eBay vrs42?

From: vrs <vrs_at_msn.com>
Date: Sat Feb 12 01:37:55 2005

From: "Eric Smith" <eric_at_brouhaha.com>
> vrs wrote:
>
> > "5.5 Manipulation. Neither you, bidders nor sellers may manipulate the
> > price
> > of any item nor may you interfere with other user's listings or
> > transactions."
>
> Agreeing with another bidder that I will let them have the item as
> I don't want it as much as they do isn't "maniuplating the price"
> any more than just the act of bidding is. The bids that are placed
> are still perfectly legitimate bids, and the price is determined
> accordingly.

The way to do this is to stop bidding. No "behind the scenes" talk is
involved with that. As I said, I have stopped bidding because friends and
acquaintences were bidding. Nothing wrong with that.

However, there *is* something wrong, IMO, with asking a friend or
aquaintence to stop bidding.

> eBay doesn't have any right to force me to bid on something I choose
> not to bid on, for any reason whatsoever.

Agreed.

> >> If we knew that Ford was only going to build three Excursions
> >> in 2005, and that you, Joe, Fred and I each wanted one, it wouldn't be
> >> unethical for me to choose not to buy one, even knowing that the
> >> 25% drop in demand would reduce the amount of money Ford could expect
> >> to receive per car (theoretically, in an efficient market). I don't
see
> >> how the fact that it's an auction makes any difference.
> >
> > If it caused Ford to make fewer cars next year, rather than more, would
> > that make a difference?
>
> No.

I agree that it isn't unethical for you to freely choose not to buy the
Ford. If you really wanted one, this seems like self-defeating behavior, in
both the short and long term.

Now, if I came to you and said "Don't buy the Ford; let me buy it when it
goes on half-price clearance, and I'll let you borrow it on Saturdays", that
would be more analogous, and not really fair to Ford. (Though certainly,
there are worse sins.)

    Vince
Received on Sat Feb 12 2005 - 01:37:55 GMT

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