Subject:
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Re: Proxy ratcheting: How do auction systems work?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.market.auction
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Date:
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Tue, 20 Apr 1999 19:30:40 GMT
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Viewed:
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754 times
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In lugnet.market.auction, lar@voyager.net (Larry Pieniazek) writes:
> Not to split hairs, here, because now that I'm reassured that AucZILLA
> works the way it does, I like the way it works... but isn't "correct" a
> bit of a stretch?
Maybe a bit subjective, yeah. :)
> I'd say an auction system is working "correctly" if
> the rules it claims to implement are consistent, and if it actually
> implements them faithfully.
And fairly.
> I'd grant you that AucZILLA is correct under that assumption, but I'm
> not sure I'd go so far as to agree with your characterization of eBay
> as "broken".
I'll explain why it's broken below...
> > Rob said
> > > If that's the case then this
> > > differs from how eBay handles this. In eBay's case, you have to
> > > beat the current bid by a minimum increment, not the proxy.
> >
> > That's broken.
>
> I don't like that behaviour. But it's not "broken" if the rules say
> that's the way it will work and if it actually works that way.
The behavior isn't broken given the rules. The rules are broken.
EBay's rule (requiring a new bid to exceed the current bid by the minimum
increment, rather than requiring a new bid to exceed the maximum (i.e.,
proxy) bid by the minimum increment) rewards snipers and increases the
probability that the current high bidder will get screwed over by a sniper
by only a penny. This also increases the number of reports of people
frustrated by snipers, since it feels a million times worse to be sniped at
the last minute and lose by a measly $0.01 than to be sniped at the last
minute and lose by $2.00 (or whatever the minimum increment is at that
level).
The other ridiculous thing about eBay's rule is, when you bid $100 with a
proxy max of $150, you're -really- bidding $150 and just -hoping- that it'll
sell for as low as $100. There's nothing weird about that, until you
realize that under eBay's system as described, a sniper can waltz in at the
last minute and take it away from you for $150.01 if you had the high bid of
$100. In another situation, if you bid $149 with a proxy max of $150,
you're really still bidding $150 but this time hoping that it'll sell for as
low as $149 (rather than $100). Now a sniper can't take it away for $150.01
but has to bid a full $154 (or whatever it takes) to take it away from you.
In both cases, you've bid $150 -- but with the difference being a hopeful
minimum of $100 vs $149. So eBay's system encourages you to keep your min
and your max close together so that you can't be burned by their rules.
> See what I'm getting on about, or am I actually splitting hairs?
Yup.
> AucZILLA is "better" to me than eBay because I prefer the behaviour,
> but eBay is not "broken" (except in the hacker sense of the word's
> meaning).
Yeah, that's what sense of the word I mean.
> I'd say eBay behaviour is more of a misfeature. (unless eBay rules or
> helps claim it does something different)
Me2.
--Todd
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