PECKING.....An ebay art form?

[Second_Death]

Thoughts from another thread got me to thinking about the auction that forced me to start sniping several years ago. It was an auction for tickets to a Chiefs game in KC. I had placed an early max bid of $1050. At auction end, there were 32 total bids.......24 by the winner who won at $1051. Why does it take 24 bids for someone to decide what they are willing to pay for an item? 19 of his bids were in the final 10 minutes. Since then (been about 5 years now), I frequently snipe in auctions that I really want to win.

What is the most # of bids by one bidder that anyone here has seen in an auction? The most I've seen personally is the 24. The most I've seen in an auction I've won is 17.

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

Thoughts from another thread got me to thinking about the auction that forced me to start sniping several years ago. It was an auction for tickets to a Chiefs game in KC. I had placed an early max bid of $1050. At auction end, there were 32 total bids.......24 by the winner who won at $1051. Why does it take 24 bids for someone to decide what they are willing to pay for an item? .

Because people are stupid, emotional creatures....

They don't think logically. They think emotionally. (Read Dave Sim's Cerebus around about 150-up to see why.)

That's why sniping is so essential. It totally rids the game of ANY type of emotion.

[Daniel Jackson]

Ah the bidding peckers.... it really makes the person look like they have no idea of what they are willing to pay until they see that someone else is willing to pay a little more. All that's needed is to place the max amount you want to bid and let the proxy do it's work for you or wait and put the bid in at the last few seconds (the best method).

[djwatson23]

it's almost necessary(pecking) in order to win something on ebay. I've put in bids numerous times 1 hour before an auctions ends only to be snipped in the last minute by a few dollars. I expect to lose an auction if I put in a bid with more than 10 minutes to go and i cannot see the auction through till it ends(work).
In short....ya gotta snipe!

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

If you lose an auction to a sniper, and you are upset about it, you've only done one thing wrong:

You didn't bid the MOST you were willing to pay for the item.

You have to determine what the item is worth TO YOU, not what someone else's bid determines it to be.

If the amount YOU are willing to pay is ONLY determined by what someone else is willing to pay, then you are a pecker, and eBay probably isn't right for you.

If, however, you lose an auction and can say "well, I would have liked that, but man, I'm so not willing to pay that much"..then you have bid what you thought the item was worth to you, and can move on.

If you want to put in a bid of $10,000 for a typically $2 item, YOU WILL WIN that item, whether someone else snipes or not. It just makes more sense to bid the absolute MOST you're willing to bid ONCE, instead of saying "well, crap, I've been outbid...better go bid again."

eBay is NOT a live auction. It should not be approached the same way.

[steverino]

viewtopic.php?p=124891#124891

[magnusr]

I fail to see why it would bother anyone (as long as they felt the buyer was legitimate). How one loses (or for that matter wins) an auction whether by one large bid, or several small ones does not really make a difference in any way I can see. The botom line is always one person bids more than the other.

It's not how one looses, but that one looses. The frustration is not that someone else won by pecking, the frustration is that one could have won by not bidding early. Since noone has time to peck in the last six seconds of the auctions, the sniper wins. Once an important auction has been lost just because of bidding too early, the sad necessity of sniping becomes clear.

I totally understand your testing of the waters in auctions but I, like second_death, turned to sniping after loosing to someone who needed hours to decide he would outbid me.

/Magnus

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

There's a lot of looseness around here.....

Better get my slog boots....

[DawgPhan]

I always like to think that if someone beats me in an auction, they paid to much...

[cobra_commander]

Ah the bidding peckers.... it really makes the person look like they have no idea of what they are willing to pay until they see that someone else is willing to pay a little more.

So true...so true...

[cobra_commander]

You have to determine what the item is worth TO YOU, not what someone else's bid determines it to be.

Thats the toughest thing to do in my opine.

My new rule...if its art...one of a kind...bid f@cking high and bid mofo crazy! Because I always think yeah I've bid high enough, then when I get sniped and lose it...I think why?! why didn't I pay more! And since there's not anothe rone out there...there's no consolation.

On comics however bid looooow. Because there's almost always another out there. Even Bloodshot platinums have another 5 or 10 out there.

[ckb]

I always like to think that if someone beats me in an auction, they paid to much...

Ditto.

[GGSAE]

I only get frustrated by ebay when i my snipe goes off and i don't win...wasted buy points Guess 6 seconds is too long, lol

[steverino]

I remember when I was bidding on a new throttle body for my truck, the complete assembly that fits on top of the intake manifold. Anyways, they retail for about $500 and I was willing to pay up $200.

Just for fun, I went ahead and put in an initial bid of $55 or so (been awhile and I don't really remember) and I waited. Needless to say, some fricking pecker started to peck away at it. Five bucks at a time. Until he got high bid.

Of course, some other guy comes around and puts in an even higher bid. And so, the same fricking pecker decides he's willing to pay even more... 5 bucks at a time.

I'm watching this idiot, completely dumbfounded that this guy apparently does not have a high bid, just a bid that's not quite high enough.

If he was shill bidding, he was doing a terrible job because he kept outbidding everybody... 5 bucks at a time.

Finally, I wait until the last 3 or 4 seconds and snipe his butt, put in my maximum bid of $200 and got the thing for nearly $100. Yep, that pecker that had the high bid just went high enough to outbid the other guy... by 5 bucks of course.

Freaking stupid!

[X-O HoboJoe]

I remember when I was bidding on a new throttle body for my truck, the complete assembly that fits on top of the intake manifold. Anyways, they retail for about $500 and I was willing to pay up $200.

Just for fun, I went ahead and put in an initial bid of $55 or so (been awhile and I don't really remember) and I waited. Needless to say, some fricking pecker started to peck away at it. Five bucks at a time. Until he got high bid.

Of course, some other guy comes around and puts in an even higher bid. And so, the same fricking pecker decides he's willing to pay even more... 5 bucks at a time.

I'm watching this idiot, completely dumbfounded that this guy apparently does not have a high bid, just a bid that's not quite high enough.

If he was shill bidding, he was doing a terrible job because he kept outbidding everybody... 5 bucks at a time.

Finally, I wait until the last 3 or 4 seconds and snipe his butt, put in my maximum bid of $200 and got the thing for nearly $100. Yep, that pecker that had the high bid just went high enough to outbid the other guy... by 5 bucks of course.

Freaking stupid!

I think those that practice peckering just flat out don't comprehend how eBay works. It's ALL about the snipe, baby.

[D-Lite]

Peckers annoy, sure, but they're easily defeated in the end as everyone basically has found out.

The worst, and I mean WORST, from a seller's point of view, is the bid retractor. You know, that jerk that puts in a high bid to find out the reserve, leaves it long enough so that everyone sees it, then retracts the damn bid.

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

Why do people play the secret reserve game?

Answer: control and power over strangers.

There's no need for a secret reserve. A reserve is there to protect the seller, not for the seller to play games with the buyer.

There is no good reason for a SECRET reserve in eBay auctions, other than to exercise control and power over others.

If someone asks for a reserve....they are clearly interested in purchasing the item...just tell them what you want for it.

Can you imagine walking into Sears or Wal-Mart and being told every price is a SECRET until you get to the checkout counter???

[steverino]

I remember when I was bidding on a new throttle body for my truck, the complete assembly that fits on top of the intake manifold. Anyways, they retail for about $500 and I was willing to pay up $200.

Just for fun, I went ahead and put in an initial bid of $55 or so (been awhile and I don't really remember) and I waited. Needless to say, some fricking pecker started to peck away at it. Five bucks at a time. Until he got high bid.

Of course, some other guy comes around and puts in an even higher bid. And so, the same fricking pecker decides he's willing to pay even more... 5 bucks at a time.

I'm watching this idiot, completely dumbfounded that this guy apparently does not have a high bid, just a bid that's not quite high enough.

If he was shill bidding, he was doing a terrible job because he kept outbidding everybody... 5 bucks at a time.

Finally, I wait until the last 3 or 4 seconds and snipe his butt, put in my maximum bid of $200 and got the thing for nearly $100. Yep, that pecker that had the high bid just went high enough to outbid the other guy... by 5 bucks of course.

Freaking stupid!

I think those that practice peckering just flat out don't comprehend how eBay works. It's ALL about the snipe, baby.

Very true.

I also believe that those that practice peckering have way too much time on their hands since they keep watching the fricking auction and outbidding everyone so little at a time.

[stone384]

Why do people play the secret reserve game?

Answer: control and power over strangers.

There's no need for a secret reserve. A reserve is there to protect the seller, not for the seller to play games with the buyer.

There is no good reason for a SECRET reserve in eBay auctions, other than to exercise control and power over others.

If someone asks for a reserve....they are clearly interested in purchasing the item...just tell them what you want for it.

Can you imagine walking into Sears or Wal-Mart and being told every price is a SECRET until you get to the checkout counter???

I don't understand that either. I wish that you could show what your reserve is up at the top right by the starting price. If people ask I tell. You are going to scare/*SQUEE* more people off by not revealing the reserve amount IMO.
m

[D-Lite]

Sometimes I post the reserve, sometimes not, but I usually answer when people message about the reserve.

The reserve is obviously there to protect the seller, but the more important question no one has asked is why not start the auction at the reserve price instead. Aside from fees, I don't do that since I feel it scares away some interested parties. True, if they're scared off by a reasonable reserve, you don't want them bidding anyways. But even those bidders serve a purpose: drive the price of the auction, even if slowly.

As a buyer, I hate seeing action on an auction. I start to wonder how many wild card bidders there are out there. How many that are going to bid with reckless abandon. I'd rather it be a sniping battle.

As a seller, you love to see action on the auction, so you start the auction low with a reserve set to maintain interest. You tell the people the reserve, they may not bid, and you lose action.

So there's the reason.

[Zero]

Sometimes I post the reserve, sometimes not, but I usually answer when people message about the reserve.

The reserve is obviously there to protect the seller, but the more important question no one has asked is why not start the auction at the reserve price instead. Aside from fees, I don't do that since I feel it scares away some interested parties. True, if they're scared off by a reasonable reserve, you don't want them bidding anyways. But even those bidders serve a purpose: drive the price of the auction, even if slowly.

As a buyer, I hate seeing action on an auction. I start to wonder how many wild card bidders there are out there. How many that are going to bid with reckless abandon. I'd rather it be a sniping battle.

As a seller, you love to see action on the auction, so you start the auction low with a reserve set to maintain interest. You tell the people the reserve, they may not bid, and you lose action.

So there's the reason.

I don't agree with reserves at all. Start it at .99 cents & let it go where it's meant to go.

SIAFI

[steverino]

Sometimes I post the reserve, sometimes not, but I usually answer when people message about the reserve.

The reserve is obviously there to protect the seller, but the more important question no one has asked is why not start the auction at the reserve price instead. Aside from fees, I don't do that since I feel it scares away some interested parties. True, if they're scared off by a reasonable reserve, you don't want them bidding anyways. But even those bidders serve a purpose: drive the price of the auction, even if slowly.

As a buyer, I hate seeing action on an auction. I start to wonder how many wild card bidders there are out there. How many that are going to bid with reckless abandon. I'd rather it be a sniping battle.

As a seller, you love to see action on the auction, so you start the auction low with a reserve set to maintain interest. You tell the people the reserve, they may not bid, and you lose action.

So there's the reason.

Sounds good to me.

[childres]

I'll go with a snipe whenever possible. I always hate to leave a proxy bid, and only do so if its an only resort (Can't be near a computer at auctions end.).

[ZephyrWasHOT!!]

Why do people play the secret reserve game?

Answer: control and power over strangers.

There's no need for a secret reserve. A reserve is there to protect the seller, not for the seller to play games with the buyer.

There is no good reason for a SECRET reserve in eBay auctions, other than to exercise control and power over others.

If someone asks for a reserve....they are clearly interested in purchasing the item...just tell them what you want for it.

Can you imagine walking into Sears or Wal-Mart and being told every price is a SECRET until you get to the checkout counter???

I don't understand that either. I wish that you could show what your reserve is up at the top right by the starting price. If people ask I tell. You are going to scare/*SQUEE* more people off by not revealing the reserve amount IMO.
m

I don't think I've bid on....much less won....a reserve auction in 5, 6 years.

I just don't care for them. Reserves aren't going to be in the range of what I'm willing to pay, so why waste the time? When I see a reserve, I click "back" as fast as I can.

On the off chance that I see something relatively hard to find with a reserve, I ask the seller, unless they post the "we don't reveal the reserve" (can't you just hear the 5 year old whine in that?) in the description.

If they refuse to reveal the reserve, I tell them to eff off and grow up, and then go on my merry way.

Sometimes I lecture them on their need to exercise power and control over total strangers on the internet, but usually I don't waste that much effort.

There's no good reason to have a secret reserve on eBay, unless you're just not interested in selling the item and are looking for a "feel" for what the item is really worth (and then, because of the negative feelings about reserves, the information will be tainted. If you're going to do that, just shill yourself at $1 million or something.)

[Rufusharley]

Why do people play the secret reserve game?

Answer: control and power over strangers.

There's no need for a secret reserve. A reserve is there to protect the seller, not for the seller to play games with the buyer.

There is no good reason for a SECRET reserve in eBay auctions, other than to exercise control and power over others.

If someone asks for a reserve....they are clearly interested in purchasing the item...just tell them what you want for it.

Can you imagine walking into Sears or Wal-Mart and being told every price is a SECRET until you get to the checkout counter???

I don't understand that either. I wish that you could show what your reserve is up at the top right by the starting price. If people ask I tell. You are going to scare/*SQUEE* more people off by not revealing the reserve amount IMO.
m

I don't think I've bid on....much less won....a reserve auction in 5, 6 years.

I just don't care for them. Reserves aren't going to be in the range of what I'm willing to pay, so why waste the time? When I see a reserve, I click "back" as fast as I can.

On the off chance that I see something relatively hard to find with a reserve, I ask the seller, unless they post the "we don't reveal the reserve" (can't you just hear the 5 year old whine in that?) in the description.

If they refuse to reveal the reserve, I tell them to eff off and grow up, and then go on my merry way.

Sometimes I lecture them on their need to exercise power and control over total strangers on the internet, but usually I don't waste that much effort.

There's no good reason to have a secret reserve on eBay, unless you're just not interested in selling the item and are looking for a "feel" for what the item is really worth (and then, because of the negative feelings about reserves, the information will be tainted. If you're going to do that, just shill yourself at $1 million or something.)

Same here.