posted on February 3, 2002 07:15:44 PM
Now that we are paying for BIN. Will it still disappear at the first bid, or will it stay put to the end? If we have to pay for it now it should stay right to the end. And not disappear unless a proxy bid passes it! What do you think?
posted on February 3, 2002 07:25:10 PM
According to eBay:
If the first buyer bids on your item the Buy It Now price disappears and the item will sell through the normal auction process. A "Buy It Now no longer available" message will appear at the end of your listings page.If the auction has a reserve, the BIN icon and message will not disappear until after "reserve" has been met.
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Buyers told us that a Buy It Now price that disappeared after bidding started would force them to make a decision about your item earlier.
[ edited by kahml on Feb 3, 2002 07:26 PM ]
posted on February 3, 2002 08:20:25 PM
Ok, so if, in your proposal, the BIN doesn't disappear until after somebody places a higher proxy bid, would the auction simply close at the BIN price to whoever it was that was willing to pay more than the BIN price? Or would bidding continue as it does now after the BIN disappears?
posted on February 3, 2002 08:34:05 PM
You know Now! Someone can place a bid that is higher than the BIN and it doesn't end the auction. Just the BIN. As it is now the BIN disappears at a minimum bid. I feel it should stay at least till someone places a bid proxy or any kind of bid that exceeds the BIN. That way there's always a chance of getting a better dollar for your item.
posted on February 3, 2002 08:37:10 PM
So if that's the case, why would any bidder willing to pay more than the BIN price bid higher than the BIN? Wouldn't they simply snag it at the BIN price in order to avoid a bidding war? I know I would.
posted on February 3, 2002 08:50:21 PM
OK: What you say is correct, and makes sense!
BUT,I have had numerous bidder's place a minimum bid that made the BIN disappear! And in the end they won the item by paying more than the BIN! Make any sense No, But it happens. Go Figure! I just feel that the BIN should not disappear till after the computer is told that some one is willing to pay at least that much if not more.
Just my opinion!
posted on February 3, 2002 09:08:24 PM
There are people out there that are willing to pay more than the BIN they just don't want to jump on it and pay top dollar if they don't have to. They are willing to take a chance they may get it for less. If the BIN stayed put and the auction started to approach the BIN they could use it as a last minute way to grab the item before someone else did! It would make them happy, and it would make me happy. They got the item, I got what I wanted and the auction ended sooner.Meaning I get paid sooner. It would work!
posted on February 3, 2002 09:20:31 PM
That happens to me too, and it does make sense. The bidder places a lowball bid to squash the BIN in the hopes of getting a bargain. But then their strategy backfires as a bidding war ensues, driving the price above the original BIN. But if the BIN were to NOT disappear, then the outcome would be quite different and predictable: As the bidding drives the price up, one of the bidders realizes that things could get out of hand fast, and places the BIN, eliminating the competition but also effectively putting a cap on what the auction brings.
Another drawback would be that the presence of the BIN would effectively broadcast the current high bidder's bid - the competition will always know that that bid is somewhere between the current bid and the BIN. Granted, it's the same as with a reserve price, but the BIN is a different animal altogether from the reserve. Unlike the reserve, the BIN is always a known quantity. And unlike the reserve, bidders know that hitting the BIN means they've won the auction, as opposed to hitting the reserve which just means you might win the auction
I guess it depends on what you're selling. If you're a wholeseller, selling the same thing over and over for about the same price, then it works. If you're selling antiques and collectibles, then you could really be shooting yourself in the foot if you place too low of a BIN. That's already something that happens under the current setup, which is why I don't offer BIN on anything that I'm not certain about. With the disappearing BIN, the auction is sometimes redeemed by the greed of one bidder "stomping" the BIN. Under a non-disappearing BIN, the seller has pretty much guaranteed the maximum that will be made. Maybe it would be best if they offered the choice of both types of BIN systems? Would that be worth the extra nickel?
posted on February 3, 2002 09:42:40 PM
What you say has a lot of merit,and you are right in your way of looking at it. And your idea of a choice would be great! I never use BIN first time around for fear of shooting myself in the foot! Unless I know the item is of low value. But when I do use it the thing I want the most is for someone to use it,to get it over with as soon as possible and to get as much as I think it might be worth.
posted on February 4, 2002 07:17:56 AM
Yahoo allows the BIN to stay after a bid has been made till the BIN price has been reached. They also allow a BIN price on a Dutch Auction and it stays till it's beem met for all of the items.
I see your idea for allowing the BIN to disapper if a proxy bid passes it but that would be way too confusing for bidders and someone could accidently pass the BIN thinking the bidding would stop at the BIN price. eBay is much too confusing as it is.
The BIN price is a fascinating thing really. The other day I bought an odd-looking book at a flea market for 50 cents and researched it on eBay. No current books available but one just like it closed for $11 a few days ago with a few bids. I'm not too greedy so I place it up for $9 with a $12.50 BIN. That should allow any of the other bidders of the first book a shot at buying this book ( same category as previous book ). I got the minimum $9 and the BIN disappears. That's okay as the book only cost me 50 cents. A couple of days pass and the book is at now $27 . I can only suppose the current bidder(s) did not see that the item had a BIN price and arrived after the opening bid, otherwise their gamble at getting the book for less than $12.50 really went wrong.
