[meteorite-list] Meteorite eBay Bidding Comment

From: minador <minador_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat Jun 12 07:30:10 2004
Message-ID: <023901c45070$24687040$ea78480c_at_s0024741812>

Boy,

I wonder if this thread is about me... :-)

I agree with Gregory on this. Bid the max you're willing to pay. Sometimes
when I'm at the edge of my budget I'll pass on a few auctions. Only to find
later that no other bids were placed and that the item sold way under what I
would have been willing to pay. But I am usually more successful when I
snipe than when I place my high bid early. That tells me that people aren't
bidding at that max amount they're willing to pay. So they only have
themselves to blame if they lose.

Basically I think the best practice is to identify the highest you're
willing to pay and snipe, if you're able, with that amount. Sniping can
save you money (when people aren't placing their true max bids).

Whether it's good for the seller, it can be argued either way. By sniping
you can increase the final bid of the auction if the other bidders aren't
bidding their max.; However, it can be demonstrated that by sniping you're
aren't pushing the other bidders to bid that max amount. They may be
holding back because they don't fully realize what their max bid amount
really is until they're outbid. If you bid your max early on, they may run
the auction up much higher to the sellers benefit (or just outbid you
outright). I think that practicing "max bidding" using both strategies sort
of balances out with regard to fairness to the seller (since one can't
always be checking eBay).

DO YOU SELLERS have any opinions on this?

I used to think that sniping wasn't an ethical practice, but I think that if
you always bid at your max and participate the conventional (pre-bid) way
when you're unable to snipe, you're participating in good faith.

There are problems for the sniper, some of which others have mentioned.

1) If a sniper doesn't bid with his max amount, they are at risk of being
outbid. They usually can't put in an extra bid (I sometimes use the low
snipe when money's tight - it rarely works, but it can stretch your money).
2) if the bid artificially high to edge out others, they can find themselves
beyond their means when that "(crazy) high max bid" is out there...
3) they can forget to watch a particular auction and miss out.

To those I may have offended/frustrated in the past: If it's any comfort, I
use dial-up and have no auto bidding software. I lose more than I win
(which is a good thing because another cool meteorite or creative offering
always comes by!). And I've been sniped and counter sniped many times.
I've always been comforted by the fact that the item was worth more that I
was willing to pay (or could afford). I gave it my best.

So bid your max, and let the best ebayer win! (Sorry for the long post - I
was bored this evening...)

Mark (Vail, AZ)

P.S. === Don't forget the "buy it now" option...


Gregory:

 << I think bidders who complain about being outbid at the last second are
virtually always guilty of one mistake: they never placed a bid of the
MAXIMUM amount they would be freely willing to pay for the item. >>
Received on Sat 12 Jun 2004 06:04:04 AM PDT