Reserve Bidding is Bullshit.

[athelind]

Why does eBay waste the time, energy and effort of both bidders and auctioners with the whole "Reserve Bid" nonsense? Why don't they just say "Minimum Bid = $X", rather than force bidder after bidder to take stab after stab in the dark until someone finally meets the reserve price? It annoys the bidders, and insults the artists who find out that most people aren't willing to pay what they consider a fair price for their work. If they just flat-out put the fair price up there, as a Minimum Bid, like they do in real auctions, it would simplify life for all concerned.

Can anyone out there justify or rationalize the whole Triple-Secret-Mystery-Reserve-Price bullshit?