Duckwater 0 #1 September 21, 2005 If anyone saw the NASCAR race last weekend, Robby Gordon threw his helmet at Michael Waltrip. He got fined but he put the helmet for bid on eBay and is going to donate the proceeds to Katrina. However, in the last hour, the bidding has gone from $100,000 to over $5,000,000...Surely this is people screwing around....Not real funny considering where the proceeds are going. Can these people (or at least the last sucker who bids) be accountable legally? Helmet Auction Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sharimcm 0 #2 September 21, 2005 I find this auction disturbing. Looking at all the bidders, almost all of them have low numbers of feedback. I hate people. "I had a dude tip his black cowboy hat to me after I provided him with a condom outside my hotel room at 3-something in the morning." -myself Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luv2Fall 0 #3 September 21, 2005 Shill bidding at its best. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rwieder 0 #4 September 21, 2005 QuoteCan these people (or at least the last sucker who bids) be accountable legally? Your bid on anything is a legally binding contract, there are several steps to finilizing your bid, but in one of those steps it fully explains the ramifications of "Crawfishing" on a bid" So, yes, you are held legally accountable for your bid, and if the seller wishes to, they can take you to court and sue you for not holding up your end. Which brings me to another point, i've seen all too often new bidders come out of no where and start bidding on an item i'm bidding on and when the auction is over the seller is contacting me to see if i want to buy the item for my last bid. What does this tell me? The suckers are creating new identities and bidding on the items themselves or having "friends" do it for them, because theses "people" never recieve any negative feedback for not paying up. I've confronted several sellers in the past, i've never seen so much lying in my life.-Richard- "You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #5 September 21, 2005 e-Bay, Sucks! A few years ago, when it was 'young', it was fun and, you could get some neat things. Now, it's a lot of fraud and just try to get through to whoever if, you have a complaint. Also, too many businesses on it whose starting bids for their items are 'list' prices anywhere else. I don't go near e-Bay anymore. To me, it's too many hustlers looking for suckers. I don't trust it. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlexCrowley 0 #6 September 21, 2005 I agree. Ebay when it was an auction site was great, now it's just a snipefest. Most of my friends have stopped using it, the ones that do have to snipe to win things they're interested in. Fraud is rampant in certain areas, but i'm not convinced it's any more so than normal - except it's in your face rather than the classifieds of your local paper. Fake bidders screw up high profile auctions a lot, the better run ones will automatically delete obviously fake bids as they occur rather than have them destroy the concept. I generally only bid on things I dont care if I win or lose on, if I really want an item I just use 'buy it now' on the lowest priced item I can find, from a seller thats reputable. Bidding is no longer worth the effort. Did I mention that I hate snipers? On the other hand, because I'm overly cautious about who I buy from I have never had a bad experience with buying something, that includes buying $1000+ items. In one case I got a slightly different version of an item I wanted to buy - but in my favor, and a couple of broken tubes in a guitar amp which the seller replaced with no fuss. So its kinda good, kinda bad, I think it's all down to how careful you are and what kinds of things you're going to buy. I wouldnt buy anything of value that I wasnt at least very familiar with, simply to be able to screen out the fraudsters. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ccowden 0 #7 September 21, 2005 The bid is now almost 10 million. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #8 September 21, 2005 I have, had some good experiences with e-Bay, in the past. One incident, I never heard a response from and as far as I know, the person has never cashed my check. I got a helluva deal, on a Gretsch 6118 Anni. It not only came in the hardshell case but, the original shipping box! There wasn't so much as a speck of lint on that guitar. Since then, to sum it up, e-Bay, has gone to shit. My wife doesn't go near it anymore, either. By the way, do you hate snipers? Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #9 September 21, 2005 I'm new to eBAy & was just beginning to be curious about it. What is "crawfishing" and "sniping"? Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #10 September 21, 2005 QuoteI'm new to eBAy & was just beginning to be curious about it. What is "crawfishing" and "sniping"? _____________________________________________ If, I have this correctly, you have the folks who get the bid high, then back-out... crawfishing. Snipers, are the ones who wait till the very last second then quickly, post a bid, just high enough to win the item. Hope, this helps. Anyone out there, feel free to correct me. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #11 September 21, 2005 QuoteThe bid is now almost 10 million. I'll take it!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlexCrowley 0 #12 September 21, 2005 Seems right to me. In some catagories sniping is the only way things are bought, which is what killed ebay for me. As a seller it's weird to know that 80 people are watching your auction, then you'll get the bids in at 2 or 3 seconds before the end of the auction itself. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildblue 4 #13 September 21, 2005 I've started using Overstock's auctions... no sniping possible - auction won't end until 15 minutes after the last bid. There's not enough sellers on there yet though.it's like incest - you're substituting convenience for quality Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #14 September 21, 2005 QuoteI've started using Overstock's auctions... no sniping possible - auction won't end until 15 minutes after the last bid. There's not enough sellers on there yet though. _____________________________________ Shhhhhhhhhhh Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rwieder 0 #15 September 21, 2005 E-Bay pulled the helmet. It didn't belong to Robby Gordon anyway. It was a clone some squirrel decided to screw someone over with, See Here -Richard- "You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slug 1 #16 September 21, 2005 QuoteSeems right to me. In some catagories sniping is the only way things are bought, which is what killed ebay for me. As a seller it's weird to know that 80 people are watching your auction, then you'll get the bids in at 2 or 3 seconds before the end of the auction itself. Hi Alex There are computer programs available that will automaticaly snipe for you. All the bidder/sniper has to do is enter their max amount their willing to pay, the program will beat the last bidder/sniper by the minimum amount required to win without exceeding the max. We don't play that game R.I.P. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlexCrowley 0 #17 September 21, 2005 Yeah, they're pretty basic, they sync to Ebays clock. The bidding minimum amount is actually part of Ebay's automatic bidding process. The only real danger with sniping is putting in a max amount higher than you're willing to pay, because it'll automagically go through the roof if someone is bidding the same as you. The winner is whomever got the highest first in the event of a tie. TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
