The floor nobody shows you
A reserve price is the minimum a seller will accept. Bidding below it is real bidding — the price goes up, people compete — but if the clock runs out underneath the reserve, the lot does not sell.
Most houses keep the figure confidential. The argument for hiding it is that a published reserve becomes the anchor: bidders treat it as the price, open there, and the lot rarely goes higher. The argument against hiding it is the one you feel when you spend a week watching a lot that was never going to sell at your budget.
What happens when it is not met
The lot closes as unsold. Nothing is owed by anyone. What usually follows is a conversation: the house tells the seller what the market said, and asks whether they will take the high bid after all. A surprising number of sellers do, which is why a high bidder under a reserve should not simply walk away.
If you were that bidder, say what you would pay and leave the number with the house. A seller who refuses 42,000 on Friday often accepts it on Monday.
No-reserve is a different game
A no-reserve lot sells to the highest bid, whatever it is. That attracts attention, because everyone knows the lot is genuinely for sale, and it is why no-reserve listings often finish higher than reserved ones for the same vehicle.
It also means the seller is exposed to a quiet day. Nobody is coming to rescue the price at the end.
From the auction floor
See how this works on a real lot.
Every listing carries its inspection report, its full specification and its bid history. Read one before you decide what it is worth to you.