Unrevealed Source wrote:

BUT, if I email you and ask "What's your reserve" and you tell me, I
would probably bump my bid to $200 just to guarantee that if I am the
high bidder that I will actually get it. Why wouldn't you tell me
your reserve? It's kind of self-defeating to keep it a secret.

Let me re-iterate a portion of my previous (and please note the last
paragraph):

I'm not sure why some people have such a hard-on against reserves.
Let me explain...

If you were selling something at a real, in-person swap fest, say you
were asking a 100 bucks for your item. Furthermore, you would
probably be willing to let them dicker you down to, oh, $95 or even
$90.

However, in the back of your mind, -known only to you-, the *absolute
minimum* price you would take (to keep from having to haul your item
back home) is $85. This $85 price in the back of your mind is
*exactly* the same as an eBay reserve; nothing sinister about it, no
plot, just a "safety net" to protect you, the seller, from having to
sell at a give-away price.

As to why people keep the reserve a "secret" is obvious--why tip your
hand by telling the absolute, rock-bottom price you would accept? It
is an auction, after all.

In your example above, your $200 wouldn't necessarily "guarantee that
you will actually win". Bidding -could- continue higher, depending on
the day of the week, the phase of the moon or whatever.

Looks like this "reserve" debate is like the Iraq war debate: no matter
what side you support, you are right!