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HP Forum Archive 16

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Why 58 bids from a single bidder?
Message #1 Posted by Han on 6 July 2006, 6:05 p.m.

I found this eBay item's bid history (eBay item #140004579879) quite odd. Does anyone have any idea what the purpose is?

      
Re: Why 58 bids from a single bidder?
Message #2 Posted by Eric Smith on 6 July 2006, 7:08 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Han

Looks like the bidder keeps raising their proxy, trying to find out what the reserve price is.

      
Re: Why 58 bids from a single bidder?
Message #3 Posted by Paul Brogger on 6 July 2006, 8:01 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Han

I note the bid amounts all seem to be $142.50. I'm thinking a piece of bidding software stuck in a loop? (But does eBay let you re-enter the same bid amount over & over?)

A couple of years ago, I bid on a broken HP-42s. Then someone emailed me via the MoHPC site, asking whether, in light of my articles on Pioneer repair, I thought the article could be fixed. (I.e., he was asking whether I could advise him on the wisdom of putting in a competing bid!) (I suppose I shouldn't use the same handle both here AND in eBay!) I responded that he'd put me in a difficult position, but felt duty-bound to inform him that, obviously, if I was willing to bid, I must think it had some value.

Then I encouraged him to join the fray, but added a request: "If you're going to bid, jump in with both feet. Don't incrementally bid up the price to within a couple bucks of my maximum, just to bail out at the last moment." (Of course, I didn't reveal my max bid.)

Well, he went ahead and did exactly that! Twenty or so bids of a couple dollars each, and a withdrawal just below my own highest bid. I'd have been seriously P'd O, except some third party jumped in and sniped the auction at the last moment, saving me the unhappy prospect of needlessly paying my maximum.

            
Re: Why 58 bids from a single bidder?
Message #4 Posted by Eric Smith on 7 July 2006, 1:03 p.m.,
in response to message #3 by Paul Brogger

If you keep upping your proxy when there is an unmet reserve, it will show the same amount for each bid, because eBay won't increase the actual bid unless you exceed the reserve or outbid another bidder.

                  
Re: Why 58 bids from a single bidder?
Message #5 Posted by Ron on 7 July 2006, 3:58 p.m.,
in response to message #4 by Eric Smith

It now shows all different amounts, many increased by just a cent or two.

                        
Re: Why 58 bids from a single bidder?
Message #6 Posted by Mitchell on 8 July 2006, 12:09 a.m.,
in response to message #5 by Ron

If a seller has a reserve price he should list it in their description. If they don't list it, you can ask the seller what the reserve is. If they don't want to tell, you don't have to waste your time trying to find out what it is by all those bids. Another item will be along that is just as good or better, price wise and quality wise. IMO


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