what is a reserve price 
common to auctions a reserve price or a reservation price is the minimum amount that a seller will accept as the winning bid alternatively it is less commonly known as the highest price a buyer is willing to pay for a good or service the reserve price prevents a bidder who offers a price lower than what the owner will accept from winning the auction the point at which the buyer and seller are no longer willing to negotiate is the walk away point the auction s starting price tends to start lower than the reserve price to encourage bidding a reserve price is not to be confused with an opening bid which is the suggested starting bid for an auction understanding reserve pricereserve prices are intended to protect the owner of an auctioned item from an unfavorable outcome on sites like ebay the reserve price is hidden and until the reserve is met the system will show reserve not met 