Why doesn DLRC post the reserve price of a lot at the begininning of an auction?
We start all reserved lots at a fraction of the reserve to begin with to encourage bidding. Forty-eight hours prior to the close of auction, we internally bid all the lots that have not met reserve up to one increment below the reserve, which effectively exposes the reserve. The other benefit of starting the lots low is that anyone who bids early gets the ability to buy the lot(s) they bid one at the reserve + 15% buyer’s premium, if the lots fail to sell in the auction. This would not be possible if all lots opened at reserve.
