[78-L] ePoo Reserve Prices (was Q.R.S. discs)

[agp]

I have never quite understood the purpose of reserve price. If that 
is the minimum you are willing to sell for, the make it your minimum 
bid starting price. Past that I see it as a time waster.

Here's a case in point: A recent listing of the Canadian pressing 
(and rare as all hell) Decca 45 of the Beatles' My Bonnie (Decca 
31382) was listed with a starting bid of 99 cents, with a reserve. By 
end of auction time it went to $4,500. It didn't sell, because even 
at this price, the reserve was not met. The record was then relisted 
with a minimum bid of $14,500 (ten grand more). Generally speaking, 
this item has sold for about $5,000 in the past. So what was the 
point of the reserve, in particular if it was as high as 14K.

There was a similar go round with a rock'n'roll 78 that generally 
commands a price of around $50. Highest  bid that came in was about 
$45. It never sold, and the guy still re-listed it and still used a 
reserve, as it didn't sell the second time around either

T