15 minute rule - flustrating

[Scarecrow1]

I fear this is a sign of the times we live in . It used to be thank you and come again , and the customer is always right . Now it's Like it are you can get the h@%# out . If they have the only show in town, then they play what they like on it ..

 

[Earth]

For frustration with the 15 minute rule, I suggest cows.

Mine get milked at 5:00, so I enter my top bid and go to the barn.

Cows are also very good for getting you out of "couples" wedding showers, baptisms, weddings, family reunions, and lots of other dumb stuff.

Cows also get you ag plates on your trucks. Get some.

 

[NMC_EXP]

But it ticks off the buying customers.

What ticks me off about ebay is when some sniper beats me by $0.01 in the last 5 seconds.

The Gov Liq method prevents this, so it's fine with me.

Regards

Jim

 

[Speddmon]

I personally don't care one way or the other about the 15 minute rule, I just do as stumps said...I put my bid in and wait. I like to watch the end of the auctions, but I always try to stay within what I think the item is worth to me.

I can however see how this rule could be problematic, and would really pi$$ me off if it ever happened to me.

Let's say that there is something coming up for bid that you wanted pretty badly, and you know you could get it for minimum bid because there are a bunch of them (plus it's not worth any more than the minimum to you). So you put your bid in early, and wait. Now it's 1 minute before the auction closes, you have your lot(s) at the minimum bid and most of the rest are spoken for with minimum bids also (a few have no bids on them at all). Now 5 seconds before the auction ends some jacka$$ comes in and, rather than put a bid on one of the items that has no bid, bids on your item at the last second. This extends the item you wanted by 15 minutes. But at the same time the 4 other items that had no bid on them at all, are now closed and there is no chance of you getting one of them for the minimum.

A situation like this would really make me mad. I know it's probably never going to happen, but it is an example of how the 15 minute rule could bite you in the a$$.

 

[atankersdad]

I am glad that the 15 minute rule allows you to bid again , rather than the person with the fastest modem to wait until 16:59:58 and sneak in and outbid you by 1 dollar. This is not a perfect system, and I have thought I won only to see the auction extended by 15 minutes. If you do not like what they do, do not bid. If the price seems too high, stop bidding. Buy what you want from a fellow member...

 

[moleary]

From a taxpayer:

I personally appreciate anything that maximizes the return on the sale of a government asset. If a buyer sees the purchase price go up by $1000 as a result of the "bid fever" that hits people during those extensions then that is $1000 less in government spending that I (and all other tax payers) have to make up.

I believe it is the responsibility of the contractor to get the absolute maximum amount they can for each item they sell. For many of us (not all) this is just a hobby - but the GL auctions are no game and I for one would be very angry (as someone who is currently a part-owner of every item sold) if they started letting lots sell for less than they maximum they could get.

So while you have every right to complain about your lost time and the cost getting run up on stuff you want to buy, please keep in mind that the revenue goes to offsetting the monies we all have to cough-up to keep this country moving. I hope you'll forgive me if I have absolutely NO sympathy for your complaint.

 

[NMC_EXP]

Cows also get you ag plates on your trucks

Cows also provide lots of green, smelly stuff to shovel into your trucks with ag plates.

Regards

Jim

 

[goldneagle]

I am glad that the 15 minute rule allows you to bid again , rather than the person with the fastest modem to wait until 16:59:58 and sneak in and outbid you by 1 dollar. This is not a perfect system, and I have thought I won only to see the auction extended by 15 minutes. If you do not like what they do, do not bid. If the price seems too high, stop bidding. Buy what you want from a fellow member...

It depends on your bidding style. If you bid using rounded or even numbers you can get outbid by $0.01 depending on the bid increments in the price range. If you bid using odd numbers it would be harder to outbid you by only a small increment. I try to place my bids so that the next bidder is forced to bid a full increment to outbid me. When it gets in the $1000's I think the minimum bid increments are like $200 or more...I forget?? Sometimes that will discourage another bid if the bidder is on a budget...

 

[stumps]

But it ticks off the buying customers.

What ticks me off about ebay is when some sniper beats me by $0.01 in the last 5 seconds.

The Gov Liq method prevents this, so it's fine with me.

Regards

Jim

As a long time ebay sniper, I have to say that you are getting annoyed by something that isn't at all what you think it is.

When a sniper snipes, he decides what his maximum bid is, and sets his sniper program to send in his bid very shortly before the auction ends. I usually pick 10 seconds because it prevents any bidder from reacting quickly enough to up my bid.

Ebay accepts all bids up until the auction ends, and then sifts through the time stamped bids to find out which one wins. The winner will be the one with the last highest bid. The winner will win by one bid increment above the next highest bidder.

That you lost by 1 cent is purely a function of the bid increment. The sniper didn't know you were at $0.99, and out of meanness, bid $1.00. His sniping program put in a proxy bid for maybe $5.00, in the last seconds, and eBay decided that $1.00 was all that was necessary to win.

All proxy bids work that way.

Why do I snipe? Precisely because you don't.

If I toss in my maximum bid some hours before the auction ends, someone like you will look at my bid amount, and add a buck to it, just to see if that will win. If I still am winning, they will add another buck, and another, and another, and another, until they have bid way more than they would have ordinarily thought the item was worth, just to beat me. If I am still the higher bid, I get the profound pleasure of paying extra just so you could "teach" me what you thought was too much to pay for that item.

I'd rather not play your game.

I would much rather have you think that the item is going to sell for $0.99, when I bid $5.00, and beat you by 1 cent.

I always snipe the maximum amount I am willing to pay, and walk away.

If sniping is unfair, it is unfair to eBay, and to the seller, not to you the auction loser. You would have lost anyway, because I thought the item was worth more than you did.

-Chuck

 

[goldneagle]

From a taxpayer:

I personally appreciate anything that maximizes the return on the sale of a government asset. If a buyer sees the purchase price go up by $1000 as a result of the "bid fever" that hits people during those extensions then that is $1000 less in government spending that I (and all other tax payers) have to make up.

I believe it is the responsibility of the contractor to get the absolute maximum amount they can for each item they sell. For many of us (not all) this is just a hobby - but the GL auctions are no game and I for one would be very angry (as someone who is currently a part-owner of every item sold) if they started letting lots sell for less than they maximum they could get.

So while you have every right to complain about your lost time and the cost getting run up on stuff you want to buy, please keep in mind that the revenue goes to offsetting the monies we all have to cough-up to keep this country moving. I hope you'll forgive me if I have absolutely NO sympathy for your complaint.

I am sure the government will still find ways to waste your tax dollars no matter what they recover from these auctions. They don't appreciate the value of the tax money. Otherwise they would be more thrifty as to how they spend it!

 

[drgreg]

For frustration with the 15 minute rule, I suggest cows.

Mine get milked at 5:00, so I enter my top bid and go to the barn.

Cows are also very good for getting you out of "couples" wedding showers, baptisms, weddings, family reunions, and lots of other dumb stuff.

Cows also get you ag plates on your trucks. Get some.

And they taste good too.

 

[Divemaster920]

Earth has given me "just" reason to get some cows now.
Thanks

 

[fuzzytoaster]

As a long time ebay sniper, I have to say that you are getting annoyed by something that isn't at all what you think it is.

When a sniper snipes, he decides what his maximum bid is, and sets his sniper program to send in his bid very shortly before the auction ends. I usually pick 10 seconds because it prevents any bidder from reacting quickly enough to up my bid.

Ebay accepts all bids up until the auction ends, and then sifts through the time stamped bids to find out which one wins. The winner will be the one with the last highest bid. The winner will win by one bid increment above the next highest bidder.

That you lost by 1 cent is purely a function of the bid increment. The sniper didn't know you were at $0.99, and out of meanness, bid $1.00. His sniping program put in a proxy bid for maybe $5.00, in the last seconds, and eBay decided that $1.00 was all that was necessary to win.

All proxy bids work that way.

Why do I snipe? Precisely because you don't.

If I toss in my maximum bid some hours before the auction ends, someone like you will look at my bid amount, and add a buck to it, just to see if that will win. If I still am winning, they will add another buck, and another, and another, and another, until they have bid way more than they would have ordinarily thought the item was worth, just to beat me. If I am still the higher bid, I get the profound pleasure of paying extra just so you could "teach" me what you thought was too much to pay for that item.

I'd rather not play your game.

I would much rather have you think that the item is going to sell for $0.99, when I bid $5.00, and beat you by 1 cent.

I always snipe the maximum amount I am willing to pay, and walk away.

If sniping is unfair, it is unfair to eBay, and to the seller, not to you the auction loser. You would have lost anyway, because I thought the item was worth more than you did.

-Chuck

I cant say that I snipe, just dont have enough need to. But I have many friends all over who do this exact same thing, but in the end if everyone "snipes" on the same product its just going to jack up the price again and undercut normal bidders ability to win. Does it suck to be outbid for .01? Heck yeah, but no ones put a gun to your head and forced you to play the game. But if you're in the game, be in it to win I'd say.

 

[NMC_EXP]

As a long time ebay sniper, I have to say that you are getting annoyed by something that isn't at all what you think it is.

When a sniper snipes, he decides what his maximum bid is, and sets his sniper program to send in his bid very shortly before the auction ends. I usually pick 10 seconds because it prevents any bidder from reacting quickly enough to up my bid.

Ebay accepts all bids up until the auction ends, and then sifts through the time stamped bids to find out which one wins. The winner will be the one with the last highest bid. The winner will win by one bid increment above the next highest bidder.

That you lost by 1 cent is purely a function of the bid increment. The sniper didn't know you were at $0.99, and out of meanness, bid $1.00. His sniping program put in a proxy bid for maybe $5.00, in the last seconds, and eBay decided that $1.00 was all that was necessary to win.

All proxy bids work that way.

Why do I snipe? Precisely because you don't.

If I toss in my maximum bid some hours before the auction ends, someone like you will look at my bid amount, and add a buck to it, just to see if that will win. If I still am winning, they will add another buck, and another, and another, and another, until they have bid way more than they would have ordinarily thought the item was worth, just to beat me. If I am still the higher bid, I get the profound pleasure of paying extra just so you could "teach" me what you thought was too much to pay for that item.

I'd rather not play your game.

I would much rather have you think that the item is going to sell for $0.99, when I bid $5.00, and beat you by 1 cent.

I always snipe the maximum amount I am willing to pay, and walk away.

If sniping is unfair, it is unfair to eBay, and to the seller, not to you the auction loser. You would have lost anyway, because I thought the item was worth more than you did.

-Chuck

That is a one sided view of the practice. From where I sit, someone honestly believes an item is worth $1.00 and bids that amount and then someone comes out of the weeds at T minus 10 seconds and buys it for $1.01.

On ebay I have bid $1,000 for an item I wanted bad but hoped would go for $300. I worked that time but could have cost me a bundle if there had been a crazy so and so who really wanted that item.

I'd rather go eyeball to eyeball and bid it out 'til daybreak if need be. For example a real auction, Gov Liq and Gun Broker.

Just seems a lot more....honest to me.

It makes the sniper put his bankroll where his hit and run software currently is.

Finally, last second sniping does not establish the true market value of the item. Going head to head with no time limit, does.

Regards

Jim

 

[stumps]

I cant say that I snipe, just dont have enough need to. But I have many friends all over who do this exact same thing, but in the end if everyone "snipes" on the same product its just going to jack up the price again and undercut normal bidders ability to win. Does it suck to be outbid for .01? Heck yeah, but no ones put a gun to your head and forced you to play the game. But if you're in the game, be in it to win I'd say.

If everybody snipes, then eBay becomes in effect a sealed bid auction. All the sniper's maximum bids get compared, and the one that is highest wins by one bid increment over the next highest.

I would much prefer sealed bids. It removes the emotional bidding madness that some folks get. EBay makes money off of that very madness, and as such will never agree to a sealed bid.

-Chuck

 

[exbrown]

Finally, last second sniping does not establish the true market value of the item. Going head to head with no time limit, does.

Regards

Jim

Actually, if everyone is putting in the maximum they will pay, the sniper is at a disadvantage. If you put your maximum in early, and the sniper puts his in at the end, you win the tie. He must beat you by the next bid increment. The only way the you are at a disadvantage is if you are not putting in your maximum, and that is your fault. If you would have bid higher, you should have.

I have bought from many kinds of auctions, but the winner is usually the one that will pay the most.

I would actually rather that they not extend the auction, and force everyone to put up their bid in a reasonable time. Bottom line is that I will keep bidding and hoping I win. Don't know about you, but I lose way more than I win.

 

[stumps]

That is a one sided view of the practice. From where I sit, someone honestly believes an item is worth $1.00 and bids that amount and then someone comes out of the weeds at T minus 10 seconds and buys it for $1.01.

If the bidder honestly believes the item is worth $1.00, and he loses for $1.01, he has lost because he believes the item is worth only $1.00. If he was willing to pay $1.02, then he should have set his proxy bid for $1.02, not $1.00.

He would have lost no matter what; because, if I couldn't have bid using a snipe, I would have set my proxy for the maximum that I was willing to pay, and beat him.

On ebay I have bid $1,000 for an item I wanted bad but hoped would go for $300. I worked that time but could have cost me a bundle if there had been a crazy so and so who really wanted that item.

Finally, you are using the service as it was meant to be used. You set your maximum bid, and let things fall out where they may.

I'd rather go eyeball to eyeball and bid it out 'til daybreak if need be. For example a real auction, Gov Liq and Gun Broker.

Just seems a lot more....honest to me.

And following the rules and winning doesn't?

There are plenty of live auction houses out there where you can go head-to-head. Just not on eBay.

It makes the sniper put his bankroll where his hit and run software currently is.

Keep thinking: What would have happened if you set your proxy bid at $5.01, and I set my snipe at $5.00?

I have no way of knowing what your proxy bid is set for when I set up my snipe. I make a judgment about the maximum I am willing to bid, and the snipe program bids that amount.

The part I think you are still missing is I set my maximum bid when I set up my snipe, and that maximum amount gets sent to eBay as my bid. There are no do-overs. If my maximum bid is too low, I lose. Simple as that.

Finally, last second sniping does not establish the true market value of the item. Going head to head with no time limit, does.

Regards

Jim

I don't believe it is the object of any bidder to set the true market value of an item. I believe the object is to win the item for a price the bidder is willing to pay.

-Chuck

 

[atankersdad]

If you think that what you spend in an auction goes to the government you are mistaken. Just look at the paperwork that comes with your SF-97. GL buys the trucks from 50-250 dollars for a deuce. That is months before they go to auction. Price is based on a maintenance report done by the army when the truck is turned in. I paid 2800 for a M35 w/w and FF heater. GL paid the Government 175. So bidding more does not help the national debt. GL profits. Now I am glad that sniping is not allowed at GL. I think it is slimey...

 

[m16ty]

Stumps is right about snipping. The trick to beating the snipers on ebay is to enter a proxy big quite a bit more over the current bid (if the item is worth it). That puts you and the sniper on an even playing field so if his snipe is more than you max he wins and if it's not you do.

The 15 min rule can really make you pull your hair out if you are watching several trucks but only want to end up with one. If you are the high bidder on truck number 1 and it goes into overtime and you eventually end up loosing the bid on it you can't fall back to truck number 2 because it's already closed. To manage this situation requires alot of strategy and still some times it doesn't work out.

I never have my heart set on just one particular truck. I'll find several in any one sale so I'll have some to fall back on if the price gets to high on some of them.

 

[m16ty]

From a taxpayer:

I personally appreciate anything that maximizes the return on the sale of a government asset. If a buyer sees the purchase price go up by $1000 as a result of the "bid fever" that hits people during those extensions then that is $1000 less in government spending that I (and all other tax payers) have to make up.

I believe it is the responsibility of the contractor to get the absolute maximum amount they can for each item they sell. For many of us (not all) this is just a hobby - but the GL auctions are no game and I for one would be very angry (as someone who is currently a part-owner of every item sold) if they started letting lots sell for less than they maximum they could get.

So while you have every right to complain about your lost time and the cost getting run up on stuff you want to buy, please keep in mind that the revenue goes to offsetting the monies we all have to cough-up to keep this country moving. I hope you'll forgive me if I have absolutely NO sympathy for your complaint.

You must not buy from GL. If you do would you be happy to pay more than you do for stuff?

I have alot more to comment on this but will keep my mouth shut to keep from getting political .