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#1
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Discussion about B.S.T. Auction End Times and Determining an Auction Winner...
I noticed in a recent net54 B.S.T. auction that a couple people had put in last second bids for the card being auctioned. It got me wondering what would happen if the following occurred during a net54 B.S.T. auction:
Suppose the auction was dictated by the seller to end at 10:00 pm. Suppose the following last minute bids were placed by different bidders: Bidder #1 bids $100 at 9:58 pm... Bidder #2 bids $120 at 9:59 pm... Bidder #3 bids $130 at 10:00 pm... Bidder #4 bids $150 at 10:01 pm... Note the times of the bids. Net54 time stamps contain only the hour and minutes. Seconds are not included. Who is the winner of this auction? The auction was declared by the seller to end at exactly 10:00 pm (which means 10:00 with 00 seconds). Had this been an eBay auction, bids that occurred after 10:00 with 00 seconds would be too late and would not be allowed. Therefore, in the above scenerio, bidder #2 should be the winner of the auction with a bid of $120. The bid for bidder #3 occurred at 10:00 pm. Since the auction ended at 10:00 with 00 seconds, this bid should be considered late and should not count. Should the seller in the above example B.S.T. auction specify specifically that bids with time stamps of 9:59 pm would be accepted and that bids occurring at 10:00 pm or later would not be accepted? This WILL EVENTUALLY HAPPEN on net54, because there have been several last second/minute bids recently. Now is the time to discuss this issue so that hard feelings and fights do not occur when it does happen. In my opinion, sellers should specifically specify the last time stamp for which bids will be considered.
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http://www.bandkgreen.net/baseballcards.htm |
#2
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the answer
The answer will, seemingly, have to be in the way the auction closing is phrased. Maybe it will be wise for future auctions to say something like "All bids must be placed in this thread before 10pm CST" (or whatever you want but you get the idea). That way we know that if the bid is at 10xx then it is too late. Just a thought....I agree that this will be an issue sooner than later if it's not addressed. I (and I am sure the other mods) really don't want to get involved in making any rules or being the deciding factor on a sale....
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#3
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The thing to do is say that the auction ends at 10pm if no bids have been placed within the preceding 5 minutes. Once a high bid comes in it adds 5 minutes to the closing time. In a similar fashion to what the fancy auction guys do... But the seller/auctioneer should foresee that possibility and set forth a procedure. With what you have, it is a potential mess.
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#4
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As Leon stated, it's entirely up to the seller. In your above example, if the seller chose to accept the 10 PM or even the 10:01 PM bid, that's his/her choice and any ensuing outcry is also his/hers to deal with. To that end, I agree that it behooves every seller (not just for the auctions, but any BST transaction) to clarify as best as possible anything they might consider ambiguous ahead of time to avoid headaches.
Edited to comment on Frank's point - in the case I think Brad is referring to, the seller actually did much better using the hard ending time then he would have with the 5 minute rule. Also, wouldn't the 5 minute rule have the same issue? Last edited by Matt; 06-23-2009 at 06:17 PM. |
#5
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Quote:
Quote:
Last edited by Rob D.; 06-23-2009 at 06:21 PM. |
#6
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It's probably not a bad idea to allow bidders who are active to place another bid after 10:00, kind of like letting all qualified bidders continue after the closing time in a catalog auction. It might need to be fine tuned, but sniping makes no sense in these kinds of auctions because there is no clock that can close precisely as on ebay.
Last edited by barrysloate; 06-23-2009 at 07:03 PM. |
#7
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5 minutes
I guess it should be up to whos selling the item but I like Franks idea of a 5 minute rule, the auction ends once it recieves no bids for 5 minutes after the ending time.
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#8
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I think the 5 minute rule fixes the problem mentioned...
With these bids: Bidder #1 bids $100 at 9:58 pm... Bidder #2 bids $120 at 9:59 pm... Bidder #3 bids $130 at 10:00 pm... Bidder #4 bids $150 at 10:01 pm... The $100 bid moves closing time to 10:03 The $120 bid moves closing to 10:04 The $130 bid is timely, and moves closing to 10:05 The $150 bid is before the new closing, and moves the closing to 10:06 No other bids follow, so at 10:06 Bidder #4 wins. And with the 5 minute rule bidders 1, 2, and 3 have had a chance to bid again. I agree with what Barry says about who could bid after the advertised closing, it should only be folks who've actually bid, I'd think. No new bidders after the advertised closing. And believe me, the time zone needs to be specified!!!!! I screwed that up myself. |
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