Semi OT: Ebay rant
js
good.
Here's what I don't get:
WHY is it that when you list a RESERVE PRICE auction with a BUY IT NOW
price, you ALWAYS get a TON of "penny-ante" bids that aren't even CLOSE to
the price?
CLEARLY if I am offering a "Buy It Now" price, this is the price I WANT to
get for the item. If I have a RESERVE on the auction, this is the absolute
MINIMUM I will accept for this item.
One can deduce from these two factors that the reserve price is PRETTY
FUCKING CLOSE to the "Buy I Now" price, at MAXIMUM >$100.
So what do I get on my auctions?: Well if I set the starting price at
1/10th - 1/5th of the value (which I've learned from trial and error), I get
geniuses who bid ONE PENNY more than the starting price. For the rest of the
auction, I get guys trying to "sniff out" the reserve price, which is fine
by me.
But here's a hint: If the starting price is $99, and Buy it Now is $500,
Vegas odds will tell you that the reserve price is NOT $99.01!!!
Jesus Jumpup Christ, are people REALLY that stupid? I get ten bids on a
reserve item, for 99.01, 99.12, 101.13., and so on - not even coming CLOSE.
If you list a OBVIOUS $1000 reserve item for 99 cents guess what your first
bid will be... 99 CENTS!!!
What's sad is the "fixed price" guys they KNOW they want to get. They might
list a $500 item for $249.99, BIN and reserve - but they will get ZERO
bids.
They may have the best deal in town, but the idiots are chasing the guy who
wants TWICE as much with the $1.00 starting price.
I don't get it.
Monkey Pi
Why not just start the auction at (or near) your reserve price and not
have to watch that?
Aren't you in control of what the starting bid needs to be?
Monkey Pi
--
_ _
|o| o , o_,' o_, |o|
|O| <%'. _`'_ === <\_ |O|
(0) / | (_)`-' | / | (0)
p-----MonkeyMonkeyMonkey-----q
levi
Sure, he can set the starting bid to whatever.
But there's the dynamic of people bidding that
gets more people bidding -- and the more people
that bid, the higher the final bid is likely
to be.
To answer the original question, "are people
REALLY that stupid" -- the answer is "yes"
for some of them, and the rest are hoping that
YOU are stupid enough to have a reserve price
$0.01 over your starting price.
I think you should just embrace the illogic of
the online auction.
bassdiva
"levi" <le...@visi.com> wrote in message
news:55ad0a30-9ee5-4792...@v30g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
the winning bid only goes up in set amounts, so that if I was willing to
bid �10 and the person before me was only willing to bid �5 then my bid
would only show �6 until someone put in a higher bid, then my bid would be
updated until it reached my top limit.
Tim
> "levi" <l...@visi.com> wrote in message
>
> - Show quoted text -
Yes it is set up that way. But one thing about people whho will only
bid say $2.25, I believe there are also snipe programs tht are set up
that way to where you have to make a first bid, then you're second bid
will be sniped with in the last split-second of the auctions end.
I've seen that happen before.
I've seen stuff sit for 6 days and on thenext to the last day I'd be
the only bidder, then the last day there would be 15 bids put in.
Something that seems to attract people is they won't bid unless
somebody else bids first.
I remember when Barr had Vintage bass trading Co. He low bid on
hundreds of basses, and I asked him why, and it was so he could track
the auction to see where it ws going and to make a final decision on
what his final bid should be.
dusto...@mac.com
It's not stupidity, it's thrift. Or avarice <g>. People with lots of
time on their hands? WTH, some of them might be dumbbells, but they're
at least smart enough to get on line and open an ebay account and bid,
unless someone else is typing for them, of course.
In my hours and hours on ebay, while I'm scrounging myself (ahem) I
see this stuff you're talking about all the time. Especially items
that are arguably set at an approximate fair-market BIN price getting
*no* bids, while same or similar stuff that starts with no "lowest
bid" or BIN gets lots of bids that may go higher. (I'm just speaking
in general, "my impression" terms here but it sure does happen).
"Getting something for nothing" or below what comparable items have
sold for is a part of human nature that, in the case of ebay
especially, is (IMHO) offset to at least some extent (or a whole lot!)
by "I really want this, and right now!", or "I have more money/power/
ego than the rest of these sumbitches", or whatever the drive is that
people will pay "list" plus shipping plus have to wait for something
they could buy immed. locally with just a little drive time and
whatever sales tax is incurred.
Or causes them to ignore the most important bit of ebay lore: "There
will be another one!"
IOW, in my limited selling on ebay, I haven't set many minimums or
BIN's because (obviously) those can really turn off bidders in front
("Who needs that shit?" "Who does he think he is?", etc.), plus (even
more important IMHO) discourage the feeding frenzy we are *all* (me
too) susceptible to. I think there's a very large number of people who
see the "no minimum, no BIN, no Reserve" stuff as kind of a "rule" or
"part of the ebay community".
(Stating the Obvious Dept.); As a seller, you want the feeding frenzy
(does ebay still mark "hot items"?)-- and maybe a lot of positive feed
back, reasonable shipping, well-written item description, along with
sharp, extreme close-up pics to show condition (especially the "worst
parts") and anything else that smells like chum in the water <g>, with
the possible exception of "This item is for sale locally", or "I
reserve the right to sell locally", or whatever bail-out is currently
allowable under ebay rules. Which can be a turn-off, too, I guess, but
also can be a signal to bidders to put up or shut up, since you're not
going to allow yourself to be lowballed, even if several "bidders"
try, which I have seen, too. Eventually, someone breaks for the fence,
or a lurker makes things real, even well before auction end.
IOW, let the small fry bid, you don't have to accept lowball sale
prices in the first place, especially if you've set a reserve, and in
the second, (to repeat) "more interest" might well spark a higher sale
price.
A simple "Thanks, but I prefer to let the auction run its course" is a
great reply to the lowballers, and "Sorry, I prefer not to reveal my
reserve" is another.
Yeah, yeah, "Hey, assclown, what part of 'Reserve' don't you
understand?" is a tempting retort but probably counterproductive <g>.
Remember, "it's only money".
--D-y
Jose de las Heras
"Tim" <tsch...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:ba5ab4ab-94f1-47a1...@r24g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
>
> I've seen stuff sit for 6 days and on thenext to the last day I'd be
> the only bidder, then the last day there would be 15 bids put in.
> Something that seems to attract people is they won't bid unless
> somebody else bids first.
What I don't get is bidding before the end. I bid as late as I can, and with
my absolute maximum for that item. Why would I bid 3 days earlier (unless
I'm going to to away and want to have a go), it only invites idiots to bid
until they're just above me. It's great for the seller to have 2-3 of these
idiots... but not for me as a buyer. So I avoid inviting them. Bid once, bid
late, bid your max. If it works, great, if you're outbid... then it was out
of what you considered to be a good price. Late bids diminishes the chance
of getting the idiots to hike up the price.
Jose
--
www.mcnach.com
Richt Hoat Chillis:
http://www.myspace.com/rhcpscot - Bass: OLP MM2
http://www.freakmusic.co.uk/scotland/bands/the_richt_hoat_chillis
www.myspace.com/purplenoise68
-
Current favourite guitar: Fender 'Sambora' Stratocaster
Current favourite bass: Warwick Corvette $$
Tim
wrote:
> "Tim" <tschna...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:ba5ab4ab-94f1-47a1...@r24g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > I've seen stuff sit for 6 days and on thenext to the last day I'd be
> > the only bidder, then the last day there would be 15 bids put in.
> > Something that seems to attract people is they won't bid unless
> > somebody else bids first.
>
> What I don't get is bidding before the end. I bid as late as I can, and with
> my absolute maximum for that item. Why would I bid 3 days earlier (unless
> I'm going to to away and want to have a go), it only invites idiots to bid
> until they're just above me. It's great for the seller to have 2-3 of these
> idiots... but not for me as a buyer. So I avoid inviting them. Bid once, bid
> late, bid your max. If it works, great, if you're outbid... then it was out
> of what you considered to be a good price. Late bids diminishes the chance
> of getting the idiots to hike up the price.
>
> Jose
> --www.mcnach.com
>
>
> www.myspace.com/purplenoise68
> -
> Current favourite guitar: Fender 'Sambora' Stratocaster
> Current favourite bass: Warwick Corvette $$
Oh I understand the late bid philosophy. but so do a lot of other
people. I never bid "high" on anything. I mean, do i really need it
that bad? NO!
Just 3 hr.s after the auction started I bid $110.00 on a neck though-
chinese built 6 string bass. it started at 50.00, I think the bid is
up to about 80.00 now. $110.00 w/29.00 shipping is all I'll go. If
I get it, whatever. If not? no biggy.
Monkey Pi
> On Oct 31, 8:08 am, Monkey Pi <Monke...@MonkeyMonkeyMonkey.Com> wrote:
>> js wrote:
>> Why not just start the auction at (or near) your reserve price and not
>> have to watch that?
>> Aren't you in control of what the starting bid needs to be?
>>
>> Monkey Pi
>>
>> --
>> _ _
>> |o| o , o_,' o_, |o|
>> |O| <%'. _`'_ === <\_ |O|
>> (0) / | (_)`-' | / | (0)
>> p-----MonkeyMonkeyMonkey-----q
>
> Sure, he can set the starting bid to whatever.
> But there's the dynamic of people bidding that
> gets more people bidding -- and the more people
> that bid, the higher the final bid is likely
> to be.
I may have used eBay once or twice and understand how auctions work.
Either you can stand to watch it as a seller, or you can't.
All I was saying was that if you can't not watch, and you can't stand
watching, there's a third alternative.
Jim Carr
> I may have used eBay once or twice and understand how auctions work.
> Either you can stand to watch it as a seller, or you can't.
> All I was saying was that if you can't not watch, and you can't stand
> watching, there's a third alternative.
I'm a little confused. Does any of this have an effect on the actual
sale price?
--
Write a wise saying and your name will live forever.
- Anonymous
Derek Tearne
> WHY is it that when you list a RESERVE PRICE auction with a BUY IT NOW
> price, you ALWAYS get a TON of "penny-ante" bids that aren't even CLOSE to
> the price?
I wa recently bidding on an OLP bass - the buy it now price was way more
than the bass was worth.
myself and a couple of other folks made $1 bids starting at the minimum
bid to indicate that the price expectation was too high.
the bass got relisted 4 times and eventually sold (apparently) on a
fixed price offer below the resrve.
I early accepted the offe (iwas the winning bidder each time, except the
first which I think was a bogus bidder as it was relisted soon after) -
but it was still too high a price.
As it turns out it will be a few months before I can start using power
tools etc. due to the broken arm - so I'll just have to be patient and
see if something better turns up.
--- derek
--
Derek Tearne - de...@url.co.nz
Vitamin S - improvisation from Aotearoa/New Zealand
http://www.vitamin-s.co.nz/
Steve Freides
news:hch0m0$84g$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
People aren't mind-readers and have no clue how, in your mind, the
opening bid, the reserve, and the buy it now are related. If you want a
higher opening bid then set it that way. You may get fewer bidders and
ultimately less money (I have absolutely no idea if this is true or not,
but I can only guess that this is your theory), but you'll be happier
and might not complain about it here.
-S-
Tim
Wow, I already got outbid. It's up to $13700 now with 8 days to go.
Oh well.....
js
"Jim Carr" <newsg...@azwebpages.com> wrote in message
news:9U1Hm.2497$rs...@newsfe05.iad...
js
reserve price action because people are too dumb to grasp the concept that
an auction starting at $250 with no reserve is the SAME THING as an auction
with a RESERVE price of $250, but starting at a penny.
The difference is you'll get ZERO bids on the former, and pay at least 2-3
times as much to list the latter. All because ebay bidders have no reasoning
skills.
Get it?
"Monkey Pi" <Monk...@MonkeyMonkeyMonkey.Com> wrote in message
news:ud-dnbgkOp8AA3HX...@posted.localnet...
dusto...@mac.com
> No, what I "can't stand" is the fact that I have pay quite a bit to use a
> reserve price action because people are too dumb to grasp the concept that
> an auction starting at $250 with no reserve is the SAME THING as an auction
> with a RESERVE price of $250, but starting at a penny.
>
> The difference is you'll get ZERO bids on the former, and pay at least 2-3
> times as much to list the latter. All because ebay bidders have no reasoning
> skills.
>
> Get it?
Well, here I am because my dog didn't "get it" (time change). Dog
digestion trumps foolish man and his dilly-dallying with artificial
time division.
You could have said the above to start out. Which I kind of
understood, if I didn't say, but you have made your frustration
clearer.
'Scuze me, I'll repeat: people, to some extent at least, have this
"community" thing about ebay. Reserve price is politically incorrect
to many.
That's not gonna change any time soon. A high starting bid seems to be
not so offensive, but my impression from watching a certain limited
range of auction items (for close to ten years now) is the best way to
maximize return is to have an "open" auction, no reserves or minimums.
IOW, "comparables" that have openers or reserves might just sit, unbid-
on, while items offered in open auction sell for the same or even
higher (sometimes a chunk higher) prices. At least some regular
ebayers well understand "there will be another" and, in effect,
enforce their "rules" by not bidding where they don't want to bid.
Dang, maybe that's actually being smart <g>. Doesn't apply in all
cases, by any means, of course! (second <g>)
(Moral of the Story Dept.): "Use it, don't abuse it", John.
"Noli sinere te ab improbis opprimi"
("Don't let the bastards get you down")
Except for PayPal, of course. Grrrr...
--D-y
Monkey Pi
js wrote:
> No, what I "can't stand" is the fact that I have pay quite a bit to use a
> reserve price action because people are too dumb to grasp the concept that
> an auction starting at $250 with no reserve is the SAME THING as an auction
> with a RESERVE price of $250, but starting at a penny.
>
> The difference is you'll get ZERO bids on the former, and pay at least 2-3
> times as much to list the latter. All because ebay bidders have no reasoning
> skills.
>
> Get it?
>
Sure!
I got it from the very beginning.
You paid more to frustrate yourself in a more excruciating way not
selling it the first time than you did to not sell it the second time.
Either watch without frustration
Don't watch
Start the bidding higher
or don't use eBay.
Those are the only choices for your original rant.
I don't get frustrated by my auctions, so who doesn't get it?
js
<dusto...@mac.com> wrote in message
news:510ca9dd-3a61-470a...@z41g2000yqz.googlegroups.com...
Oci-One Kanubi
>
> Jesus Jumpup Christ, are people REALLY that stupid? I get ten bids on a
> reserve item, for 99.01, 99.12, 101.13., and so on - not even coming CLOSE.
>
>
> I don't get it.
Two things, John:
1) Yes, a lotta people really ARE that stupid. One of the puzzle-
writers for Scientific American, lo these 20 or 30 years ago, used to
go on at great length about what he called the "innumeracy" (cf.
"illiteracy") of the American public. Arithmatic is HARD for a huge
number of Americans, and logic is a close cousin to mathematics. Our
schools seem to be very bad at nurturing analytical skills.
2) Because so many people really are that that stupid, the smart
buyers know that a significant proportion of SELLERS are ALSO
deficient in logic and analysis, and it costs these guys nothing to
submit a ridiculously low bid to probe the seller's thinking and
occasionally discover a real bargain that results from the seller's
failure to understand how eBay works (then when they do discover such
a potential bargain, they wait and "snipe" the auction in the final 10
seconds). This is particularly likely to happen wrt rock band
instruments, because so many kids are given expensive outfits, which
they then sell when they discover that it actually takes time and
effort to learn to play; so you got dumb kids who don't even really
understand the true value of a used instrument in good shape, and who
never used eBay before, trying to figure out what "reserve" and "bin"
mean. It's custom made for canny buyers who have no incentive to
offer serious bids to serious sellers.
It's really hard for people like you, who can count, to "get" the
"thinking" behind the behavior of so many of those people who cannot
count.
-Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
Oci-One Kanubi
wrote:
>
> What I don't get is bidding before the end. I bid as late as I can, and with
> my absolute maximum for that item. Why would I bid 3 days earlier (unless
> I'm going to to away and want to have a go), it only invites idiots to bid
> until they're just above me. It's great for the seller to have 2-3 of these
> idiots... but not for me as a buyer. So I avoid inviting them. Bid once, bid
> late, bid your max. If it works, great, if you're outbid... then it was out
> of what you considered to be a good price. Late bids diminishes the chance
> of getting the idiots to hike up the price.
Exactly my strategy. I figure the most this thing is really worth to
me, then (since that is usually a nice round number) I add $1.56 or
$6.56 or whatever slightly exceeds the automatic bid increment of the
people I am bidding against, then I snipe by keying in my bid with
about 30 secoonds remaining in the auction and hitting the "Confirm"
button in the final five seconds. This doesn't defeat higher
automatic bids, but it leaves too little time for real-time bidders to
beat me, and if an automatic bed beats me -- 'sokay; as you say, the
item went for more than I was willing to spend, so I'm safely out of
the bidding.
Incidently, I figure in the S&H charge, too, when I calculate my max.
If S&H for a bass is $30 and the bass is worh a max of $600 to me,
then I will bid something like $576.56, so if I "win", I will be
paying only pocket-change over and above my max.
-Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
Jose de las Heras
The one situation when I bid early and low, is when the seller has set up a
buy-it-now price, and no reserve.
If the bin price is attractive enough, I'd use it, but it rarely is... and I
don't want someone else to snap it, so you bid low, and teh bin disappears
the minute there is a real bid. This doesn't work if there is a reserve, but
if there isn't... you just cancelled the bin and let the auction run its
course, then bid late. I bet the seller is not too happy, but I am looking
after my side of teh deal...
dusto...@mac.com
> Can you post that again in English, please?
Sure.
Reserves and "high" starting bids seem to be offensive to some
ebayers, who might have or claim to have a sense of "community" and/or
a sense of "fairness" (ha ha) in regard to how auctions are run. Or,
they just be scroungers like me who want to low-ball bid and take the
ones that work. What-ever. I've seen items with "high" opening bids
and reserves sit with no bids, while very similar ("comparables", like
in the real estate market) that have no minimums or reserves wind up
being sold for similar prices, often with a fair amount of bidding
activity.
That's for stuff I look at which is "usable collectable" to some
extent.
Yup, having read this thread, you have to protect yourself with a
reserve to not get popped with a lowball bid at least occasionally.
Main point: don't sweat the sewer rats because even a lowball shows
that the bidder is willing to do business with you.
--D-y
The BorgMan
news:hch0m0$84g$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
Simple, easy fix.
List your reserve price in the auction description.
Note - I have had auctions end where I was the high bidder but was under
the reserve price, and still did the deal over email post auction. So
some people WILL go under their reserve price if the auction ends without
hitting it.
--
Aaron
The BorgMan
news:ba5ab4ab-94f1-47a1...@r24g2000yqd.googlegroups.com:
Anyone that doesn't use a sniping tool on ebay is throwing away money.
--
Aaron
dusto...@mac.com
> "js" <noth...@nothing.com> wrote innews:hch0m0$84g$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
Just sayin, then you're not "protected" by ebay. Yeah, yeah, I know
but OTOH, I've been to arbitration and won-- it was "only" $25-30, but
I got screwed and when the seller offered to take me to arb because I
bitched at him ("you owe me"), I was happy to follow him in. Upshot,
didn't see that seller ID again; maybe he just changed his ID or maybe
he figured out real quick as a new seller, that we weren't just going
to let him screw us around. --D-y
dusto...@mac.com
> Anyone that doesn't use a sniping tool on ebay is throwing away money.
This anyone who doesn't use a sniping tool (I have; tried it and quit)
just figures how much he wants to pay and lets it go.
IF it's something I really really want, I'm willing to spend more <g>.
In almost all cases, "there will be another".
Which is not to say I would never use a sniping tool again.
--D-y
The BorgMan
news:fb0668f8-1392-4e94...@v36g2000yqv.googlegroups.com:
>> > �a
>> > reserve item, for 99.01, 99.12, 101.13., and so on - not even
>> > coming CLOSE.
>>
>> > If you list a OBVIOUS $1000 reserve item for 99 cents guess what
>> > your first bid will be... 99 CENTS!!!
>>
>> > What's sad is the "fixed price" guys they KNOW they want to get.
>> > They might list a $500 �item for $249.99, BIN and reserve - but
>> > they will get ZERO bids.
>>
>> > They may have the best deal in town, but the idiots are chasing the
>> > guy who wants TWICE as much with the $1.00 starting price.
>>
>> > I don't get it.
>>
>> Simple, easy fix.
>>
>> List your reserve price in the auction description.
>>
>> Note - I have had auctions end where I was the high bidder but was
>> under the reserve price, and still did the deal over email post
>> auction. So some people WILL go under their reserve price if the
>> auction ends without hitting it.
>
> Just sayin, then you're not "protected" by ebay.
Sure - that is the chance you take.
Getting something for 50% of the "buy it now" price is likely to make the
risk worthwhile though, depending on the item.
...and if you pay with paypal, you're still sort of protected there. I
managed to get $200 back on a defective camcorder I purchased through
paypal/ebay.
--
Aaron
The BorgMan
421f-91c0-5...@v36g2000yqv.googlegroups.com:
I just decide how much I want to spend - then snipe with that amount.
Experience tells me that doing that I not only never spend more than I
intented, I generally get the item cheaper than if I had bid the same
amount earlier.
--
Aaron
Monkey Pi
People are so broke right now, that when I get outbid, more than 50% of
the time I get a 2nd chance offer. There's no need to stress over the
buying end of eBay right now. If you don't get your price, just keep
lowballing until it comes through. Yes, I know I'm driving you sellers
crazy, but my current strategy of not bidding on anything I need right
away and bidding ridiculously low maximum bids is already getting me
more purchases than I should be making.
Anything I would have to snipe for is more emotional involvement than I
want. Sure, I lost a few nice items, but I still live.
The BorgMan
_JadnXESlY4RGG3X...@posted.localnet:
You do understand sniping takes no more effort than regualr bidding,
right? I'm not talking about sitting on ebay waiting for the auction to
end and trying to snipe "by hand".
You just go to a website, enter the auction number, and enter the max
price you'll pay. Then wait for the auction to end. Computers take care
of everything else for you.
--
Aaron
Monkey Pi
> Monkey Pi <Monk...@MonkeyMonkeyMonkey.Com> wrote in news:
>>>
>> the time I get a 2nd chance offer. There's no need to stress over the
>> buying end of eBay right now. If you don't get your price, just keep
>> lowballing until it comes through. Yes, I know I'm driving you sellers
>> crazy, but my current strategy of not bidding on anything I need right
>> away and bidding ridiculously low maximum bids is already getting me
>> more purchases than I should be making.
>>
>> Anything I would have to snipe for is more emotional involvement than I
>> want. Sure, I lost a few nice items, but I still live.
>
> You do understand sniping takes no more effort than regualr bidding,
> right? I'm not talking about sitting on ebay waiting for the auction to
> end and trying to snipe "by hand".
>
> You just go to a website, enter the auction number, and enter the max
> price you'll pay. Then wait for the auction to end. Computers take care
> of everything else for you.
>
Seriously.
The things I buy from eBay (mostly used CDs and 3D pictures)....
There is NO need to improve my success rate.
Oci-One Kanubi
> The one situation when I bid early and low, is when the seller has set up a
> buy-it-now price, and no reserve.
>
> If the bin price is attractive enough, I'd use it, but it rarely is... and I
> don't want someone else to snap it, so you bid low, and teh bin disappears
> the minute there is a real bid. This doesn't work if there is a reserve, but
> if there isn't... you just cancelled the bin and let the auction run its
> course, then bid late. I bet the seller is not too happy, but I am looking
> after my side of teh deal...
Good point.
Another situation where I might put in a token bid is where I am
pretty sure the seller will never get his reserve, and I want to be
notified if he relists the item. I don't know if they notify watchers
or only bidders, so I submit an inconsequential bid.
-Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
--
Richard Hopley, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
Nothing really matters except Boats, Sex, and Rock'n'Roll
Jim Carr
> No, what I "can't stand" is the fact that I have pay quite a bit to use a
> reserve price action because people are too dumb to grasp the concept that
> an auction starting at $250 with no reserve is the SAME THING as an auction
> with a RESERVE price of $250, but starting at a penny.
>
> The difference is you'll get ZERO bids on the former, and pay at least 2-3
> times as much to list the latter. All because ebay bidders have no reasoning
> skills.
>
> Get it?
I think I do now, but I'm not so sure you do. I think you are making the
all too common mistake of thinking/wanting everybody else to have the
same intelligence and motivations as you. Meanwhile, ebay seems to have
figured it out because they charge you more for something that works
better. If people did what you wanted, ebay would change the pricing
structure.
I'm not saying your logic is wrong. I'm just saying it applies to people
with certain mindsets and ignores other reasonable positions people
might hold. I'll give you a few examples of why I don't think people are
as stupid as you seem to think.
Take me. I don't use ebay much. When I do, I look for closed auctions to
get a feel for what an item will cost me. If I'm not in a rush, I'll
look for a deal. So, if like you say, an item should reasonably go for
around $250, why would I want to bid on it starting at that price when I
can try to sniff out a better deal somewhere else?
So, let's say I throw some bids on a reserve listing. It takes just as
much effort to bid high as low, so why not probe a little bit? Maybe the
guy's wife wants that amp outta the house because they are having a baby
and they compromised on a relatively low reserve. Maybe the guy is an
idiot. It takes but a moment to find out. Thing is, I *know* that's not
the case with the Starting Bid at $250 auction.
Now, suppose further that the bidding goes through the reserve and is
right where the other auction sits. If it's still in my ballpark, I'll
probably stick with the reserve one because I don't want to win or
follow two auctions. It's also reasonable to assume that wherever this
one goes, the other one will probably follow anyway.
If I don't close the deal on the reserve item, I can always go back to
the Starting Bid auction. But once again, if I'm in no rush, why not
wait to see if another low starting bid auction pops up? I just might
get lucky, especially since I know one competing bidder is out of the
picture (the guy who bought the last one).
As for your logic about the Buy It Now price being a good indicator of
the reserve, I disagree. I think of myself again, but this time I'm in a
rush or the item is hard to find. If the seller is thinking about me,
he's going to set a Buy It Now price that is above market and possibly
well above reserve for a variety of other reasons like the one given above.
I mean, what's the point of setting a Buy It Now price that is very
close to what you expect it to sell for? That's just pissing your money
away. Being able to bypass the auction process and eliminate all risk of
not getting the item should come at a premium.
If I'm already willing to go above market, I will (and have) snatched
items at the Buy It Now price knowing full well had I waited, I could
have gotten a better deal. Sometimes making the deal in the first place
is more important than making a great deal.
In addition to the above scenarios, I'm sure there are people who do
nothing but try to sniff out stupid/desperate sellers. They are always
going to be around. They probably have RSS feeds with saved searches for
Craigslist, too.