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a question about illogical ebay bids (1 Viewer)

Dick

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Andrew: No one is MAKING you pay more than you should. These are auctions. You don't have to up your bid. Decide what the item is worth to you and go no higher, period. Michael: Your practice of "embellishing" is simply dishonest. I have run into this numerous times on eBay and, instead of bidding, I have emailed the seller to point out that the item in question is not at all rare and that he is misrepresenting the product. I really dislike this practice, as it takes advantage of buyers who know no better and makes the word "rare," which might otherwise have some real value to collectors, completely meaningless. I hope you will discontinue your indiscriminate use of this word immediately.
 

Carl Johnson

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I disagree. As long as the material facts about a product being sold are completely accurate then a bit of embellishment is fair. You don't think this used copy of Monster's Inc I have for sale qualifies as unique or out of print? Says who? I double dare ya to find another one just like it anywhere in the world. It's not like you can walk into just any store and buy a DVD that comes with the Carl Johnson seal of approval, that alone is enough to add 25% to the msrp:)
 

Michael*K

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I've got a used DVD listed now that can be had new through Amazon for $13 and probably $10-15 at any B&M. Despite the fact that there are 4+ days until auction's end, the current price stands at $26...and with no "embellishment" of the facts on it either. Keep up the insanity. :laugh:
 

Danny R

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So you have something worth $100. I bid $5, then my partner would bid $1000. Everyone else sees that price and moves on to other auctions. At the last minute he retracts and I get it for $5.

It doesn't quite work like that though. The problem is that the guy buidding $1000 would only show a $6 bid ($1 over the next highest bidder, or whatever the increment was).

The $1000 bid would only be evident if a new bidder came in and bid $100 (the worth of the item), and saw the bid price jump up to $101. They would then have to cancel their bid before the $5 bidder got the item back.

And in any case if you are a seller and you notice the price does seem suspiciously high, you can always stop the auction right then and there and force the high bidder to win.

--

Now one scam I have seen happen is the shell bidder who is aligned with the seller. They overbid the item in order to find out what the current high bid is, and then cancel and bid just UNDER the present high bidder's bid, thus forcing everyone to bid their maximum when they might otherwise get the item for less. I've had numerous people banned for this practice.
 

Keith Mickunas

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I remember a few years ago before DVDs were available in mass quantities all over the place it was quite common to see pre-orders up for auction. Basically people would post a DVD for sale before it came out, often with a note saying it wasn't released yet. Then they'd order it from Reel.com or some such place and ship directly to the winner of the auction. It was amazing how many DVDs some people would sell for a good profit without ever touching it themselves.
 

Scott Weinberg

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When I see a bid for $26.00 on one of my DVDs (that can be bought at Best Buy for $16.99), I think two things:

A. Ooh, I may have just made a few extra bucks

B. If the person actually PAYS!

My experience is that 'overbidders' often have more excuses than greenbacks when auction time comes to a close.
 

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