21 Dec
2000
21 Dec
'00
1:08 p.m.
On December 21, Aaron Nabil wrote:
If I can offer advise, use the proxy system. Enter
the amount maximum
amount you are willing to pay. You have absolutely, irrevocably defused
ANY danger of sniping.
If the item is commonly available through other sources, sure, I
agree. But lots of stuff on eBay isn't. Rare is the "one of a kind"
item, but if I see something that I've been looking for for years on
eBay, my definition of "maximum" is a very subjective thing...and may
have nothing to do with the "street value" of the item...it has more
to do with how badly I want it, and how much trouble I'd have to go
through to get it elsewhere.
A good example of this is classic computers. Despite living in an
area where there's either a three-letter agency or a DRMO warehouse on
every street corner, PDP stuff (for example) is VERY difficult to find
where I live. I'd pay several hundred bucks for a pdp11/34a in a
heartbeat on eBay. Why? Because I've been looking for one for a LONG
time and only recently got one locally by pure luck and the sharp eye
of a good friend. You guys who are swimming in them may think I'm
nuts...but you HAVE them. Get it?
In other words, two points...One, sniping is an essential technique for
non-mainstream items (in any category) on eBay, if your goal is to get
the item. Two, the definition of "non-mainstream" frequently differs
from person to person.
-Dave McGuire