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
conductor
3 posts
 
Actually, it is called sniping.
evansdad
26 posts
 
Yes, it is called sniping....I agree, this is just how auctions work megasam, live with it! But, I also agree that the audiogon policy of continuing to extend the auction deadline as long as new bids keep coming in should end, and go with a hard "endtime" just like eBay does. Of course, by having this moving endtime, on average it will lead to higher sale prices, and since audiogon is structured to benefit sellers (and not buyers), well, now you can see why auctions are structured here the way they are.
doug2256
2 posts
 
I believe these people also are the ones who "cut in lines"
so they don't have to wait. When everyone else waited...
Fair? Hardly.
metaphysics
192 posts
 
Actually, it seems to me that many of you are missing the point of the "Proxy Bid" type of auction as seen here and on ebay. If everyone just entered the maximum amount they are willing to pay, then someone will get it for less than that amount. I find it anoying that people bid at the last second not because I may get outbid but because of the lack of understanding how the proxy works. Even if someone outbid me by 1 cent, I can not complain because when I placed my bid I decided that $XX was the maximum I was willing to pay. If you were willing to pay $XX.01, then you should have bid that. If you do not win an auction, it is your own fault. If someone, in the last seconds jacks up the price, you still got the item for less than the max amount you were willing to pay. There is very little grounds for complaint here.
hk2dc40
19 posts
 
All auctions have their rules of game. If the bidder follow the rules then there is no question of Ethics.
It is grossly unfair to someone who happens to find an item of auction to his favour but he is not allowed to bid because the time remaining is less than 60 seconds from the stated auction time.
Megasam, you won the auction at a price you have voluntarily set. What is your complaint?
Do you imply that you are outraged by having to pay $120 more in the last 60 seconds?
Or do you mean that since you have put a bid then no one should bid it in the last 60 seconds?
Do you consider that there will be no ethical issue if someone put in a bid at 61 seconds before auction ends?
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