[geeks] eBay question

[Sridhar Ayengar]

Charles Shannon Hendrix wrote:
> On Wed, 5 Sep 2007 11:22:51 +0300
> "Geoffrey S. Mendelson" <gsm at mendelson.com> wrote:
> 
>> On Wed, Sep 05, 2007 at 01:57:48AM -0500, Bill Bradford wrote:
>>> If you don't like the seller's terms, don't bid.
>> But what are the sellers terms? He advertises a minimum bid he has no
>> intention of honoring.  That is IMHO false advertisement.
> 
> You are completely misunderstanding what a minimum bid is.
> 
> It is not the "lowest price the seller will accept", it is simply the
> starting bid of the auction.  All auctions start the bidding at some price
> level.  In a live auction, the auctioneer will speak, "Let's start bidding at
> $10, do I hear $10?"
> 
> He isn't saying they will accept $10, he's just getting the ball rolling.

And, in fact, the auctioneer will *lower* the first bid if there's no 
interest.

Peace...  Sridhar