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Ebay Hats: Victories, Defeats, Gripes & Items of Interest

fluteplayer07

One Too Many
Messages
1,844
Location
Michigan
I see auto-snipes as... uncouth... Even though I have been tempted to use them after a few particularly nasty losses at last second. I do have a different thought policy on manual snipes. If you have the guts and the skills to risk it all and do a snipe the old fashioned way, then that's fair game. Just as much a chance of having your internet freeze up or your bid being too low, as if you're sniped while bidding the 'normal' way.
 

Mr Vim

One Too Many
Messages
1,306
Location
Juneau, Alaska
Oh yeah, I'm not sure this was an auto snipe. I think this person just hit below the belt. I mean, if I get outbid at the last ten seconds, I don't bid again. That's just the way I am. It is a sense of propriety I suppose.
 

theinterchange

One Too Many
Messages
1,673
Location
Why do you ask?
RobFedoraField said:
This was auction pic:
Fletchet.jpg


IMG_4900_1.JPG


for $18 shipped, I am a happy camper! (even though you can't tell by the picture)

Once you had your way with it, the thing appears to be a completely different hat. I was curious about this one.

Mr Vim said:
Oh yeah, I'm not sure this was an auto snipe. I think this person just hit below the belt. I mean, if I get outbid at the last ten seconds, I don't bid again. That's just the way I am. It is a sense of propriety I suppose.

fluteplayer07 said:
I see auto-snipes as... uncouth... Even though I have been tempted to use them after a few particularly nasty losses at last second. I do have a different thought policy on manual snipes. If you have the guts and the skills to risk it all and do a snipe the old fashioned way, then that's fair game. Just as much a chance of having your internet freeze up or your bid being too low, as if you're sniped while bidding the 'normal' way.

Only once did I have the guts to wait and bid with mere seconds to go... and I won the auction. So, there's something to it, but there's too great a gamble for "everyday" practice.

Randy
 

propp

New in Town
Messages
13
Location
Rhode Island
RobFedoraField said:
This was auction pic:
Fletchet.jpg


This was "out of the box"
IMG_4896.JPG


This was after I had my way with it
IMG_4898.JPG

IMG_4900_1.JPG


for $18 shipped, I am a happy camper! (even though you can't tell by the picture)

Nice hat, nice work.
 

donnc

One of the Regulars
Messages
173
Location
Seattle
Mr Vim said:
Oh yeah, I'm not sure this was an auto snipe. I think this person just hit below the belt. I mean, if I get outbid at the last ten seconds, I don't bid again. That's just the way I am. It is a sense of propriety I suppose.

Well ... suit yourself, but if you bid as much as you're willing to pay, then it logically shouldn't matter when you're outbid - seconds before the end, or days before. Someone else is willing to pay more than you are willing to pay. You can change your bid to even more, but you can't win that way, only the seller wins when you pay more than you think it's worth.

If you have been entering bids that are less than you're willing to pay, then you're part of the problem. Snipers don't win auctions by entering the last bid, they win them by entering the highest bid. If you and I are bidding on the same item (and we aren't, really), and we both bid what we're willing to pay, it doesn't make any difference if I snipe it or not, but I'm not going to help you decide that you want to pay more. You decide on your own, enter your own bid, and at the end, we'll see who comes in highest. There isn't going to be any bidding war.
 
Thanks,

Mr Vim said:
Nice hat Rob...

But dammit! I lost out on a vintage Stetson 3X beaver felt with a satin finish... a size 7 no less! The fedora was a nice off white, but with cameras and the quality of photo who knows what color it really was.

I had the top bid for the last five seconds then my legs were cut out from under me at 3 seconds. I deplore such last moment bidding, I mean all is fair but using the internet's limitations? That seems a bit dastardly.

Thank you and you probably got "sniped" there's a couple of web sites out there that you put in all your information, and it automatically bids for you at the last couple of seconds (for an additional fee of course) I personally think it takes the "fun out of the auction"
 

Feraud

Bartender
Messages
17,188
Location
Hardlucksville, NY
Mr Vim said:
I had the top bid for the last five seconds then my legs were cut out from under me at 3 seconds. I deplore such last moment bidding, I mean all is fair but using the internet's limitations? That seems a bit dastardly.

The guy you outbid until the last five seconds probably thinks you are just as dastardly. ;)
 

Yeps

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,456
Location
Philly
donnc said:
Well ... suit yourself, but if you bid as much as you're willing to pay, then it logically shouldn't matter when you're outbid - seconds before the end, or days before. Someone else is willing to pay more than you are willing to pay. You can change your bid to even more, but you can't win that way, only the seller wins when you pay more than you think it's worth.

If you have been entering bids that are less than you're willing to pay, then you're part of the problem. Snipers don't win auctions by entering the last bid, they win them by entering the highest bid. If you and I are bidding on the same item (and we aren't, really), and we both bid what we're willing to pay, it doesn't make any difference if I snipe it or not, but I'm not going to help you decide that you want to pay more. You decide on your own, enter your own bid, and at the end, we'll see who comes in highest. There isn't going to be any bidding war.

I agree. I tend to put in my real bid a couple hours before it ends (I would put it in earlier, but something better might pop up, and my moneys are short), and then just hope that no one values the hat higher.
 

XPLSV

One of the Regulars
Messages
215
Location
Colorado Springs
Waiting on the mail...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lefty
not mine, but others of interest
7 1/4 Mallory Ten



theinterchange said:
I was watching that one, but decided to hold off on it... now I wish I had bid... my usual. [huh]

Randy

I took that one...waiting for it to arrive. Haven't found a Mallory yet that I've decided to add to the permanent collection, but maybe this one...

Bernie
 

donnc

One of the Regulars
Messages
173
Location
Seattle
Yeps said:
I agree. I tend to put in my real bid a couple hours before it ends (I would put it in earlier, but something better might pop up, and my moneys are short), and then just hope that no one values the hat higher.

And that would make sense, in competition with others who have the same rigorous sense of the value of the item you're bidding on. What actually happens, too often in practice, is that the next highest bidder has a very flexible idea of its value, and when he sees that you've entered a higher bid, he will change his, and keep changing it, until he either has outbid you or, worse, has just raised the price you pay a lot.

I've bought stuff off ebay for over a decade and up till a few months ago, just tried to be on hand when the auction went down, to `snipe' by hand, if it looked like it would be necessary. But back in July, I was looking at some damned hat auction and here's some guy who's already bid 5 times, and I thought "this is ridiculous!" So I signed up with "justsnipe", and that was the end of that. Quick, easy, free.

Takes the fun out of it? It wasn't fun, it was just stupid. Less stupid = more fun. The hat? Too small. Want to pay more for hats that are too small, moth eaten, crumbly sweatband or whatever, because it's more fun that way? I don't think so.
 

BanjoMerlin

A-List Customer
Messages
477
Location
New Hampshire, USA
A lot of eBay auctions end after I'm away from the computer. If I used one of those sniping programs my budget would be totally blown and I'd have to build a dog house.

Sometimes I will throw a low bid in early just to remind myself this is one I really would like to have. If some guy bids 10 times in minimum increments to beat my bid I might throw a last second bid in manually but even then it is only for the amount I've already decided is my maximum


I ran an auction for a charity for a couple of years using public-domain software that allowed for bidding to continue after the scheduled end. I could tell the folks who were accustomed to eBay as they would bid just before the scheduled end of the auction - which would extend the auction by 10 minutes to allow others to bid. (That's the way live auctions work. The bidding is over when everyone is done bidding.)

I got so many complaints that I moved the auction to eBay. I was really surprised, I thought people would like it better without the sniping.
 
BanjoMerlin said:
I ran an auction for a charity for a couple of years using public-domain software that allowed for bidding to continue after the scheduled end. I could tell the folks who were accustomed to eBay as they would bid just before the scheduled end of the auction - which would extend the auction by 10 minutes to allow others to bid. (That's the way live auctions work. The bidding is over when everyone is done bidding.)

I got so many complaints that I moved the auction to eBay. I was really surprised, I thought people would like it better without the sniping.

I've seen another online auction house that did that, extended the auction time 30 seconds or so after the last bid. I think that those are great for the buyer, but terrible for the seller (well for cheap bastards like me) :eusa_doh:
 

Qirrel

Practically Family
Messages
590
Location
The suburbs of Oslo, Norway
donnc said:
And that would make sense, in competition with others who have the same rigorous sense of the value of the item you're bidding on. What actually happens, too often in practice, is that the next highest bidder has a very flexible idea of its value, and when he sees that you've entered a higher bid, he will change his, and keep changing it, until he either has outbid you or, worse, has just raised the price you pay a lot.

The buyer with the most money to spend wins the auction. Simple and logical.
 

Mr Vim

One Too Many
Messages
1,306
Location
Juneau, Alaska
I'm mad because I lost the bid, and because I was a nice guy and didn't snipe at the last second, so there you go.

oh and I just saw four or five optimo hats size 7 5/8 go up, multiple colors and blocks, get on it guys, they're too big for me.
 

BanjoMerlin

A-List Customer
Messages
477
Location
New Hampshire, USA
RobFedoraField said:
I've seen another online auction house that did that, extended the auction time 30 seconds or so after the last bid. I think that those are great for the buyer, but terrible for the seller (well for cheap bastards like me) :eusa_doh:

I kinda thought the other way around. Seller gets the most $ possible for his item and buyer pays one bid more than anyone else will. Sellers are always hoping for "auction fever" to set in, let those buyers start thinking "must win" and drive up the price.

Fun to watch at a live auction.
 

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