Microdata "Microprogramming Handbook"

From: Tothwolf <tothwolf_at_concentric.net>
Date: Fri Jan 25 20:54:20 2002

On Fri, 25 Jan 2002, Jeff Hellige wrote:

> It's up to the individual buyer/seller to do the research ahead of
> time and know what the item is actually worth and then decide what it
> is worth to them individually.

True, the buyer and seller *should* do research. One common problem that
seems to occur are sellers attempting to mislead uneducated buyers. If
more buyers that used ebay knew the *true* market value of the goods being
sold, there would be alot less dishonesty on ebay as a whole.

> The way I see it, eBay can't be compared to a normal auction because
> regular auctions don't allow open bidding, with the bid available for
> all to see, for a week or more. Closed-bid auctions do, but that's a
> totally different animal. You've got to be a fool to place a bid on
> something at the beginning of a 9 day auction on eBay and think you're
> going to get it.

I attend live auctions on a regular basis, and there is no comparison
between a true live auction and ebay's twisted definition of auction.
During a live auction, you get to interact with other potential buyers,
make some friends, and even trade a few items along the way. You can
observe the way others bid, such as body language when someone is really
interested in an item or just has a slight interest. A live auction has a
time limit on an item. I have seen two bidders bid on an item for 5
minutes or so, but this is rare and tends to annoy the auctioneers and
other buyers. Most bids are placed and over in a matter of seconds. Ebay
is so different from a true live auction, that I really don't see how ebay
can call the sales it hosts "auctions".

-Toth
Received on Fri Jan 25 2002 - 20:54:20 GMT