New subject: PDP-11/23 question

21 Mar 1999

The messages by some of the participants shows that they really do not understand [or
perhaps do not want] the concept of a free market.  What they really want is a highly
imperfect market so that they can buy things at low prices even though there are people
around who are willing to pay more [given the presumption that all sellers will sell to
the highest bidder ..... and I use the term bidder loosely, not necessarily to imply an
auction type format].

The internet is having a huge impact on buying and selling because it is creating the most
free and perfect market that ever existed.  The definition of such a market is that every
buyer knows of every seller, and vice versa; the sellers are able to find the buyer
willing to pay the highest price, AND the buyers are able to find the sellers willing to
sell for the lowest price.

GROW UP !  You have no right to complain because someone else is willing to pay more than
either you are willing to pay or than you think that the item is worth.  In the latter
case, someone else obviously disagrees with you, and IS willing to put their money where
their mouth is.

That said, I do feel that steps should be taken to INSURE that bidders complete their
deals.  If I were a seller, and someone bid $5,000 and then backed out, I'd seriously
consider legal action to enforce specific performance.  I believe that bids on E-Bay are
legally enforceable, but in 90% of the cases, because of both the amount and the fact that
the buyer and seller are probably in different states, it is just not practical to try and
enforce it.  However when the bids get into the thousands of dollars, the situation
changes and it may become practical to seek a court order of specific performance.

But, perhaps a better way would be for E-Bay to create a new class of "Bonded Buyers
and Sellers", in which E-Bay has credit card numbers from both buyer and seller, and
both buyer and seller have agreed to binding arbritration by a 3rd party [E-Bay].  A
bonded seller could designate an auction as open only to bonded bidders, with the
assurance on both sides that the transaction WOULD be completed and that items offered
would be as described.

Seller's market