I can see how others may use a different strategy depending on their needs which is why they have several different choices on how to list things.  

John

Selling and buying on Ebay is very much the same. I have spent far more time on Ebay than gunbroker but I would rather put a "floor" under something than a reserve since I don't pay for that and don't want to sell below a certain number. One huge difference between gunbroker and ebay is the end process. Any bid on gunbroker extends the ending by 15 more minutes whereas in ebay, someone bids with 5-10 seconds to go and then you don't get a chance to bid again.

weber1b wrote:Selling and buying on Ebay is very much the same. I have spent far more time on Ebay than gunbroker but I would rather put a "floor" under something than a reserve since I don't pay for that and don't want to sell below a certain number. One huge difference between gunbroker and ebay is the end process. Any bid on gunbroker extends the ending by 15 more minutes whereas in ebay, someone bids with 5-10 seconds to go and then you don't get a chance to bid again.

I can echo this perspective. I too have years of experience and hundreds of transactions on eBay, yet comparatively little experience on GB. As an eBay seller I have better results with a no-reserve listing at a starting price that I would be satisfied with. Or, set an optimistically high price and allow buyers to make offers.

As a buyer I prefer to exploit eBay's hard ending. But as a seller, I wish eBay would adopt the GunBroker-style 15 minute rule that extends listings while bidding continues.

My take on gunbroker:  I see a gun advertised, I end up broker.

Wobbley wrote:My take on gunbroker:  I see a gun advertised, I end up broker.

Now that is funny.

 l
that is funny!