Setting a starting bid and deciding whether to use a reserve are two of the highest-leverage choices an auctioneer makes, and both come down to knowing what an item is really worth. Set the starting bid low enough to draw competition and the reserve, if you use one at all, at the floor you genuinely will not sell below.
How to set a starting bid
A starting bid is bait, not a target. A low opening invites more bidders in, and competition, not the opening number, is what drives the price up. The instinct to open high to protect value usually backfires: a high start scares off the early bids that build momentum.
Set the opening as a fraction of the item's realistic value, and know that value before you set it. Gavelist's triangulation of published cataloging rates puts full-scope manual cataloging at roughly 8-15 lots per hour, about 4-7.5 minutes per lot, and pricing every lot by hand research is part of what makes cataloging slow, which is why a grounded value estimate up front helps.
When a reserve makes sense, and when it does not
A reserve is a price below which the item will not sell. It protects a genuinely valuable consignment, but it comes at a cost: reserves suppress bidding, because bidders sense a wall and disengage. Use one only when an item's value is high enough that selling below a floor would be a real loss, and set it at that true floor, not at your hopes.
For most lots, no reserve and a low start will net more than a reserve and a high start. Reserve the reserve for the pieces that actually need it.
Ground both numbers in comparables, and discount listings
Both decisions rest on knowing what an item actually fetches. Your own past hammer results for similar lots are the best evidence. Current marketplace listings show the market's asking range, and hammer prices usually run below it. According to Syl-Lee Antiques (2025), AI valuation tools tend to quote retail prices, while the same item sold at auction or to a dealer typically realizes 30-50% or more below that retail figure, so set the opening and any reserve below a listing-based range, not at it.
Gavelist can attach a value tier and a low-to-high range to each lot, with market comps from current marketplace listings linked so you can check them. Treat that range as a starting point, not an appraisal, when you set the opening and the floor.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good starting bid for an auction lot? A fraction of the item's realistic value, set low enough to invite competition. The opening draws bidders in; the bidding, not the opening number, sets the final price.
Should I set a reserve price? Only for genuinely high-value lots where selling below a floor would be a real loss, and set it at that true floor. Reserves suppress bidding, so most lots do better with no reserve and a low start.
How do I know what to set the numbers at? Start from your own past hammer results for similar lots where you have them. Listing-based estimates show the asking range; set the opening and any reserve below it, because hammer prices usually land lower.
Sources
- Syl-Lee Antiques, "Should You Use AI to Help You Price Your Antiques?" (2025). syl-leeantiques.com
More: reserve price, defined and AI value estimates from a photo.