Auctions
Right up front.....I know very few people will read this and it will get buried soon enough. I just want to vent a little.
It seems as if eBay is desperately trying to revive the auction way of buying.
eBay Live-----> LOL. Reminds me of one of those shopping network shows. I know some want to be entertained while shopping and maybe that's the appeal to some? I just want to find what I'm looking for without a bunch of clutter or drama and don't need to be entertained. I hope it doesn't spread.
Soft endings on trading cards.-----> I don't collect cards but this seems to be a test to see if people will like/tolerate it. There's a site where I occasionally buy vintage firearms and that site has soft endings on their auctions. The one thing I don't like about that site is them encouraging bidding wars that way. I only buy there if I can't find the arms I'm looking for anywhere else. If eBay spreads soft endings to things I do buy on eBay I'll do the same and look elsewhere and eBay will not be my first choice as it is now.
eBay is my first choice now as I do score sometimes on auctions where neither the seller or prospective buyers seem to know the value of the item in question and once an auction is over, it's over.
simba6
·11 months agoMost buyers don't want to wait for an auction to end.
mr_lincoln
·11 months ago@simba6
I understand the sentiment but that is hard to prove. I sell a lot auction style and it is a very, very rare occasion when a Buyer asks if they can get an item sooner and those are usually on items that bid up because of their value ... those Buyers wanting it sooner seldom win those auctions ... again, that is just my experience in my categories.
ed8108
·11 months agoRe: auctions
Manny buyers may still be willing to wait to possibly acquire an item at a favorable cost.
mudshark61369
·11 months ago@roccotacodad54 ,
In my last reply I only responded to the possibility of ebay adding soft ending times to other categories. I didn't delve into eBay Live auctions. I do not know if you realize it or not, but ebay only provides a platform for curated live stream events hosted by their favorite auction influencers, brands and sellers on eBay Live.
They did try that out several years ago allowing auctions hosted by various well accredited auction houses to be live streamed and bid on through this site. It's my understanding, that the houses didn't like the fee they were charged by ebay for streaming the events, usually multi day auctions, when they already had their own online bidding option, and that's why they pulled out.
roccotacodad54
OP11 months ago"influencers". That word speaks volumes................
mudshark61369
·11 months ago@roccotacodad54 ,
I agree with @wastingtime101 's post except for one thing.
"Soft close on auctions means more money for sellers/eBay and buyer bidding strategies will shift".
Soft closing time auctions do not encourage bidders to bid the most they are willing to pay for items, It simply extends the time until the nibblers get tired of bidding. Had Soft ending time auctions been such a good thing, Yahoo auctions, and several regular and pay to bid sites would still be in business. As it is ebay's copyrighted auction format software codes and algorithms, prevent other auction sites from holding the Hard end time auctions.
You wrote: in reply to mr_Lincoln, "Even live in person I prefer a sealed bid format".
Ebay's auction format is a variation of sealed bid auctions, which do have hard ending times. If you place automatic bids or snipe you do not know until the bidding closes, when bids are tallied, whether or not your bid was high enough to win.
I too learned long ago that mis-titled, poorly titled, and/or described and photographed listings, are a way to get bargains, from auction format sellers who do not know what they are selling, and in some cases, cleaning away the Patina from some items does decrease their value in the eyes of collectors. As a seller I've come across some items I didn't know much about, so before I listed one I researched them.
One item in particular I came across at an antiques show, around 10 years ago, that had no maker's mark or Mfr's. name on it I knew had to have value. I searched collector's guides, and online on various live auction site's histories for years, to no avail. It was not until I came across an out of print collector's guide, from the U.K. a couple of years ago, that I finally got the info about it that I wanted. It turned out to be even more valuable than I imagined.
While bidding wars on ebay are not as common as they once were, they still do happen when inexperienced or newbie bidders join in. They'll waste their time bidding against one another only to be outbid at the end by a snipe or earlier automatic bid. Then of course they come here to complain saying they would have bid more, when they did have the chance to.
mr_lincoln
·11 months ago@roccotacodad54
Actually, LIVE auctions have been around for a very long time ... about 500 BC in Babylon if memory serves. Bidding and extending auction lots until bidding has stopped is not a new concept and I personally would prefer eBay would have the Soft close on their auctions. Sure, like other online only auction sites some limits might have to be set but if two or more Buyers absolutely want an item then let them bid on past the auction closing time. It is a win-win for all parties.
-Seller makes more money
-eBay makes more fees
-Buyer feels elated that they finally won the coveted thing they were looking for
roccotacodad54
OP11 months agoYes live auctions have been around forever. I'm talking about the new live auction idea on eBay. Not quite the same as in person. More like a cheesy shopping network thing. Even live in person I prefer a sealed bid format. Put in what you're willing to spend and let the highest bid win. It would never happen but I'd love to see sealed bid auctions on eBay.
Soft closings are undoubtably better off for the seller and eBay but not a win for me as a buyer. Some might get elated by bidding wars but I'm not out to beat the other guy, I'm out to get the object at a reasonable price. I prefer to keep emotions out of it as much as possible. Soft closings just seem to raise the price by buyers getting their egos involved.
Often this seems to raise the price of winning beyond what I would consider the item worth and then some.
No doubt leading to buyers remorse with some that get emotional and caught up in the moment. Auctions that end at a set time tend to keep bidders rational and less likely to inflate the price.
That's my take on it anyway..................
mr_lincoln
·11 months ago@roccotacodad54
For acquiring inventory for resale I am in the same boat as you with regard to getting something for the lowest bid price possible. I research what I purchase and set my max bid so if an auction goes above that amount I am out. That approach takes the emotion out of it for sure. Some online auctions all I do is enter my max bid and then check the auction when it is over to see what if anything I won.
When I first read about the Live auction I guess I didn't understand their approach ... I was under the wrong impression that they would take select lots from many categories and run them through their Live auction. THAT of course makes a lot of Common Sense, silly me right?!?
When I checked out the first one I was disappointed and did not bother watching any auctions run off. The current approach they have is a non-starter for me.
janet9988
·11 months agowastingtime101
·11 months agoThere are reasons eBay Live is restricted to specific categories. While it may or may not expand categories in the future, I think it'll stay pretty focused. That Live format doesn't work for everything.
Soft close on auctions means more money for sellers/eBay and buyer bidding strategies will shift. For some, such as yourself, that may mean shopping fewer auction format listings.
I'll bet you can still score plenty of deals "where neither the seller or prospective buyers seem to know the value of the item in question" if you look for the "bad" listings - crappy photos/lighting, misspelled titles, no description, etc. Basically taking a chance because you see something through the often literal dirt. haha
roccotacodad54
OP11 months agoGood point. Alot of the scores I get are listings with bad photos or inaccurate titles/descriptioms. I do my research on practically everything I buy, online or not.
Alot of times even with lousy photos I know what the item is even if the seller doesn't.
It's funny you'd say "literal dirt" because quite often if the seller doesn't know what they have they don't bother to clean it at all. Sometimes the vintage/antique items are filthy. That's OK though. I've passed on nice old items because the seller polished or cleaned the desireable patina off and ruined it.