This is possibly a rant but someone may be able to help this naive stupid
female here.
I have to say I don't like the concept of e bay anyway but I have little
choice .

I want to buy a decorative plate. I tried all the charity shops and auctions
and car boots locally ( I work cant travel forever) and cant find one . I
looked on the internet and I keep being referred to e bay, so in desperation
I decided to buy there.

Now I haven't managed to get a plate yet! Thats what annoys. Ebay seems to
be a rip off full of dealers buying up things and selling them in their "
shops" at what I suspect are inflated prices. Now I might normally go to
such a " shop" but now I am miffed and wont!

Long story. I saw a plate ( there are four or five available in fact). Five
days ago I put a bid in for the asking price which was £4.99 . Most of
them are around that on e bay. This was the first to finish.
So I waited. No one else bid over me and I actually went to the site to wait
it out so I could up the bid if anyone did come. I watched it count down .
Then right at the last second literally some b u .... came and put in a bid
50p higher. I didn't have time to over bid.

Now I might have chalked that to experience except I then watched the next
three plates go down. Each time they went to this same buyer. He ( or she)
is obviously a dealer!!!!! You don't need four tatty decorative plates on
your home wall ( believe me I am female I know)

If I could buy new I would but this plate was made in the 1970's. I was too
young then to even afford the £15 a new one would have cost.

I am annoyed now. I still want a plate and it still seems e bay is the only
place I will get one but I refuse to pay a dealer now on principle.
My problem is though, how do I know what is a reasonable bid for something?
If I bought this tat in a charity shop I would pay ( probably) £5 - and I
would rather do that but there are no plates in the charity shops! If I go
to a private buyer ( someone like myself selling it off my own wall) I would
be happy to pay them a decent price but I don't know what that price is so
how can I
a) find out what a reasonable price is to put it on the goods?
b) make sure I am not being ripped off by a dealer?

If I miss the next plate I go for it will be two weeks before the next
"auction" finishes and I can see myself in this position every time beaten
by a dealer at the last second. The next one is three days time now. I have
put in a bid but I need to know how much is too much for a dealer but not a
rip off for me?

I wouldn't mind but this seems common now. I had a similar experience with
my aunts house that I have just put on the market. These dealers and
builders etc. are dishonest in that they pretend to be ordinary buyers which
looking into it they clearly are not.

Rant over. Any help on the little problem would be appreciated.

sweetheart wrote:


Rant over. Any help on the little problem would be appreciated.

there is an auto mechsnism tha allows you to do this.

do bid until the l;ast 30 seconds and then outbid everybody

On Apr 10, 5:16*am, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:
*This is possibly a rant but someone may be able to help this naive stupid
female here.
I *have to say I don't like the concept of e bay anyway but I have little
choice .

I want to buy a decorative plate. I tried all the charity shops and auctions
and car boots locally ( I work cant travel forever) *and cant find one .. I
looked on the internet and I keep being referred to e bay, so in desperation
I decided to *buy there.

Now I haven't managed to get a plate yet! Thats what annoys. Ebay *seems to
be a rip off full of dealers buying up things and selling them in their "
shops" at what I suspect are inflated prices. *Now I might normally go to
such a " shop" but now I am miffed and wont!

Long story. I saw a plate ( there are four or five available in fact). *Five
days ago I put *a bid in for the asking price which was £4.99 *. *Most of
them are around that on e bay. This was the first to finish.
So I waited. No one else bid over me and I actually went to the site to wait
it out so I could up the bid if anyone did come. *I watched it count down .
Then right at the last second *literally some b u .... came and put in a bid
50p higher. I didn't have time to over bid.

Now I might have chalked that to experience except I then watched the next
three plates go down. Each time they went to this same buyer. He *( or she)
is obviously a dealer!!!!! *You don't need four tatty decorative plates on
your home wall ( believe me I am female I know)

its called bidding or sniping software


If I could buy new I would but this plate was made in the 1970's. I was too
young then to even afford the £15 a new one would have cost.

I am annoyed now. I still want a plate and it still seems e bay is the only
place I will get one but I refuse to pay a dealer now on principle.
My problem is though, how do I know what is a reasonable bid for something?

get knowledgeable on the subject


If I bought this tat in a charity shop I would pay ( probably) *£5 - and I
would rather do that but there are no plates in the charity shops! * If I go
to a private buyer ( someone like myself selling it off my own wall) I would
be happy to pay them a decent price but I don't know what that price is *so
how can I
a) find out what a reasonable price is to put it on *the goods?

is there a newsgroup for antiques? might be worth trying
alt.antiques
rec.antiques
Of course if you ask them about the value of something on ebay,
someone else will then take it.


b) make sure I am not being ripped off by a dealer?

know your subject


If I miss the next plate I go for it will be two weeks before the next
"auction" finishes and I can see myself in this position every time beaten
by a dealer at the last second. *The next one is three days time now. I have
put in a bid but I need to know how much is too much for a dealer but not a
rip off for me?

I wouldn't mind but this seems common now. I had a similar experience *with
my aunts house that I have just put on the market. These dealers *and
builders etc. are dishonest in that they pretend to be ordinary buyers which
looking into it they clearly are not.

Rant over. Any help on the little problem would be appreciated.

It sounds like you're expecting too much from ebay, This kind of stuff
is minor compared to the troubles you'll experience buying this way.
If you cant deal with it, buy somewhere else than online auctions.


NT

"Tabby" wrote in message
...
On Apr 10, 5:16 am, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

its called bidding or sniping software


If I could buy new I would but this plate was made in the 1970's. I was
too
young then to even afford the £15 a new one would have cost.


get knowledgeable on the subject

How? I have looked across the internet for prices. As I said, nowehere else
to buy except e bay. Obviously no one wants to sell via a paper or a second
hand shop anymore.


is there a newsgroup for antiques? might be worth trying
alt.antiques
rec.antiques
Of course if you ask them about the value of something on ebay,
someone else will then take it.

Its not an antique. Its a tatty decorative plate produced in the 1970's.
dead popular then and obviously with so many on e bay, not so popular now
( except with dealers who are buying them all up). Its probably not worth
more than a tenner at best ( which is what dealers are selling them for on e
bay ( on that " buy it now" thing).



know your subject

Al this just to buy a tatty plate? The only reason I am having to buy is my
aubt had one and a relative nicked it off the wall before I was able to
nick it off the wall! I had always liked it and wanted one like it.


It sounds like you're expecting too much from ebay, This kind of stuff
is minor compared to the troubles you'll experience buying this way.
If you cant deal with it, buy somewhere else than online auctions.
NT.

How? Since that's where everyone seems to be going now? As I said, if I
could go elsewhere I would. Local charity and second hand shops haven't got
one. Tried a few auctions, nill. It seems e bay is suddenly it for all
such tat. I don't like the idea because frankly I might not get the thing
once I buy - another issue with e bay of course but what can one do?

Thanks anyway for the information.

On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:25:02 +0100, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

There are a number of sites that will bid for you, up to the maximum you are
willing to pay, in the last few seconds. You can't win by manually bidding an a
single increase each time. If what you say is true, that a dealer is buying
them to sell on, then presumably the going price is a bit higher than the £4.50.
If you *really* want this particular plate, then enter the maximum price you are
prepared to pay in the last 30 seconnds, say £8.70 - I like to add the extra
pence - and you will probably get it for some intermediate figure. That's how
auctions work !

In message , sweetheart
wrote

Long story. I saw a plate ( there are four or five available in fact).
Five days ago I put a bid in for the asking price which was £4.99 .
Most of them are around that on e bay. This was the first to finish.

Most Ebay bids occur in the closing minutes of the auction and there are
mechanisms to increase the bid automatically up to the maximum you are
willing to pay.

Now I might have chalked that to experience except I then watched the
next three plates go down. Each time they went to this same buyer. He
( or she) is obviously a dealer!!!!!

Supply and demand. The dealer obviously thinks the product is worth more
than you have bid. Don't be fooled into thinking that Ebay is cheap
place to buy goods, it may be more a convenient place to buy the odd
item but watch the prices. I've regularly seen people in an auction pay
a lot more than the "buy it now" price offered by another seller.

I have put in a bid but I need to know how much is too much for a
dealer but not a rip off for me?

Are you by any chance the only bidder so far? Try next time to wait
until VERY near the end of the auction, put in a bid and then take up
Ebays offer for automatically increasing the bid (in 50p or £1
increments - the amount depends on the current price ) to the maximum
you are prepared to pay.

For instance if the starting bid is £4 and you indicate that you are
willing to pay up to £10 then anyone bidding less than £9 will be
immediately told that they have been outbid by you. If they only bid
£5.50 you would get it for £6 or £6.50. However if they have done the
same and their maximum bid is £10.50 they will win.


I wouldn't mind but this seems common now. I had a similar experience
with my aunts house that I have just put on the market. These dealers
and builders etc. are dishonest in that they pretend to be ordinary
buyers which looking into it they clearly are not.

Builders etc. are ordinary buyers.

--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Apr 10, 5:36 pm, Andy Cap wrote:
On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:25:02 +0100, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

There are a number of sites that will bid for you, up to the maximum you are
willing to pay, in the last few seconds. You can't win by manually bidding an a
single increase each time. If what you say is true, that a dealer is buying
them to sell on, then presumably the going price is a bit higher than the 4.50.
If you *really* want this particular plate, then enter the maximum price you are
prepared to pay in the last 30 seconnds, say 8.70 - I like to add the extra
pence - and you will probably get it for some intermediate figure. That's how
auctions work !

I don't know how Ebay works but in NZ we have TradeMe, where if a bid
is made in the last minutes the auction is extended indefinitely until
there is no bid for a couple of minutes. Doesn' t Ebay do that?
In addiion there is an autobid facility.

Matty F wrote:

I don't know how Ebay works but in NZ we have TradeMe, where if a bid
is made in the last minutes the auction is extended indefinitely until
there is no bid for a couple of minutes. Doesn' t Ebay do that?
In addiion there is an autobid facility.

No, an auction ends at a fixed time.

"sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:
This is possibly a rant but someone may be able to help this naive stupid female here.


Rant over. Any help on the little problem would be appreciated.

It sounds like you desperately want something but aren't prepared to pay
the "going" rate. Clearly others are prepared to pay more and you just
have to accept that on ebay at least, you'll have to pay more if you want
those plates or else get lucky.
It's nothing personal, it's just market economics.

Tim

On Apr 10, 5:16 am, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:
This is possibly a rant but someone may be able to help this naive stupid
female here.
I have to say I don't like the concept of e bay anyway but I have little
choice .

I want to buy a decorative plate. I tried all the charity shops and auctions
and car boots locally ( I work cant travel forever) and cant find one . I
looked on the internet and I keep being referred to e bay, so in desperation
I decided to buy there.

Now I haven't managed to get a plate yet! Thats what annoys. Ebay seems to
be a rip off full of dealers buying up things and selling them in their "
shops" at what I suspect are inflated prices. Now I might normally go to
such a " shop" but now I am miffed and wont!

Long story. I saw a plate ( there are four or five available in fact). Five
days ago I put a bid in for the asking price which was £4.99 . Most of
them are around that on e bay. This was the first to finish.
So I waited. No one else bid over me and I actually went to the site to wait
it out so I could up the bid if anyone did come. I watched it count down

"Andy Cap" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:25:02 +0100, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

There are a number of sites that will bid for you, up to the maximum you
are
willing to pay, in the last few seconds. You can't win by manually bidding
an a
single increase each time. If what you say is true, that a dealer is
buying
them to sell on, then presumably the going price is a bit higher than the
£4.50.
If you *really* want this particular plate, then enter the maximum price
you are
prepared to pay in the last 30 seconnds, say £8.70 - I like to add the
extra
pence - and you will probably get it for some intermediate figure. That's
how
auctions work !


No, that's not quite how a real auction works at all. I can stand in the
room and wave my little number around until the gavel falls - I can get it
on the going going..... because I am there and so is the other bidder!
Unless of course they leave a pre bid. But pre bids ( commissioned) are not
shoved in with a second to go and stopping a come back.

I would go well up. In fact I have bid on a plate now with a silly price. I
doubt any dealer would go near it BUT what angers me is I would prefer to
deal with someone genuine. I cant be sure the person I have offered my next
bid to isn't a dealer. I don't think they are since they offered the plate
at 99p ( most dealers are asking about a tenner in their shops. Watching
whats going on now I can see they are trying to buy the plate ( the one I
want) at around £5 ( the one I lost went to the bu for £5,19).

I wouldn't be so angry had it not been in the very last second. I left a bid
days ago and no one else showed any remote interest over that time so I had
no idea I needed to offer silly money to ensure it.

I would give a lady silly money to take her plate off the wall I don't like
the dealer buying from under me and then trying to sell it on to me. I
object.

The thing is unless you are an " e bayer" I doubt you will have realized
what is going on there. Like me. I learned the hard way and I am very
angry. If I were selling on e bay ( as a person) I would be very miffed at
finding out a dealer was buying up all my stuff like this. OK so I dont get
e bay. My problem.

"Matty F" wrote in message
...
On Apr 10, 5:36 pm, Andy Cap wrote:
On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:25:02 +0100, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

I don't know how Ebay works but in NZ we have TradeMe, where if a bid
is made in the last minutes the auction is extended indefinitely until
there is no bid for a couple of minutes. Doesn' t Ebay do that?

No. Had there been I would have out bid the bu g..

In addiion there is an autobid facility.

Being naive I didn't know about this. I now have used it. But I don't know
if it will work for me or not.

"Alan" wrote in message
...
In message , sweetheart
wrote

Long story. I saw a plate ( there are four or five available in fact).
Five days ago I put a bid in for the asking price which was £4.99 . Most
of them are around that on e bay. This was the first to finish.

Most Ebay bids occur in the closing minutes of the auction and there are
mechanisms to increase the bid automatically up to the maximum you are
willing to pay.


I was not aware of this. I was genuine. It looks to me as if this plate is
just going round the dealers - looking at the selling histories.


Supply and demand. The dealer obviously thinks the product is worth more
than you have bid.

I am not sure there is genuine demand from someone like me. They are a bit
like real auctions - dealers selling around, sometimes taking a loss.



Are you by any chance the only bidder so far? Try next time to wait until
VERY near the end of the auction, put in a bid and then take up Ebays
offer for automatically increasing the bid (in 50p or £1 increments - the
amount depends on the current price ) to the maximum you are prepared to
pay.

For the next one I have left a maximum which I think will outbid any dealer
( they wouldnt make a profit given what I can see about prices its being
exchanged for. The trouble is I cant always be there for the end of the
auction. They obviously can being as they make a business out of it.


I wouldn't mind but this seems common now. I had a similar experience with
my aunts house that I have just put on the market. These dealers and
builders etc. are dishonest in that they pretend to be ordinary buyers
which looking into it they clearly are not.

Builders etc. are ordinary buyers.

No they are not, not when they think they can offer daft money for
something and " pretend" they are first time buyers looking for a starting
out home. Its the deception I object to. If you tell me you are a builder
( dealer or whatever|) Fair game. The problem is dealers on e bay
pretending to be ordinary buyers ( yeah tell me you are an ordinary buyer
when you have 600 buys and buy up anything that comes even when its a
duplicate of what you have.

Dealers can do as they like if honest. As a buyer ( and if it came to it
as a seller) I would prefer to sell to someone genuine. If I want to give
something to a dealer, I would go to a shop and sell it to them or ask them
to come and give me a price. Not put it on e bay for them to prowl around .

"Tim" wrote in message
...
"sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:
This is possibly a rant but someone may be able to help this naive stupid
female here.


Rant over. Any help on the little problem would be appreciated.

It sounds like you desperately want something but aren't prepared to pay
the "going" rate. Clearly others are prepared to pay more and you just
have to accept that on ebay at least, you'll have to pay more if you want
those plates or else get lucky.
It's nothing personal, it's just market economics.

Tim

I would have paid if I had known and understood it.
I have now put in an auto bid for £100 - this for a plate which should go
for around £6 seeing what dealers are paying. They ask £10 themselves, so I
doubt I will pay above £20. There isn't a real demand. Its being created by
e bay dealers.

But I am angry as I said because they come in at the last second. Its not
clear on e bay what its about. They should be dead clear and I think it
needs to be clear who the dealers are too. Its the dishonesty.

"Jim K" wrote in message
...
On Apr 10, 5:16 am, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

frankly i am surprised that someone with your experience of the
interweb doesn't know how ebay works yet.

My experience? I write to this group sometimes and not much else. E bay
isnt a site I have ever felt the need to go to. My gut reaction has always
been to steer clear of it. Hence I didnt know. Genuinely didnt know. Its
only because I cant go elsewhere I am buying there.



Jim K

The simple answer is to use some form of sniping system. Unless you want to
leave your computer on 24/7 by far the best answer is www.auctionsniper.com.
I have used it for years and am delighted the results. it costs a few cents
per item and you can try it for free.

Peter Crosland

"Peter Crosland" wrote in message
...
The simple answer is to use some form of sniping system. Unless you want
to leave your computer on 24/7 by far the best answer is
www.auctionsniper.com. I have used it for years and am delighted the
results. it costs a few cents per item and you can try it for free.

Peter Crosland

The trouble is I only want one thing and e bay has put me off forever now!
Is it fair of me and can I actually use this for free for one purchase only?
I am only looking to get one ( naff) plate and then I am finished with e
bay. I am not a buyer and seller type person.

And daft like, I put in an auto bid on the next one in the hope it will
outbid the dealers.

Having said that, there is another thing I have seen but had left alone
because there was another bid already in ( me being fair and all that , not
over bidding someone else).
Now I am thinking, if they do it to me, why shouldn't I do it back?

I haven't put in any bid , I was going to wait until the last second this
afternoon and then shove in my best high price and hope it would top
whatever the other bloke has offered. I am being as nasty as the e bay
dealers now. ;-(

What I would much prefer is to find a shop ( a proper one, even online) I
could go and buy from. I cant even find what should be a market price in a
shop. There are tons of plates, all on e bay! Its silly.
Sorry for the rant and thanks for the link.

On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 05:16:16 +0100, sweetheart wrote:

Long story. I saw a plate ( there are four or five available in fact).
Five days ago I put a bid in for the asking price which was £4.99 .
Most of them are around that on e bay. This was the first to finish. So
I waited. No one else bid over me and I actually went to the site to
wait it out so I could up the bid if anyone did come. I watched it
count down . Then right at the last second literally some b u .... came
and put in a bid 50p higher. I didn't have time to over bid.

That's eBay for you. I don't often buy there, only when I have to. I
always bid at the last minute/second, because it usually works out
cheaper.

Get over it...sorry.


--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

In message , sweetheart
wrote

the person I have offered my next bid to isn't a dealer. I don't think
they are since they offered the plate at 99p

A lot of Ebay auctions start at 99p but that doesn't necessarily mean
that you can ever get it for that price. The seller has an option to put
a minimum reserve price on the item. Ebay caters for many types of buyer
and often the same trader will have an item listed in three or four
different ways. He may have an auction starting at 99p but with a
reserve of £10, he may have a buy it now at £10 with free postage or he
may have it listed as buy it now for £8 but with £2 postage.

I assume you can pay in the way the seller specified in the auction?

--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 07:06:53 +0100, sweetheart wrote:

I would go well up. In fact I have bid on a plate now with a silly
price. I doubt any dealer would go near it BUT what angers me is I would
prefer to deal with someone genuine. I cant be sure the person I have
offered my next bid to isn't a dealer. I don't think they are since they
offered the plate at 99p ( most dealers are asking about a tenner in
their shops. Watching whats going on now I can see they are trying to
buy the plate ( the one I want) at around £5 ( the one I lost went to
the bu for £5,19).

Why shouldn't a dealer bid? They are just as entitled as you.

--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

in 1034865 20110410 082124 Bob Eager wrote:
On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 05:16:16 +0100, sweetheart wrote:

Long story. I saw a plate ( there are four or five available in fact).
Five days ago I put a bid in for the asking price which was £4.99 .
Most of them are around that on e bay. This was the first to finish. So
I waited. No one else bid over me and I actually went to the site to
wait it out so I could up the bid if anyone did come. I watched it
count down . Then right at the last second literally some b u .... came
and put in a bid 50p higher. I didn't have time to over bid.

That's eBay for you. I don't often buy there, only when I have to. I
always bid at the last minute/second, because it usually works out
cheaper.

I buy tons of stuff on eBay - in fact it's my first port of call for many things - but
I gave up on the actions years ago and just go for Buy-it-Now items.
Good prices and fast delivery - often within 24 hours.

In message , sweetheart
wrote

Having said that, there is another thing I have seen but had left alone
because there was another bid already in ( me being fair and all that ,
not over bidding someone else).
Now I am thinking, if they do it to me, why shouldn't I do it back?

I haven't put in any bid , I was going to wait until the last second
this afternoon and then shove in my best high price and hope it would
top whatever the other bloke has offered.

Not the last second, Ebay can be slow at times especially as many
sellers time their auctions to end when the system is busiest and more
people may be looking for last minute bargains.

I am being as nasty as the e bay dealers now. ;-(

No, that's how the system works for EVERYONE. If the other buyer wants
the item he will have put in higher bid and will be expecting someone to
make other bids if an item that has interest to multiple buyers.

What I would much prefer is to find a shop ( a proper one, even online)
I could go and buy from.

But a shop selling a plate for a fiver will have ripped off someone when
they bought it. Sites like Ebay take out the middle man
--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

"Bob Eager" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 07:06:53 +0100, sweetheart wrote:

I would go well up. In fact I have bid on a plate now with a silly
price. I doubt any dealer would go near it BUT what angers me is I would
prefer to deal with someone genuine. I cant be sure the person I have
offered my next bid to isn't a dealer. I don't think they are since they
offered the plate at 99p ( most dealers are asking about a tenner in
their shops. Watching whats going on now I can see they are trying to
buy the plate ( the one I want) at around £5 ( the one I lost went to
the bu for £5,19).

Why shouldn't a dealer bid? They are just as entitled as you.

I dont think they shouldnt bid but I think they need to be honest so you can
see who they are and what they are doing. Neither do I think creating a
market amongst themselves really gives a true indication of the value of
goods.
So its all false. Thats what I object to.

Neither do I like the type of nasty bidding which waits until 1 second from
the end to bid. As I said in an auction room I would have ben able to come
back . In e bay there wasnt time.

Of course I was naive. I wont be the next time. I have left a good auto
bid on that 99p plate. One well above what any dealer could make a profit
from. I just want one poxy plate. I dont want to buy from a dealer to be
sent the crappest of whatever 10 they have snapped at e bay. Thats what I
object to. Ebay passing itself off as genuine when its a rip off dealers
system.

"Bob Martin" wrote in message
...
in 1034865 20110410 082124 Bob Eager wrote:
On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 05:16:16 +0100, sweetheart wrote:


I buy tons of stuff on eBay - in fact it's my first port of call for many
things - but
I gave up on the actions years ago and just go for Buy-it-Now items.
Good prices and fast delivery - often within 24 hours.

But then how do you judge the quality when they claim they have three items
and they could send you the crappest one?

Besides I would rather give a genuine person a proper price than a dealer.
Ill pay more than a dealers price to a real seller if I could figure who is
who!

In message , sweetheart
wrote

I have now put in an auto bid for £100 - this for a plate which should
go for around £6 seeing what dealers are paying.

From one extreme to the other Not a wise move.
--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 07:06:53 +0100, sweetheart wrote:

"Andy Cap" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:25:02 +0100, "sweetheart" hotmail.com wrote:

There are a number of sites that will bid for you, up to the maximum you
are
willing to pay, in the last few seconds. You can't win by manually bidding
an a
single increase each time. If what you say is true, that a dealer is
buying
them to sell on, then presumably the going price is a bit higher than the
?4.50.
If you *really* want this particular plate, then enter the maximum price
you are
prepared to pay in the last 30 seconnds, say ?8.70 - I like to add the
extra
pence - and you will probably get it for some intermediate figure. That's
how
auctions work !


No, that's not quite how a real auction works at all. I can stand in the
room and wave my little number around until the gavel falls - I can get it
on the going going..... because I am there and so is the other bidder!
Unless of course they leave a pre bid. But pre bids ( commissioned) are not
shoved in with a second to go and stopping a come back.

I would go well up. In fact I have bid on a plate now with a silly price. I
doubt any dealer would go near it BUT what angers me is I would prefer to
deal with someone genuine. I cant be sure the person I have offered my next
bid to isn't a dealer. I don't think they are since they offered the plate
at 99p ( most dealers are asking about a tenner in their shops. Watching
whats going on now I can see they are trying to buy the plate ( the one I
want) at around ?5 ( the one I lost went to the bu for ?5,19).

I wouldn't be so angry had it not been in the very last second. I left a bid
days ago and no one else showed any remote interest over that time so I had
no idea I needed to offer silly money to ensure it.

I would give a lady silly money to take her plate off the wall I don't like
the dealer buying from under me and then trying to sell it on to me. I
object.

The thing is unless you are an " e bayer" I doubt you will have realized
what is going on there. Like me. I learned the hard way and I am very
angry. If I were selling on e bay ( as a person) I would be very miffed at
finding out a dealer was buying up all my stuff like this. OK so I dont get
e bay. My problem.


From the sound of it there are a few misconceptions here.
First, eBay isn't really an auction site, it's closer to a lottery. The
concept of bidding at the last second is very common (so get used to it)
as it keeps prices lower that a "proper" auction.
If people really did act as they would at a real-life auction, prices would
increase, since everyone who was interested would bid up to their
maximum. By only having one chance to bid, right at the end the number of
people effectively in the auction is much less - and instead of having
the chance to re-bid if they are outbid, they just guess what they think
is a reasonable price and win some, lose some.

Second, the people you refer to as dealers just sound to me like more
experienced ebay-ers. You have three choices:
- continue using eBay in the way you think it should work. Sooner or later
you'll win something.
- Go elsewhere. Have you tried Amazon Marketplace?
- play the game like everyone else. The market for these plates seems
to be quite active, so you're just going to have to learn the new rules.
At about 30 seconds to go, put your one-and-only bid into the
Place Bid window ... wait .. at about 10 seconds hit Confirm ... hope.

If you haven't tumbled it already, there are some times of day (around 8pm)
which appear to be peak-time for auctions. Look for auctions that are due
to end at other times - they attract fewer "snipers" and often end at lower
prices. Use the search facility to check for Completed Auctions to see what
other people paid for items - and therefore what the "market price" is.
Finally, look for nearby items where the seller permits "collection in person"
as you can then bid up higher than people who would have to add in
postage (though many forget to factor this cost in, when the red mist hits).

"Alan" wrote in message
...
In message , sweetheart
wrote


No, that's how the system works for EVERYONE. If the other buyer wants the
item he will have put in higher bid and will be expecting someone to make
other bids if an item that has interest to multiple buyers.


Multiple buyers? Who are you kidding? There were no multiple buyers here.
There was me and a blike who was a dealer ( checked his history after) who
came in one second before the thing ended. I dodnt have time to top him. I
did make the error of not knowing about the auto system - not as I can see
whether that would have helped.

He then went on to buy two other plates, same fashion ( I watched rather
than bid) , came in at the last minute and he was the only bidder on both of
those as I didnt bid at all. I just watched to see what he was about. Same
bloke, checked the history.

What I would much prefer is to find a shop ( a proper one, even online) I
could go and buy from.

But a shop selling a plate for a fiver will have ripped off someone when
they bought it. Sites like Ebay take out the middle man

You mean cut out the dealer? So I end up paying a dealer on e bay instead?
No it doesnt work does it. E bay is full of dealers and very few like me
from what I can see. The only difference is, I go to a shop I know the
middle man is a rip off merchant. I go to e bay to cut that out - and I am
riped off because the dealers are there in force.

Its the dishonesty I object to.

"Alan" wrote in message
...
In message , sweetheart
wrote

I have now put in an auto bid for £100 - this for a plate which should go
for around £6 seeing what dealers are paying.

From one extreme to the other Not a wise move.

Probably not. I will have to see.
I am assuming the auto system will buy at the lowest that a dealer refuses
to pay at. If not, then I have paid too much but hey ho, its only money and
I will have what I want.

In message , sweetheart
wrote

I dont think they shouldnt bid but I think they need to be honest so
you can see who they are and what they are doing. Neither do I think
creating a market amongst themselves really gives a true indication of
the value of goods.
So its all false. Thats what I object to.

There are fees associated with selling and listing an item so a plate
doing the rounds and not selling, or only selling to dealers who put it
on another Ebay auction at around £10 is making a loss.

Neither do I like the type of nasty bidding which waits until 1 second
from the end to bid. As I said in an auction room I would have ben
able to come back . In e bay there wasnt time.

This how Ebay works and there is nothing nasty.

I just want one poxy plate. I dont want to buy from a dealer to be sent
the crappest of whatever 10 they have snapped at e bay.

How do you know that you haven't done that now?

Thats what I object to. Ebay passing itself off as genuine when its a
rip off dealers system.

Welcome to the REAL world.
--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

sweetheart hotmail.com wrote:

Ah, is it a quiet time under the bridge today?

Long story. I saw a plate ( there are four or five available in fact). Five
days ago I put a bid in for the asking price which was £4.99 . Most of
them are around that on e bay.

That isn't "the asking price" it is the initial bid value. If anyone is
interested in the item the actual selling price is the one that the
highest bidder is prepared to pay. Personally I'd love to get that
Pinzgauer that I saw offered at a starting price of £1.

If you offer to pay what you think the item is worth then either your
guess will be right and no one will outbid you or your guess will be
wrong and someone will outbid you. Even if they are "sniping" at the
last minute if your bid is high enough they will not be able to outbid
you.

But of course you know all this and are off on your recreational
trolling, again.

"sweetheart" hotmail.com gurgled happily, sounding much like they were
saying:

"Bob Eager" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 07:06:53 +0100, sweetheart wrote:

I would go well up. In fact I have bid on a plate now with a silly
price. I doubt any dealer would go near it BUT what angers me is I
would prefer to deal with someone genuine. I cant be sure the person I
have offered my next bid to isn't a dealer. I don't think they are
since they offered the plate at 99p ( most dealers are asking about a
tenner in their shops. Watching whats going on now I can see they are
trying to buy the plate ( the one I want) at around £5 ( the one I
lost went to the bu for £5,19).

Why shouldn't a dealer bid? They are just as entitled as you.

I dont think they shouldnt bid but I think they need to be honest so you
can see who they are and what they are doing.

Does it _matter_ who the other person is? Whether they're a "dealer" or
not? The only thing that matters, surely, is that they're willing to pay
more than you.

Neither do I think creating a market amongst themselves really gives a
true indication of the value of goods.

Yet, in another post, you said...

What I would much prefer is to find a shop ( a proper one, even online)
I could go and buy from.

Where do you think those "proper shops" should get their stock, then? And
how, if not for a mark-up on their purchase price, do you think they
should make a profit?

On Apr 10, 5:49 pm, Andy Cap wrote:
Matty F wrote:
I don't know how Ebay works but in NZ we have TradeMe, where if a bid
is made in the last minutes the auction is extended indefinitely until
there is no bid for a couple of minutes. Doesn' t Ebay do that?
In addiion there is an autobid facility.

No, an auction ends at a fixed time.

Well that's a failing of Ebay. The auction should continue as long as
people are willing to bid.
That's probably why Ebay is not used in NZ since TradeMe is better.
But only New Zealanders and Australians can bid on TradeMe.

Matty F gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

Well that's a failing of Ebay. The auction should continue as long as
people are willing to bid.

Should it? Why?

I've got some stuff listed on fleaBay at the moment. I've chosen the
listing time so that I can post them in the following day or two, at a
time I know I'll be about to post them once paid.

If the auction was open-ended, it's entirely feasible that it may close
at a time when I'm otherwise engaged.

"root" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 07:06:53 +0100, sweetheart wrote:

From the sound of it there are a few misconceptions here.
First, eBay isn't really an auction site, it's closer to a lottery. The
concept of bidding at the last second is very common (so get used to it)
as it keeps prices lower that a "proper" auction.
If people really did act as they would at a real-life auction, prices
would
increase, since everyone who was interested would bid up to their
maximum. By only having one chance to bid, right at the end the number of
people effectively in the auction is much less - and instead of having
the chance to re-bid if they are outbid, they just guess what they think
is a reasonable price and win some, lose some.

I didnt even do that. I treated it like an auction. I was there to up bid
but I didnt expect a last second ( literally) bid. I wasnt aware I had to
guess.

Second, the people you refer to as dealers just sound to me like more
experienced ebay-ers.

I dont think so. What genuine person buys three identical wall plates in
an hour.
There were no other bids on all but mine. I was the only bidder on the one I
put in for. It was not multiple bidding and lots of people wanting.


You have three choices:
- continue using eBay in the way you think it should work. Sooner or later
you'll win something.

Oh I have l earned.

- Go elsewhere. Have you tried Amazon Marketplace?
- play the game like everyone else. The market for these plates seems
to be quite active, so you're just going to have to learn the new rules.

The market place isnt active. Thats the point. Its one bloke ( or woman )
buying them all up at the bottom price ( around a fiver). I suspect too he/
she is shoving them back on the bidding scene a few days later. Just like
dealers do.

See I looked at it and counted up that 10 plates like the one I wanted were
available. Different dates between yesterday ( when three went down) to the
next week and a half.

The prices are all around £4.99 - a couple lower ( one a 99p and one at
£3.50) in the next week and no interest in any of them! No bids at all.

I thought ( wrongly) " Oh loads here, enough to go round for anyone
wanting this plate.( Its not that popular if som many are getting rid of it
is it?) So I picked a convenient plate, bid ( not knowing I was supposed to
put a max in) and waited. Was willing to go up. But given so many thought
no one would come in. No interest see,

I was quite shocked when I lost it in the very last second.

I would have accepted it though , had it not ben for loking at the bidders
history. He had 600 transactions in the last month. Hardley a private
seller and nuyer that.

I started to move to the next plate. Something stopped me, not sure what,
so I just watched it. No bids, no interest. Then one second before the end
this same buyer bought the plate at £4.99 ( he had t pay £5.19 to get the
one I bid on) . Then he did the same again on the next plate two hours
later.

All the same plate. Took them all at the same price.
I checked back today and found he had also taken another plate overnight (
again no bidders) at the same price. So four identical plates.

There is no market. Just one bloke buying them up.

So I have now gone to a plate several days hence. I made the error of
bidding on it ( should have left it I suppose and come in a minute or two
before it finishes but I havent. I have auto bidded it instead hoping my max
will be more than the fiver this bloke wants to pay ( for God knows no one
else is buying!)

But in a fair place, 10 people could have got 10 plates without hassling
each other and then some over .

Yes there are " buy now" plates at £10 ( £9.99 actually) in the " shops" on
e bay. But how can I say they are what I want? they may not have the
quality of the ones I looked at. But now I dont want that on principle. Its
worng.

This thing I am after is 1970's tat. It wont be on Amazon. I checked

Its only one buyer buying them all. Thats my point. There isnt a market
here as far as I can see other than what is being created by dealers
swinging the plates round from auction to acution.

But of course you know all this and are off on your recreational
trolling, again.

Yup - I'm suspicious of on the one hand sweetheart's reasonably
articulate postings, and otoh her inability to resolve very basic
domestic issues.

To summarise this one:
Ebay doesn't work the way she *thinks* it should.
She's upset.
Reality adjustment required.

"Steve Firth" wrote in message
. ..
sweetheart hotmail.com wrote:

Ah, is it a quiet time under the bridge today?

Yes I do seem to generate argument. It isnt intened. I am not trolling. Its
genuine. You can say what you like to the contrary.
I guess I am just naive and don't understand the world. If you don't want
to talk to me, then don't answer. Surely thats easy enough isn't it?

sweetheart hotmail.com wrote:

but hey ho, its only money and I will have what I want.

But you just said that you "don't like the dealer buying from under me
and then trying to sell it on to me", yet if money were no oject as you
indicate above what is the problem with that?

BTW, could you use a less irritating newsreader than Windows Mail? WM
makes the baby Jesus cry and it is Sunday.

"Adrian" wrote in message
...
"sweetheart" hotmail.com gurgled happily, sounding much like they were
saying:

"Bob Eager" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 07:06:53 +0100, sweetheart wrote:

Where do you think those "proper shops" should get their stock, then? And
how, if not for a mark-up on their purchase price, do you think they
should make a profit?

I wouldn't mind if the stuff seemed to be getting through to those proper
shops! It seems to just be going round on e bay. I don't mind if its up
front. E bay isn't up front. Thats all I am saying.
Thanks anyway.

I have learned. I am annoyed ( hence the rant). I will get a plate. I wont
be done down. I do think there are a few genuine sellers and I am genuine as
a buyer. I hope we find each other.
I think you can tell * genuine buyers don't have 600 transactions in a month
...... genuine sellers will probably tell you something about the items
history in the description.

But not always. Like with my house ( my aunts as was that is which I am
selling now) sometimes builders come along and claim they are first time
buyers when they aren't. Cant understand why ( except perhaps people wont
sell to them?) I found out I was lied to before I accepted any offers. Next
door neighbour told me about it. They too are selling and this " first time
buyer" ( who had three other houses in the road) had done the same to them.

I just don't understand why people have to deceive that way.

Matty F wrote:

Well that's a failing of Ebay. The auction should continue as long as
people are willing to bid.

Who decides when that is? This is an on-line auction, it's not
supervised by an auctioneer. The only way that a bidder can register an
interest is to bid.

In effect the auctions do go on as long as people are willing to bid,
they simply have to register in advance their maximum bid. They may well
win the auction for less than the maximum they are prepared to bid
because no one else has entered a higher bid.

That's probably why Ebay is not used in NZ since TradeMe is better.
But only New Zealanders and Australians can bid on TradeMe.

Nah, it's because Kiwis are locked in the 1950s and probably haven't
managed to work out how to communicate by that new-fangled telegraphic
apparatus.

sweetheart hotmail.com wrote:

"Steve Firth" wrote in message
. ..
sweetheart hotmail.com wrote:

Ah, is it a quiet time under the bridge today?

Yes I do seem to generate argument. It isnt intened. I am not trolling. Its
genuine. You can say what you like to the contrary.
I guess I am just naive and don't understand the world. If you don't want
to talk to me, then don't answer. Surely thats easy enough isn't it?

Yeah, that's what all the trolls say.