To me, other bidders are not even in the equation until the Reserve Price is met. Up until then you are bidding against the Seller until such time the Reserve is met, if it is met and it doesn't matter how many other bidders their are until then.
If a Reserve is set at $110 and I put in as the highest bid I will go at $105 the Seller never knows he may have missed out on a sale nor will I know that I was only $5 under. The only thing that will show is that my bid lists only as $1 higher than the last bidder. So if the highest bidder was $10 the Seller only sees the next bid at $11 and never knows he was that close to a sale if the auction ended with the Reserve met. Now, if the Seller Started the Auction at $110 with no Reserve I would have been more inclined to add the $5 to start the bidding off. So in my opinion the Reserve is a big waste of time for all concerned with no advantage.
If a Reserve is set at $110 and I put in as the highest bid I will go at $105 the Seller never knows he may have missed out on a sale nor will I know that I was only $5 under. The only thing that will show is that my bid lists only as $1 higher than the last bidder. So if the highest bidder was $10 the Seller only sees the next bid at $11 and never knows he was that close to a sale if the auction ended with the Reserve met. Now, if the Seller Started the Auction at $110 with no Reserve I would have been more inclined to add the $5 to start the bidding off. So in my opinion the Reserve is a big waste of time for all concerned with no advantage.