Silly eBay bids

[Bud-n-Texas]

Who are these people that bid .50 to $1 bids that only serve to run the bids up? There are several that seem to pop up on numerous items only to run the bids higher and higher. Obviously a $5 bid will not win a vintage Stratoliner, Open Road, Whippet or a Borso and yet there are bidders that do this over and over. What is the point?

 

[John in Covina]

Incremental creeping.

I guess the questions is: what is their strategey? Smaller increases in bids maybe are used there to shake out the set limit bids. ($20 no more) So at $20.50 or $21.00 those people drop out. Or if it is something they want maybe because it is a small jump, some people will stay in the pool longer, well I said $20 but I'll go to $22-23-24.00.

In the end, there is the whole strategy of the snipe bid and trying to time it just right.

All I know is there are alot of people out there with more money than I have, and some times things go for a phenomenal amount. I like to get things more for the low ball end when I can and I am sure many share that sentiment.

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

There is one bidder that seems to low ball bid every 7 1/4 or 7 3/8 hat that comes up. These bids only serve to run the cost up. I do not want to call a name, as it may be a FL member. I do wish he/she would either bid and stay with it, rather than just run the bid up a nickle and a dime at a time. Sadly there are others as well. I have early and late bid, sadly a late bid seems to work best as bidding early with folks out there like the one previously mentioned just runs it up.

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

All I know is there are alot of people out there with more money than I have, and some times things go for a phenomenal amount. I like to get things more for the low ball end when I can and I am sure many share that sentiment.

I agree with you on this John

 

[Feraud]

hmmm, they must be "curious bidders". Trying to drop a dollar or two for something they might use.
I hate when that happens.

 

[Joel Tunnah]

I don't see the problem. If you put in the bid that you are willing to pay for the hat, and some guy increments up by a dollar and wins - yes, you "lost" the hat, but for a price you were not willing to pay. How is that bad?

If, on the other had, you and some other bidder are incrementing each other up by a dollar back and forth - you're both trying to grab the hat for the lowest possible price. The one with the lowest budget and desire will lose. Again, how is that bad?

It sounds like you're complaining about something you yourself are doing.

"Sniping" only works because bidders deliberately low-ball. Ie. they are willing to go to $200, but put in $45 and hope no one notices the auction.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Joel is absolutely right. Small, incremental bids have a negligible effect on auctions for desirable things. Those auctions are usually pushed up, up, up at the last minute by snipe bids.

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[Bud-n-Texas]

Please explain the value of raising an item that has a bid on it, starting at a 5.00 bid and raising it .50 at a time to a whopping 7.00 on a vintage lid that anyone who has any idea of what they are doing knows the hat will go for much much more? Doing this over and over hat after hat, what purpouse does this serve. The point is this bidder never stays in it for the ending, all he/she does is run up the bid and walk away.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

some day, the low increment bidder is going to be the only one to see the hat. Then they'll get a very cheap hat.

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Doing this over and over hat after hat, what purpouse does this serve?

I honestly don't know what inspires folks to do it. And not just for hats: seems like every type of eBay auction attracts these kinds of "Hail Mary" bids.


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[Feraud]

I honestly don't know what inspires folks to do it. And not just for hats: seems like every type of eBay auction attracts these kinds of "Hail Mary" bids.


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there has to be an angle to it...

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

I understand your point Barron. I guess I have not stated my position clearly. I have seen this bidder nickle and dime auctions that I have been in as well as ones that I was not involved in. Let me set the stage.

Hypothetically

1) nice vintage lid (typicaly a 50.00 + hat or more)
2) opening bid by another bidder
3) low bidder comes in and places several low ball bids
4) auction continues while the low ball bidder never shows until the next auction.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I guess that for some bidders, lowball hope springs eternal. [huh]


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[Baron Kurtz]

Could be someone being a bit of a gremlin in the system. He hates all vintage hat buyers and makes sure they pay more than they would if he wasn't around. [huh] By placing small increment bids, he's not likely to win the hat, but he'll make damn sure you pay more.

bk

 

[Feraud]

We can only assume the low bidder either does not expect the price to rise past their high bid or is very cheap!

Not everyone knows the value of a particular item. I have been surprised to see prices go high on particular auctions. I might bid 10 dollars on a "piece of junk" only to see the auction end at over a hundred!

 

[herringbonekid]

since these low bidders aren't actually a threat to the serious bidders my advice is to just ignore them. they're not actually raising the price if it was going to go much higher anyway at the end.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Meanwhile ... there are some highball bidders who are willing to put huge bids on every auction. Since they always win (and you'd have to break the bank to defeat them), they eventually scare off other bidders, who don't even bother to compete after seeing the highball bidders' I.D. on a bid.


It's frustrating, because by scaring off the competitors, these highball bidders end up winning auctions cheaply -- even though they're WILLING to pay a ton of money to win!


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[Feraud]

it's a vicious cycle!

 

[Bud-n-Texas]

[huh] By placing small increment bids, he's not likely to win the hat, but he'll make damn sure you pay more.

bk

Exactly my point.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The devil on my left shoulder has tempted me to do this to the highball bidders (see previous post), but I don't have the venom to.


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