Source: eBay
In the next few weeks, Sellers will be able to lower their Reserve Price on a listing on eBay, even after bids have been placed, to make their item more likely to sell. This option is already available on eBay Motors and on eBay UK, and is now being extended to the US eBay site.
Regardless of whether a bid has been placed, you will be able to adjust your Reserve Price through the “Revise Your Item” process as long as 12 hours or more remain in your listing. The Reserve can be reduced downwards to a minimum of one bid increment above the listing’s current price. Once the Reserve Price has been lowered, bidders will receive notification about the change through email, My eBay, and on the item page.
If this new Reserve price is lower than the high bidder’s proxy bid, the proxy bid will also be reduced to one increment below the new bid price (meaning they’d have to bid again to meet the Reserve price). This will prevent buyers from unexpectedly becoming the winning bidder on an item where their previous bid didn’t meet the Reserve price.
For example, say a listing starts at $1 with a Reserve of $100, and the first bidder bids $75. The current price would stay at $1 since the bid didn’t meet the Reserve. If the seller then reduces the Reserve amount to $50, the bidder’s proxy bid will be reduced to one bid increment below $50 as well, so they wouldn’t become the winning bidder unless they place another bid.