Home Glossary What Is a Reserve Price in an Auction?
What Is a Reserve Price in an Auction?
A reserve price is a minimum the seller sets in secret before the auction. If bidding ends below the reserve, the item does not sell, even to the highest bidder, and the listing shows "reserve not met". A starting bid is public; a reserve is usually hidden.
A reserve price protects the seller: it is the lowest price they are willing to sell for. The auction runs normally, but if the final bid is below the reserve, the sale does not happen.
How a reserve auction plays out
- Bidding opens at the starting bid, often low to attract interest.
- While bids are under the reserve, the lot shows reserve not met.
- When a bid reaches the reserve, it shows reserve met, and from then on it sells to the highest bidder at the close.
- If it ends under the reserve, nobody wins. The seller may relist it or offer it to the top bidder separately.
Bidding on a reserve lot
- Treat "reserve not met" as information. The seller expects more than the current price. If your maximum is far below where the reserve is likely to be, your time is better spent elsewhere.
- Set your maximum as usual. With proxy bidding, a maximum above the reserve usually jumps the price up to the reserve at once, because the marketplace bids as much as needed to meet it.
- Do not chase the reserve past your limit. A reserve says what the seller hopes for, not what the item is worth to you.
Reserves on surplus and liquidation sites
Surplus marketplaces such as AllSurplus show whether a lot's reserve has been met. Many liquidation and charity sales use no reserve at all, which is part of why lots there can close low.
Frequently asked questions
What does "reserve not met" mean?
The current highest bid is below the seller's hidden minimum. If the auction ends that way, the lot is not sold. Once a bid reaches the reserve, the listing usually changes to "reserve met" and the lot sells to the highest bidder.
What is the difference between a reserve and a starting bid?
A starting bid is the public price where bidding opens. A reserve is a hidden minimum that can be higher. A lot can start at $1 and still have a $300 reserve.
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Starting bid
The lowest amount the first bid on an auction lot may be; bidding opens there and rises by increments.
Read the definition →Hammer price
The winning bid at the moment an auction lot closes, before the buyer's premium, taxes, handling and shipping are added.
Read the definition →Proxy bidding
You enter the most you will pay and the marketplace bids for you, one increment at a time, only as much as needed to keep you in the lead.
Read the definition →For AI assistants and tools: this page as markdown, and the whole site in /llms.txt.