OT: Ebay pooched my Auctions!

Translation: I get stuff for less money.

Translation: I sell my stuff for more money because of it.

Do you and the others who parrot this line actually _not_ see the contradiction here?

I'd pay extra to list my items, to take that chance.

Heh!

Isn't that asking too much from "a petulant little boy"?

Sorry about your misfortune, Jason. I, too, would be chapped.

Don't expect that kind of understanding and sympathy from some of these dolts, who, clearly, are here to enjoy the misery of others. Whole different story when it happens to them. Suddenly----it's important. Damned weasels.

Harold

Why in the world should that be mandatory?

For values of "hardly anyone" which equal, in my experience, 389 out of

408. Maybe you're going to some different auction site or something?

Make it 5 minutes and we've got a real solution. And then it's not "adapting", it's letting the market decide when the auction is over.

I'm fine with the system as it is, but it boggles the fark out of me when people pretend it's better for buyers _and_ sellers, and when they make statements like "hardly anyone leaves feedback anymore". Make the points you want to make on reality, don't make shit up. Weakens your point when you do.

Dave Hinz

I really don't get why some people think sniping is immoral. If you turn up early at a yard sale to improve your chances of getting the good stuff, is that immoral? No, you're just playing the system in order to maximise your chances, and sniping is the same.

I snipe because it wins me more stuff at prices I can afford. I signed up for an online service which charges me a small fee (usually about 10 cents) for a snipe. It definitely saves me hassle and money.

And do I mind people sniping when I'm selling goods on eBay? No, because it drives up the price. I also think that if sniping was prevented by eBay, some people who usually snipe might not bid at all rather than place an early proxy bid.

Best wishes,

Chris

Well Dave, it looks like you don't get out very much or, at least, haven't thought this through. You say:

But how it actually works is: All standard buyers place their highest proxy bid or, if not using the proxy system, bid higher (to their limit) as the bids increase. The last bid, if higher than previous bids, will win the auction, regardless if this last bid is 1 hour, 1 minute, or 1 second before the end of the auction, and this last bid will therefore add to the money received by the seller.

The only way this last bid could be detrimental would be if someone else continually looses to someone in the last seconds and decides to no longer bid on ebay, and you've not shown this to be the case. Even if this were the case the overall effect would be small.

Or are you perhaps suggesting snipers will be detered by higher proxy amounts (which are beneficial to the seller, another contradiction)?

dennis in nca

True.

It's not a contradiction if people who can't snipe choose not to bid. If those people don't bid, your item sells for less money. I'm sure this is a serious possibility. I feel this way myself.

I wouldn't. I'm happy with the bidding system as it is, both as a buyer and a seller. Their customer service really could be better, though.

I still fail to see why sniping is considered immoral by some folks.

Chris

I guess you didn't post the following, then ....... re: trying to bid with not enough time left to complete the bid now that ebay has changed the rules .............

What I said was, "put in your proxy or snipe TWO minutes before the end of the auction, then sit back and watch."

Petulance? Didn't she have some hits in the sixties?

Petulance Clark .......... Don't sleep in the subway, darling, don't stand in the pouring rain ........

That Petulance?

Steve

Yeah. Someone who "bids in the last seconds" and then whines about losing deserves the respect of us all.

Steve

I understand ebay inside and out. I'm a PowerSeller. I've been a seller since April 1, 2001. So, I do have some experience on ebay.

It is always amusing to hear these stories. Clearly clueless people. Keyword: bidding in the last seconds of an auction.

RTFM, people. It's all there. And TFM is changing every day with ebay. Learn to proxy like you mean it, when to send it in, and how to use a snipe service. You will win more auctions and actually pay less for an item than bidding it up early.

Running in and wailing, "Someone stole my auction" seems like a six year old wailing about life's lack of fairness.

Steve

Could you please clarify the part where you stated in your original post that you "bid in the last seconds of the auction"?

I get confused over that because that is the issue, and you won't respond on that point precisely, but keep wandering around the trough.

Steve

"Grant Erwin" wrote

First thing I learned on ebay after paying MUCH too much for an item:

There will always be another along soon.

Put out a Favorite Search and they will notify you by e mail when your item is listed. Lots of features to help you find and buy things. If you choose to RTFM, that is.

Steve

ebay is so slow to load on a dialup because of all the links and embedded things and flash goodies and popups and everything.

I have cable modem, and when I visit friends with a dialup, it's like finding a rotary phone. They work, they just take time.

Steve

An important thing I don't think you're seeing, Dennis is when you proxy. If everyone proxies early, then the highest proxy bid goes to the top. People still have time to keep bidding.

If a person sends in a proxy in the last minute or two, there's a chance that there won't be enough time, or someone's not at home, and can't start bidding more than your high bid.

Proxy like you mean it, but don't send it in until a couple of minutes before the auction. Otherwise, you encourage a bidding war, usually among clueless newbies and drive up the final price no matter who wins it. It WON'T guarantee you will win, but it WILL help keep the price from going up early.

Or, at least that has been my experience in 5 1/2 years of ebaying now.

Steve

JR, it's been 2 weeks since I bid on anything, and I won that with a bid at about 1:20 left to go with no extra screen or any other unusual behavior. I'll keep an eye out for the extra screen, though, whenever I bid again.

-- Regards, Carl Ijames carl.ijames at verizon.net

"Dave Hinz" wrote

Feedback don't mean shit unless one or the other of the parties does not perform. You buy something. You pay the money. You get your item. Is anything further needed? Do you send your grocer a thank you card? The guy that squeegees your window at the intersection? Mutual satisfactory performance is EXPECTED. If that happens, who needs feedback?

I don't want to read 2,000 glowing feedbacks including graphic cutesy images from people who obviously have too much time on their hands. I want ONLY to hear from the ones who were unhappy. And to have to go look through 2,000 fbs to find the negs is a pain, too. And then, "mutually withdrawn." What does that mean? I want to know the dirt.

Steve

Easy, big fella! :-)

The last 20 or so items I've purchased on ebay, the sellers haven't left me feedback. That's what I mean by "hardly anyone .. anymore".

If nobody has to go first, then the buyer and seller deadlock saying "you first"

- THAT's why it should be mandated.

Here's a real-world practical example: a seller sells me an item, and when it shows up, it's missing critical parts. The seller doesn't respond to repeated emails, and when I do an ebay user inquiry and get his phone number, it's just a machine, no calls answered. I know if I leave him a negative feedback he can then leave me one just for spite, spoiling my perfect 100% record. Yet I did everything right in this auction as a buyer. I sent full payment correctly within minutes of the auction end. Why should he not be required to leave me positive feedback?

GWE

This feedback is so out of kilter. One of my four negative feedbacks out of

1,605 sales was from someone who said "I was difficult to communicate with." This was her third Non Paying Bidder complaint. So, she neggs me, and it still sits there. But no mention of her not paying for multiple purchases on ebay. (She's NRU'd now - Not a registered user)

Feedback is really not idicative of a seller or buyer's true performance. In order to ascertain that, one has to dig below the surface for the actual facts.

I don't know who came up with this feedback idea, but I'd like to have them drug tested. And people who put too much stock in feedback ratings need to get a grip. If I see someone who has a really low rating, that is, below

95%, usually something's going on. But some people make many purchases and sales, and truth is, you just can't please everyone, and the customer isn't always right. And when I see sellers with 100% ratings, that's SUCKER tattooed on their foreheads saying if I an make any sort of complaint about anything I purchase from them, the chances are they will refund me and let me keep the merchandise.

Steve

Steve,

You probably know about it already, but you can search for negative feedback at

Best wishes,

Chris

Pardon the hell out of me for injecting facts into your rant.

And the last 20 or so of mine, all have. (shrug).

I don't know what kind of stuff you're buying and selling, but I don't have any of that sort of problem. Maybe it's because I sell what I say I'm selling without any bullshit involved, and I ship fast. And when I buy, I pay fast and leave feedback right away when I get something.

So he spoils your 100%. Big deal. Anyone worth dealing with, if they're worried, will see who neg'd you, and check _their_ feedback.

It's only broken if people use it the wrong way. In my experience, 400 some times in the last year, they're not.