Ebay engines...........again!

'Classic' open crank engines are not really my thing, but 'mrgutheridge' has some nice stuff there - anyone know what model the Blackstone is? I note he has offered the lots with with low starting price and no reserve - seem to be attracting pretty healthy bidding though, and I guess he could always pull out if not happy with price. Thinking about it though, doesn't that make a bit of a mockery of the 'no reserve' tag?

The C-V offered by 'ashbylloyd' is rather more to my taste - looking especially good sans tinware - but I wonder how much he is expecting for an incomplete and not especially uncommon engine?

Did you notice the green paint runs on the otherwise black base of the Blackstone and the pipes draped all over the place? I've asked him for more photo's because I'm not convinced all is as it should be. I guess this will be reflected in the price achieved but you never know, there's one born every minute!

The crossley is potentially nice as well but I wasn't keen on the dodgy looking tank support.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love either of these engines, but only at a sensible price. It seems to me that the seller is either hiding something or doesn't know how the present his goods to best advantage!

Mark

He is also surcharging 4% if you pay via PayPal, which is hasn't been allowed under e-bay rules for several months.

The presentation does leave a little to be desired.

Not really my 'thing' either,........ only because I don't have the room or money for one!!!! :) Not sure if this seller would pull an auction, but it is becoming an increasing problem on Ebay. 'Advertised elsewhere', has put me off bidding in the past, why don't they put a reserve on and if it doesn't sell so be it. It'll cost them to list either way!

Wouldn't like to guess, but I know a man who might.........step forward highest bidder:)

Anthony

I would guess the problem is the high price you pay for adding a reserve on ebay...

I had an engine on ebay not so long ago, with a sensible reserve. The item did not sell. Fair enough - you would think nobody wanted it. But instead I had no less than 6 people in contact the next day after the auction ended. In the end the enigne was sold at its reserve price, but away from Ebay and 5 people were dissapointed. Why they did not bid I have no idea !

Regards

Chris Bedo Kent UK.

People don't like (hidden) reserves, it takes away the "I'm going to get a bargin" aspect. If you publish what the reserve is no point in paying for the "privalidge" of the reserve. As you aren't prepared to sell for less than the reserve, why not start the bidding there with no reserve?

I've not looked at e-bays fee structure to see which is the more economical, 99p start + reserve or a simple higher starting price.

Well I disagree in a way, I tell anyone who asks the reserve, simply because I have nothing to hide. I agree I could start the bidding price higher, it makes little difference. But you HAVE to have something like a reserve or starting price otherwise you are obliged to sell the item if it does not make the money.

I don?t like "I reserve the right blah blah blah" personally simply because I know how annoying it is when your bidding on something and it gets withdrawn ! Keep it all in the open and its better for all.

Regards

Chris Bedo Kent UK

snipped-for-privacy@tiscali.co.uk

I agree with Chris on this one. Rather than start at a reserve (hidden) price I tend to have a fixed starter price and leave it at that.

Exception being some Horby loco's that I sold for a friend of my Sister's son, who asked for a reserve. He got over £140 for one loco!

The right to withdraw is something that I feel should not be allowed, as it defeats the object of the auction and would not be allowed in a normal auction unless a reserve had been set and not met.

Ebay users should abide by generally accepted rules, especially those like the PayPal surcharging which is now banned by Paypal but which still goes on.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

IIRC, if you set a reserve price, E-bay charge you a percentage of that price, whether you sell it or not. Thus, if you are mean like wot I am, you set a low price (.99p mostly) and look at the item regularly to see how the bidding is going. If it is too slow for my liking and/or has not reached the lowest amount at which I am prepared to sell within a couple of days of the end of the auction, I withdraw the item. Thus, I am at no risk of reluctantly having to part with something for next to nothing and can put it in again some other time.

Anything you wish to stipulate when you advertise, you should clearly state in your Terms of Business. As the vendor, the Terms of Business take precedence over an E-bay rule (unless they are "unreasonable") - so long as you state them clearly at the time of advertising. Recently, E-bay decided you could not add a percentage to your price to cover PayPal costs. To me, this simply meant I no longer accepted payment via PayPal , which I'll guarantee is not their intended outcome!

When buying, if I am interested in something, I make a bid to indicate that interest, but the snipe bidder is the bane of E-bay and I have repeatedly asked that they do something to stop this. Negotiations continue ........... ;o))

Regards,

J. Kim Siddorn,

So do I

What could they reasonably do? Actually if all bidders were more aware that sniping is commonplace, snipers might not be such a 'bane'. I reckon sniping is often successful because other interested parties are lulled into thinking that they really will get that bargain, & don't bid up to their maximum. If they did, the sniper would lose much of his advantage.

If there's something I really want on ebay, and I know I can be near the computer at the end, I'll save my final bid for the (literal) last minute because I know it can work. No fancy software, though. Is that sniping?

If I can't be around, I'll just put in my bid at the latest time I can be around. That does tend to be less successful, though.

Is this a new sig, like J. Arthur Rank? Or have I only just noticed?

Cheers Tim

Aye, but that seems a little against the use of a reserve and like I say if you don't want to sell below a price just start at that price. Everything is clearly in the open then, without asking potential buyers to jump through hoops. Most won't bother asking what the reserve is as 9 times out of 10 the seller won't say.

And piss off anybody who has bid or the watchers... I'd not look again at a seller that did that to me. And of course most things only sell in the last few hours/minutes/seconds of the auction.

I think e-bay are in the process of trying to reduce the number of "withdrawn" auctions as well.

Kim:

The snipe bidder ONLY wins the item if they bid the HIGHEST amount. The timing has nothing to do with it.

Earlier bids of a higher amount will ALWAYS win the auction. See the NC engraver we bought yesterday. I was not able to be around immediately before the auction end so put in a pre-bid which was not exceeded by anyone else. Judging what a winning bid is going to be is a very fine art indeed, and it doesn't always work:-((

Indicating an interest is not the best thing to do on ebay, and eventually raises the price unnecessarily if others join in and bid against you.

I only pre-bid if I can't put in a last-minute bid. That way if I put the highest bid in, I win the item. If I don't then I don't win the item. The last-minute bid is no different than the other bids, it's just that you can't predict what is going to happen.

If you want to engage in a bidding war with the others then good luck to ye, personally I haven't got that much spare cash :-))

ALSO:

If you pre-bid, the whole world and his dog can look up what you are bidding on at any time before and after the auction. If you didn't know/realise that, then you should be aware. All your bidding is available at any time, not just now but afterwards through your feedback rating. All auctions up to about 90 days are available to anyone that is interested.

Most regular bidders will put a watch on the item and only bid just before (10 seconds or less) the end of the auction.

I don't use a snipe bidding programme, just do it manually.

Peter