Oh yeah? Well, I RE-RAISE you! (eBay)

[FiftyQuid]

I have to give storino03 credit for this idea.  I think it's obvious that many of us watch eBay like hawks.  I'm sure in many cases, quite a few of us are bidding on the same item and driving the prices up on each other.  Well the idea of this thread is to let people know what you are bidding on.  Having this information will allow us to keep prices down.  Sure you can still battle it out with another forum member to bid on something, but in a lot of instances I throw a bid out and if I win I win.  However, if I knew someone else here really wanted to win the item then I would gladly back off and wait.

For example, this auction ends in 2 hours;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170879887542?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_1238

I plan on trying to win it, but it's not a big loss to me if I don't.  I would gladly take a seat on the sidelines if anther PCEngineFX member wants it.

I don't know if this thread will take off or not, but I thought it would be a good idea.  If anything, it allows us to better communicate and notify each other of a potentially bad Seller, or something we may or may not have caught in the description.

Another good example for this thread would be the $90 BIN for DEII that recently slipped by us.  I would have gladly purchased this for the BIN price to resell it to someone here.

[Samurai Ghost]

Honestly I'm not sure if it's going to do any good to keep prices down. I mean you are alerting a forum full of TG-16/PCE fans of an auction and pretty much telling them "I saw it first!" But in reality you'd probably be letting more people know about good deals which they would ultimately end up bidding on. Sure most respected forum members would probably lay off it if asked, but that doesn't stop many lurkers and more selfish types from jumping in on that auction. Myself included! I suggest keeping your target auction as secret as possible unless you spot a good deal on something you don't need but want to share. That would be a thread I would be interested in. Just my two cents!

[BigusSchmuck]

Thats how I managed to snag Dracula X complete with 7 other games for $80. Its best to keep these things to ourselves, otherwise you'll have schmucks like me going after these "good" deals.

[Necromancer]

+1 on trying to keep the deals a secret.  At the very least this thread should be on Fighting Street, so at least you have to log in to see it.

[vestcoat]

I think it's generally best to keep these things silent. I don't even like the habit some members have of sharing random cheap auctions for the "benefit" of others - if someone is really looking for a particular game, chances are it's already on their radar and they resent extra advertising.

That said, there is a lot of goodwill around here and there's no reason not to give the idea a test run. HOWEVER - definitely create a new thread and put it in Fighting Street where non-members can't see it. At any given time, lurkers outnumber members here by 2:1.

[PunkicCyborg]

No don't bid on that Valis I saw it first and put in a max of $500

[tpivette]

Another good example for this thread would be the $90 BIN for DEII that recently slipped by us.  I would have gladly purchased this for the BIN price to resell it to someone here.

I had this idea a few pages back when said DE2 slipped through the cracks. One member here saw the item, didnt wamt it or couldnt buy it, and alerted members on this thread. However, no one saw it in time and we all missed it. My idea was to start a thread for good deal "BIN"s so they dont get driven up to insane prices (like the DE2 auction). Anyone who subscribed to said thread would get an instant email notification and would be able to act on it instead of missing potential good deals.

It was also suggested to be posted in Fighting Street so lurkers couldnt see it as well. Something to think about

[PikachuWarrior]

Or make a section of the forum that is only accessible for members who have reached a certain criteria, whether it's 200 posts and/or a member for X months.

[_joshuaTurbo]

+1 on trying to keep the deals a secret.  At the very least this thread should be on Fighting Street, so at least you have to log in to see it.

Chit to teh Chat is also only visible to members that are logged in. 

[BigusSchmuck]

Well, went ahead and started a thread in Fighting Street: https://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=12417.0

[TheClash603]

Probably going to start to auction my shitty games off and then put the link in here telling people not to bid so that the lurkers bid it up!

[jperryss]

Probably going to start to auction my shitty games off and then put the link in here telling people not to bid so that the lurkers bid it up!

LOL.

"Psst, ultra-rare Keith Courage manual, $20 BIN, someone, grab it before a reseller notices!"

[SignOfZeta]

Regular PCEFX members are not the ones driving the prices up, it's noobs.

[vestcoat]

Great, now we have a "good deals" thread instead of the anti-bidding-war thread.  

Turbo-lightning like the $50 DH example only happens once a year or so, which kind of defeats the purpose of the thread. All the "good deals" thread is going to do is advertise the few items priced at non-gouging prices and encourage collectors who wouldn't otherwise be interested or know what they're worth to snatch them up that much faster. Most of us can't even agree on prices, so that's going to skew things further.

Sure there are always good deals out there if one's interested in random crap like extension cables - leave them to the people who are interested. The fun of collecting comes from learning what things are worth and putting in the elbow grease to go off the beaten path and find good deals. Crying "L@@K  :arrow: somebody BUY this! Quick!" is collector codling and will dry up the pool that much faster.

[FiftyQuid]

Thanks for all the feedback.  Putting this in Fighting Street is definitely a good idea.  I was not aware of what lurkers could and could not see.  See a new thread has been created in the appropriate section, there's no need for this one any longer. 

Time to lock it down...