mlevin
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posted on March 11, 2001 02:22:15 PM
as a follow up to the new vrane virtual reserve situation... are you allowed to end an auction if the bids don't get high enough? I didn't think you could.
vrane claims its a service to enable you to end the auction if its not high enough -- but I thought, you're stuck to where the bid is regardless...
has anyopne ended their auction early because the bids didn't get high enough?
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dman3
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posted on March 11, 2001 02:29:23 PM
I sure havent I love lots of bids on my items but one bid on an item is enough for me.
My goal is to sell my items I list them at what im willing to sell for and let then go if I end an item with bids canceling bids and closeing out earily it cheats me and the buyer out of the sale I had going.
im not into greed or reserves start the bid at what your willing to take and let them go after you close so many earily people will start to get upset and stop veiwing your listings alltogeather then you will have no bids at all.
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
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engelskdansk
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posted on March 11, 2001 02:30:25 PM
The policy of ending auctions early because you don't like the bids is, quite frankly, a waste of time (and a sign that one should think about forgo-ing an auction environment). Set a price you can be happy with under the assumption it might not get bid on. Or use a reserve. Any other means of dealing with an auction that is going bidless is unprofessional to say the least.
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pharlap
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posted on March 11, 2001 02:31:12 PM
You can end an auction for any reason (or no reason) at all. This is ok by Ebay. Just make sure you remember to cancel the bids first!
I personally wouldn't do it though. I always have my starting bid at the minimum I'd be happy with for the item...
JMHO
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thepriest
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posted on March 11, 2001 02:35:43 PM
good question...
but, I don't think you'll find many who admit to ending their auctions in the last half-hour.
However, I've had it happen to me many, many times.
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mlevin
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posted on March 11, 2001 02:37:34 PM
I'm in agreement on being up-front with my auctions -- I've done both -- listed at an acceptable price with no reserve and done responable openings with reserves to cover my costs but... I'm not experiencing high enough sell-through so I thought this might be another option -- the psychological element of selling an item without a reserve cannot be ignored
...rather than debate the merits of the service offered by vrane I'm curious as to their ability to do the following: (quoted from their site...)
" Virtual Reserve program will attempt to bid your auction just before it ends. NOTE no actual bid will be placed.
If the amount you enter is acceptable to your auction then all bids will be cancelled and your auction ended. " -- from vrane site
How are you able to "attempt a bid" without actually bidding to reveal what your other bidders are willing to bid?????
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pharlap
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posted on March 11, 2001 02:49:28 PM
mlevin,
I also find that part confusing. Maybe they meant to say "check" your bidding. I think that they should take that paragraph out as it's just confusing and untrue...
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vvalhalla
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posted on March 11, 2001 05:56:35 PM
The program could bid the minimum amount you want for the item. If that amount is too low the program would know that the hidden reserve had been met and discontinue the bid. If that amount is accepted as high enough the program could choose not to place the bid and then remove the bidders and close the auction.
A cheap alternative to spending the money for a higher listing and reserve fees. Just one more shady character entering the auction community.
dennis
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mlevin
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posted on March 11, 2001 06:08:39 PM
thanks vvalhalla...the piece I'm missing is how can a person or a bot like vrane -- place a bid to reveal the auction environment WITHOUT actually submitting a bid? I thought the only way to reveal whether you've hit the reserve or not was actually to hit that 'SUBMIT' button. ???
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jerseylily
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posted on March 11, 2001 06:34:53 PM
mlevin,
I THINK the way it would work...say you tell the vrane bot that the minimum you would take is 19.95. come the last hour, the actual bid on the auction is setting at 19.50 (even though the bidder may have bid more), the auction attempts to bid 19.95, it allows it to move to the next screen where the place bid icon is, and the bot ends the auction after canceling bids. same scenario, but the current bid is 20.30, and the bot trys to enter 19.95, the ebay machine puts up the screen: something wrong with bid amount,a nd the auction continues to close.
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mlevin
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posted on March 11, 2001 06:49:20 PM
jerseylily,
I wasn't aware that a different screen is shown after you submit a bid request (and prior to you confirming) -- depending on whether or not your bid beats a bid or reaches past a reserve -- all this prior to actually submiting a valid bid...
that sounds like a design flaw -- although, I may be just missing the boat on this one!
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wbmodrrsupaolcom
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posted on March 11, 2001 09:14:54 PM
I don't see the wisdom in killing an auction early, I know a lot of the items I sell only get bid on till the last day or 2, sometimes going sky high in the last few hours, many people including myself do our buying by checking the "ending today" listings for our favorite categories. Who has time to sift through 10,000 listings. Just my 2 cents
James
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