Ebay - OT

[Harry Bloomfield]

sweetheart used his keyboard to write :

They used some last minute bidding software - try Bid-O-Matic. If you cannot beat 'em, join 'em.

You fill your ebay details into it, so it can bid on your behalf. You then test it against dummy ebay items set up for the purpose, so it can see what the Internet delays are.

You then enter the item number and then the highest price you are willing to pay for the item. The software then waits until the last few seconds, watching the bids and makes its own bid - just enough and no more to beat the last price it sees. Sometimes it wins, but not always. You can set up several such bids grouped, on similar items, so you would only win one such item - the first one upon which it makes a successful bid, then the rest are ignored.

I believe ebay has such a last minute bidding option built into it, but I also suspect your bid is fixed at the amount you enter, rather than just enough to win the auction.

[BartC]

If I want something on ebay then I just use Buy-it-Now if available.

I might bid on something if I'm not too bothered about winning.

This business about everyone bidding in the last minute is ridiculous; why not advertise for a week, but only allow bids within the final minute? Effectively that is what happens.

That NZ scheme seems a much better idea, where an item is sold when there are no higher bids.

[Tabby]

quite

[Matty F]

That is simply a deficiency of Ebay. If Ebay had any sense they would allow an auction to coninue until bidding stops for a minute or two, just like an old syle auction. Then the seller gets the maximum price, and Ebay get more commission. I hope someone from Ebay management is reading this.

[sweetheart]

I don't have another one and I am sorry despite what you think my internet skills aren't up to more than I have.

[brass monkey]

That's exactly the key to it, bid as much as you're prepared to pay. If you then get sniped, someone wanted it more than you did.

[Adrian]

"sweetheart" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

You didn't. The closing time was clear for you to see.

Bids can be placed at any point until that time is reached. Not "got close to", but actually reached.

Are dealers somehow not "genuine people", then?

[Adrian]

"sweetheart" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Think about that for a minute.

eBay charges fees. Postage costs money. It costs time and effort to list an item on eBay.

Why would it "just go round", unless a profit was being made? If a profit IS being made, then it can't be very substantial, if they're still only less than a tenner.

[Adrian]

Matty F gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Umm, I don't know who to post it TO when I start the auction, do I?

[sweetheart]

He is disposing of them ( or rather putting them in his "shop" at £9.99 each as far as I can see. No one has yet bought any of them from him - and now of course he had 6 rather than the two he had.

There are so many plates there there should be enough. I guess like many places I know , he can stand to wait a while. Since its not possible to buy them anywhere else on the internet ( Ive tried). If he is sending them to auction somewhere I don't know where. If I did I would do the standard commissioned bid at auction rather than e bay.

Like someone said about the Kiwi's - I live in the 1950's too. I don't like internet bidding. I can see from what I have researched that the market price for a plate retail ( second hand shop) is about £10 in good condition. That goes for all of them ( there was a series)

[Matty F]

It's very simple. When nobody bids for about a minute after the time the auction was due to close, the auction closes. So, an auction may continue for a few more minutes and get a better price for the seller, and Ebay could get a higher commission. But they don't, because they have not thought of extending auctions. Which is why Ebay will never get anywhere in the NZ market, because Ebay is inferior. This whole thread shows that. The OP was unable to outbid another bidder because of a timing problem of a few seconds.

[Scott M]

So, assuming he's not just completely insane[1], why not make contact with him and find where he sells them or how much he'd be willing to sell you one for? He may have a real shop, an ebay shop or an online webshop that you could then look at.

Anyway, ebay - because of the fixed time there's no point in bidding before the last 10 sec.

[1] Decorative plates. Who? Just who?!?

[sweetheart]

I would have thought that would make sense. Thats what would happen in a real life auction. It was what I thought did happen ( but then thought is a strange thing, more logical than life) .

I was just really whizzed off when I deliberately went to watch the end just in case someone came along - after a week with no bidding interest other than mine.

Yes, I could have tried for the next and the next last night but having lost once on the last second and not knowing how it worked I decided to wait. Besides I don't want any plate. I want a good condition one. At least one of those bought by last minute dot com bidder had some wear on it ( hence I wont buy from the buy it now shop on e bay because I might get one like that!)

I might anyway but if someone says " colour exquisite, kept in a hall/ cabinet." / or boxed or something, I accept that.

[Peter Crosland]

Your best interest is to stop ranting and go and look at the Auctionsniper site. You wil find that you can make three snipes for free.

Peter Crosland

[sweetheart]

Principle. I am a stubborn pig headed female. I want to buy a plate genuinely not have to beg to a bloke who took one off me. I w ould rather pay £100 on ebay and out bid him than pay what he asks. So there. Nothing more than I dont like what he is doing.

I dont think its right to go around picking them up and selling them on.

I didn't really expect a last second bid after no interest except mine for the last week and mine the only bid even placed.

[Bob Eager]

I fail to see any dishonesty at all. Dealers are equally entitled to bid. They are prepared to pay more than you. They get the goods.

[sweetheart]

Thank you. I have the link and plan on doing just that. Since its obvious there is only one other bidder out there, I would be a fool to lose it again.

[root]

Or just do it "by hand" if you don't like the idea of giving a stranger your ebay login/password details.

[Matty F]

Oh so you are talking about posting the item through the snail mail system. Why should the auction time being sometimes extended by a few minutes matter in the least?

[Lobster]

Indeed. Eg, what happens if you come up against 'sweetheart2' who says 'Grr... I'm going to bid £90 just to be sure I'll get it'? Result - one very happy seller.

I don't know why you're so obsessed with dealers - in any case they're just individuals like you and me, and who are prepared to pay the market rate for an item. They are only buying to resell to ordinary customers like you, who clearly are prepared to pay more than you want to.

If I'm bidding on ebay I just decide how much the item is worth (including postage), and bid that price right at the very end of the auction. Absolutely no point in bidding early; you just stimulate more interest and some trigger-happy bidder will probably bid higher than they meant, and you'll lose. If somebody else does the same trick as me, but outbids me, then I don't mind as they'll have paid more than I was prepared to. So, if they item is going at 99p starting price, I might decide it's worth paying nine quid for, so ideally I'll place a bid for 9.03 with 5 secs to go. If nobody else bids, then I get it for

99p anyway.

It's just about playing the game...

David