E-Bay Rant

[McHeath]

Anyone out there watch the first season on Survivor?  It was supposed to be about survival on an Island In the Middle Of Nowhere, right?  Who can find food, water, shelter, build a boy scout type fire etc.  It quickly became obvious that it was not about any of that and was really about social skills and manipulation of the fellow survivors to get them to help you get rid of the competition so then you could get rid of them.  Surviving indeed.

Well E-bay is not an auction site, I submit to you.  It bears no actual similarity to a real live auction, which I've been part of more than a few, and thats what makes me so annoyed with it.  E-bay is a game where you simply try, in the last 30 seconds or so, to find out where the price point of the other person is and outbid them by a dollar, or a cent even, so you can win with them having no chance to come back and outbid you as time has run out.  That is not how real auctions work, you always know what the other bid is, and can always choose to raise your bid above it.  Maybe E-bay should call itself the Survivor Of Online Selling Sites, Beware All Ye Who Enter Here. 

Yes, I was outbid in the last 18 seconds by some yahoo who figured out where my bid ended and swooped me by a dollar. 

[Sargeguy]

It wasn't this auction, was it?

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=120331683811 ( dead link 03-27-21 )

[McHeath]

No, but that was a perfect example of what I'm talkin' bout.  You have to really play he E-bay system well and I'm not that good at it, hence I end up losing a lot.

[Dan/Panther]

McHeath;
I use EZ Snipe. I figure what is the absolute most I will pay for an item, snipe to that amount, and never (expletive deleted) afterwards I only lost by a dollar. I set my mind that my maximum bid is the MOST I would pay. If I'm going to complain about how much was too much, I would bid way over what I think the item is worth to me, then feel angry with myself for paying too much for it.

But one thing for sure, the auction should not end until there is a full 5 minutes witout a bid, that would give us a chance to say O.K. I will go one more dollar, or no that's enough let them have it. That would be the ony real fair way to run an online auction. I don't know which auction site does it, but one of them runs it that way.

I used to get really upset with snipe bids, until I realised it frees my time up.
D/P

[Dan/Panther]

Yes, I was outbid in the last 18 seconds by some yahoo who figured out where my bid ended and swooped me by a dollar. 

Actually McHeath, he may have submitted a bid several dollars over your bid, but it only took a 1 dollar bid increment to beat your bid. So don't feel too badly, he may have been willing to pay $10.00 more than you bid, you never know.

D/P

[bingster]

Yes, I was outbid in the last 18 seconds by some yahoo who figured out where my bid ended and swooped me by a dollar. 

I happens to me quite a bit, and I don't like it any more than you do, but this is actually precisely how real auctions work.  Think about it, you're there in your seat, the auction is progressing with bids from all over the room and finally the bidding slows and you're on top.  Then you have the high bid, and all other bidding has stopped.  You feel great because the auctioneer says "Going once..." and nobody says anything.  You know the lot is yours as the auctioneer says "Going twice..."  And then at the last second some other bidder shoots his hand up and starts bidding beyond your limit.  It happens all the time, and it sucks just as bad as it does on ebay.

The first rule of live auctions has always been "don't bid too early--wait until the bidding slows, and only the serious bidders are left."  Always think about what you're comfortable paying for something on ebay, and whenever you place your bid don't go above your limit.  You will win some and lose some, but you'll never get into that adrenaline-fueled bidding frenzy that can lead to spending too much.

Personally, every bid I place is within the final twenty seconds.  And like Dan says, when I lose something, I can always console myself that the winner may have entered a high bid that was far, far beyond my reach.  It also may be that his bid was only a dollar two above mine, but since we'll never know, it could very well have been hundreds of dollars more than what I was willing to pay.

[McHeath]

Good points about how we will never know exactly how bad someone wanted that item and so that 1 dollar outbid may have been only the tip of the iceberg.  I agree with Dan about a "going once" type of time period at the end, where we wait and see if all the bids are in.  That's the problem with these online deals is that I might be perfectly willing to go another buck, or three, but will never get that chance due to way they work.  I don't mind it as much at a real auction when someone suddenly starts the bidding anew as I still have the chance to win it, if I want to.  But on E-bay there is no more chance, time's up and it's gone and that is that.  Exactly how much I'm willing to spend is rather fluid for me, if the mood strikes I may be willing to spend a lot more, usually than I should, which is the whole point I think of real auctions, you get caught up in the moment more.  Maybe that's a good thing to not have on E-Bay.

[Mark Stevens]

Well E-bay is not an auction site, I submit to you.  It bears no actual similarity to a real live auction, which I've been part of more than a few, and thats what makes me so annoyed with it.  E-bay is a game where you simply try, in the last 30 seconds or so, to find out where the price point of the other person is and outbid them by a dollar, or a cent even, so you can win with them having no chance to come back and outbid you as time has run out.  That is not how real auctions work, you always know what the other bid is, and can always choose to raise your bid above it.  Maybe E-bay should call itself the Survivor Of Online Selling Sites, Beware All Ye Who Enter Here. 

I used to feel just like you Heath, but that was before I slipped over to the Dark Side.  Auction Sentry is the program I use, but others, like the one D/P mentioned, work fine also.  I know that eBay is considered to be an auction, and it is, just not in the traditional "live auction" way.  The first thing I ever sold on eBay was a motorcycle, and I was about to pee my pants over the lack of bids until the last minute, then whammo, they came pouring in!  Unfortunately it's just the nature of the beast.

[McHeath]

Yeah, E-bay is really more of a "Can I get the last bid in in the last second so no one else can top it?" site.  Thing is, the phone I lost I certainly would have paid another dollar for, and as I was off in the mountains with no way to check up on the sale, I entered a limit and off I went.  Guess to be fair I must disclose that I'm sure I've been the winner a time or two based on this weirdo method as well, someone was unable to raise the bid enough by a dollar to find my high limit, which of course they were doing in the last 30 seconds. 

[Dan]

I always wait a couple of minutes before the auction ends, place my maximum bid  and watch the other bids  grow and catch me. Sometimes I win, sometimes I don't, but at least I never get in a bidding war this way.

[Dan/Panther]

McHeath;

Rudy !
Rudy!
Rudy!

D/P

[Dan/Panther]

Good points about how we will never know exactly how bad someone wanted that item and so that 1 dollar outbid may have been only the tip of the iceberg.  I agree with Dan about a "going once" type of time period at the end, where we wait and see if all the bids are in.  That's the problem with these online deals is that I might be perfectly willing to go another buck, or three, but will never get that chance due to way they work.  I don't mind it as much at a real auction when someone suddenly starts the bidding anew as I still have the chance to win it, if I want to.  But on E-bay there is no more chance, time's up and it's gone and that is that.  Exactly how much I'm willing to spend is rather fluid for me, if the mood strikes I may be willing to spend a lot more, usually than I should, which is the whole point I think of real auctions, you get caught up in the moment more.  Maybe that's a good thing to not have on E-Bay.

I've said that many times after an auction closed. " I would have been willing to pay another dollar to get that.
Well then maybe you didn't bud what you really though it was worth to you.

I will never forget the time I told my ex, that I really wanted a certain Candle transistor radio on ebay, it was mint in box, and exactly like the one I had when I was a kid.
"That would be like Yesterday."

I told her don't let me loose that auction.
Well I didn't loose that auction for sure, That little MIB Candle transistor radio, cost me $345.00.

D/P

[bingster]

But here's the question, Dan:  Do you regret it?

I've found over time that when it comes to items I really want, that I will occasionally go too far and over spend.  But once I have the item in my hands, I have no regrets.  In fact, I can honestly say that I don't regret getting any item that I ever thought at the time I spent too much for.  Weird how that works.

[Dan/Panther]

Bingster;

How much is it worth to be 11 years old again every time I look at it.
Like they say "Priceless"

D/P

[Dan/Panther]

But here's the question, Dan:  Do you regret it?

I've found over time that when it comes to items I really want, that I will occasionally go too far and over spend.  But once I have the item in my hands, I have no regrets.  In fact, I can honestly say that I don't regret getting any item that I ever thought at the time I spent too much for.  Weird how that works.

I think it has to do with panicing thinking you just blew your monthly budget, but by the time the item arrives you realize everything will be O.K.
We swear we will never do that again, until the next time.

D/P