Ebay craziness

I think this outfit must be putting on the worst ebay auctions I've ever seen. They make ali babin look like a paragon of organization
and clarity:
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item%54978062&category%292
To add insult to injury you have to be on a 'pre-approved' bidders list. Searching thru their selection of hardinge stuff for sale, the photos don't line up with the descriptions, the numbers in the pictures don't line up with the numbers in the auctions, and if anyone can indentifiy the actual item for sale in the jumble on the tables, they're better than me.
Seeing how this is all set up, I would guess the chances of actually buying and receiving the correct part is probably less than three percent.
Jim
================================================= please reply to: JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================
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<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item%54978062&category%29 2>
I just looked and did notice they have 0 bids.
Steve
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jim rozen wrote:

Pre-approved and the jerk has a giant *ZERO* feedbacks.
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wrote:

Did you guys read the fine print?
ALL BIDDING ON THIS ITEM TAKES PLACE ON EBAY.BIDSPOTTER.COM! This item will be offered live (in real-time) on Business & Industrial Live Online Auctions in conjunction with Schneider Industries on September 4th 2003 @ 9:00 AM USCT! You may also place absentee bids prior to live auction day (bids are placed at the Business & Industrial Live Online Auctions Site and not at ebay.com!).
BidSpotter.com and eBay Live Auctions have teamed up to offer the most stable and versatile real-time bidding software available in combination with the most extensive network of auctioneers/dealers and bidders in existence today!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bidding on this item does not take place on eBay.com! All bidding is performed at ebay.bidspotter.com and requires separate registration than your eBay registration. BidSpotter Inc. auction house partners offer the goods or services in this listing. By clicking on a link logo or other item within this listing please note that you will be transported to the BidSpotter Inc. web site where you may make an offer to purchase the goods or services. eBay does not control the information provided by BidSpotter Inc. auction house partners and is not involved in the transaction between you BidSpotter Inc. or its auction house partners. ********************* This is not an EBAY auction, but only advertising for another online auction.
Gunner
"You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass." --Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
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Sure, that's 'advertising.' But I still maintain that if they can't even get the *advertising* right (ie, match the goods and the pictures and their own internal number designations) then they simply haven't a clue and the buyers are taking pure and simple potluck - there's not much chance they will even get the correct item they bid on, much less in any kind of specific condition.
Are they selling HLVHs for a dollar? Yep, and those nigerian guys really *do* want to give you $$$$$.
Jim
================================================= please reply to: JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================
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wrote:
<snip>

I tried to submit a bid and it told me I was not on the pre-approved list.
And I read the fine print. If I understand it right, if you get yourself approved you can bid now and via eBay and that bid will be submitted for you as a proxy bid at the time of auction. I suppose what they will do is open the bidding, and say "We had a bunch of proxy bids, those have been resolved and we have a high proxy bid for $xxx, anyone else want to bid now?". Of course the proxy bidder has no chance to offer any more bids and in reality has done little more than to get bidding going at a higher number.
Of course the proxy bidder also has no real idea of how good or bad the stuff he has bid on is because of the lack of photos or descriptions (except in the broadest sense). So if he wins it will be because he overbid for junk.
Allentown is about 12-13 hours away for me, if I was really interested I would go down there.
The concept is idiotic. It would take hours to go through all the listings and then you would only have the vaguest idea of what you are bidding for.
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Exactly my point. Even Ali Babin has his stocking and inventory control in better shape than this outfit!
Jim
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wrote:

Really? I didn't think I saw a mechanism there for real time bidding. It raises a lot of questions.
Are they going to have long pauses to let the online bidders react?
How are the online bids communicated to the live bidders?
How with the live bids get back to the online bidders?
Will the live bidders wait patiently for the online bidders?
Is my 26.4 Kbps dial-up connection gonna limit the info flow?
How long will this add to the sale of the average item?
Will the auctioneer keep making noises with his mouth while all this goes on? Will his voice hold out?

I'm talking as a potential online-bidding buyer. There is simply no way to get a good look at the stuff and see what you are bidding for.
I think the driving force on the concept is to get another level of bidding involved. Like to stimulate bidding wars between the live bidders and the online bidders.
I made a snap judgement, I've been wrong before.
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snipped-for-privacy@midmaine.com says...

I don't believe you use ebay at all, rather the bidding takes place on Bidspotter.
http://www.bidspotter.com/html/what.php3

It wasn't noticeable at the auction I was at (Fayscott in Dexter, ME). Typically the online bids would be entered when there was a lull in the live bidding. I suppose the auctioneer may have been allowing a little extra time before declaring a lot sold to allow the online bidders to react, but it certainly wasn't excessive.

The auctioneer would announce them. IIRC, he was wearing an earpiece, so I assume there was someone in the background relaying the bids to him.

I've never tried Bidspotter, but I assume it's similar to Dove's system where you the audio is streamed over the net. Just for yuks I listened in on one of Dove's Enron auctions several months ago.

I get pretty annoyed with pokey auctioneers trying to milk every buck. The Fayscott auction went as quickly as most, and faster than many.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's a handicap.

Agree 100%, though there may be cases where it makes sense. For example, you can make it to the inspection before the auction, but can't make the day of the auction. You could tune in in time to bid on one item that you've inspected and be done.

That's what it's all about--getting top dollar for the seller and the auctioneer. I suspect it will be nearly impossible to tell whether it really is effective or not. I've been going to machinery auctions for almost 30 years, and if there's any way to predict how the prices will run at a given sale, I haven't figured it out.
The whole concept does seem to be antithetical to that of Ebay, where the feedback system is supposed to create some confidence that what is for sale is accurately represented, as opposed to a regular equipment auction where no representations are made about the condition of the stuff for sale.
One of the local auctioneers here in Maine will often say at the beginning of a sale, "Everything here is broken, if you buy something and it works when you get it home, you screwed us."
Ned Simmons
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says...

This is the nice thing that actually *works* with ebay in most cases. I've frankly never been badly rooked in an ebay transaction, where the entirely wrong item is sent or the thing that is sent is not as shown in the description of the auction.
The closest I've come was when I bid on one dial indicator and a different, more accurate one was shipped. After contacting the seller to alert him that somebody else might be wanting the one I got, nothing more ever came of it.
But the stuff that this bozo is showing has no real connection with what he says is showing.
It's like in a regular ebay auction, somebody is saying 'sports car for sale' and in the photo is a bunch of bicycles - with a parking lot of cars in the background. Now who the hell is gonna bid on *that*.

LOL. BTW, thanks for the new departure handbook. Anything in particular you might be seeking, Ned?
Jim
================================================= please reply to: JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ================================================
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jim snipped-for-privacy@newsguy.com says...

Forgiveness for the next stupid thing I post? I hope you find the book useful, if not, pass it on.
Ned
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wrote:
<snip>

LOL! That's a Mainer!
And thanks for the description of the bidspotter auctions, I'm probably not going to be involved in it but at least I understand how it works now.
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Well if the Govenrment had any brains all government auctions would be on Ebay. They would have more people seeing their stuff and would get more money.

bidding.
proxy.
of
some
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I have in the past placed an absentee bid with Murphy auctions out of Seattle and won a mill. So they do work. The local auctions that do the absentee bids, the clerk holds the absentee bids and nods in on behalf of the bidder. If your aware of it you can see it happening other wise no announcement is made of the absentee bidder. lg no neat sig line

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Its an advertisement for a real time auction, you register to use the online bidding proccess and bid just like you are at a live auction at the date and time the auction is scheduled. Also 13.5% will be added to the winning bid and the winner must pick up thier winnings.
Not your typical ebay auction, just an addy.
Best Regards Tom.
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Look at the bid page, you also have to pay a buyers premium on top of your bid price.......just like most realtime auctions do. -- Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com Contents: foundry and general metal working and lots of related projects. Regards Roy aka Chipmaker // Foxeye Opinions are strictly those of my wife....I have had no input whatsoever. Remove capital A from chipmAkr for correct email address
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What are you talking about? There is no buyers premium on ebay. There are fees to the seller, but to the buyer, the price you pay is the price the auction ended at (plus postage/packing/extortion)
--
http://inquisitor.i.am/ | mailto: snipped-for-privacy@i.am | Ian Stirling.
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Ian Stirling wrote:

What are YOU talking about? Might be helpful to your case if you'd go look for yourself. This is something new. It's NOT a normal ebay auction and you cannot bid in the normal ebay fashion. Ebay doesn't allow advertising for sales outside of the auction and I was about to report this guy last night when I read it's being done in conjunction with ebay. I rather suspect it's an attempt by ebay to tap directly into the industrial auction market, ala Dovebid.
Jon
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show
Yup!
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Ian Stirling wrote:

Well then, I owe you an apology. Sorry about that.
Jon
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