Have you LOST any auctions lately?

[galam]

I bid $18, and it ended at $19.50.

If it makes you feel any better, that doesn't mean that the highest bid was $19.50 - for all you know it could have been a lot higher. That's the way eBay works, the final bid is only ever a few dollars higher than the second closest bid.

Believe me, I've been trying to explain this extremely simple concept to average people for years. Its just not possible.

Oh trust me I get it. 18 was as high as I was going. With shipping it was 22. If it was boxed, I would have gone a bit higher.
I also can't believe I can't find It Came From the Desert for under 30, no box. Ugh

[city41]

I also can't believe I can't find It Came From the Desert for under 30, no box. Ugh

It's doable: http://www.ebay.com/itm/180890733152?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_500wt_1104

One of the keys to ebay deals is checking ebay very often. Cheap buy it nows are gone in a flash. It does have the drawback of making you pretty obsessed though

[BlueBMW]

Lost this one by 501 yennies

http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r90618219

[grimm]

Lost this one by 501 yennies

http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r90618219

And, ehm, what is it?

[BlueBMW]

A motherload of x68000 computer MIDI equipment and software.  Ive got enough for myseld just wanted some of the stuff for friends.

[vestcoat]

Why isn't this topic in General Discussion?

I have no problem being outbid. What I hate are the private offers and "this-item-is-no-longer-available" bullshit that's running rampant. (I was going to bid on this - nope.)  It's a symptom of increasingly desperate, impatient buyers as well as cowardly sellers who don't know what their shit is worth or have any faith in the auction system and its legion of snipers.

Furthermore, whenever masses of idiots violate policy to cheat ebay out of their fees, ebay retaliates with some stupid new policy that makes it worse for everyone. Case in point: extremely low limits on flat-rate shipping that f*ck casual sellers that haven't invested in a scale (particularly Canadians or anyone with an item that weighs more than ebay thinks it should weigh) or shipping costs now being included in closing fees. These private offers/early closures will either result in higher up-front listing fees, higher paypal fees, more limitations on buyer/seller communication, more censorship, hurdles to legitimate early closures, or all of the above.

[grimm]

A motherload of x68000 computer MIDI equipment and software.  Ive got enough for myseld just wanted some of the stuff for friends.

Im not familiar with that system, but thanks for telling.

[SignOfZeta]

Why isn't this topic in General Discussion?

Because to noobs TG-16 and eBay are so intrinsically linked they might as well have put eBay's logo right between "HUCard" and "HE System".

[galam]

Why isn't this topic in General Discussion?

Because to noobs TG-16 and eBay are so intrinsically linked they might as well have put eBay's logo right between "HUCard" and "HE System".

And believe it or not, there are a lot of people that consider ebay and "auctions" synonymous.
I lost a bid at a live auction on a box lot of cd's that had some ps1 and turbo games in it. But nothing worth breaking the bank over.

[SignOfZeta]

When people say they lost out by $1.50 they are talking about eBay. That sort of thinking didn't exists before eBay. At a live auction only you know what your max is and you never know what the other guy's max is until he stops bidding. There is no auto increment via computer, no concept of "sniping", none of that.  If you get beat you never know how high the other guy would have gone.

[roflmao]

When people say they lost out by $1.50 they are talking about eBay. That sort of thinking didn't exists before eBay. At a live auction only you know what your max is and you never know what the other guy's max is until he stops bidding. There is no auto increment via computer, no concept of "sniping", none of that.  If you get beat you never know how high the other guy would have gone.

I was at a live silent auction back in '97 or so where each of the items had a notebook that you would physically write in your bid.  The auction ended at a specific time.  I went to this auction with a friend who wanted a book that was there.  Whenever someone wrote down a bid, she would go in and write down one dollar more.  By the end of the auction it was her and one other person writing furiously at that notebook.  It was crazy.  EVERYONE was watching the two of them go at it.  When it got down to about 10 seconds, my friend made the final bid and took a loooooong time to write it in so there was no chance the other person could counter.  She won and the other person made a loud gasp of exasperation as if to plea to the auctioneers.  But my friend won in the end without issue.  I tell you, it was the most intense auction I've ever watched.  I've watched ebay auctions with my heart thumping, hoping no one outbid me, but that one took the cake. 

[soop]

Why isn't this topic in General Discussion?

I have no problem being outbid. What I hate are the private offers and "this-item-is-no-longer-available" bullshit that's running rampant. (I was going to bid on this - nope.)  It's a symptom of increasingly desperate, impatient buyers as well as cowardly sellers who don't know what their shit is worth or have any faith in the auction system and its legion of snipers.

Vestcoat, I'm pretty sure you can get around that by placing the minimum bid can't you?  I think once there's a live bid, the seller can't retract the auction, but I'm not certain.  On my part, I generally resign myself that I might sell something for the 99p minimum.  It happens.   However, on my buying part, I'm quite happy to offer someone what I want to pay for an item.  I got a boxed City Hunter for £15 by asking someone to split it from a lot.  Never thought that would happen.

And Roflmao, that's a neat story   My Dad used to love things like that.  I remember he got a computer desk for a £ because no-one else realised it was part of the auction

[SMF]

I never get out bid, But then again I don't really do ebay lol. I do it the ol fashion way yard sales, Estat sales and trades. I'm in no rush to own games I want. I've gotten a lot of the games I need from these forums.

[vestcoat]

Vestcoat, I'm pretty sure you can get around that by placing the minimum bid can't you?  I think once there's a live bid, the seller can't retract the auction, but I'm not certain.

Nah, those scumbags retract their items all the time. That 32x lot I linked had bids on it.

[Bonga7]

I've lost alot of auctions, and I have won a few.  The thing you have to do is never get into a bidding war.  Always have a max amount in mind that you are willing to pay and go no further.  If possible bid in the last minute to minimize a bidding war.  Its that simple. If you take emotions out of the auction process (whether is a live auction or ebay), you will not be so sore if you do lose out.