when the reserve price is met the system will display reserve met once a bidder submits a bid that has met the reserve price the bid is binding obligating the buyer to purchase the auction item or service and obligating the seller to sell the item or service 
sellers can disclose the reserve price in their descriptions or upon request from potential buyers some auction bidders are opposed to reserve prices because they reduce the possibility of winning the auction at a bargain price and because they create uncertainty as to the minimum price that must be paid to win the auction some auction companies and sites e g ebay allow sellers to set reserve prices for an additional fee as it is considered an optional feature and some allow for the reserve price to be changed while an auction is active if changes are allowed the seller can only reduce the reserve price when a reserve price is disallowed such as with an absolute auction owners are typically prohibited from bidding on their items as doing so would allow them to manipulate the process all auctions are not the same the parties to an auction should thus carefully review the rules and guidelines before entering into a selling agreement or submitting bids reserve price vs opening bidoftentimes the reserve price and the opening price bid are used interchangeably however they are not the same while the reserve price is the minimum price a seller is willing to accept the opening bid is the amount suggested to start bidding bidders are not obligated to accept the opening bid and if an item receives no bids the auctioneer will lower the starting opening bid price if an opening bid is too high it may cause bidders to become disinterested even if the item price is subsequently lowered it s like listing a residential property for sale if the price is too high many potential buyers become disinterested and regaining their interest is difficult even when the price is lowered therefore professional auctioneers suggest starting with a lower starting bid to gain interest once bidders are interested and begin bidding they are invested and will likely continue until a higher price is secured example of a reserve pricefor example an ohio auction house has scheduled an auction to liquidate the equipment from a bankrupt manufacturing firm one item on auction is a stamping press used to shape sheets of steel into automotive body panels the auction firm sets a reserve price of 250 000 based on the recommendation of the bankruptcy trustee but opens the bidding at 100 000 after several bidders bring the price to 175 000 a firm that once competed with the bankrupt parts maker bids 200 000 for the press no one else offers a higher bid and the auctioneer removes the press from the auction because the reserve price is unmet can bidders see the reserve price it depends on the auction some auctions allow the reserve price to be known while others do not check the guidelines of the auction you are bidding at in auctions where the reserve price is not known bidders can still see if it has been met or not 