Auction Page made me MAD!

[jon lynn]

I bid on an item at Auction Arms (.com) only to find I lost on the LAST SECOND by ONE CENT. It appeared to be an automatic computer proxy bid, as my e-mail bid status informed me five minutes after the fact.

HOW IS THAT AN AUCTION? For once words fail me, so no more text.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! (anger).

[GoodOlBoy]

I have had that happen more than once, and it is more than a little frustrating. I still buy off and on on gunbroker, but I have almost quit buying from online sites anymore because of that kinda thing.

GoodOlBoy

[fabsroman]

I have had that happen more than once, and it is more than a little frustrating. I still buy off and on on gunbroker, but I have almost quit buying from online sites anymore because of that kinda thing.

GoodOlBoy

I've been on both sides of the spectrum. I have lost auctions on e-bay by a dollar or two and then I have won them by a dollar or two. Once, I won a $200+ brand new seatpost for my bike for $120+ and I won by one cent. I know the other guy must have been pissed.

Along these lines, I did a silent auction several years ago for a DU goose print that was up for auction at Dick's Sporting Goods. I bid $150.01. When the guy called me to tell me that I had won the framed print, he told me that I had won by 1 penny. Several people had bid $150 and there would have been a tie breaker but for my $0.01 added to that $150. Made me feel good.

Reminds me of a clays tournament that I was shooting. They had a side game going where they were throwing 3 pairs of minis right along a pond just barely over the surface. These things were humming. Anyway, the guy throwing the targets was telling me that there were several people that had broke 5 of the 6 and that if I broke 5 of the 6 I would be involved in the shootoff. So, I proceeded to break 6 out of 6 and I heard the thrower say "That is interesting". I then went over to the 2 man flurry with my shooting partner and we broke 48 out of the 50 targets and took 1st place in that one too. I walked out of there with somewhere close to $100 and my shooting buddy said they might shoot me as I left (i.e., I was from 3 counties north and they didn't take too kindly to a northern boy coming down and cleaning up). Won the flurry again the next year, but they didn't have the 6 minis game. LOL

Some days you'll lose by a penny and some days you'll win by a penny. Don't get discouraged.

[jon lynn]

One of our members informed me of the auction 'Sniper!'

Never auctioning again.

[fabsroman]

One of our members informed me of the auction 'Sniper!'

Never auctioning again.

Yep, when I first started e-baying in 2006, I would wake up at all ungodly hours in the morning to bid on auctions that were about to end. I would wait until the last 5 seconds and then enter the highest amount I wanted to pay for something and either I would win it or I would lose it.

The reason I decided to start "sniping" is because the first time I started bidding on something on e-bay was for a pair of carbon fiber bicyle wheels that I told myself I wouldn't bid more than $900 for. Well, I started bidding on them with 5 minutes to go in the auction and another bidder and I got into a bidding war. Next thing I know, I was up to $1,300 for them. Luckily, I came to my senses and let him win at something like $1,350. Afterward, I reflected upon it and told myself never again. When an item gets higher than I like in bidding before we get to the last minute of the auction, then I just delete it from my watched items. Plain and simple.

Some auction sites keep auctions open for a couple of minutes after the last bid made so that bidding wars can continue on and then the "true" price is determined just like a regular auction would be handled. Personally, I like the firm auction end time so that everybody can bid their maximum toward the end and the madness can stop there.

Anyway, after waking up several times in the wee early morning such that it felt like I should be getting ready to go hunting instead of sitting in front of the computer, I found out about a program that allows me to snipe on e-bay. I just enter the auction number, my maximum price, and how soon before the auction end I want it to enter my maximum price and it takes care of all of it for me. So, I don't have to worry about being in Court or meeting with a client when an auction is scheduled to end. It makes life a lot simpler.

[jon lynn]

fabsroman,

I can understand why you use it, but in my eyes it defeats the theory of what an auction is.

I (from my point of view) see it as the site allowing cheating, if they are to cheap to monitor the stuff and not assure fairness, they are little better than an cheesy online Asian bazaar. (Ask Dom to tell you about the Asian Markets just inside the Czech border)

With the human element gone, it is not truly an auction.

I know a real auction has people on the phones bidding, but a human is waving that goofy little paddle for the guy/gal on the phone.

[fabsroman]

fabsroman,

I can understand why you use it, but in my eyes it defeats the theory of what an auction is.

I (from my point of view) see it as the site allowing cheating, if they are to cheap to monitor the stuff and not assure fairness, they are little better than an cheesy online Asian bazaar. (Ask Dom to tell you about the Asian Markets just inside the Czech border)

With the human element gone, it is not truly an auction.

I know a real auction has people on the phones bidding, but a human is waving that goofy little paddle for the guy/gal on the phone.

The program isn't really any different than how a real auction would work except for that these auction places do not run these things like real auctions to maximize the sales price. Especially with e-bay where they do not extend the auction end time after the last bid is made.

The way I look at a sniping program is the way I look at hiring an agent to bid on something for you. You can hire a person (i.e., an agent) to represent you at an auction and give him/her instructions as to what your max bid price is. The exact same thing is done with these sniping programs. Essentially, the agent and the program allow you to avoid having to attend the auction. Difference is that a sniping program cannot be used at a non-internet auction. Just like hiring an agent, the sniping program charges a fee for each auction you win.

[captain2k_ca]

I buy off Ebay quite a bit...when I bid I bid my MAXIMUM amount I am willing to spend...if I win the auction then I win the auction. I dont care if I lose by $100 or 1 cent because I already bid the MAXIMUM I am willing to spend on a particular item.

[FromBearCreek]

I bid on an item at Auction Arms (.com) only to find I lost on the LAST SECOND by ONE CENT. It appeared to be an automatic computer proxy bid, as my e-mail bid status informed me five minutes after the fact.

HOW IS THAT AN AUCTION? For once words fail me, so no more text.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! (anger).

Can't happen on GunBroker. They use a 15-minute rule (http://www.gunbroker.com/Support/SupportFAQView.aspx?faqid=1036) that precludes end-of-auction sniping.

I use GunBroker for buying and selling; never have had a problem.

[Dan Morris]

I buy off Ebay quite a bit...when I bid I bid my MAXIMUM amount I am willing to spend...if I win the auction then I win the auction. I dont care if I lose by $100 or 1 cent because I already bid the MAXIMUM I am willing to spend on a particular item.

I've bought a large number of guns on AA......the above are my thoughts also.

FBC...welcome back to the foeum!
Dan

[fabsroman]

Can't happen on GunBroker. They use a 15-minute rule (http://www.gunbroker.com/Support/SupportFAQView.aspx?faqid=1036) that precludes end-of-auction sniping.

I use GunBroker for buying and selling; never have had a problem.

That is what I was talking about. That makes it more like a true auction (i.e., open auction) where everybody has the ability to enter a bid before the gavel drops. E-bay and Auction Arms are more like silent auctions where everybody drops their bid amounts (via a sniping program) into the box and after the auction closes the bids are reviewed and the highest one wins. I've participated in both open auctions and silent auctions and both are fine. You just have to understand how they work.

Technically, E-bay isn't a silent auction, but with all the sniping that goes on in the last couple of seconds that is usually how it ends up.

With e-bay, the reason I hate entering my maximum bid before the end of the auciton is that somebody always has to come along and test it. They enter what they are initially willing to pay and don't beat me. So, what do they do next? They enter another $10 to see if that will beat me. Nope. Then what? Another $10. Still don't beat me. Then what? You guessed it, another $10. So, it ends up costing me more than just dropping that final number in on the auction with 4 seconds left. No time for me to spend another $40 to $50 above what I was willing to spend and likewise no time for somebody to ratchet up the price another $40 to $50 on me if I am the high bidder.