posted on January 21, 2001 12:18:14 AM
A bidder on an auction that i'm not winning (I gave up entirely on that auction after 10 seperate bids, all because of his proxy) e-mailed me, and told me his reserve, which was a penny away from the current bid.
I can't find the item elsewhere, and I can wait for another auction.
I'm just wondering if I should bid, or is this a case of bidder's remorse to me, and not the seller?
:\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
posted on January 21, 2001 12:52:08 AM
OK, its close to 3:00AM here so humor me. Did someone bidding against you tell you their proxy, or did the seller email you their reserve. Sorry, but I'm not following this too well.
posted on January 21, 2001 03:10:27 AM
Perhaps I am missing something, but how would bidding on this get YOU into trouble? It could be buyers remorse and it could be a shill; whatever, if you want the item, go ahead and bid and if not, don't. Regardless, I would not acknowledge the email one way or the other.
posted on January 21, 2001 08:18:46 AM
JMHO, I wouldn't touch it. Sounds too much like shilling. Don't be surprised if after the auction ends the seller emails you telling you the high bidder backed out and offers it to you.
Teresa [email protected]
posted on January 21, 2001 08:53:43 AM
What possible reason would a bidder have to send a competitor bidder an e-mail that says:
"Hi, the bidding is up to $63.51 and I'm the high bidder. I just wanted to let you know that my proxy bid is $63.52 so if you bid just one more time you'll be the high bidder."
Does this really need an explanation?
The bidder is telling you something: that he's the seller shilling his own auction.
posted on January 21, 2001 10:42:20 AM
My guess would be bidder's remorse. He probably found something else he wants, and rather than cancel his bid, is hoping you will up your bid and let him off the hook. I don't know what kind of $$$ we're talking about here, but it seems an awful lot of effort to shill like this for one bid increment.
posted on January 21, 2001 10:50:20 AM
I'm with Greg! If he/she legitimately (sp?) wanted out, then all he has to do is retract his bid. The fact that he's contacting you in lieu of doing the logical thing is suspicious to me. I tend to be paranoid, though. But there is no logical, upstanding reason that the other bidder would contact you...???
posted on January 21, 2001 10:55:24 AM
It does seem like alot of effort, but Crystalline place 10 bids before finally giving up. That could make it worth the effort.
Teresa
posted on January 21, 2001 11:00:22 AM
What I still don't understand is if she wants the item and is willing to pay the next bid, how is that going to get her into trouble? She mentioned that there is not another one up for bid.
posted on January 21, 2001 11:07:14 AM
I'd look up sellers other auctions, and the buyers other auctions that he's bidding on and see if you notice any suspicions.
posted on January 21, 2001 11:10:26 AM
Well, call me strange if you like [go ahead, I'll wait.........], but I've actually sent a similar e-mail in the past in the same type of situation.
Basically, I had placed what I thought was a ridiculously high proxy bid for an item, sure that nobody would come close to it. and then some zero feedback newbie started bidding against me, each time placing the smallest bid possible in an effort to pay the least amount possible. If I remember correctly, the person bid 10 times before finally giving up. The thing was, he had driven the bid price up to within pennies of my proxy bid. Now, don't get me wrong -- I did want the item, and I was willing to pay that much for it. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I could probably find a similar item elsewhere for less, and that I really didn't WANT to pay so much for it [even though I was WILLING to]. Plus, I kinda felt bad for the other bidder, having come so close and all.
Now, we all know that retracting a bid solely for bidder's remorse is against ebay's rules, so that wasn't an option for me. Instead, I did what the bidder in Crystalline_Sliver's case did. I e-mailed the other bidder, told him that he was within pennies of my high bid, and that if he wanted the item all it would take is one more bid.
Sadly, I didn't get a response and ended up winning the item at that price. Maybe he thought I was a shill for the seller or something. Or maybe he had also bid more than he should have and was relieved not to have won at that point. Who knows. My point, though, is that the bidder in this case may not necessarily have nefarious motives for e-mailing Crystalline_Sliver.
Barry
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The opinions expressed above are for comparison purposes only. Your mileage may vary....
posted on January 21, 2001 11:14:32 AM
I'm with quickdraw, if he bids on some of those auctions and usually is not the winning bidder I think he is bumping the bids. I would research their history together.
posted on January 21, 2001 01:25:44 PM
First off, i'm a He, not a She.
As for me bidding 10 times and giving up, the price jumped from $7.00 to $350. I wanted the item so badly, but his proxy got the better of me, and I quit after 10. Hey, ya gotta know your limits sometimes folks and admit defeat. There will always be another auction, and I can wait.
As for the bidder, I e-mailed him if he had bidder's remorse, then back out. Nothing suspicious is linking the two; seller is working from a Juno Account, 600 positives, no negs or neutrals.
Bidder is at 99, one neutral for late payment. That was 6 months ago. 30 Positives seperate the current auction and the neutral. And he's on a webTV account.
I'm thinking this scenario:
Maybe he was shocked that his proxy got the best of him; he never expected it to go that far and is trying to dump the auction onto me to save face.
That, or he's playing some kinda game onto me.
Either way, I won't try to outbid him. 3 more days to go on the auction....
:\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
), then you will be the high bidder.