Offers not working after first bid (NO reserve is set)

Thanks - but just seems backwards compared to what it should be.
I never set a reserve, and the fact it made S=R automatically, while still saying in some places that there is 'No Reserve' is just confusing.

The whole point of having offers is to eseentially be a Buy Now I thought, to end the auction earlier than just letting it play out. But if its cancelled the Offers (which were still very much active when I looked by the way - I just couldnt accept them anymore) as soon as a bid comes in, then what is the point of the offers. You cant even communicate with the people who made the offer to even decline the offer. They just have to time out...

Having to set a higher reserve price in order to make Offers work, just does not seem right. If someone places a high offer and its above the starting price, then I should have every ability to accept that offer, no matter what. As long as no bids are higher than the offer, then its still selling to the highest bidder - just one was done in private, rather than public in the auction.

Quite frustrating really, there really needs to be better explanations here and clarification about the whole S=R thing, as that is not clear.

Offers only seem like they work if the offer is less than the reserve and no one has bid - seems like a complete waste. I don't think I will use this again.

Offers are designed to be used when there is a "hidden" reserve price that is higher than the start price, either with or without a Buy Now option. Then bidding can go along merrily, but until the reserve price is met the item is not "sold" and offers are valid to be either accepted, or traditionally via Q & A used to change the Buy Now price.

But I specifically did not set a Reserve price... so all this seem moot - as reserve was purposely not set or paid for, for this very reason... To sell to the highest bidder, Offers or Bids - which ever it is...

This does not seem right as I did not set a reserve and did not want one. So until I accept the highest offer or the auction runs out and the highest bidder gets it, it should not be 'sold' either...

Why is it forcing me to sell it after the first bid for potentially a lower value, rather than letting me accept a higher Offer, when I specifically did not set the Reserve

If you don't specifically set a reserve price James, then the start price becomes the reserve. If you really want to complete your listing the way you want it, then you could withdraw the listing and start again, or remove any bids on it, adjust price to add a reserve price, and away you go. Of course anybody that has currently bid may get a bit miffed, but if you explain in your relisting that you didn't understand how it worked, most people would accept your explanation and bid again, or make an offer for you to peruse.

I won't but thanks. I just wish it specifically stated that S=R if no reserve is set after the first bit, rendering offers N/A - as that is not stated in the Help.

I just wont use offers again as its backwards to how I think it should work. If I set a start price, offers under that are not good enough so I simply wouldn't sell it, or I would relist it for a different price after it played out. If offers are only to offer a lower price, rather than a higher price, then that is a missed opportunity in my opinion.

If you go to a house auction and they say "Start Bidding, there is No Reserve" that doesn't mean "we won't sell it to anybody unless we like the price", it means "we will sell it no matter how low the price".

What you want is "inifinite reserve", not "no reserve" :-)

Sure, but the auction finishes on Saturday, not a single 30 minute affair like a house auction. Also if someone offers something to you during a sale period, you have every right to accept that offer.

Reserve on TM is when things get locked in as a sale. This auction has no reserve, so nothing is 'sold' until the end, however the fact the first bid then disables offers from happening means you have to wait till the end of the bids, you cannot end it early. If I got an offer I couldn't refuse, I have no way to accept that - they have to join the bidding and wait to the end instead. The Help specifically states that if a bid goes over an offer, then the offer is N/A - which is fine. But it states nothing about S=R if no reserve is set. That is my biggest frustration here.

If a reserve was set and it was met after the first bid, then sure - offers are N/A as the item is effectively sold at the point the reserve was met. However as I keep stating, I set no reserve as I wanted offers to be in play until the end.

If someone offered me $1M and the bidding was only up to $100, I have no way to accept that offer - that just sucks. That first bid ruined the whole offer process. As long as I didn't set a Reserve or the bids had not exceeded that, then offers should be able to be accepted up until the end. No reserve should mean offers are in play till the end, not disabled the first bid that comes in.

I agree with James - making the start price the unofficial reserve is confusing when you have specifically avoided setting a reserve price.  And when the start price has been met you are then denied the ability to add the "Buy Now" option because ... "the reserve price has been met".

Also not mentioned is that if you do withdraw your listing to start again, Trademe charges you for the privilege!

Hi James I’m totally behind your thinking and rationale. I’m having exactly the same experience now, I didn’t set a reserve deliberately instead set a start point of !100. First bid was just that. Second was a dollar more. Meantime trade me sends me three alerts about offers - much better than 100. But I wasn’t allowed to accept as the first much lower bid had been struck. I was both confused and furious as the bid showed my reserve had been met / ? What reserve , and why send me offers if not allowed. At a house auction the reserve can be met and that’s it sold. But trade me has both the start point as a reserve and blocks off offers . Ridiculous. I had a rather terse comment by the 100 dollar bidder saying they had made a bid and the reserve had been met. I enlightened that bidder but am unsure of my grounds. I’m thinking if bids don’t go higher than 101 I’ll with draw and try find a way round it. When is a reserve not a reserve, who knows but if you do know let me know - totally bemused!

Kia ora Judith, thanks for reaching out. When you start your listing you should aim to start it at a price you'd be happy to sell it for if you are not setting a separate reserve. No reserve means it will sell for whatever the highest bid is, as soon as there is a bid the item can sell. This means that any offers sent before the bid can't be accepted. Once that first bid is in - with start price = reserve, the item is now for sale by auction.

If you want to edit your listing because you've made an error setting the start or reserve price too low, you can either remove the bids on the listing and edit it, or withdraw the listing and start it again. You might lose the bidders already on your auction, hopefully you get a sale at a price you're happy with. 

If you need any help with this, you can get in touch with the team on live chat.