My $0.02: I have bought a lot of original Flyer off eBay in the last 15 months -- over 300 items, and plenty of it was from members of this list.
Many times when the competition is hot for a rarer item, I set a timer to be in on the "action" in the last few minutes. My experience is "sometimes ya win, sometimes ya lose." Sometimes I have lost a high-priced item I really wanted at the last second by a few piddling dollars. I don't see that as "getting sniped." I figure I only have myself to blame for not bidding enough for something I really wanted. I have also received several angry emails from people accusing me of "sniping." To me, there is no such thing. Whatever you want to bid as your "high" -- you have until the exact last second of the auction to do so. That's why there's a timer -- in lieu of a "Going once, going twice, sold" followed by a gavel drop in a live auction. For anyone to be angry because someone else topped their bid in the last two minutes is ludicrous. What, we're not supposed to bid in the last two minutes? Auctions are nothing more than an organized free-for-all. On the other hand, I have yet to receive an email from a seller thanking me for putting in a very high bid -- maybe too high -- at the last. I know eBay encourages buyers to enter their "maximum" as their first bid. That's silly, too. Sometimes I enter a low bid during the first day or two just to keep an eye on that item -- because eBay only allows you to watch 30 auctions, and sometimes that number isn't enough. If I like the way the bidding is going, I bid up toward the end. Sometimes, I don't because the price may be more than I think the item is worth. And sometimes I do this "marking" to watch items just to see what they sell for. All this hurts no one. It only moves the bidding forward. If eBay really wanted you to enter your maximum as a first bid, the bidding would go nowhere. I don't think any of this makes me an SOB, just a buyer being wise with his hard-earned dollars. Phil K S-Trains list sponsor: http://www.americanflyertrains.com All the Flyer you desire...books and accessories too! To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list send a note to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
