Post #573963 by mrsmiley on Mon, Jan 31, 2011 8:33 AM

I rarely use a reserve. I,for the most part, think it is a waste of money. Do research on items you think might be valuable. If you have a Harveys Bucket mug and you think it is worth $100, go to Advanced Search on ebay and check the COMPLETED auctions. You may find a hundred people trying to sell that mug and only a few sold for seven bucks! Checking current listings or Buy It Knows mean nothing for value. Some fool might have a Buy It Know on that mug for $500, but that doesn't mean it is worth $500-only that someone is dreaming. I sold a rare Tiki mug that has never been seen before, but I didn't use a reserve- I just hoped the market would determine the price. I got $200- I was happy.
You should check current listings to see if a hundred people are trying to sell the same item-if so, yours won't sell for much.
Oh, some sellers don't do this, but I usually set my opening bid somewhere around the minimum I'd like to get. Most of my items are affordable-most I start at $9.99. I would not do that on a valuable item. My $200 mug may have had selling issues, if I started the bidding at $200. In that case, I think I started it at 99 cents, because I knew it would sell for a least $100.

I'm the most thirstiesterest of all!
TRADER VIC'S stuff for sale on EBAY 1957SPUTNIK
http://shop.ebay.com/1957sputnik/m.html
If you like it, it is ZAZZ! If you don't it is RAZZ!

[ Edited by: mrsmiley 2011-01-31 08:37 ]