My B/S/T Live Auction Complaint

[Peter_Spaeth]

Rules or not, I agree with David here, I think it was tacky. By the logic of the people defending it, it would have been fine to raise the bid by one cent.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Rules or not, I agree with David here, I think it was tacky. By the logic of the people defending it, it would have been fine to raise the bid by one cent.

I think David it being extremely tacky. Not his auction and didn't even bid on it but on here crying about it for no reason.

Yes unless there was a rule against it a one cent raise is ok.

Are there any other unwritten rules I should know about?

[Wildfireschulte]

As a frequent seller on BST auction threads, I've got no issue with any bid in whole dollar amounts (partial dollars are kind of obnoxious). To me, selling on this site is all about fun, not hoping that some dummy will over-pay for your card. Most of us are just moving either off-condition stuff or cards that no longer fit in our collection - and hopefully a fellow member can fill a hole in theirs. For example, I never do shows anymore, but if I did, I would have to haul the E91's that I currently have listed from show to show, and would eventually sell them one by one. Instead, a few of our members can pick up some 100 year old cards from their favorite team without worry about authenticity, grades, shipping, nasty eBay messages... Also, and most importantly, any bid has the added benefit of bumping my auction above all of Fred's - which is nice.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Rules or not, I agree with David here, I think it was tacky. By the logic of the people defending it, it would have been fine to raise the bid by one cent.

I disagree. The beauty of our BST is there really are no board rules to speak of. There are no unwritten rules and if there were no increments specified then 1 cent bids would be fine. As far as starting this thread and ranting, that is fine too.

[wolf441]

Originally Posted by Leon

As far as starting this thread and ranting, that is fine too.

+1. I think that this thread is very interesting. Like I said, I always list my auctions with bid increments of $1. I never considered that buyers might consider that bad form. I really think that this was a one-off issue because of the item up for bid.

[vintagetoppsguy]

It's not really about rules. I'm not asking for any new rules. As another poster said, it's up to the seller to state any rules.

For those that don't have a problem with it, let me ask you a question. Let's say I had 3 different raw cards in 3 separate live auctions. I charge $3.50 shipping on each one. You win all 3 and I send you an invoice for your winning total + $10.50 for shipping for the 3 raw cards. Even though I didn't state that I would combine shipping, wouldn't you kind of expect it even though it wasn't in the rules?

Again, it's not about rules, it's about doing the right thing. Do we need rules to do the right thing?

[bobbyw8469]

David, I don't have a problem with the dollar increment. Ebay would let you raise it by a dollar. Just because the previous guys jumped it up so much doesn't compel me to follow suit.

[SMPEP]

David - if someone bids one cent more than you before the auctions ends ... you can always bid one cent more than them.

And if someone charged you shipping like that .. it's your own dumb fault for not asking.

Caveat Emptor. Take responsibility for your own decisions.

[Huysmans]

Hurt feelings?? Are we forgetting we're all big boys here? Leave your feelings and emotions at the door. And has everyone forgotten what a true auction is? The item should go to the HIGHEST bidder....period. I don't care if its by one cent or a million dollars. Plus, why would someone be offended by small increments? Especially a buyer?? If the bid is raised by ONLY a dollar, then you can keep bidding without hurting the bank. Buyers should be more concerned with HUGE bidding increments, those can quickly make you SOL! 😎
Again, just my opinion. Have a great day collecting!

[toledo_mudhen]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

David, I don't have a problem with the dollar increment. Ebay would let you raise it by a dollar. Just because the previous guys jumped it up so much doesn't compel me to follow suit.

I consistently lose eBay auctions by amounts like fifty cents (lower priced items $10-$20 range). Almost always these are the direct result of some "snipe" software coming in at 2-3 seconds left to go in the auction. You wanna talk about irritation - that's irritation.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by toledo_mudhen

I consistently lose eBay auctions by amounts like fifty cents (lower priced items $10-$20 range). Almost always these are the direct result of some "snipe" software coming in at 2-3 seconds left to go in the auction. You wanna talk about irritation - that's irritation.

just need to do a maximum bid higher..no reason not to....if you bid 100 more than the next guy, you wont win the item by 100 on a 200 dollar card you will win by a dollar or 2...

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

It's not really about rules. I'm not asking for any new rules. As another poster said, it's up to the seller to state any rules.

For those that don't have a problem with it, let me ask you a question. Let's say I had 3 different raw cards in 3 separate live auctions. I charge $3.50 shipping on each one. You win all 3 and I send you an invoice for your winning total + $10.50 for shipping for the 3 raw cards. Even though I didn't state that I would combine shipping, wouldn't you kind of expect it even though it wasn't in the rules?

Again, it's not about rules, it's about doing the right thing. Do we need rules to do the right thing?

Your example only applies if there is a consensus that outbidding another member by $1 is wrong, which there isn't. I think everyone would agree that failing to combine shipping, in your proposed scenario, would be in poor taste.

[thenavarro]

Sounds to me like the guy paid 99 cents too much. (but, perhaps not, someone else might have been a player between 150.02 and 150.99

Originally Posted by thenavarro

Sounds to me like the guy paid 99 cents too much. (but, perhaps not, someone else might have been a player between 150.02 and 150.99

The winner bid $203, outpacing my runner-up bid of $188.

[LEHR]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

It's not really about rules. I'm not asking for any new rules. As another poster said, it's up to the seller to state any rules.

For those that don't have a problem with it, let me ask you a question. Let's say I had 3 different raw cards in 3 separate live auctions. I charge $3.50 shipping on each one. You win all 3 and I send you an invoice for your winning total + $10.50 for shipping for the 3 raw cards. Even though I didn't state that I would combine shipping, wouldn't you kind of expect it even though it wasn't in the rules?

Again, it's not about rules, it's about doing the right thing. Do we need rules to do the right thing?

If I were expecting combined shipping I'd have emailed to confirm that you do in fact offer combined shipping before I bid. Kind of like compairing apples and
oranges if you ask me. But I do understand the point you're trying to make. I don't agree but I understand.

[GoldenAge50s]

However, I have accepted bids past the assigned increment as I see that as the bidder's choice

Re: To clarify Raymond's quote above (if he misunderstood MY post)--

When I stated I might install $1 increments, I probably should have said "$1 MINIMUM increments", as, of course, anyone is free to bid in as LARGE an amount as they want @ anytime.

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by GoldenAge50s

However, I have accepted bids past the assigned increment as I see that as the bidder's choice

Re: To clarify Raymond's quote above (if he misunderstood MY post)--

When I stated I might install $1 increments, I probably should have said "$1 MINIMUM increments", as, of course, anyone is free to bid in as LARGE an amount as they want @ anytime.

Fred- I did not have your post in mind when I mentioned $1 increments. However, I think that the idea of a MINIMUM $1 increment covers all and that is what you will see in all my future sale posts.

Even though our illustrious leader is okay with penny bids, I think one sawbuck is a sound incremental unit for bids. I do, however, appreciate and applaud Leon's desire to allow as much responsible freedom as possible with the B/S/T thread.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by Leon

I disagree. The beauty of our BST is there really are no board rules to speak of. There are no unwritten rules and if there were no increments specified then 1 cent bids would be fine. As far as starting this thread and ranting, that is fine too.

I agree with Leon. As i stated, setting your own terms for your auction should not be compromised by a list of rules. Hopefully sellers will consider all aspects of their auction rules before posting in the future as a result of this thread. Being able to sell freely off eBay is an opportunity we should cherish and not destroy.

[LEHR]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Rules or not, I agree with David here, I think it was tacky. By the logic of the people defending it, it would have been fine to raise the bid by one cent.

If there are no written auction guidelines then I wouldn't complain if I was the one who lost by one cent. If there are no rules then how is bidding one dollar or even one cent not considered fair? I just don't understand the complaint since there were clearly no written rules. It doesn't matter if everyone else was bumping $25-$50 a pop, if I thought I could win an item for $1 more than the last bid then my bid would be the current bid +$1!