Subject:
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Re: [DISC] Shortcircuit eBay?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.market.auction
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Date:
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Wed, 28 Apr 1999 14:18:16 GMT
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Viewed:
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2267 times
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On Wed, 28 Apr 1999 02:54:42 GMT, "Mike Poindexter" <lego@poindexter.cc>
wrote:
> If an auction runs too long, people will lose interest in it. I speak from a
> sample size of 1 - me. I would chose shorter auctions as opposed to longer
> ones. I do not represent the entire population, but 1 segment.
OK. G1/G2/Sold auctions can run as long - or as short - as the seller
wants (assuming the auction site allows). If the seller wants to increase
the 'excitement factor' by keeping the auction shorter, they can:
1. Decrease the time from the start of the auction until the first G1
advancement.
2. Use a shorter G1/G2/Sold cycle. A general RTL standard is 1 day, but
that's hardly set in stone. Yahoo! uses 5 minutes, I think (Yahoo! isn't a
G1/G2/Sold system, but they keep auctions open until the newest bid is 5
minutes old).
3. Increase the size of bid increments as time goes on. Today, a $100 bid
has to be beat by $1. Tomorrow, the increment will be $2.
4. Increase the pace of the advancement cycle as the auction progresses.
At first, lots advance once per day. After a few days, they advance every
6 hours.
> If the system (eBay's)is inherently unfair, I submit this to you: The world
> is a system and it too is inherently unfair. Most things in life are. And
> the attempt to make them more fair often times makes things (1) more complex
> or (2) broken in some other unforseen way.
And if our mental inertia overwhelms us, social entropy will overcome
everything.
There are many complications to the fixed-ending auction, it just happens
that the complications aren't in the rules. Sniping is one of the obvious
behavioral complications.
> As for defending eBay's system, all I have to do is this. I am a consumer and
> I _LIKE_ their system. That is all the defense it needs. My patronage pays
> the bills. My praise does not.
But praise (and criticism) can sometimes have long-term affects on the
bills getting paid.
> They are the most successful auction house on
> the net. I usually see people mad at those who are the leader. Most people I
> know hate Microsoft, yet buy their systems. I don't see them purchase Linux
> or OS/2, they don't buy Lotus software.
So? People don't just sit around and say, "hey, let's be pissed off at the
market leader!" There's a reason behind the complaints. I use eBay
because it offers the largest body of bidders/buyers. I would prefer to
not use eBay, because eBay is slow, painful to navigate, doesn't allow me
to spend my money the way I want to, and cuts off my auctions before I've
realized the highest possible selling price. AND it's really slow to
e-mail me updates.
> People can complain all they want, but the only voice that is heard above the
> crowd is the voice of the dollar. If you don't like their product and still
> use it, what reason do they (or anyone) have to change it?
To further increase their profit.
Steve
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: [DISC] Shortcircuit eBay?
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| James, If an auction runs too long, people will lose interest in it. I speak from a sample size of 1 - me. I would chose shorter auctions as opposed to longer ones. I do not represent the entire population, but 1 segment. If the system (eBay's)is (...) (28 years ago, 28-Apr-99, to lugnet.market.auction)
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