J-spec, Do The Auctions Have Limits?

[thychiz]

Hi all,

I've been keeping a keen eye on things lately and noticing a huge slump, many cars going unsold etc. I am looking to find out, Do the auctioneers have limits set on their cars, like eBay, for example (And this is just example, don't take any note of pricing) Let's say there's a 34gtr auction starting at 1,500,000Y. One person puts down a bid, and nobody outbids them. Would they then be able to take the car at that price (plus compliance etc) or do the owners set limits. Ie - "I won't let my car go unless the auction goes above 2,500,000Y"

Anyone with experience here, I would greatly appreciate your input!

-

Regards

[S3RK]

I believe that's something called a 'reserve'.

The bidding may start at 1,500,000Y but the owner sets a reserve of 2,500,000Y which no bidders are aware of, basically until the reserve has been met, the car will not sell.

Edited September 27, 2011 by S3RK

[Beer Baron]

yes all auctions have a reverse of some kind. so of course if start price is 1.5mil, you bid 1.5mil, no one else bids you do not necessarily get the car. this is a big downside to buyers who bid online. you really need to be bidding in person. a few reasons but mainly because when bidding in person, you can see when the price hits the reserve. often the seller is in the seller booth and if bidding slows down, but is close to the reserve they'll effectively lower the reserve and put the car 'on the market' to stimulate more bidding. you can often get a bargain that way. but no way to know this if you sitting on the other side of the world bidding via computer...

[Alkatraz]

Correct me if I am wrong but I was told that if it doesnt hit the reserve but comes somewhere close then the seller may be willing to negotiate and may still sell under the reserve. As beer baron said, if you are bidding online then this wont be an option.

[Iron Chef]

Correct, if you are the highest bidder, you have the option of negotiating with the seller after the car passes in. Minimum offer is 30,000 yen over what your highest bid was. The seller can then come back with a counter offer, or accept the bid, or knock it back outright.

Highest bidder always gets first dibs, but they only have 10 minutes after the car has gone through to get their offer in, after that it's opened up to anyone who wants to negotiate. It makes for fun times at auction

[thychiz]

Thank you all for the accurate responses!

I think I may look locally, and on the forums when the time comes as my first resort

[llama_au]

I bought my car at auction in Japan. I gave the guy bidding on my behalf a set limit, bidding commenced and the reserve was set higher than my bid, no-one else was bidding so the seller quickly lowered his reserve to match my bid - car sold to me