I just sold my Mark King a few months ago on ebay. The first time I put it up with a reserve, the bidders went up to $3,850.00...and my reserve was $3,900.00 (just $50.00 shy of what I wanted). I made an offer to the highest bidder for his bid price, and I made an offer to the next highest bidder for his bid price, and neither responded. So, it is possible that this guy would have taken their bid, but sometimes the bidders won't bite because they figure you'll relist the item at a lower price and they may come out with a better price the next time around.
You never really know how these things will work out, because the second time I listed my bass, I didn't put a reserve on it, and I got $4,100.00 for it, which was more than my reserve the first auction...go figure.
Mikey/