Online Auctions - Pet Peeves & Positives

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See, thats the point.....those bidding wars work in a live auction where your bid is actual instead of just a dollar over the previous high bid. This way you could bid anything you want and that bid then becomes the new bidding level. In the Online auction that can run for up to 10 days the Seller isn't going to get anything if the buyers don't reach the Reserve price. The only time a bidding war can happen is for the win AFTER the Reserve is met so every bid before the Reserve is a waste of time. If the Seller starts his auction at the Reserve price then a war can start immediately with those who see the value in bidding at that amount. Now, the only reason, the ONLY reason I can see any benefit is that the Seller just puts a ridiculously high Reserve just to see what interest and at what price the bidders will reach before dropping out under the Reserve which is a waste of time for any bidders. But even then, why not start the auction at the ridiculous amount in case somebody takes it in which case both the buyer willing to pay the price and the seller win.