Explain this bid history

(click on "ebay item" below to get to the item)

Thanks again,
Barry

http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=3529399665

Barry,

>> Why did quintanillaclaudia bid over himself so many times? << - Looks like you have what is called a nibbler. It's what us snipers try to avoid. They can't decide how much they are willing to pay.

>> And, as far as I can tell, the winning bid was placed 54 minutes before quintanillaclaudia stopped bidding. How is that possible? << - It's called a proxy bid. A person, like petermk7, can leave a high bid at any point in the auction. Then a person like quintanillaclaudia can come along and start bidding. They have to increase their bid by the amount of ebay's bid increment.

>> Is quintanillaclaudia a shill? << - I doubt it. It doesn't look like they've purchased from this seller before (looking at feedback). Of all their auctions in the last 30 days, they only have this one. If they were a shill they would have probably bided on more things from other sellers so as to hide themselves. And they would have bided on more things from the seller - starscream72.

Sara (AS support) - Thanks for providing the link - It's late, and I definitely earned this post. Someone else probably won't. Any addition should be something of quality, instead of the usual fluff.

Rick

quote:

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Why did quintanillaclaudia bid over himself so many times?

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I think what actually happened is that petermk7 made his proxy bid at 19:08 PDT. Until then quintanillaclaudia's bid of $80 was the highest bid and so (assuming - I haven't checked - the bid increment was $2.50) when petermk7 made his bid it appeared as $82.50. quintanillaclaudia obviously believes that so long as s/he is the highest bidder at all times duing the auction s/he will win, and so kept bidding the minimum amount possible in the expectation that eventually s/he would exceed petermk7's bid.

We don't know what petermk7's bid actually was but eventually quintanillaclaudia ran out of time, having pushed the bidding up to $153.50!

This is a magnificent example of proxy bid nickel-and-diming. It's also a great reason for bidding your max before you run out of time.

If I were petermk7 I'd be ticked off at quintanillaclaudia, both for running me up and for the way she did it. I'd probably go check out what else she was bidding on and bump her up an increment on everything I could find. (I wouldn't bump her up more than one increment because she's obviously geared to one at a time and I might wind up owning something I didn't want.)

Come to think of it, if it was something I wanted my vengeance would be awful. I'd get into a proxy war with her and let her think she won, then snipe her at the end with less than 21 seconds remaining. It'd be worth the extra expense just to visualize her face when she saw herself outbid at the bitter end...seemingly by one increment.

11.

[This message was edited by Steve on June 24, 2003 at 06:17 AM.]

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Originally posted by Steve:
If I were petermk7 I'd be ticked off at quintanillaclaudia, both for running me up and for the way she did it. I'd probably go check out what else she was bidding on and bump her up an increment on everything I could find. (I wouldn't bump her up more than one increment because she's obviously geared to one at a time and I might wind up owning something I didn't want.)

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Barry,

I'm going to disagree with Steve on this one. If I were peternik, I wouldn't waste my time on revenge. Spending your time seeking revenge is: 1) a waste of time; 2) waste of money; 3) increases your stress; 4) if you do this, you'll be labeled a "stalker". The obsession with revenge, in my opinion, is not something one should do on ebay, and actually, anywhere.

peternik7 made a mistake by leaving such a high proxy bid. I'm sure the seller appreciates what these to two nutty people did, but, perhaps peternik7, and others, will learn from this.

peternik7, also looks like he has deep-pockets, so this nibbler probably is of no concern to him. In fact, it might make the whole experience more entertaining (competition can be fun).

Steve is normally a good source of wise, and reflective council. This seems out of character for him, but perhaps he has other fish to fry.

But, in Steve's defense, his point about bidding you max (hopefully as a snipe), is what we snipers like to pride ourselves on.

quote:

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Originally posted by Steve:
Come to think of it, if it was something I wanted my vengeance would be awful. I'd get into a proxy war with her and let her think she won, then snipe her at the end with less than 21 seconds remaining. It'd be worth the extra expense just to visualize her face when she saw herself outbid at the bitter end...seemingly by one increment.

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Again, this isn't something that would be in your best interest.

Steve;

TeeJay said, "Hey, get a room, you two!" I think that was sound advice, and may be indicative of the feeling shared by others.

If this is another dialogue that we are going to have, I think it might be wise for you to open a new topic in the "eBay, General" forum. That way, we will minimize the disturbance to those that don't know the dynamics, as well as for those that do.


To everyone else:
Don't be concerned. Steve and I are talking about moving to some place else to have a different discussion.

Rick, that wasn't advice. That was just what I'd think about doing. Others may or may not do the same thing.

I'm not moving to anyplace else. These "discussions" are one-sided and pointless. I have better things to do with my time.

10.