Minimum/Reserve Bids to high

Steve, with respect to your first question I guess that's the only way you can handle the situation other than just waiting for the item to be relisted or another one to come along. Hope you don't mind being called a "bottom feeder" or similar epithet when you make inquiry of the seller.

You also asked, "Is there a way I can watch auctions within AS?"

I set the auctions up as snipes on AS with the minimum bid amount set as my snipe bid. That way it's easy to track the auctions just by refreshing the auction information from time to time.

No I don't mind being called a bottom feeder - maybe I should change my username to that

But I know what the things I bid on are worth, since I've been collecting them for a long time. In addition, there is even a catalog of values for the items that when a seller gets real mad I can refer to. So I'm not at all unhappy about pissing sellers off - they may just not know what the items are really worth.

That's why I'm not unhappy about losing auctions - no big deal - as Sara B put it in another post, there will always be something else that comes along. I've NEVER seen anything on eBay that I couldn't live without.

As far as entering a snipe for those auctions that I just want to watch, that really doesn't work for me - since I don't want to pay that much for the item. One of the reasons that I use AS is that I travel a lot and just can't be on line when I want to. So if I entered a bid for an item at higher than I want to pay, I may get stuck with it.

BTW - changed usernames, since you hung this moniker on me.

"No I don't mind being called a bottom feeder" - T o S
Why would the seller call you a bottom feeder? You didn't force them to accept your offer. It is a voluntary transaction, which the seller must feel he benefits from, or he wouldn't have accepted your price. It must have also be the best price he thinks he can get for the item.

"they may just not know what the items are really worth." - T o S
That HAS to be the case. In an auction as big as ebay, if the seller's reserve isn't reached, than something like 50 million people don't think it's worth it. And that's including people with more money than brains. So, I'd say your right, other than I might drop the "may".

Grasshopper

Couldn't agree with you more, but I'm never surprised when sellers get so excited about me offering a lower price. If it was worth more, I'm sure that someone would have bought it.

Also like you said - there are thousands of people that will bid more than it's worth. Who I like dealing with are those sellers that really do know the value of the item they are selling. If they want to post it at a higher minimum, and they get it - great, more power to them. But if they don't, they are always willing to take my more reasonable offer. After all, what are thier options, relist the item and hope that someone new sees it, or keep it.

I had one seller that relisted the item three times, before she sold it to me for the price that it was worth. If she had gotten more, fine - but there was just now way she was going to get twice what it was worth - and no big surprise to me when she didn't.

Rick, I was referring to the sellers who refuse to take a lower price for something that didn't sell on eBay. Some of them get downright abusive over a simple offer to purchase for a more reasonable price. I agree with both you and "the other Steve" (bless his heart) that there's no logical reason why a seller should react that way. Some of them just do.

I'm from Alabama, I know what bless his heart means........

I'll bite. What does it mean?

Grasshopper

OK - I'll share a southern secret (this from someone born south of the Manson/Nixon - rasied north, then moved back south as fast as I could)

True southernerns are way to polite to ever say something bad about someone. Now this presents a problem, because often that's exactly what they are thinking.

So sotherners came up with the phrase "Bless his/her Heart".

Now this is how it works, first you say something that on the surface seems like it could be positive - for example - he tries really hard.

Next, you add "Bless his Heart" - so it ends up - He tries really hard, bless his heart. Which sounds OK on the surface

Now, having lived in both the north and the south, I can translate this into yankee. A yankee, who wouldn't hesitate to say something bad about someone, would say -

He couldn't do it if his life depended on it. He's a ****ing idiot.

Now, that's what the southerer was thinking - but doesn't "bless his heart" sound much more polite.

Now you know - and I apologize to all southerners that are mad at me for providing this translation.

I was born and raised south of the ole M-D Line, but I meant no slur in my use of "bless his heart". I was genuinely sympathetic because you felt the need to change your Forum name and blamed me for having to do so. It seems that everything I do around here is taken the wrong way and I'm beginning to wonder if it's deliberate.

T o S - Thanks for the meaning.

Steve - I can't speak for others, but I've put a few lame posts because I read your reply too quickly. So, for myself, it's not deliberate. I need to be more thorough.

Grasshopper

I wasn't speaking to you, Rick. I want what's-his-face to know that if I want to tell him where to get off, I'll do it in language everybody will understand, not in some sort of "Confederate Code". I've had it up to here with phony psychoanalysts who want to pin one ulterior motive or another on a straightforward and well-intended comment.

I was just having fun with an expression that I really like - "Bless his Heart"

Sorry if my comments were taken the wrong way -

I'll try not to offend Steve again, Bless his Heart

Also changed my username just for fun - at least I was having fun with it.

I was enjoying this exchange back and forth. Everyone was playing so nice, then suddenly something went awry. Let's go back to nice-nice.

I was enjoying it as well - just trying to have some fun.

Glad you enjoyed it.