posted on June 28, 2006 08:09:28 AM
Idly looking at an auction of mine that's going to end in about 20 minutes and could go quite high, I thought:
Wouldn't it be great if the high bidder had FIVE MINUTES to PayPal me the payment for this piece and if she didn't, the auction could continue until the next bid?
If you consider the end of an auction this way, you realize that Second Chance offers to underbidders are just LAME. How many times have you been aced out on some object by a sniper, leaving you pounding your desk in frustration? "I would have paid MORE than that!"
Meg's gonna love this because this type of rolling end would result in higher prices. And only PayPal-only auctions would be eligible. Bidder interest would be sharpened because that last-minute snipe that shuts you out isn't final any more...not until payment is received.
posted on June 28, 2006 08:18:38 AM
I'm not sure why payment would have to be received so quickly. With your method, all the action would have to take place at the last minute, so why have a 7 or 10 day auction at all? Everyone hoping to win the thing would have to be watching right there at the end. why not just do a LIVE auction?
As a better solution, I like the way YAHOO auctions does it:
If there is a bid within the last five minutes of the auction, the end of the auction gets bumped up by five more minutes. If there is another bid in that five minutes, it gets extended again and so on. People have plenty of time to keep bidding in the last minutes of the auction. There is no sniping.
I don't really have a problem with snipers, but I think if eBay adopted this approach, it would be better for sellers than the current system.
Dr. Arcane, revelator of mystical secrets http://www.drarcane.com
Got questions about the secrets of the universe?
posted on June 28, 2006 08:23:37 AM
I think I remember reading (was it here or somplace else?) that the reason ebay doesn't extend auctions til bidding stops is that the sellers would have to have auctioneers' licenses in some states to conduct these types of transactions. True?
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posted on June 28, 2006 08:27:04 AM
Question for FLuff:: So what happens when your proxy bid is $100, you go into the final seconds and you're the high bidder at $50. Someone snipes you at $102.50. So if she/he doesn't pay in five minutes, your bid of $50 still stands, correct? Most of my snipes are executed when I'm away from the computer without access and thus inability to pay (I know I can do this with a cell phone now, but that's pushing it). I'm sure there's something here I'm not understanding.
Dr.: That sounds agonizing! How long can these go on??? I would have to do prozak both as a bidder and seller.
posted on June 28, 2006 08:27:51 AM I'm not sure why payment would have to be received so quickly.
Because if the person who wins my doohickey auction flakes (or takes two weeks to pay) and this is something I have some substantial amount of cash investment in, I lose.
Getting *some* of your fees refunded doesn't make up for the lost opportunity. The opportunity loss is HUGE.
Look, when you have an item up for auction, there are qualified buyers interested in it who are ready to buy. This is the PERFECT situation in which to sell! It doesn't get any better than this.
But the auction ends. Everyone except the high bidder heaves a sigh, groans and walks away. And you, the seller, are left with a nameless, faceless "customer" who may or may not pay.
My proposed method combines the best of Buy It Now with an auction. You get near-instant payment, and you get the opportunity to watch prices soar.
posted on June 28, 2006 08:59:26 AM
If you're mostly just concerned about getting paid, then why not change eBay so that funds are instantly, automatically, transferred from the buyer's Paypal account to the sellers?
If you buy something on Half.com, they charge you instantly, so eBay already has the technology to do it. They already have an option to require instant payment on fixed price items, so why not auctions too?
Dr. Arcane, revelator of mystical secrets http://www.drarcane.com
Got questions about the secrets of the universe?
posted on June 28, 2006 09:06:34 AMIf you're mostly just concerned about getting paid, then why not change eBay so that funds are instantly, automatically, transferred from the buyer's Paypal account to the sellers?
I'd settle for that if I had to.
What happens, though, if the poor widdle bidder doesn't have sufficient funds to pay for the auction?
posted on June 28, 2006 09:29:56 AM
Since they currently check that the buyer HAS a Paypal account, so as to restrict buyers who don't have a Paypal account or require instant payment, then it's only a small step to check that they have a sufficient balance to cover their bid.
Dr. Arcane, revelator of mystical secrets http://www.drarcane.com
Got questions about the secrets of the universe?
posted on June 28, 2006 10:19:04 AM
It's my understanding that it works that way now with BIN requiring instant paypal payments. If the balance isn't there or they don't have a credit card to apply it to the listing remains intact?
I don't sell on Yahoo anymore (does anyone?) but the auto extension was one of my favorite options.
posted on June 29, 2006 10:14:07 AM
I like the automatic extension idea; if it were that much of a legal problem, Yahoo would probably not do it.
To further up the action level, I would like to see an option where an auction would automatically end if no bids were received by a certain date/time. This would be set by seller, and not be shown to viewers, basically like when a live auctioneer "passes" an item that doesn't get an reasonable opening bid.
But aside from these enhancements, one reason for lackluster bidding action is the number of items that should be fixed price listings instead of auctions.
posted on July 6, 2006 07:04:43 PM
Sounds good. Don't know how many times I've found a dozen or more watching an item and then in the last minute someone sneaks in an underslung bid. The "require immediate payment" is worthless, buyers simply don't bid on those items, or at least they don't on ours.
posted on July 7, 2006 10:23:25 AM
I've had success with requiring immediate payment. It takes ammunition away from malicious bidders. I try to price these things temptingly rather than at my dream price. I expect that fully 1/4 of my items will be BIN immediate payment before long.
BTW, the auction that prompted the original post? The winner did pay...9 days later. I think sometimes bidders feel entirely too secure.
fLufF
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[ edited by fluffythewondercat on Jul 7, 2006 10:24 AM ]
