[meteorite-list] OT eBay (was AD Time to get back to work)

From: Mexicodoug <mexicodoug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:41:25 -0400
Message-ID: <8CC0E15720884CF-3A24-B8D4_at_webmail-m085.sysops.aol.com>

"Or...... they are just saving up money from cashing in all their empty
beer cans. Case in Point........ Sikhote-alin stamp Buy It Now for $20-
and I have 9 of the left. It has 3 watchers: BTW the auction has had
only 25 hits since I loaded it !"

Hi Jim

You're right: that is a case-in-point. But if Jughaid is saving
aluminum cans to cash in, he's likely to be a way more decisive buyer
than what you've described - the can collectors get my respects for
being hard working and thanks for cleaning up the environment.

I would say with 99% certainty that these case-in-point "The Watchers"
are your direct competitors on the stamps. I'd also say with 95%
certainty that you already knew that ... and just posted to let them
know they are ubiquitously annoying Taters. And with 75% certainty you
could guess exactly who the young 'uns are !

The Sikhote-Alin stamps you are selling are actually really cool and
the brochure that comes with them adds a lot of value IMO. But while
browsing some of your other auctions, I think the exquisitely patterned
Esquel slice among others is blinding us to the facts of life on eBay.
So why even take the time to list minor items if other stuff you have
is leagues above them - everyone has their needs and priorities ...

Rant: eBay is a cruel mutation of a classified ad, where eBay Inc.
learned to be unethical and call it an "auction" so they can fool
 
people into taking a percent of the sale, rather than a simple
insertion fee for screwing the seller (since when did newspapers worry
about the final sale price - printing costs are the same).

In fact eBay is not an auction in the sense of Blood's "English
Auction" at all, since there are no auctioneers doing any work or
having any responsibility to Sellers, especially busting their butt
promoting the larger items to earn their fees; An auctioneer for the
Seller is typically under a consignment relationship - contradicting
eBay's case. For those complaining about Watchers being useless to
Sellers, check your basic assumptions. Watching is a tool for BUYERS,
not Sellers. It is not meant to be especially useful to Sellers.

In a real auction, it may well be unethical to start the bidding and
then pull the item. But in a classified ad, the Seller has no
obligation to sell the item: no surprise - this is eBay, love it or
leave it - the Seller actually has no obligation (bids or not: not
something in anyone's interests to publicize) to sell and like the
newspaper could care less what happens: eBay.

So actually the power of the Seller is the power to sell only when
convenient, and the disadvantage of the Buyer is that eBay commits him
to pay unless the Seller allows the contrary. If you look at eBay in
these terms, the protections need to be structured around the buyer.
Whatever your opinion,20it is wrong to confuse eBay with most common
auctions just because they call them "auctions". During (live) "English
auctions", the auction most of us assume when hearing of "an auction",
there is no "sniping", and other eBay self-crafted academic auction
crap, the auctioneer simply starts do I hear.... do I hear.... do I
hear.... once ... twice .... sold cycles until he is satisfied everyone
had plenty of time to bid and works for the benefit of the Seller.

Now I won't get too started on why government should regulate eBay's
monopolistic and bloated fees just as they regulate pawn shops gouging
and credit interest rates for consumer protection - it makes sense
until eBay is forced to be broken up just like AT&T was: to everyone's
benefit, it is too much power in the hands of two few billionaires
suckling their cash cow on our backs for too long. What we need is a
Linux version of eBay linking many independent auction sites in a
Bit-torrent fashion ... where independent escrow companies have equal
access to process buyer commitments. That would introduce the
competition where it is needed and online selling fees will plummet in
consumers favor and finish eBay as effectively as AOL died.

http://joshreads.com/images/08/12/i081223bgss.jpg
(meteorite impacts?)

Best wishes,
Doug

PS - Everyone could humor Jim by watching this auction
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200387668267 !

PPS - Mike Miller'
s point about "spousal" consent was hilariously true
... (Loweezy could spend hours gossiping with Elviney: Has any woman on
the list -or in the known universe- ever had her husband deny
permission when she wanted to buy herself a meteorite?)








-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Strope <nwa482 at comcast.net>
To: Mexicodoug <mexicodoug at aim.com>
Cc: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Sent: Sun, Sep 27, 2009 7:47 pm
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] AD... Time to get back to work

Or......? they are just saving up money from cashing in all their empty
beer cans.

Case in Point........? Sikhote-alin stamp Buy It Now for $20- and I
have 9 of the left.? It has 3 watchers:? BTW the auction has had only
25 hits since I loaded it !

?http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200387668267

Jim Strope
http://www.catchafallingstar.com/

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mexicodoug" <mexicodoug at aim.com>
To: nwa482 at comcast.net, meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2009 11:12:49 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada
Pacific
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] AD... ?Time to get back to work

"I have a question that has puzzled me for some time....... On a cheap
item, $20- buy it now, why would anyone bother to watch it? "

Hello Jim !

Maybe the IRS.

$20 is more money than 2/3 's of the current eBay prices in the
collectibles category.

Maybe they debate between (grocery=2
0shopping and cooking a romantic home
cooked steak dinner for two), or (some old rock or 40-kopeck (USD
$0.01) postage stamp).... so they put it on a watch list so it doesn't
get lost.

Or maybe long on bids and with a fixed perk budget. Losing other
auctions, he would pounce on the $20 thingy.

Maybe she is 11 years old and $20 is her week's allowance and she is
waiting for her "paycheck". Or ditto, retired, fixed income, unemployed.

Do you happen to have several of the same items for $20? Maybe one of
your competitors thinks $10 has been the standard for whatever the item
is, and he may be thinking, let's see how quickly Jim sells these at
$20 !

My money is on the latter,

Kindest wishes,
Doug






-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Strope <nwa482 at comcast.net>
To: Meteorite Central <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Sun, Sep 27, 2009 11:51 am
Subject: [meteorite-list] AD... Time to get back to work



After playing all summer, I find that I must get back to work. So I
have
started listing on ebay again. All items so far are buy it now listings
with
some of them accepting reasonable offers. Noteable items are a complete
Portales Valley Stone, nice Esquel slices, complete Millbillillie,
Gibeon,
Planetaries etc, Link is below:

http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=catchafallingstar.com

I have a question that has puzzled me for some time....... On a cheap
it
em,
$20- buy it now, why would anyone bother to watch it? It is only $20-
and not
an auction where you would want to know where it ended or wanted to bid
at the
last minuite? What is the logic behind cluttering your watched item
list with
this kind of cheap item?

Good luck to all as I have some exceptional items offered and plan on
adding
more in the next few days.

Jim Strope

http://www.catchafallingstar.com/
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Received on Mon 28 Sep 2009 01:41:25 AM PDT