Ebay idiots

general questions, comments and ideas about recording, audio, music, etc.
KennyLusk
dead but not forgotten
Posts: 2037
Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2004 10:22 am
Location: Ramah, New Mexico

Ebay idiots

Post by KennyLusk » Tue Dec 28, 2004 4:37 pm

Is there a reason (I may be unaware of ) why guys on Ebay will start bidding on something hours before the end of the auction? Sometimes even days before the end of an auction.

Are people such horrible consumers that they really don't think?

Or is it just me?

It seems to me that everyone loses when people do that.

User avatar
Leopold
buyin' a studio
Posts: 841
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 8:51 am
Contact:

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by Leopold » Tue Dec 28, 2004 4:42 pm

KennyLusk wrote:Is there a reason (I may be unaware of ) why guys on Ebay will start bidding on something hours before the end of the auction? Sometimes even days before the end of an auction.

Are people such horrible consumers that they really don't think?

Or is it just me?

It seems to me that everyone loses when people do that.
Well, when would you expect that people should start bidding?
I would think it may work to discourage other bidders if they see someone already eager to bid on something or maybe to just have it on their bid list.

Leo
"I raged against the machine and all this money came out!" Bart Simpson

User avatar
waitingroom
gimme a little kick & snare
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon May 17, 2004 5:29 pm

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by waitingroom » Tue Dec 28, 2004 4:57 pm

With the max bid function, it doesn't really matter when you start bidding.

junkstar
re-cappin' neve
Posts: 655
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2004 1:16 pm
Location: new york
Contact:

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by junkstar » Tue Dec 28, 2004 5:37 pm

I'll put in a low bid just to have the item in my bidding list, so I don't lose track of the item and have to go looking for it again. Yeah, you could call that dumb, but I prefer to call it lazy..

jmligt
alignin' 24-trk
Posts: 60
Joined: Fri Feb 06, 2004 9:38 am

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by jmligt » Tue Dec 28, 2004 6:58 pm

I usually bid on something as soon as I see it and decide I want it. Otherwise I'll forget all about it...

User avatar
Randy
tinnitus
Posts: 1078
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 6:54 am
Location: Minneapolis
Contact:

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by Randy » Tue Dec 28, 2004 7:02 pm

junkstar wrote:I'll put in a low bid just to have the item in my bidding list, so I don't lose track of the item and have to go looking for it again. Yeah, you could call that dumb, but I prefer to call it lazy..
ahh, but lazy like a fox!
not to worry, just keep tracking....

Wild Bill
pushin' record
Posts: 212
Joined: Sat Aug 14, 2004 9:17 am
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by Wild Bill » Tue Dec 28, 2004 7:09 pm

jmligt wrote:I usually bid on something as soon as I see it and decide I want it. Otherwise I'll forget all about it...
Thats what the "watch this item" feature is for, but as long as it works for you.
Bill~~~

gradwellhouse
alignin' 24-trk
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2003 8:38 pm
Location: nj
Contact:

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by gradwellhouse » Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:23 pm

Why have a 7 day auction if you dont want people to bid on it til the end?

matt250321
pluggin' in mics
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2004 9:57 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by matt250321 » Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:35 pm

also if the starting bid is real low, the item seems more attractive to everyone who sees it. So by bidding first and raising the price a bit, the item seems a little less attractive. It might drive some people away. For example, i just bid on a pair of mics. The initial bid was at 150. these new go for about 400 so this looked like a great deal... so i bid, but there was a reserve. So i bid until I hit the reserve, Which was 250. Still a fair price for these mics. Now if i didnt bid, someone else could have come along and seen the mics for 150 and did the same thing i did. But now I have the mics at 250 and no one else has bid on them yet. I have one more day till I win them. I think my explanation kinda makes sense right??? who knows...
"We are emotional salesmen" -Shelly Yakus

User avatar
seeabove
pushin' record
Posts: 241
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2003 9:36 am
Location: Bay Area
Contact:

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by seeabove » Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:24 pm

This is the THEORY of how to ebay wisely. Look at the item and description without looking at the price. Decide how much you would pay for that and bid. If it's lower than the reserve, cool, you don't have to buy it, you don't win, and it's not worth that high price to you. Otherwise, ebay will just list the lowest price (either the reserve or .01) and everyone else does the same. Whoever is willing to pay the most wins.

The 7 day part is to create competition. The "I gotta have it!" without thinking of the cost. I'll bet that dude that $25000 for the grilled cheese wouldn't have said that's how much he'd pay before the auction began, but rather got swept up by the competition, "had to win", and dropped more than he would have rationally expected.

Ever been to a real auction? I went to one this past summer for the SF Giants. I'm a huge baseball fan (see signature) and have been able to put a fairly specific price on the chance to throw out the first pitch at (1) a baseball game ($1000) and (2) The seventh game of the World Series in Oakland (seriously, my left nut - I have a spare). I came to this price after HOURS of "would you rather" conversations with friends.

So I went to this auction and there was this one dude who dropped a combined $4000 to be on the field for batting practice and to go into the announcer's booth for 1 inning. He "had" to win the prizes. His wife was going to kill him. So they come auction off the first pitch. I say "okay, my max price is $1000". I think if I started bidding at 1K, someone would have had to beat me and I would have lost the auction.

Instead, bidding started low and it ended up being a 2 man fight that topped off at $950. I just sat quietly, waited for the "going once, going twice..." ... and sniped in with $1000... and won. The best and stupidest amount of money I've ever spent. Hopefully it'll be worth it.

That is the reality of ebay. All economics is not rational and sane. There is a reason that every Nobel Prize in Economics the past couple decades or so is given for game theory, non-rational micro behavior, and chaotic macroeconomics.

Wow. This post is longer than I thought it would be. Sorry to bore anyone. :oops:
I get satisfaction of three kinds. One is creating something, one is being paid for it and one is the feeling that I haven?t just been sitting on my ass all afternoon.

User avatar
apropos of nothing
dead but not forgotten
Posts: 2193
Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 6:29 am
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Contact:

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by apropos of nothing » Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:57 pm

If you bid more than five minutes before the auction ends you're bidding against yourself. Its called snyping, and it in tandem with the max-price strategy mentioned by seeabove, is the only sensible way to ebay.

The way to screw yourself out of a lot of money is to bid with the "that sucker's mine" mentality. I've done it myself once or twice. No more.

slowblue
gettin' sounds
Posts: 100
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 1:52 pm
Location: NYC

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by slowblue » Tue Dec 28, 2004 10:06 pm

I could never figure out how to raise my bid if it didn't hit the reserve and I was the high bidder. Sigh.

Rigsby
mixes from purgatory
Posts: 2908
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 12:34 am
Location: London, England
Contact:

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by Rigsby » Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:07 pm

slowblue wrote:I could never figure out how to raise my bid if it didn't hit the reserve and I was the high bidder. Sigh.
Doesn't it warn you if you don't hit the reserve and ask you if you want to bid again? The last thing i bid on it warned me that one more bid by another bidder and i'd be outbid and asked if i'd like to put in a higher bid. Or you could just bid again. Woah, that was a lot of use of the word bid.

I do that 'what is this worth to me' thing these days too, when i first eBay'd i got into that 'this is mine' mindset and nearly came a cropper a few times, just not worth it. With most items they'll be another one along pretty soon anyway.
The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away.

rigsbysmith.com

i am monster face
buyin' gear
Posts: 524
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 7:17 pm
Location: Omaha
Contact:

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by i am monster face » Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:39 pm

Ebay sucks anyways anymore. It seems all the things I'm interested in have a reserve set at the cost or price of the item new. While most of them are new, I cannot seem to think that our once beloved e-bay is now a total sham. Sure, I'd like a few preamps, but what is the point of bidding on them if I know it's put on by a business that is just putting the reserve at the same price as in their store? I know minimum advertised price schemes used by dealers and distributors and don't feel like getting fucked on some Cad-E100 I'd like to have for $199, but just know the reserve is set at the catalouge price.
Where are the deals? Once in a blue moon, but I'm losing hope with ebay.

Still buy cheap cars there though. I like that.

Ian

Rigsby
mixes from purgatory
Posts: 2908
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 12:34 am
Location: London, England
Contact:

Re: Ebay idiots

Post by Rigsby » Wed Dec 29, 2004 6:25 am

i am monster face wrote:Ebay sucks anyways anymore. It seems all the things I'm interested in have a reserve set at the cost or price of the item new. While most of them are new, I cannot seem to think that our once beloved e-bay is now a total sham. Sure, I'd like a few preamps, but what is the point of bidding on them if I know it's put on by a business that is just putting the reserve at the same price as in their store? I know minimum advertised price schemes used by dealers and distributors and don't feel like getting fucked on some Cad-E100 I'd like to have for $199, but just know the reserve is set at the catalouge price.
Where are the deals? Once in a blue moon, but I'm losing hope with ebay.

Still buy cheap cars there though. I like that.

Ian
It's still pretty good for us in the UK, especially with new gear. The exchange rate is clearly very much in our favour right now, and believe it or not a lot of gear is pound for dollar over here, so even after shipping it's still save-agogo.
The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away.

rigsbysmith.com

Locked

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 24 guests