E-BAY Bidding Wars, Whats the purpose (LOGIC)?

I'll begin by saying that I understand how this helps the seller, but if you are on the purchasing side, WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU START A BIDDING WAR WITH 6+ DAYS LEFT?!!!!!

I can't for the life of me explain why anyone would wish to engage in such a thing other than having issues with some compulsive disorder. I can understand the new folks to e-bay (that's the excuse they can use ( I'm NEW = STUPID)). Sorry for venting, but can anyone correct my simpleton way of thinking and explain the logic behind this?

Doesn't it make more sense to determine what you are willing to pay for an item and then just put in a bid with time running out?

What the heck am I missing?
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Comments

  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    What you are missing is likely a COMPLETE lack of common sense/experience maybe?
    I agree with you 100%
    Or maybe it really is someone shill bidding.
    Who knows??

    I know that on the lack of common sense side I can testify to the fact that people do not read auction listings before they bid. Every single time I put something up for auction on eBay someone with low feedback swoops in and bids without reading the auction listing first.I have lost track of how many times this has happened.I always put a note in my listing that says if you have less than 100 feedbacks (*the SCORE and NOT the percentage*) then you MUST contact me BEFORE BIDDING and some newbie idiot doesn't see it and bids.
    Then there are the ones who bid first and THEN ask a question about the item they just submitted a bid on?!?!?!?
  • JuanR
    JuanR Posts: 715
    I agree with you honestaquarian...

    but here is an example of what I'm talking about,

    I've been watching an Audio Research PH-5 Phono Preamplifier that comes on e-bay with a 5 day timeline...starting price $100. Within ONE day it jumps from $100 to $1,001 - 5 different bidders, 7 total bids all have hundreds of feedback so that says that they are not NEW. There are 4 days left folks! WOW is all I have to say.
  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,042
    Sometimes sellers have friends or alt eBay accounts that they put "bids" in with to drive the price up.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
  • JuanR
    JuanR Posts: 715
    Nightfall wrote: »
    Sometimes sellers have friends or alt eBay accounts that they put "bids" in with to drive the price up.

    You are correct Nightfall, but I've also seen this on merchandise that is being sold by a store such as BestBuy website or similar.
  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,124
    Nightfall wrote: »
    Sometimes sellers have friends or alt eBay accounts that they put "bids" in with to drive the price up.

    Yup, There was a flipper here in Houston that posted a TT that I went to bid on and should have won on A'gon...Twice.

    He would post every couple months...come the 3rd time I started bidding to start to gather info and I busted his a$$ and turned him in...he got shiite canned from the 'gon
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
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  • polkfarmboy
    polkfarmboy Posts: 5,703
    edited March 2016
    You guys may think I am twisted but I sometimes just put in bid as soon as the items listed. I like to do it to make sure no one gets it for a really good deal and it encourages people to bid against each other. If I win then I get a good deal but it makes me laugh if some one has to pay more money on something they would otherwise have gotten dirt cheap had I not put in a high bid to start with.

    I should add that if I stick in a high and usually the only bid I will make right at the start it puts people off resulting in me winning the item. There has been a few times when I have bumped the auctions up a few hundred and the winner outbids me resulting in me costing that guy who really wants the item paying way more.
  • JuanR
    JuanR Posts: 715
    I have actually seen people bid MORE for an item than they would have purchased it if they googled it.
  • polkfarmboy
    polkfarmboy Posts: 5,703
    All the time juan! Especially on emotiva as I watch those like a hawk and several times I have seen bidder paying more than it costs to buy direct!
  • PSOVLSK
    PSOVLSK Posts: 5,021
    You guys may think I am twisted...

    Not because you bid on e-bay items as soon as they're listed :p:p
    Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden
  • polkfarmboy
    polkfarmboy Posts: 5,703
    edited March 2016
  • JuanR
    JuanR Posts: 715
    All the time juan! Especially on emotiva as I watch those like a hawk and several times I have seen bidder paying more than it costs to buy direct!

    which means they get it used instead of with a warranty! Whats the purpose?!!!!!
  • polkfarmboy
    polkfarmboy Posts: 5,703
    Most dont bother checking the price and often they are advertised with a full warranty.
  • PSOVLSK
    PSOVLSK Posts: 5,021
    Most dont bother checking the price and often they are advertised with a full warranty.
    nbrowser wrote: »
    Some people are ID10Ts... :)

    There you go.


    Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden
  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 6,163
    I often enter 1 early low bid (if nobody else has bid). Then, nothing until the last 10 seconds. For the most part, I think its just inexperienced buyers/bidders. Either that, or shill bidding, which is hard to prove, at least on eBay.
    For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    Sometimes bidding early is to hit the reserve price on an item. And sometimes on audio gear it is legitimate bidders in other countries where they would otherwise pay double or triple the US retail price if purchasing from their local dealer.
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    edited March 2016
    There is no logic to how people bid on Ebay. One thing I have found is, unless it's extremely rare, there will always be another of the same item for sale.

    I watch the tube auctions like a hawk, checking 6-8 times a day for specific tubes. Sometime I luck into an exceptional BIN. But what I find fascinating is the same tube of similar qualities can vary in the final bid substantially. I've seen tubes that sell at $140 sell for $45 in another auction (as an example).

    That's why I am such a bargain hunter because I know if something gets bid up, there's always another one around the corner and many times you can get it for less. Many times you have to be patient though. I've waited up to a year to buy certain rare tubes just waiting for the right bargain, competent seller, etc.

    Also I used to assume that a certain tubes will sell for a certain price based on past sales, and I never used to bid. Now I set a price and bid on a lot of tubes. Sometimes I win (usually a very good deal) and many times I'm out bid.

    There's nothing worse than thinking a tube will sell for a certain price and not bidding only to check the final bid and see it sold for peanuts because you assumed it would sell for much more than you are willing to pay.

    I have seller from Germany that I have bought lots of tubes from and since I know they are reliable I will tend to bid more for their sales. Many times my max bid is based on the sellers track record as well as how the ad is placed. If it's well written, with lot's of truthful info and lots of nice photo's, I also pay more, etc.

    The thing with Ebay is without them, we would not have access to all the items we do. I would never be able (short of a tube dealer) to find the tubes anywhere else. It's a great service, albeit flawed. But where else are you going to find some of this stuff. Even tube dealers don't have what's available on Ebay. As long as you know the pitfalls and are willing to take on some of the risk, it really is worth it, IMO for some items.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • maximillian
    maximillian Posts: 2,142
    You guys use esnipe, or other such services out there? I thought their use was common, but sometimes I wonder.

    I will bid early to remove a Buy-it-now (if I think the BIN is too high) or the reserve price. Then use esnipe to hopefully win. The other bid early people could be newbs or shill bids.
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    edited March 2016
    I've used eSnipe since 2006

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,517
    Logic? This is the internet... there is no LOGIC.... c'mon man you know better...

    I've never used eSnipe, but maybe next time I will.

    Myself I normally just enter in my max number and let it go at that. Like Brock said, stuff comes up fairly often so if I "HAVE" to have it, my max bid needs to reflect that, and if it gets beat.. then I may up it.

    If I dont "have" to have it, then I enter in what I'd be ok with buying it for and let it go.

    I realize doing that at the beginning may lead to it getting snarked at the end, but again defer to the "HAVE" to have section as to how I'd adjust.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,308
    edited March 2016
    If it looks like a bidding war going on, it could be automatic bidding happening between two inexperienced buyers who both put in their max bids right at the beginning? Great for the seller, bad for buyers after a piece for a good price.

    As others have said, I'll skip altogether auctions that look too hot, or I'll watch it down to the last few seconds if it's something I really want.

    Good info on eSnipe! I'd never heard of it before now. I've been employing msgSnipe for the past couple of years.

    Wow, does entering a bid remove the BIN option? I thought that stayed active until the auction closed? Can't remember. Maybe I'm thinking of Make Offer that allows the auction to continue.
    I disabled signatures.
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,308
    A bid on your own listings or just any listing?
    I get a good laugh at some of your stories and antics, but this sounds like a D-move.
    You guys may think I am twisted but I sometimes just put in bid as soon as the items listed. I like to do it to make sure no one gets it for a really good deal and it encourages people to bid against each other. If I win then I get a good deal but it makes me laugh if some one has to pay more money on something they would otherwise have gotten dirt cheap had I not put in a high bid to start with.

    I should add that if I stick in a high and usually the only bid I will make right at the start it puts people off resulting in me winning the item. There has been a few times when I have bumped the auctions up a few hundred and the winner outbids me resulting in me costing that guy who really wants the item paying way more.
    I disabled signatures.
  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,042
    edited March 2016
    Yeah, making people spend their (sometimes) hard earned money is hilarious. Personally I like to throw a handful of nails, tacks, and such into the road and watch as people ruin their tires. Bwahahha! Now you have to spend more money!
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
  • polkfarmboy
    polkfarmboy Posts: 5,703
    Well if it was your auction I did this on and you got a great price for your item I doubt you would complain "hey some jerk made me get alot of money for my item, what an a$$h%)€ "
  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    Shill bidding (*having someone else bid just to drive up the price-or even using another account of your own to bid and drive up the price*) unfortunately is quite common out there. I know of the existence of a lot of auto bidding programs,just never used any of them. I always wait until literally the last minute after watching an auction like a hawk and then place a large enough max bid that would prevent the bid sniper programs from beating me out in the last few seconds.

    It amazes me the bidding wars that go on sometimes. It's a LOT like a gambling addiction!!
    People get caught up and end up paying WAY MORE than they normally would have just to beat out the competition whom they are bidding against.
  • maximillian
    maximillian Posts: 2,142
    msg wrote: »

    Good info on eSnipe! I'd never heard of it before now. I've been employing msgSnipe for the past couple of years.

    Wow, does entering a bid remove the BIN option? I thought that stayed active until the auction closed? Can't remember. Maybe I'm thinking of Make Offer that allows the auction to continue.

    eSnipe is easy and pretty inexpensive for the convenience. When I manually sniped I would forget about the auction until an hour after it ended. With eSnipe I can set it up way before auction close and forget about it unless the bidding gets higher than my max bid. eSnipe will send you an email, but there is a lag so you have to keep on top of it. Still, you should be putting in a max bid so this shouldn't happen too often.

    BIN removal is correct (after first bid it is removed):
    http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/questions/buy-it-now.html
  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    Nightfall wrote: »
    Yeah, making people spend their (sometimes) hard earned money is hilarious. Personally I like to throw a handful of nails, tacks, and such into the road and watch as people ruin their tires. Bwahahha! Now you have to spend more money!

    @Nightfall Hey thanks for driving more business to my tire store!!
    Well if it was your auction I did this on and you got a great price for your item I doubt you would complain "hey some jerk made me get alot of money for my item, what an a$$h%)€ "

    @polkfarmboy
    Lawd
    HEPP diss chowd!! ;):D
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    edited March 2016
    I have never had a lag issue with eSnipe. It has been superb and the cost, a penny per dollar spent w/ no fee if you are outbid. You pre-purchase BID Points. I buy them in increments of 500 for $5. Meaning you can bid on up to $500 worth of items. When your balance gets low just add more BID Points..........easy/peasy

    It has been flawless.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • honestaquarian
    honestaquarian Posts: 3,186
    Buy it now goes away after the first bid only if you have not set a reserve price (*which is a least amount you are willing to accept for the item. It is kept secret and basically means that once the auction is over if the reserve amount has not been met then you are not obligated to accept the winning bid and can relist without penalty. This is the most expensive way to list something on eBay*)
  • Jimbo18
    Jimbo18 Posts: 2,310
    I have always hated reserve prices. I never used them when I was selling there.

    If it's something I want but figure it's going to go for more than I am willing to spend and I don't want to have to keep checking to see if the minimum has been reached, I have a couple times put in a crazy high bid then retracted it as a mistake just to see what the reserve is. Not technically legal but if you don't do it often, it's overlooked.
  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 6,163
    I used to use esnipe more, but now the mobile app makes it very easy to bid on auctions as they end in real time. I still use esnipe if the auction is ending at an inconvenient time (2am ET or during my commute time). Otherwise, I get alerts through the app when the auction is ending in 15 minutes. I usually just bid my 'max' in the last 10-15 seconds. If I win, great, if not, oh well. I never get caught in bidding war. If an auction gets above my 'max' price, I just stop watching it.
    For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...