Posted By:
James GalloAlthough many of the people that responded think Paul did the "right" thing is really hurt him greatly by losing out on an additional $70.
I generally agree with Jay that most of the people who bid early aren't really serious bidders and generally just kill the BIN.
This is why I just use a higher starting price and a BIN. This way once there is a bid I know the item is sold for my minium price, but it still gives a chance for someone to hit the BIN as it won't vanish when some no name puts in a .99 bid.
I have seen WAY too many people bid on things just to track them or because they have one and what to see what it goes for.
The Watching feature is nice to have but this is also not a true indicator of interest as many people watch things to see what they go for. I do this on a lot of auctions especially cracker jacks which I track a great deal. Most of these I have no intention of bidding on but I am tracking price trends.
I think it really needs to be looked at on a case by case basis.
If there was one guy that bid .99 a hour into the auction but another guy wanted the card for the BIN I don't think it is wrong to end it. It is also ok by the ebay rules.
The seller of an item has ultimate control over it.
What if you had a card on ebay and in your online store website. Someone contacts you to buy the card off your website but it got a .99 bid on ebay. Should you tell this buyer he has to go onto ebay now and fight for the card??
I see both sides and 99% of the time I don't end auctions early, but if it is an item that I know the market on and I got a really good real offer, I would certainly consider it. That being said most of the time the offers are so low this isn't an issue.
Also most of the stuff I sell isn't Baseball cards and isn't as rare so if someone was watching it and it was sold offline it would not be hard for them to locate another one.
I guess it really is a case by case basis as well as what the item is. I have made a few offers on cards and I don't think I have ever had one accepted. The last card I won for $50 less then I offered but you just don't know until the very last second of the auction as everyone snipes these days.
I guess letting an auction ride is as good a gamble as any other.
James Gallo
Looking for 1915 Cracker Jacks and 1909-11 American Caramel E90-1.