Snorebaby
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Doug
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2019
- Threads
- 9
- Messages
- 526
- Reaction score
- 1,063
- Location
- Augusta, GA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2019 Ranger XLT FX4 SuperCrew, 1996 Ranger XLT Supercab, 2013 XLT F150 (Wife's), 1990 Honda Goldwing, 2015 Honda Goldwing
- Vehicle Showcase
- 1
This may be a little off-topic, but it is been bugging me lately.
Do people understand what an auction is for? Of course to sell something. But if I wanted to pay retail or MORE than retail, I would just go to the store (or online) and get it. Why would I pay extra for something? It amazes me how people lose their mind when it comes to auctions......let's see how MUCH I can pay for something rather than get it at a decent price!!
As Phil would say.....a bit of a backstory. Keep in mind I am talking about everyday items, not rare or unusual items.
I helped a friend with his auction business for about 10yrs (before he passed). Every Sunday I worked the table and the crowd. Sometimes I would travel with him on Friday and Saturday nights. I know the object of the auction is to get as much as you can for an item from the seller's standpoint. That is where reserve's and minimum bid's come into play. A reserve or minimum bid has to be met or it won't be sold. When no reserve and no minimum bid is applied, then all bids are fair game.
Now the object of the buyer is to save money and get something below retail but still a decent price. I could bid $75 on a $100 common item with no reserve or minimum bid price and win that item for $75 if no one else bids.
But the mentality of some bidders drive me crazy. Why drive a bid up to $150 on a common $100 item? Do you not understand you are trying to SAVE money? I seen it a lot. As an auctioneer, sometimes you have to work the crowd and get them to bid higher so you can "back the bid down". What happens then is the auctioneer stops the bidding and lowers the price of the item to what is needed for that item. This lower price applies to all who were bidding over the actual price (usually 3 or 4 people in a bidding war). If there are any items left, it goes to the next bidders and so on. What this does is set up the crowd to pay more for some other items where you can make your money on. And there are other subtle ways to get the bids rolling that I won't go into right now.
But the online auctions don't work like that. The mentality is to SAVE money when bidding on items. You set a limit on how much you would want to spend and leave it alone. Hopefully it is for less than retail but a decent price. If not, then what is the point? I see a lot of bids and think what's the point of buying from an auction? You still have to pay shipping and FFL fees. And you still are bidding more than retail?
Unless of course there is a setup where a friend of the seller (or the seller himself with another account) is driving up the price for the seller and if the friend happens to be the high bidder, they make you think it is sold, but the transaction either doesn't take place in real life or they work out something else to fool the public. I hope that isn't the case, but I have heard of it being done.
OK...enough of a rant. Thanks for listening!
Now I am hoping to get the Shockwave for less than $300 or close to it, which is a price it was prior to the "pandemic". The ammo prices are starting to creep down, so the weapon prices should follow soon.
Do people understand what an auction is for? Of course to sell something. But if I wanted to pay retail or MORE than retail, I would just go to the store (or online) and get it. Why would I pay extra for something? It amazes me how people lose their mind when it comes to auctions......let's see how MUCH I can pay for something rather than get it at a decent price!!
As Phil would say.....a bit of a backstory. Keep in mind I am talking about everyday items, not rare or unusual items.
I helped a friend with his auction business for about 10yrs (before he passed). Every Sunday I worked the table and the crowd. Sometimes I would travel with him on Friday and Saturday nights. I know the object of the auction is to get as much as you can for an item from the seller's standpoint. That is where reserve's and minimum bid's come into play. A reserve or minimum bid has to be met or it won't be sold. When no reserve and no minimum bid is applied, then all bids are fair game.
Now the object of the buyer is to save money and get something below retail but still a decent price. I could bid $75 on a $100 common item with no reserve or minimum bid price and win that item for $75 if no one else bids.
But the mentality of some bidders drive me crazy. Why drive a bid up to $150 on a common $100 item? Do you not understand you are trying to SAVE money? I seen it a lot. As an auctioneer, sometimes you have to work the crowd and get them to bid higher so you can "back the bid down". What happens then is the auctioneer stops the bidding and lowers the price of the item to what is needed for that item. This lower price applies to all who were bidding over the actual price (usually 3 or 4 people in a bidding war). If there are any items left, it goes to the next bidders and so on. What this does is set up the crowd to pay more for some other items where you can make your money on. And there are other subtle ways to get the bids rolling that I won't go into right now.
But the online auctions don't work like that. The mentality is to SAVE money when bidding on items. You set a limit on how much you would want to spend and leave it alone. Hopefully it is for less than retail but a decent price. If not, then what is the point? I see a lot of bids and think what's the point of buying from an auction? You still have to pay shipping and FFL fees. And you still are bidding more than retail?
Unless of course there is a setup where a friend of the seller (or the seller himself with another account) is driving up the price for the seller and if the friend happens to be the high bidder, they make you think it is sold, but the transaction either doesn't take place in real life or they work out something else to fool the public. I hope that isn't the case, but I have heard of it being done.
OK...enough of a rant. Thanks for listening!
Now I am hoping to get the Shockwave for less than $300 or close to it, which is a price it was prior to the "pandemic". The ammo prices are starting to creep down, so the weapon prices should follow soon.
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