Rumor has it that vrs may have mentioned these words:
> And some other dude who's attribution was long gone, said:
> > On the M100 forum there exists a list of eBay names (how come you haven't
> > brought that up, Merch?) so that, if they choose, members can refrain
> > from bidding against fellow members (and, presumably, correspond
> > with each other). Different list, different interpretation of
> > fellowship and cooperation; haven't read any of these arguments there.
>
>I might feel that such a list is short-sighted, but it is much harder to
>argue that is "collusion", since there isn't any communication about prices,
>and each individual makes their own decision in private.
And the reason for the lists (each person keeps his/her own list) is for
the intention of: "He/She's my friend, I don't need the item that bad, I'll
not bid against them." It's not a matter of collusion, it's a matter of
increasing odds that a friend who may want it worse has a better chance of
getting it.
Basically, it's an "I don't wanna stop on someone else's toes." courtesy
rule, not an overt attempt to minimize a seller's income.
[[ We can play what-ifs all day and nite, but the spirit of the list(s)
is/are for good, not evil. ;-) ]]
>Fortunately, there is also at most very indirect pressure to participate.
Which is why I didn't mention the list, as I didn't think it had any real
bearing to the discussion at hand, and I thought it could have been yet
another datapoint for someone else to get worked up into a lather over...
which wasn't my intention in the past, and is not my intention now.
> > I always thought that the idea of an auction was for a)the seller to try
> > to get as much as possible _and_ b)the buyer to pay as little as possible,
> > not just a)...
>
>I thought the idea of an auction was to attempt to discover a price that was
>best for the seller *and* best for a buyer, given market conditions at a
>particular moment.
Neither of you are quite right. The idea of an auction is this:
It's to garner a price that's best for the seller, and the price increase
is inversely proportional to the IQ of the majority of the buyers.
;-)
I've seen used (near-new) items sell for 20-50% more than the *exact* same
thing brand-new at Wal-mart. Heck - I saw one person overbid when a store's
pricetag was in *plain view*!!!
When that happens, I say: "Good for the seller!" :-)
>Anyway, I hope that helps, without restarting a hot and heavy discussion of
>issues that have already been beaten to death.
Me too! ;-)
Laterz,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
--
Roger "Merch" Merchberger -- SysAdmin, Iceberg Computers
_??_ zmerch_at_30below.com
(?||?) If at first you don't succeed, nuclear warhead
_)(_ disarmament should *not* be your first career choice.
Received on Tue Feb 15 2005 - 12:56:47 GMT