What is a Reserve?

A reserve is an amount that bidding must reach before an item will be sold.  Items that have a reserve will state Reserve Not Met underneath the current bid price until that bid price has been met.  Once a reserve price has been exceeded, a notice will state Reserve Reached.  

The reserve price will act as a bid against number until the reserve price has been exceeded.  Example:   Reserve is $5000.00 and you place the first bid on the item of $1000.  The bid price will automatically consume your entire max bid as the reserve price has not been met.  

See the following examples:

Reserve has not been met, this item will not sell unless another bid exceeds the reserve price or the reserve is lowered by the affiliate. 

Reserve has been met; this item will sell to the highest bidder.   

How do I find out how much a reserve is?

The reserve is generally known only to the affiliate running the auction and is not disclosed to bidders.

Can a reserve be lowered? 

Affiliates may lower a reserve at any time before or after an auction closes.  If the reserve is lowered while the auction is in progress, the applicable reserve message will be updated (Reserve Not Met or Reserve Reached); the asset will sell to the high bidder if the lowered reserve amount is met. If the reserve is lowered after the auction closes, the highest bidder at auction close will receive a winning bidder invoice.