For the life of me, I can't understand the complaining about "sniping".
I've been to a lot of live auctions - especially for antiques - and many times
the bidding is "normal": $50, $55, $65, $75 - going once, going twice - and
somebody bids $300 at the last moment - everybody is caught off guard - and
before one catches his/her breath, the gavel is down and the item sold.
It's all part of the game. And if a person takes auctions too seriously, then
they will not find them fun. BTW: I've done the above myself - it's kind of
exhilarating - although it can be expensive...
Sometimes on eBay (or other auctions) I will put in a low bid on an item -
because I just "kinda" want it - and am not interested in bidding it up.
"Snipes" could bother me less - if they want to pay more, so be it.
If I really want an item, and I'm short on time - I just bid the maximum I'm
willing to pay and forget it. If I win O.K., if not, it's still O.K. Sniping
doesn't bother me at all - I've already determined the maximum the item is
worth to me - and if someone bids more in the last 4 seconds, so be it. If
they bid an hour earlier it wouldn't make any difference to me - I've already
determined what I'm willing to pay for the item - they can have it.
I have even done "sniping" on eBay - only to be "better sniped" by somebody
else. Who cares? It's all in the game, guys. If you REALLY just HAVE to
have the item, and you didn't bid your maximum, just contact the winner and
see what he'll be willing to sell it to you for.... Or, as I've done several
times, contact the seller and see if he/she has another one. Several times
they have - and in one case I got it for 2/3 the price that the high bidder
had paid for the item!!!
Lyle
On Wednesday 25 February 2004 08:42, Peter C. Wallace wrote:
> On Tue, 24 Feb 2004, Vintage Computer Festival wrote:
> > On Tue, 24 Feb 2004, David V. Corbin wrote:
> > > Personally, I wish that the auction would be more like a real world one
> > > where the auction ended (after a suitable startup delay) when not bids
> > > had been placed for a specific interval (30 minutes?). This would more
> > > accurately reflect a "real world" open auction. IMsnHO.....
> >
> > And that's exactly how the Vintage Computer Marketplace works.
> >
> > "Snipe-Proof Auctions"
>
> Yes, Ebay's allowing sniping is really kind of sleazy, You think its a real
> auction with some idea that the visible bid prices mean something when in
> fact by allowing sniping its really a sealed bid auction... Sleazy
>
> > --
> >
> > Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer
> > Festival
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >----- International Man of Intrigue and Danger
> > http://www.vintage.org
> >
> > [ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage
> > Computers ] [ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at
> > http://marketplace.vintage.org ]
>
> Peter Wallace
> Mesa Electronics
--
Lyle Bickley
Bickley Consulting West Inc.
http://bickleywest.com
"Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"
Received on Wed Feb 25 2004 - 11:01:56 GMT