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First of all, I think I successfully cross-posted this to
lugent.off-topic.debate. Please remove market.auction in any replies.
Eric McCarthy wrote:
>
> Naji Norder wrote:
> >
> > This practice is called "Bid Siphoning." While it might be "good" for
> > buyers, it _is_ discourteous, and is specifically forbid in most auction
> > venues.
>
> I would like to differentiate "it _is_ discourteous" from "you find it
> to be discourteous." Clearly, some folks do not consider it
> discourteous.
I stand corrected. However, courtesy is not something that can be
decided by individuals, because it is a social issue. Courtesy has to
be determined by the social majority.
>
> > From eBay's rules:
> > "You may not email bidders in a currently open auction being run by a
> > different seller, offering similar or the same items at any price level
> > (bid siphoning), nor may you use an alias to place bids on your auction
> > for any reason."
>
> But I didn't email any bidders.
>
> > From Yahoo's rules:
> > "You cannot disrupt other auctions in progress (for example, by
> > contacting bidders in an auction being run by a different seller and
> > then offering similar items or the same item at prices below the current
> > bid)."
>
> But I didn't contact any bidders. I posted another offer in an
> open forum. It is as if I had another auction for the same item.
> People do that in Ebay all the time.
Yes, it is an open forum, but the placement of your message within
another's auction thread is the point that bothers me. On eBay, one
cannot append a better offer onto the description of something auctioned
by someone else. On Yahoo, one could do this via the q&a page of each
auction. If one did, then I would suspect that this would be called
"disrupt[ing] other auctions in progress" and be in violation of Yahoo's
rules.
I consider it perfectly acceptable that you wanted to sell your set,
given how high it was going in another auction. I also consider it
perfectly acceptable to mention in your post that you were doing so
because the demand seemed to be quite high (as seen in the other auction
thread). I just feel that it was improper to append your post directly
to another's auction thread.
Here's another argument. Suppose that when Lynn's Parts Auction made
its first announcement, I had replied to that thread with a description
of how the parts in my auction were priced lower. He would then reply
by describing how some of my stuff was priced _higher_ and that his
auction had a better form anyway. I would reply by saying . . . and a
rather disagreeable thread would develop, especially when a third and a
fourth auctioneer started ranting. In the end, this would result in
much animosity, and probably some sort of "acceptable" price guide on
parts. I don't believe that either of these are desirable. (I won't
give support for the anti-price guide campaign, for I have read plenty
of it in other threads.)
Returning to the social context, web etiquette is still up to debate in
many forums. Perhaps the users of Lugnet (the social majority) could be
asked to vote if people should be able to "infringe" on another's
auction/sale thread. I consider the lack of this in Lugnet's rules to
be an oversite, but if the majority feels differently, then a vote
should easily determine this.
Again, here are the two questions that I would put to a vote.
1.) Should someone be allowed to post, within the thread of another
seller/auctioneer, that he/she has the item available at a better
price/condition/etc.?
2.) Should someone be allowed to post (in his/her own thread) that
he/she has an item available at a better price/condition/etc. than XXXX,
and specifically mention the other auctioneer/seller?
There are plenty of threads for everyone to start one of his/her own,
without causing any ill-will amongst fellow Lego enthusiasts.
>
> Sincerely,
> /Eric McCarthy/
Sorry for the /rant. :)
Naji Norder
n (dot) norder (at) computer (dot) org
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