2. misc-audio
  3. 982724166

Ethics of last minute auction "poaching"

I was just involved in an auction that left a bad taste in my mouth. I had the high bid on an item for over 2 days and
literally in the last 60 seconds of auction a "poacher" came
out trying to sneak in a last minute bid in to win the auction. This caused the price to rise from $160 to $280 which I still won, but this seems underhanded to me. Attempting to win by last minute sneak attack! If you are interested in bidding on an item it seems common fairness to other members to come out in the open and not make your first bid with 60 seconds of auction ending! I know this is not outlawed, but ticks me off.....anyone else experience this?
128x128megasam

Showing 5 responses by angela100

angela100
435 posts
 
I think that auctions are all about strategy, judgement and discipline.

If a bidder hasn't made a clear decision about what they are willing to pay BEFORE they bid, then they get what they get.
Proxy bidding enables this. Bid what you are willing to pay.

I think that Audiogon's OT gives a better sense of fair play to bidders that may want to feel the excitement (or the PAIN) of bidding real time. I think that it can definitely help the sellers as well.

It's the nature of the beast. All's fair in love, war and auctions.
angela100
435 posts
 
Right on, Sean on all points you have made.

Last minute bids - the competition - is the nature of auctions.

Offering a set price and someone responding with a yes/no - is the nature of classifieds.

Megasam, maybe the classifieds are a better fit for your style of purchasing. The auctions may be proving to be too much of a hassle, and once something is a hassle-it's not so fun anymore - and isn't that why we do all this? to enjoy it?
angela100
435 posts
 
on Ebay, there have been cases of people in *cahoots* with one another. A partner bidding the auction up (kinda like 3 card monty on the streets of NY). It's all *scam artist* shenanigans. If found out, these people are removed from registration (in otherwords, kicked out on their.... duffs)
angela100
435 posts
 
Proxy with OT gets my vote
angela100
435 posts
 
ruptured@me.com (ouch!) that's called *shill bidding*, now we're talking unethical.
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