What is the real meaning of Reserve Price?

[ken00]

Hi all,
Would like to know the real meaning of the above aka RP.
Lets say I have met the RP of the seller(it might not be in the post as i got the rp tru PM) and he/she reserved the set for me. Am i already entitled for the items?

Well I understand that the seller would want to protect his/her own interest by still accepting bids(although he/she already reserve the items to me) but I think its not very ethical to tell the other potential buyers that:
" the item is reserved... but if you can up the bid I will tell the reserved buyer that I'm not selling but instead sell to you. "
( don't ask me how i found out or who the seller is... don't wana create further unhappiness)
I mean what is the purpose of telling me the item is reserved for me?
I tried to contact the buyer but he was playing with time...
So I guess even though the item is reserved... i still need to source out for other potential seller in case I kena another 'unethical seller'?

Pls advice.
Thanks

 

[acroamatic]

Reserve price in real estate - as I understand it - is the MINIMUM price the buyer will accept for his/her property. No one meets the reserve price, there is no sale. I think the seller has the discretion of selling to the highest bidder even if the reserve price is not met. But the seller is not obliged to sell below the reserve price. Bidding can continue if reserve price has been surpassed.

Here, reserve price means different things to different people. Some take the real estate definition of reserve price. To others it's the 'buy price' (in Yahoo! Auctions terms), meaning the first to bid the stated price wins the bid. The seller has to sell to the person who bid at that price.

Regardless what CSers take 'reserve price' to mean, once a seller says an item is reserved for a buyer, he/she should stick to that agreement and not accept any other bids. Unfortunate that you bumped into an unethical seller. My transactions here have thankfully all been pleasant experiences.

 

[ken00]

ic.. Thanks for the reply.
So can we have a confirmed meaning of RP in the context of CS?
For me, once the seller reserved for me, even though I got cheaper offer, I have to reject it because someone had already reserved for me!

I guess its only fair the seller practise such 'discipline' else there is NO meaning to "Reserved"

Other feedbacks are welcomed

Reserve price in real estate - as I understand it - is the MINIMUM price the buyer will accept for his/her property. No one meets the reserve price, there is no sale. I think the seller has the discretion of selling to the highest bidder even if the reserve price is not met. But the seller is not obliged to sell below the reserve price. Bidding can continue if reserve price has been surpassed.

Here, reserve price means different things to different people. Some take the real estate definition of reserve price. To others it's the 'buy price' (in Yahoo! Auctions terms), meaning the first to bid the stated price wins the bid. The seller has to sell to the person who bid at that price.

Regardless what CSers take 'reserve price' to mean, once a seller says an item is reserved for a buyer, he/she should stick to that agreement and not accept any other bids. Unfortunate that you bumped into an unethical seller. My transactions here have thankfully all been pleasant experiences.

 

[acroamatic]

Very hard to have a "confirmed meaning" of RP lah. Even if there is an official definition in the Buy & Sell guidelines, it's blatantly obvious that people do not read or choose to ignore the guidelines (hence all the non-photographic items that keep popping up for sale).

You are right. Once the seller reserves something for a buyer, the seller should honour that agreement even if a higher bid comes in. Or if a bid comes in after the stated end of auction.

 

[ken00]

Hi Acroamatic,

err.. think you got the wrong meaning of what i wrote..(but of cos i agreed to what u said)
I mean as a buyer,
if someone(seller) already reserved the set for me, and if other seller offer me cheaper price, I as a buyer(to be fair) wld reject it becos the seller has already reserved for me!

Thats why i expect the same treatment from the seller. Yet this is wat i got in return....
sad case

Very hard to have a "confirmed meaning" of RP lah. Even if there is an official definition in the Buy & Sell guidelines, it's blatantly obvious that people do not read or choose to ignore the guidelines (hence all the non-photographic items that keep popping up for sale).

You are right. Once the seller reserves something for a buyer, the seller should honour that agreement even if a higher bid comes in. Or if a bid comes in after the stated end of auction.

 

[wantunn]

I think in the context of Online Bidding, RP(reserve price, also known as minimum bid price) normally refers to the minimum price at which the seller is obliged to sell. It does not indicate that anyone who reaches the RP has reserved the item.

BNP(Buy Now Price, also known as buy price) is the price at which the seller undertakes to sell the item immediately (to the first offer at or above this price). If anyone bids at or above BNP, th eseller should theoretically reserve the item for closure of the deal.

The above 2 conventions I believe are widely used in Ebay/Yahoo auctions. Of course if the buyer says he has reserved an item or you (even though it is not yet at BNP), then he should no longer accept higher bids. Of course, we all know thats not always necessarily the case here.

 

[StreetShooter]

The PRICE of any item is the amount of money that changes hands at the same time the goods change hands.

Before that is all talk.

 

[roygoh]

Since CS is not set up as an auction system, I don't think ebay's definition of RP applies very well in our context.

Instead of having a rule that the seller is obligated to sell the item to the highest bidder as long as the bid price is higer than the RP, in CS it is more like a committment/promise from the seller. We do not have a system to enforce the RP like ebay does. So if a seller backs out even if he has received a higher bid than his RP, he is only damaging his own reputation but he has no legal obligation to sell.

In a sense RP in CS context seems only to mean "this is the minimum price I hope to sell at, but I will consider offers below this price if there are no higher bids, and I am also not obligated to sell to offers above this price...so basically treat this as a reference only and don't take it too seriously..."

RP does not mean that the item is automatically "reserved" for the first bidder who bids higher than the RP. Reservation is more like a committment from the seller to a particular buyer after they have agreed on the price. If the seller agreed to reserve the item for a potential buyer at the agreed price then he should not be accepting other bids. After the seller has agreed to reserve the item for a potential buyer, it would be unethical for the seller to solicit for higher bids from other buyers or break the committment when offered a higher bid.

My advice to buyers is that if the seller agreed to reserve an item at the agreed price, try to get the committment in writing, and try to close the deal as soon as possible.

For sellers, when you agree to reserve an item for a buyer, consider to include in the agreement a valid period for the reservation, especailly if the item your are selling is sort after by many buyers. 1 week sounds reasonable to me. If the buyer fails to close the deal within the agreed reservation period then you can open up the item for sale again.

Ultimately, the bottom line advice to both buyers and sellers is to state and clarify your expectations for the deal, work towards a mutual agreement, and then have the agreement put in writing.

 

[wantunn]

The PRICE of any item is the amount of money that changes hands at the same time the goods change hands.

Before that is all talk.

I think this is the most accurate explanation yet.
Money talks b***s**t walks

 

[Gymrat76]

IMHO, if a seller agrees to the price offered, and has also agreed to reserve the item for viewing, it would not be very nice to go back on that agreement, whether or not he receives a higher offer. Of course, there is no binding agreement that he HAS to sell it to you, but its a gentleman's agreement between both parties that should be honoured. I would just buy from someone else as a matter of principle, though the price be a bit higher, then again, not everyone thinks the way I do, so... :dunno:

 

[jbma]

IMHO, if a seller agrees to the price offered, and has also agreed to reserve the item for viewing, it would not be very nice to go back on that agreement, whether or not he receives a higher offer. Of course, there is no binding agreement that he HAS to sell it to you, but its a gentleman's agreement between both parties that should be honoured. I would just buy from someone else as a matter of principle, though the price be a bit higher, then again, not everyone thinks the way I do, so... :dunno:

Spo on gymrat76. I totally agree. There must be some honor or principal when dealing online. Unfortunately not everyone think about this.

 

[justarius]

I think roygoh has hit the nail on the head regarding the context of 'reserve price' in CS. No use following the official meaning as used in EBay or other auction sites: where RP is basically the minimum price the seller is willing to let the item go for (but it does not mean that you get the item once RP is met if the auction deadline is not up as others can still outbid here).

So... basically, caveat emptor, and hope everyone is honourable in their dealings with everyone else...

 

[roygoh]

Like Streetshooter said, what matters is the final agreed price.

Some sellers confuse me even more by stating an RP and a start bid price that is lower than the RP. Why should the seller care about setting the start bid price? If he is target price is the RP then why ask for people to start bidding from a lower price? Ultimately he is not bounded to his RP so he can agree to sell at any price or refuse to sell even if there is an offer higher than his RP.

 

[Zplus]

In any free market.... the seller will wanna sell at the highest price possible, the buyer will wanna buy at the lowest price possible. The equivalent point which buyer and seller can agree upon is the price that its sold. Unless there are some contracts, agreements, laws, deposits, etc, etc..... Its just Economics 101. The problem here is that RP means different things to different people. Maybe "minimum bid price" would be a better term.

So tough luck, that's how the real world works.

 

[Zplus]

Unless, the seller & buyer has agreed on the price already and then either parties back out, then the honour of the person who backs out is questionable. Other than that, there is nothing wrong.