Do you bid early? I need answers!

[oldposterho]

Gavelsnipe rawks.

I *really* wish emovieposter would get some sort of sniping thing going - you could always just place any snipes 5:10 before the auctions end so they don't get extended and that problem is solved.  I just refuse to place a bid early and then get hammered for hours or days as I'm a 'fire and forget' bidder.  Unfortunately a couple of weeks ago I forgot before firing on two different days and missed on several things I actually wanted.  Aggravating.

[jayn_j]

Gavelsnipe rawks.

I *really* wish emovieposter would get some sort of sniping thing going - you could always just place any snipes 5:10 before the auctions end so they don't get extended and that problem is solved.  I just refuse to place a bid early and then get hammered for hours or days as I'm a 'fire and forget' bidder.  Unfortunately a couple of weeks ago I forgot before firing on two different days and missed on several things I actually wanted.  Aggravating.

I don't think Bruce wants gavelsnipe.  The extended bidding works to his advantage because it gives him exactly that sniping thing that raises final prices.  Sorta fun to watch an extended bidding war.  Not so fun to be in one, so I simply place my best bid a couple of hours early and walk away.

Sure, I lose some, but I don't get sucked into paying more that I determined the poster was worth to me.  Someone else wants to overbid, then good for him and good for Bruce.

[Movie Poster Exchange]

About half of our members use Gavelsnipe. The other half breaks down maybe an even amount bidding live and using proxies or a combination.  I would be curious to know what people think of a set end-time like we have as opposed to the extended bidding. We have the ability to do extended bidding but as a buyer (on other sites) I'm not a fan. I think heritage was smart to employ their signature auction format for weeklies. At the end of March we are shutting down for a week to do an overhaul, purge useless code, create sub-domains, etc. Basically optimize the site so the question has come up whether to go to the extended format. Any input from anybody?

Thanks,

-Peter

[Mirosae]

^ Thank you Peter, interesting to read that you want views. As a buyer I am against extended bidding. I bid my max and just wait for the result. And of course extended bidding makes  the whole thing more painful. It helps the seller for sure.

[jayn_j]

In my mind Peter it is a tossup.  Extended bidding gives some the chance to reconsider their last bid and go higher.  A fixed end bid with Gavelsnipe or other proxy requires folks to think harder about the last bid and bid it without pre-knowlege of the competition.

Te real wild card is the novice who makes the mistake of thinking of these events as a live auction where your bid is binding.  They bid just over the current bid repeatedly.

[Simes]

I always bid late - unless, that is, I want to put down a cheap opening marker to stop an item with no bids from being whipped from sale. The annoying practice whereby a seller succumbs to the allure of an offer made through a private message and removes it from sale for a clandestine purchase. In addition I have witnessed far too much 'macho' bidding with contestants needlessly pouring money into a pointless duel - sometimes days before the end of the auction - in order to feed their egos. This is to the detriment of their own limited intelligences but it's especially harmful to the pockets of any other interested bidders. Good for sellers though!

This was the answer I was looking for before I said exactly the same thing - albeit with less efficiency.

[Mirosae]

+ 1

I just checked HA sig and there are already 4 bidders battling  through over one poster. Current bid is well over x+Y already. Idiots.