Well, it's not like this is offtopic or anything, but let's give it a go...
May 28, 2003 08:52 PM:
"... Auction sniper is already kinda shady in my eyes already since it defies the purpose of the Ebay bidding system. It bids late so that people have no chance to outbid you. That's already kinda low and dirty, and hurts sellers. ..."
Ya, that sounds contradictory. When I wrote the post outlining how ebay bidding actually works, that brought a lot of stuff from the back of my mind to the front. And apparently I did not write this with the-back-of-my-mind in mind. That should make sense.
"I'm somewhat against AS in the first place cause it gives an unfair advantage to those who use it ........"
Well, it does.. given the current bidding system, the traditional way of sit out the last few minutes and reload a lot is bound to get you screwed by snipers. I'm anti getting screwed. Those people must turn to new methods now, like actually bidding their true max, which is why I'll admit the problem is not with the snipers, but the people who bid not their true max. Does that sound contradicting? In the big picture, sniping exposes a problem with the way people usually bid and is therefore probably a good thing. In the small picture, it screws some poeple over given the current bidding mechanics, but only stupid people, and who cares about them.
And in that first apparently contradictory quote of mine, I was just trying to reword the problems I saw in the "small picture". Seems I chose some bad words.
May 28, 2003 10:03 PM:
"... And basically YOU ARE ALL WRONG. sonofagunk has a very good point. It is only practical not to place that extra bid which is guaranteed not to win. ...."
My point here is that YES, it is practical to do what he proposed. but NO, it is not something that should be implemented by AS. The reason I posted this was because none of the previous posters seemed to realize that YES, it is practical.
"(1) AS's job is to provide an alternate way to bid on Ebay, It is their 'JOB' to enact any enhancements which may save their clients money. Don't talk bull**** about AS's 'job'.
(2) Like my ass it won't affect the lower bidder, the 'lower bidder' reaps the awards when he is the 'higher bidder' and then ANOTHER SNIPE is cancelled which would have only boosted the price.
(3) Yes, some people would probably get their undergarments all up in a bunch over their snipe being cancelled. But hopefully, they would realize it is saving them money at the expense of the poor poor sellers. ..."
...This is why his idea was a practical one, and would save money, (although somewhat illegally and immorally).
"SO, clearly this is a great money saving (for AS'ers) thing which is great!! You all seemed to miss this fact somehow, and instead brought up inane points about how your snipe is sacred, and shall not be cancelled without your full written consent. ..."
ya, people seemed bothered that AS might ever consider canceling THEIR bid, I mean, the horror!
"Basically, any third party system which saves bidders money by lowering winning prices in an underhanded way is subject to scrutiny. And that is exactly the whole idea behind AS. I suspect that if AS becomes too popular then Ebay will take steps to disallow it. ......"
The first statement is true because it IS underhanded to bid late specifically with the purpose of not giving poeple time to outbid you. That's the small picture interpretation. The second statement is true because Ebay should try to regulate or outrule underhanded systems. Therefore what I said is true. QED.
This makes me think, people try to beat them (snipers) by joining them. And I was thinking earlier that perhaps Ebay could solve any of these bidding problems by not showing you anyone else's bid or the current bid price. Then I realized that that is effectively what is achieved when a bunch of poeple all snipe.
"I don't consider you a "foe". I'm really trying to understand." -Rick
Glad to hear that