Lost Auction .. Need To Vent.

Sorry guys and gals, hope this isn't seen as unnecessary use of forum space, but I really need to vent and hope y'all understand my frustration.

Most frustrating thing about relatively low-priced ebay items is losing an auction by a couple of cents! Of course, it's part of the auction game, and I should have probably set a higher bid from the get go (as I was ready to pay more).. I just hope the person that won has an unusually high bid activity level for the past month and feedback in the 1000's because he is an avid collector and not a dealer who will part out, at inflated prices, the lot he just bought!


Vent over. Wheew.. and to think the reason I most like stampin' is because it's such a soothing hobby

By the way, I Don't want to come across as if I'm blaming anyone for my losing an auction - usually I'm quite calm when approaching these things. But these were some sets that I really wanted (will take a lot longer to put them together now) and it highlights an important character skill for collectors of anything - knowing (well ahead of bidding) the price you are ready to pay for something you want, and moving on when it doesn't work out. Lesson re-learned!

Dim, I feel your pain. I have also lost out on a few items,
by only a few cents in many cases. I have thought about it,
though, and came up with a bidding mentality which makes a
lot more sense, and less stressful in the end.

Firstly, I have discovered that you always want to bid the
Maximum that you are willing to spend. Then, if you lose, you
can always say that, "That guy just wanted it more than me."

Secondly, I have concluded that you want to bid whole numbers,
not creative numbers like $16.83. This is because some people will
step up the bidding, one increment at a time, until they find your
max bid by looking at the winning number. Then they wait because
they know your maximum limit and ...

Lastly, I have found that the winning strategy (usually)is to not
bid ANYTHING until the last 20 seconds of the auction. Then, as
I said at the beginning, bid what you are willing to spend, and
not one penny more. This will prevent bidding wars between you and
another, and may help to keep the prices low. I have found that
this strategy has won me more than it has lost.

Just some suggestions. Maybe someone has already written a paper
on the psychology of ebay bidding?

Dim4ik

I've been successful on over 3000 ebay auctions. I only buy items (postal history) that fit my collection. I look at a cover that interests me and ask this question:

If I saw this cover in a dealer's stock box, what would be the maximum amount I would pay?

I only bid using snipe services such as eSnipe. I bid what I would be willing to pay for the item. I don't play penny games but may bid odd dollar amounts. I don't even think about the progress of the auction until I receive a notification of the result. I never have regrets. If I am outbid I know it's because I wasn't willing to go any higher.


lordenning

Partime, thanks for the advice, and good call on the paper - turns out someone actually did write one! http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/facult...ParkML05.pdf

I know there's tons of stuff written on the psychology of trading (securities, commodities, etc.), there are probably some analogies to be drawn there. It all boils down to controlling emotions and being disciplined.

lorddenning, I completely forgot about eSnipe and the like.. as I said, generally I don't have a problem with approaching auctions with a cool head. But I'll look into it, it might simplify things.

Also, don't feel bad about missing out "by a few cents", as the few cents only represents the next increment - you could bid a max bid of $5.00 and the other person a max bid of $100., they will win the item for $5.10 or something like that. It doesn't mean you would have won even if you'd doubled your bid. You'll never know what the winning bidder was prepared to go to.
The psychology of strategies for auctions, and other competitive situations, comes under the general heading of "games theory", which is a area of study encompassing mathematics, logic, probability, psychology. Its quite a complex area, but has been applied to many areas of human and animal behaviour, including economics and reproduction, as well as traditional games such as poker.
Game theory has also been applied to auctions, including different types of auction, such as "dutch" auctions where the lowest unique bid wins. A good explanation can be found here http://www.beyonddiscovery.org/cont...e.asp?I=3685.

Sorry for your loss as I too have lost out on some pretty great items. You had no idea how high the bid was actually so don't feel too awful bad. Just think of how much more you treasure those sets after you put the time and effort into them! It'll feel great I'm sure! Better luck next time!

i bid the top amount I am willing to pay for the item..lots of times I see the winning is 50 cents more than mine..but who knows how much the person was willing to spend ? I was getting good cards at poker last night..just not good enough !!

For bidding on ebay, sniping software is a necessity. 97% of auctions realize the final price in the last 5 seconds of a 5 day auction, might as well be your bid at the 3 second mark instead of the bidder that just beat you.

You all are right - there's no way of knowing how high the winner's bid actually was, so the small increment by which I lost is only an illusion of sorts. But I've gotten over it rather quick because, to be fair, I did get a nice deal on a buy-it-now item the day before. Can't have it my way all the time, right? .

Regarding sniping software, I was wondering about how ebay's bid fulfillment process works. Let's say, as an example, that I put in $10 as the highest I'm willing to bid early in the auction, and that takes the current high bid to $8.50. Then, someone that uses sniping software bids $9.50 3 seconds before the auction ends. Would ebay not automatically update to my high bid of $10?

Yes, it would update to your bid. If two identical bids are received, it will take the one that was made first.

Highest bid will always win on ebay. The beauty of sniping software is that you don't have to follow an auction. Simply find a Stamp, decide what you are willing to pay enter the information into the software and walk away. If you bid enough, it's yours, if you didn't bid enough than it's not yours. It also helps keep costs down as you don't run up the price and start a bidding war, Good for buyer, bad for seller.

Also with the sniping software, like you stated you bid $10.00, the Software places your bid when there are 2-3 seconds left, not when you enter your bid into the software. It is an absolute must if you are buying on ebay as there is a very good chance that the winner of almost every Stamp auction is auto sniping.

What an excellent way to put it. I will remember this next time I'm bidding.

I just check the bidding on an auction I won 2 weeks ago. On that one I put my bid 3 seconds before ending without a sniping software. It's a big thrill for me trying to put a last second bid.

dim4ik

It's bad when you are overbid on something you see rarely and want it so bad. But like others wrote you will never know what was the max of the winning bidder. I notice that some bidders without many transactions, less than 100, are willing to bid a higher % of cat. value. One collection I was watching lately went for a little more than 50%. I wanted to spend more like 30%. I let it go. It happens sometime that I bid to win the auction at any price just because the feeling is good to win. The way you wrote your story tell us you were willing to pay much more but you didn't go for it, another one did.

I recently participated in an auction through the Stamp Auction Network. I watched ten lots I was interested in, bid on six of them and was able to be the highest bidder one three of them. I was happy to get the three I did as it's better than nothing and I didn't break the bank or anything. What is odd and a bit frustrating with the Stamp Auction Network is that your bids are in competition with multiple ways of entering bids. I had winning bids on all six lots up to and at the very end of the time allotted for online bidding. However, I was outbid on three lots by phone and/or email bidders who contacted the auction house directly. Most likely another bidder/bidders saw my high bids on the Stamp Auction Network and then phoned/emailed the auction house with their bids which were not entered into the Stamp Auction Network in time for me to counter any higher bid. It's a bit sneaky, but a valid method - no rules against it. I can play that game next time. This auction house didn't have any mail or floor bidding, but some others do and I know I've lost to floor bidders many times. I guess at least with ebay and Delcampe, bidding is more straight forward and all the cards are on the table when it comes to bids since there's only one system to bid through.

Overall, I don't mind if I don't have successful bids. I will still have the funds for an upcoming auction and there's always more stamps and covers out there.

i realise that when you lose a bid ,it mean it was not for you . there always gonna be something almost the same or better in the future