Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler
Yes, the seller only gets what the SECOND HIGHEST bidder is willing to pay (plus an insignificant increment). As opposed to a normal auction (house auction, disposal auction, clearing sale, etc.) where the seller gets what the HIGHEST bidder is willing to pay. There's often a big difference on ebay - I'm sure we've all bought items for considerably less than our maximum bid.
Obviously when someone makes an phone offer he'll have to pay what he offers, but the fact remains he's at a huge advantage over ebay bidders, because he's the only one conveying his maximum bid to the seller. In practice the seller has no idea what ebay bidders are willing to pay until the final few minutes/seconds of the auction. The strong temptation therefore is to accept the phone offer - a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
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Tony,
I am not sure what your point is? Ebay's maximum bid is like setting a (mental) threshold for oneself. In a real live auction I think one sets his/her maximum and bids in the auctions increments, and not by bidding the maxumum amount one is willing to pay? If you are willing to pay say $1,000 for an item, and bidding starts at 250 going up 50 at each bid, you are not standing up and shout "$1,000!" when the bidding halts at $750?
As for phone bids: as you say, a seller on ebay is entitled to withdraw before the end of the sale. So it is not a phone bid during a real live auction, but simply a seller withdrawing his item from the auction. Because he has second thoughts, or because he has sold it via another channel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler
In the interests of stamping out the practice of phone bidding I'm happy to name and shame the individual concerned
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I don't think it is up to you to name and shame an individual because
you think the practice is wrong - at least not on this forum. I have therefore edited your original posting deleting the name and price.
E-mail me if you wish to discuss this further. Thank you.
Regards,
Hanno
MLU Administrator & Moderator