[rescue] sniping, etc

[Steve Sandau]

Since a) not everyone else bids their top price right off, b) people's
bids *are* affected by what others bid, and c) not everyone watches the
auction results to the last gasp, it may very well be that waiting until
later on in the auction (maybe the last 10 seconds in some cases) will
get you an item for less than if you had put in a large bid right away.
That has been my experience in any case.

I could have put in a bid of $1000 for the aforementioned SPARCs, and I
probably would have won the auction. But I bet I would have paid far
more than the $629 that Dave paid.

No real facts to back this up, it just seems to make sense to me. (OTOH,
I marrying my first wife seemed to make sense to me at the time, too.;)
)


> > > I look at it this way - everyone has the same opportunity to "snipe"
> > > bids at the last minute. 8-)  If you dont get it, oh well, you'll
> > > find another.
> >
> > Gee, that means that everyone just bids whatever they're willing to pay and
> > the only difference is that it's done at the last minute...  Like a sealed
> > bid auction....
> 
>   No, that's NOT what it means, George.  It means that everyone bids
> what they're willing to pay BUT has a better chance if they have a
> fast machine, a fast browser, and a fast net connection.
> 
> > heh, imagine that, people just bidding what they're willing to pay for an
> > item, instead of trying to " play psychological games" with the other bidders.
> 
>   Sniping has nothing to do with psychological games.  It has to do
> with going to the store and getting a better price on a box of
> Cheerios.  Hence, 67 SPARCstations for $629.00.
> 

-- 
Steve Sandau
IS Technician, TMA Bath, Maine
ssandau at bath.tmac.com