What A Moron

[Guy_b_g]

I got ya...just couldn't post using the normal tools....

I hope he put that heater in a glass case in a museum somewhere.

[b.walker5]

I'm sure you know this already , but in case my post wasnt clear, it was Trademe he sold, not the heater. He actually still has that, but no matter how you look at it 750 million is pretty damn good for an online business started with nothing, and the only overheads were the cost of a computor and some web space.

[Guy_b_g]

who was having trouble buying a second hand heater for his little flat in Wellington. 7 years later he sold it to Fairfax Media for $750 million dollars.

Wow...that's a helluva return on that heater..

[b.walker5]

Interestingly, a REAL auction does not end because it is 2:00:00 PM. it ends when bidding is complete. The true way to make Ebay function that way would be to extend the deadline of the auction until there is a minimum gap in the bidding of say 30 seconds.

Thats the way our local auction site, Trademe, works. It's a selectable option when you first set up the auction, and then any bids in the last 30 seconds will auto-extend the auction by a user selectable amount, usually five minutes.

Can be a real pain in the arse when you're trying to secure a bargain and the time keeps extending out. You can set a limit to the auto-extend time but most dont.

Trademe has become just like Ebay with "e-tailers" setting up online shops and flooding the site with crap, and who are only interested in buy now pricing.

The garage sale type sellers have set up new sites, similiar to your Craig's List but eventually they'll get overrun by mass sellers and the wheel will continue to turn. Trademe was set up in 1999 by Sam Morgan, a 23 year old university graduate who was having trouble buying a second hand heater for his little flat in Wellington. 7 years later he sold it to Fairfax Media for $750 million dollars. Now that's a good return.

[DGXSER]

Interestingly, a REAL auction does not end because it is 2:00:00 PM. it ends when bidding is complete. The true way to make Ebay function that way would be to extend the deadline of the auction until there is a minimum gap in the bidding of say 30 seconds.

Thats my thought anyway. It just kills me that Ebay takes 9% + a fee for posting the ad. Makes real estate brokers seem human again.

[red bandit]

Just because some people are better at playing the game than you are doesn't make them jerks (snipers).

[fredintoon]

As for the "snipers", I admit I am one of those. That is how ebay functions. Don't bid at all, until the last 10 seconds, and make sure you enter the highest $ amount you are willing to pay. You see, if you had entered the highest amount you were willing to pay, you would not be upset because the "sniper" is simply willing to pay more than you. You would not have paid that $1 more anyway, right??

Hi 'Bug,
I might have been but at less than 10 seconds left my typing finger don't fly that fast. And then there are the real bastards with the sniper programs that kick in at the final second. I'm with Rev. Rick and feel no sin thereby, "May your ill-gotten bargain be destroyed in transit, hopefully before your very eyes."

[fredintoon]

I was not any part of that deal.

Hi SFer,
You? Why does everything always have to be about you?
Note that the above is a facetious quote and by no means implies anything derogatory towards yourself.

[CatatonicBug]

Ebay has forgotten what an auction really is.


Just typed in Yamaha Midnight Special and got 201 results /modified with "auction only" reduced it to 13.

WTF???

The problem is that people want a gurantee that they will make a profit. Ebay was originally an online "yard sale". You could sell the stuff you no longer wanted, and maybe make some money from the deal. Now, it's more of an online supermarket, where people make a living selling items at a profit. Now, I have to admit that I do like the fact that there are so many items available if I really need them. However, IMO it has become WAY too commercialized.

I was looking for a radio and/or a cover for my cyclesounds for the last few days. It seems that people think that a 30+ y/o piece of plastic is worth a fortune! Buy-it-now prices or minimum bids set higher than what I paid for my entire fairing! I guess if it sells, and they are willing to be patient enough to wait for that to happen, more power to them, but it just seems like people are in it for the money instead of just getting rid of stuff they no longer need.

As for the "snipers", I admit I am one of those. That is how ebay functions. Don't bid at all, until the last 10 seconds, and make sure you enter the highest $ amount you are willing to pay. You see, if you had entered the highest amount you were willing to pay, you would not be upset because the "sniper" is simply willing to pay more than you. You would not have paid that $1 more anyway, right??

[Rev.Rick]

I'm with you Fred! I have missed atleast three fuel tanks for my bike that way. I would have the high bid for almost the entire duration, only to find someone in the last 2 secounds outbid me by ; like you said 1 buck. I thought I was getting smarter, so I would try to be sitting by the computer during the last couple minutes to thwarp any attemps to keep me from my prize and I still wasn't fast enough. This isn't the best thing for a preacher to admit, but I really wished that the tank would fall of the UPS truck in front of their house and get run over.

[SFerinTEXAS]

Yo Fred

I was not any part of that deal.

[fredintoon]

[QUOTE=Montreux_Blue;278496]Morons are everywhere, check out this 1989 Honda Goldwing with 110,000 miles for only........ $7,000 - - -
Or this 1979 XS650 bobber for only........ $7,000 too. It doesn't even have front brakes!!!!!

Hi Blue,
the 'wing has every available catalog option on it while the XS650 is a rolling obscenity with a salvageable power unit.
What they have in common is that their owners each poured a fortune into those machines and hope to see some of it back.
That's not moronic. Ponying up $7,000 for either of them, well - - -
BTW, I hate e-bay auctions too. Put in the max dollar you are willing to pay and some bastard sniper gets it for a dollar more in the last 1/2 second.
At least with "buy it now" you don't get that hassle.

[fredintoon]

Q: What's yor total price so I can stop beating around the bush ? And is it rebuilt and ready to go? May-18-10
A: what do you mean,,,the total price,,this is on a 7 day auction,,,so the total price would be if you are the high bidder ,,,after the 7 days are up,,and to you question,,""is it rebuilt"" I have no idea,,this came off of a complete 78 yamaha 1100xs,,it looks to be in real good condition,,so I would think it would be ready to go,,but I can not say that it will not need some work,,thanks so much,,shar - - -

Hi SFer,
had you asked "is there a buy it now price?" you might have gotten a different reply.
But you didn't.
Shar's reply was just fine; he took the carb rack off a bike, it looks OK from the outside and the highest bidder gets it.

[jmnjrpa]

Agreed

Me thinks the concept of an "Auction" may be a little foreign to some

Ebay has forgotten what an auction really is.


Just typed in Yamaha Midnight Special and got 201 results /modified with "auction only" reduced it to 13.

WTF???

[xs11lover]

I thought that's what BUY IT NOW ment on Ebay. That's the only time I'd put one on, otherwise your just putting a limit on what you can make and at ebay's price that's not smart.