TimRobinson Posted:

What is the point in you reserve price? If I wanted to sell something at a price no less than X I’d just set the starting price at X and be done with it.

Hovewer if i put an invisible reserve price – i;m just playing chances with buyer – which is kind of pointless if i want to sell the thing.

I’m kind of new here so I’m obviously missing something. Is it related to the sum kyonay charges for auctioning?

A higher starting price requires a higher deposit, which is riskier to the Seller (you lose your deposit if the item does not sell). But for some items, you need to clear a certain amount to make it worth actually selling on Kyoubai. (i.e., higher than your actual purchase price of that item. To minimize risk, some Sellers keep the opening bid low but put the reserve amount higher.

Also, some items have a current market value that far exceeds the maximum starting bid or Buy It Now that can be bumigned to the item. Pink Floyds, for example, usually sell for at least  4,000,000 or more. And yet, the maximum starting bid is  98,500, and the maximum Buy It Now is  283,900. That’s a huge difference.