24 Apr
2003
24 Apr
'03
3:15 p.m.
On Thu, 24 Apr 2003, Mike wrote:
NO ONE should ever bid more than they are willing to
pay. But with
sniping, people often bid a little higher just to protect their bid. If
there is an extention bids will still not rise higher than anyone is
willing to bid.
But it will prevent sniping, which is the root cause of a lot of gripes
one hears about eBay (both from buyers and sellers).
I have seen auctions go for $400 on items that
normally wouldn't sell for
$300. One bidder contacted me because two people bid that $400 and he
said, "I guess I got stuck. I was just trying to protect my bid." He
paid the auction but clearly bid more than he ever expected or wanted to
pay.
Which is a clear example of how eBay pricing gets artificially inflated.
I'm not saying it happens all the time, but it probably happens enough
(and this is clearly obvious from some of the prices that some auctions
end at) that the end result is artificial price inflation.
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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