# E-Bay Selling Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-bay-selling-question/184669 "2003-06-27T01:00:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-bay-selling-question/184669/41 "2003-07-01T03:24:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fritz The Cat \* > \*\*No, your not being paranoid, your right on the money. Your money. A seperate account is the best way to go. I would even recommend a seperate savings account to transfer money back and forth, keeping only a minimal amount in the account tied in with Paypal. Of course, we may both be paranoid. \*\* Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. Re: no reserve sales no min sales, they may be the best way to generate bids but of course if you don’t have a “high interest” item, you run the risk of their being only one bidder and selling your item for $1. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-bay-selling-question/184669/42 "2003-07-01T19:43:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by InquisitiveIdiot \* > \*\*Reserves are a cowardly way to cheat the system. If you don’t want to sell an item for less than X, list X as its starting price. That’s all you have to do. If that’s too honest for you, at least list the reserve price on your item description, so people can see if they’re wasting their time. \*\* If eBay allows you the option of running a reserve auction, how exactly is it “cheating the system”? If they didn’t want you to do it, they simply wouldn’t allow it - end of story. And “cowardly”? WTF? I don’t know about you, but I don’t sell things on eBay to prove how macho I am.😃 The very CONCEPT of an auction is that you generate interest in the item by having bidders compete. If you _start_ at the final price you want to get, you aren’t generating any interest. You seem to think it’s unethical to use people’s competitive nature to drive up the price, but that’s pretty much what an auction IS. Perhaps you have an aversion to making money? Reserve auctions are clearly marked as such. If people don’t want to bid on them, they are not forced to do so. It is neither cowardly nor cheating. neuroman: > [@](#): > > Re: no reserve sales no min sales, they may be the best way to generate bids but of course if you don’t have a “high interest” item, you run the risk of their being only one bidder and selling your item for $1. Exactly. I’ve seen it happen many times. Using a reserve allows you the option of re-listing your item if it doesn’t sell the first time around. I used to wonder why certain sellers kept re-listing items when they didn’t sell. I finally tried it myself, and you’d be surprised how many potential buyers there are out there who simply missed your item the first time around. But if you already sold it for $1 because you had no reserve, and that was your starting price, you’re just SOL. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-bay-selling-question/184669/43 "2003-07-01T22:53:59Z")
Does there remain a General Question here? Going, going… ---
**Author:** ![bubba\_jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@bubba\_jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba_jr)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-bay-selling-question/184669/44 "2003-07-02T03:22:31Z")
A friend of mine in his first selling auction was selling an old Jeep gauge cluster, new in the box. 3 days in it was only up to 15 bucks, someone e-mailed him and asked him to close it early for 35 bucks. I told him not to, so he told the guy he had a second one and he would sell him that one for 35, but he had to buy this one in the auction. To make a long story short the guy got the second one for 35 and the first one in the auction for better than 170. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-bay-selling-question/184669/45 "2003-07-14T16:02:37Z")
I apologize for bumping this, but since I’m unemployed and need cash-ola, I thought I’d give selling some o’ my wares on eBay a shot. It _seems_ like a good idea, but I’m worried I don’t have the savvy to keep from getting the proverbial wool pulled over my eyes. I guess the best bet is just to play by the rules? ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-bay-selling-question/184669/46 "2003-07-14T16:12:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bittersweet \* > \*\*I’m worried I don’t have the savvy to keep from getting the proverbial wool pulled over my eyes. I guess the best bet is just to play by the rules? \*\* Yep - and it doesn’t hurt to hang around the eBay message boards for a while before taking the plunge. This is what I did, and knew enough by the time I started selling to make $500 on a pile o’magazines and ship them over the Pond to the US, with no trouble whatsoever. 🙂 Julie [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/e-bay-selling-question/184669.md?page=2)