This infuriates me no end.

Why do you see, in the cars for sale on ebay, vendors instructing people not to ask what the reserve price is?

Why?

It's like saying "I have a car for sale, but I'm not telling you how much I want for it!".
(to which my response is along the lines of "well, I won't be buying it from you then, sunshine!")

I just don't get it. If anyone has any plausible ideas as to why you would want to sell a car and not tell the prospective purchasers the amount of money that you expect to get for it then I'd be interested in hearing what they are.

It's the Ebay rules that the reserve isn't disclosed.

eBay is an auction site. People should bid against one another freely for the amount they are prepared to pay for an item without any undue influence. Some sellers start the bidding price at their "reserve" price. Others set it lower to attract initial attention.

How often do you bid on cars for it to seriously annoy you?

I thought it was quite obvious, as bubbles said it's an auction.By putting on or telling your reserve may well put people off bidding therefore quashing interest. It's the same with start prices some always start with 99p to attract interest others choose to start with their reserve that may be £2000.The point is,bidding to try and find the reserve / buy the item is all part of being in an auction.

I've got to agree with bubbles, why let it bother you so much?

You could always just look at 'Buy it now' auctions then you know exactly how much they are, as for me i thoroughly enjoy bidding whether i win or lose its all part of the fun.

Davy.

Yes, it's an auction, but the vendor is still trying to sell something, and not saying what price is expected is very strange.

If the reserve or starting price is too low, then bidders will easily bid up and over the reserve. If the price is too high, then bidders won't buy it.

Either way the vendor has misjudged what the market will pay. But to alienate prospective purchasers by imposing draconian rules and regulations can't be a good way to sell things.

Does the vendor want to sell, or just put purchasers off doing business with them?

When consumers get that sort of treatment in shops they get all up in arms about it, yet it's acceptable (and judging by the comments above, it's expected) to be treated like you're a third class citizen if you want to buy on ebay.

er ... surely it's up to the seller?

Quite a few eBay auction descriptions do tell you the reserve, and others indicate what sort of offer they're realistically looking for. Others don't do either.

Point being, eBay auctions are just that - auctions. So the analogy is not with buying something from a shop, but with bidding and buying at auction - where the standard practice is not to disclose the reserve.

As Big Davy says, there are also fixed price items, and auction items with 'Buy it Now' prices. So if you don't like the idea of bidding at an auction where there may be a reserve price, these are always an option.

FWIW I have sold a fair amount of stuff on eBay, including a couple of cars. One of the cars had a reserve, one didn't. The reserve didn't seem to put people off; I viewed it more as a safety net just in case hardly anyone bid.

Cheers

James

The reserve should be confidential, as, it should be the discretion of the seller to decide if they want to sell the item for less than the reserve. I agree with the sentiments of others here, revealing the reserve would deter many bidders and auctions would just not get moving.

My attitude is simply to bid what the item is worth to me and if I lose, I am satisified that the winner has paid over the odds and losing is not a bad thing.

Erm, it's an AUCTION. You pays yer money...

People also do auctions to make more money off of items they would normaly not make that much money off of. That is also a point in an auction, to raise more money.

It's sort of like gambeling.