posted on February 18, 2002 03:25:12 PM new
I have mixed feelings on using the auto extend feature in my auctions. As a Seller, of course, I want to gather in every bid possible. Then as a Buyer, who likes to snipe, I can see it as a turn-off. I'm on the fence.
Would appreciate your inputs. Do you use it? Pluses & minuses? TNX
posted on February 18, 2002 04:35:53 PM new
In all the thousands of Yahoo auctions that I've ran I have had only a tiny handful of second bids. That's why you have to set your opening price at the minimum price you want on Yahoo. I suspect there is very little sniping at Yahoo.
I avoid the auto re-list function now that listing cost something. That lets a seller rotate his unsold items a bit.
posted on February 18, 2002 05:21:07 PM new
Auto extend doesn't have much use right now because there just aren't that many bids. My feelings are about the same as yours, that's why I don't enable it. Who knows what the future may bring, it's nice to know it's an option.
dendude
posted on February 18, 2002 09:30:37 PM new
When I first started on Yahoo, I somehow ended up with the extension on some of my auctions. I had one that had quite a bit of bidding going on (those were the good days for me) and I was watching the close real close. When it didn't close when it should have I was puzzled. I did end up getting 1 more bid but finally it timed out and the auction closed. The high bidder was as confused as I was. It took me awhile before I realized what had happened.
Then not too long ago I was checking the FB on a seller and they had 1 neg. When I toggled on it to see what it was about, I found it had to do with the auto extension! The buyer who had left the neg made the comment "fraud! I placed my bid the last minute and it should have ended but the seller reset the auction because they didn't get what they wanted". The seller didn't bother to reply. I thought that was so strange but remember how confused my high bidder and I had been when the auction didn't close at the regularily scheduled time.
I make sure now that I do not have the auction set to automatically extend!
I have also noticed (in the past 3 months anyway), I never get last minute bidders and sure wouldn't want to upset any that I might get by making them feel I was trying to milk them for another $!
Of course on the other side of the coin, the early bidder who sets in high place ALL week only to get sniped in the last minute (I can dream can't I). With the auto extension, they at least have a chance to recapture their prize!
Unfortuantely I just don't think most people really understand what it means.
posted on February 19, 2002 12:02:53 AM new
I had forgotten all about the auto extend fuction where bidding continues for a brief while if a bid is made in the last moments. It is too confusing for bidders to see an auction extended because they bid at the last moment. I remember when Yahoo added that because they was such an uproar over sniping. Kind of ironic that a site with few bids has that option while eBay with many last minute bids doesn't have it. What a mess it'd be on eBay.
It sounded good in theory anyway ....
posted on February 19, 2002 03:42:46 PM new
I've never used auto extention on any site. I guess I've always operated on the belief that all things must come to an end at their appointed times. Auto extention merely delays the inevitable and confuses the issue in the process.
posted on February 19, 2002 10:06:07 PM new
Hi nanntique:
I'm sort of glad you choose to post this question. On the auction site that I just started with a couple of friends we have our snipe protection set for closing the auction 5 minutes after the last bid. We thought it was the best way to do it rather than leave it up to the individual poster but now I'm not so sure it should be set at all. I do think after reading a couple of responses here that it might be a bit confusing and cause more problems than it would solve. Looking forward to seeing a few more opinions before we change the setting but it looks like it may have to go.
* http://www.romahawk.com
posted on February 20, 2002 08:41:26 AM new
I remember in late 1998 I was really getting into listing on eBay as a newbie and I got one of those booklets titled "How to Put Your Pictures on eBay" auctions that were very common back then. There was a helpful section on HTML and all of that. The author gave some tips on auctioning and one tip was explaining sniping and at the end of the tip he added something like "Sometimes sniping is good. You'll actually want to be sniped ... if that's the only bid." Meaning you got your minimum price you wanted and wouldn't have to relist. I detested sniping to I was forced to join them as newbie bidders were jacking up prices in bidding wars ( ah, the good old days ) of items I was bidding on. If a veteran bidder set his max proxy the newbies would outbid you. Ah, but if you sniped ( I loved esnipe when it was free ) the newbies would often lose out and I won the item at a much lower price because many newbies felt like they didn't need a proxy bid and would simply outbid any challengers.
I haven't had to snipe in two years now as there are so many items spread among so few bidders that it isn't really necessary any more in most cases. Buy It Nows and more of the same exact items on the coming horizon meant a buyer could usually get their item at a reasonable price and could use proxy bidding again. Except for very rare collectibles, I can not see much need for sniping these days.
posted on February 20, 2002 05:03:53 PM newRomahawk-I personally don't think it's necessarily a bad idea, just a misunderstood one. Like it or not, most "online" bidders are familar with eBay and I think they just expect all auctionsites to be just like eBay!
If both buyers and sellers are clear on what exactly happens with auto-extension there probably would be no problems.
I think it would need to be explained in a prominent location though, say on the homepage not a little blurp buried in the "tutorial" sections since I really don't think anyone reads those. Howerver, if it's the first thing you see and it is being touted as the "way-to-go for the closest thing to a "real live auctionhouse auction", it might just become a fun thing for bidders to do! Of course, with the auto-extension I think it would be wiser to run shorter auctions after the concept caught on. Don't want to lose anyone anxious to get into the furror of last minute bidding if they have to wait 10 days to do it!
