Epay questions

Hi Folks,

I browse epay sometimes in search of information or to see whats in there and sometimes when I see several bidders have bid, I check ... and I notice a couple of things I don't get .. was hoping someone could explain.

1) Frequently I see repeated same bidder outbidding self : Is this maybe a problem with people being impatient thinking their post didn't take and they keep hitting the submit and unintentionally ending up outbidding themselves? Or is it a seller trying to jack up the bids?

2) I notice lots of bidders list names have a lot of asterisks in their handles instead of alphabet letters. The first think that comes to mind is mischief makers and that these aren't legit bidders ... can anyone explain the asterisks ID's?

Thanks

[cletrac (RIP)]

If a bidder bids $10 on an item with a starting bid of $1 it will show as a $1 bid. If someone else then bids $5 it will show that first bidder has a $5 bid. If you click where it says show automatic bids you'll figure it out easier.
The bunch of asterisks are used by ebay to hide the users id on ebay motors and likely some other places too.

Thanks a lot David, and I'll definately check out the automatic bids area.

Great to know that the "outbidding self" is not mischief
Also good to know about the asterisks not about mischiefmakers

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Vets Dottir 2nd

Hi Folks,

I browse epay sometimes.. was hoping someone could explain.

1) Frequently I see repeated same bidder outbidding self : Is this maybe a problem with people being impatient thinking their post didn't take and they keep hitting the submit and unintentionally ending up outbidding themselves? Or is it a seller trying to jack up the bids?

Thanks

This tends to happen a bit where the SELLER has set a reserve, for hypothetical sakes, we'll say $100. A tentative buyer comes along and sees an item with a starting price of $10 (reserve not met). He bids $10, but doesn't meet the reserve. He tries $20, but still no luck. What the heck, bid $50, but still doesn't meet the reserve. At that point , he decides that the item is not for him and goes elsewhere. The item is still at $50, but that buyer is not winning as the seller has chosen a reserve price which must be met before the item will sell.

So the bidders DO outbid themselves, at every rejection, up to the point
of MAX of what they are willing to part with for the item ... cool ... thanks for
explaining that all to me Tony. I think Ma Yappy is getting it now

I can see how an undisclosed reserve can hook in bidders to at least start in the running and get the the competitive spirit happening ..............................

I've been spending tons of time the last couple or so day in money info and collectors sites and checking out the Canadian coins and paper money action in epay ... even joined a serious collectors forum and am learning all sorts of neat things. One thing is I won't just look at the face value of money so I don't shortchange or get shortchanged anymore ... I'll check out not only the serial numbers but also the bill/coin and everything about it.

Amazing how often I get older perfectly crisp and brand new looking 20's in my wads of cash from bank machines, and I go "Oh look. Ever neat" and spend it not thinking twice ... that face value $20 I passed on ... who knows, could have been worth HUNDREDS and maybe more. I kid you not!

I'm learning the money stuff and how to spot and recognize special things that add value and hopefully will be able to assess/grade proper values soon etc. I'm having fun in that forum and learning something new ... like MLU is great people and education and has been a learning curve for me, this other forum another kind of learning curve with people who know their stuff, like you folks do, and guide new people

Do any of you in here collect money? (I know you're all big spenders on blitz bits so probably are broke though because you spend your old money on old vehicles )

IF any of you have any CANADIAN coins or paper money, especially the paper, and want to find out if it's worth more than face value or what it might be worth, if you send me a PM or an email and tell me what you've got, I'll try and find out it's value it for you and if it's sought after by collectors and maybe I can even connect you with a buyer if you want to sell. Whatever. This all as a random act of kindness on my part to you/whoever MLU-ers as a way for me to both contribute back to MLUers and as a way for me to actively practice and learn this stuff.

Now, I'm tired ... free flow yappityyapyapyap ... I'm done!

[Paul Singleton]

Originally Posted by Vets Dottir 2nd

Hi Folks,

2) I notice lots of bidders list names have a lot of asterisks in their handles instead of alphabet letters. The first think that comes to mind is mischief makers and that these aren't legit bidders ... can anyone explain the asterisks ID's?

Thanks

As for the asterisks in the user names, Ebay does that to hide the identity from scam artists. There is a problem (nigerian scams come to mind) when a high priced item doesn't meet the reserve and the high bidder is contacted by email by someone posing as the seller with an offer to sell at a reduced price. The person sends the money and gets nothing in return then he finds he has been the victim of a scam artist.

Paul

Thanks Paul. And Geez ... some people are just plain rotten, aren't they?
Can't get away from the scammers and spammers

[Jon Skagfeld]

Originally Posted by Vets Dottir 2nd

So the bidders DO outbid themselves, at every rejection, up to the point
of MAX of what they are willing to part with for the item ... cool ... thanks for
explaining that all to me Tony. I think Ma Yappy is getting it now

I can see how an undisclosed reserve can hook in bidders to at least start in the running and get the the competitive spirit happening ..............................

I've been spending tons of time the last couple or so day in money info and collectors sites and checking out the Canadian coins and paper money action in epay ... even joined a serious collectors forum and am learning all sorts of neat things. One thing is I won't just look at the face value of money so I don't shortchange or get shortchanged anymore ... I'll check out not only the serial numbers but also the bill/coin and everything about it.

Amazing how often I get older perfectly crisp and brand new looking 20's in my wads of cash from bank machines, and I go "Oh look. Ever neat" and spend it not thinking twice ... that face value $20 I passed on ... who knows, could have been worth HUNDREDS and maybe more. I kid you not!

I'm learning the money stuff and how to spot and recognize special things that add value and hopefully will be able to assess/grade proper values soon etc. I'm having fun in that forum and learning something new ... like MLU is great people and education and has been a learning curve for me, this other forum another kind of learning curve with people who know their stuff, like you folks do, and guide new people

Do any of you in here collect money? (I know you're all big spenders on blitz bits so probably are broke though because you spend your old money on old vehicles )

IF any of you have any CANADIAN coins or paper money, especially the paper, and want to find out if it's worth more than face value or what it might be worth, if you send me a PM or an email and tell me what you've got, I'll try and find out it's value it for you and if it's sought after by collectors and maybe I can even connect you with a buyer if you want to sell. Whatever. This all as a random act of kindness on my part to you/whoever MLU-ers as a way for me to both contribute back to MLUers and as a way for me to actively practice and learn this stuff.

Now, I'm tired ... free flow yappityyapyapyap ... I'm done!

Hey, Karmann Ghia...Where the hell were you about 5 months ago when I decided to unload a whole bunch of Cdn coins?

Included were Canada Goose Silver Dollars, 1943 Tombac nickles, Industry nickles, 1967 Centennial coinage sets.

As it turned out, I got a fair buck for them...but...coulda been more?

(Where the hell is the "Compose" button so I can see the whole gamut of smilies?)

Originally Posted by Jon Skagfeld

Hey, Karmann Ghia...Where the hell were you about 5 months ago when I decided to unload a whole bunch of Cdn coins?

I was where I always am almost literally 24/7/365 - tucked in my apartment.

As to your coins, I've only been browsing and learning about Canadian coins and paper money in the last couple/3 days so I wouldn't have had a clue as to values for you then and don't know much yet at all, nor could I have bought anything.

Those Tombacs I think, in spite of the historic commemorativeness, aren't worth much at all in terms of "money value" - Kinda sad, that

I don't know how much you got for your goodies so don't know if you got a good price or not. If you feel pretty happy and like you weren't ripped off. then you probably did good? I could try and find out the current going
"standard values estimates" if you wanted me to, just for the heck of it.

I think money collectors are about as nuts as old army vehicle collectors ... it seems that they get hooked hard and forever and if they want something bad enough they'll offer and/or pay more, sometimes WAY WAY more, than going standards. It's fascinating learning what people collect and why ... wow!

(Where the hell is the "Compose" button so I can see the whole gamut of smilies?)

You can't see all 36 smilies in the box at right of the compose screen, only room for 26? to show at a time methinks ... BUT ... when you have a compose reply/post window up, look at the top of the compose box at all the options, and you will see a SMILIE face ... that will show you a dropdown menu of smiles, scroll to the bottom of that list to "see all smiles" (whatever) and click ... a new box should pop up showing all 36 of them ... take your pic.

A pain to have to go through all of that just to get at them all ... but it's that or learn how to type them in manually using the keyboard. Until and unless all 36 smilies can be made to show beside the compose box, we're kinda stuck doing it the long way

Longwinded as ever, I am, I am

Karmann Ghia

[sapper740]

Having bought a few (few?) items on ebay over the years I've learned a couple of strategies that have both helped me be successful in winning auctions and not paying more than I have to.
Most important of all is be a Sniper! If you constantly bid, bid, bid, on an item during the course of the auction you are tipping your hand that you are closely watching that item and therefore want it badly. That will lead to Collusion bidding (more on that later) and will only serve to keep other bidders who also want that item on their toes. Further, the Ego bidders, those who have the need for their name in lights will constantly outbid you, thereby driving the price up.
Rules for successful Sniping: get to the auction 10 minutes before it closes and check on bids to see if there are any "players". If there are no players, don't relax as there may still be other Snipers lurking nearby. Constantly hit the Refresh button to see if there are any last minute bids beyond what you are willing to pay. You also want to hit the refresh button to insure that your computer's internal clock and that of the website's are synchronized. What!, you say? Yes, it happens. I've missed out a few items when I've left the computer, knowing that there is still 6 minutes left on the auction, been gone three minutes by the clock, and arrive back to find the auction has ended. I don't know if ebay does this on purpose occasionally to thwart sniping, but it does happen. Stay by the screen and watch the remaining time on the auction. How late do you wait before you "pull the trigger"? depends on your internet connection. If you have a dial-up modem, you will need to bid earlier than someone with a cable modem. Rough rule of thumb: 8-10 seconds before end of auction with a dial-up, 2-3 seconds with cable. It's critical that you bid as late as possible as there will be other bidders refreshing the auction site to see if they still have the winning bid. You don't want to give them enough time to raise their bid. Of course, if their maximum bid is greater than yours, this won't help.
Collusion bidding: It's OK to contact the seller during the auction if you need more information about the article, just don't gush about the item. Don't give him any idea of how badly you may want his stuff. If the seller thinks you got to have his item at any price, then that's what you'll pay, any price! Sellers have been known to get a friend to bid up their item, knowing that you will outbid them 'cause you gots to have it! Trust me, I know whereof I speak.
Having said all that, ebay is an excellent resource for the collector. Yes, too many people are bidding too much for a lot of the stuff for sale, but now and then some items come up for auction that just can't be found anywhere else. Case in point: I bought a brand new, still in the bag and complete with tent pins (pegs) Woods of Canada 1942 manufactured Circular tent. reproductions of this tent sell for between $750.00 and $900.00 without pins, I bought all with shipping included for $485.00!!! Deal of the century. So while many people decry ebay and the prices paid, I still enjoy checking out the auctions and with a few simple precautions successfully bid on many items. Derek.

Thanks a lot for all the great advice regards the auctions, Derek. Much appreciate it, as it's good to know how things operate and have some pointers, although myself, I won't be able to be selling, which really bites. Unless of course I come across some great good fortune and find a coin or paper bill, or any other "item" folks will pay gazillions for, then that would buy my freedom and I wouldn't have to go backwards and pay expenses/costs twice every time I sold something. I can buy though, and that wouldn't effect me except by how much I spend

I've just been visiting epay to see what things are being flogged and for how much things go. Educational

Better check your US coppers folks ... a penny, 1955 error double punched is at US $1,723.55 and 30 bids with just over an hour left to go ...

http://cgi.ebay.com/1955-55-Lincoln-...QQcmdZViewItem

Yikes ... auction ended at $1750 to seriouscoins big winner/big spender!

I'm gonna hafta find me one-a those coppers