does this ebay auction bidding make sense?

[DisneyMagic28]

I would agree I am amazed at the wierd bidding I will get on some of my auctions.

I am also amazed at how many people don't realize how to to get into their paypal account and think that you have to go through ebay or win an auction to use it that you can access it directly at paypal.com.

I can just see the blank stares on their faces when I tell them they can send money to anybody, friends family etc and they don't have to win an auction all they need is an email account.

 

[DisneyMagic28]

Altho I don't know that it says "reserve met" when it's met. I do know it says "reserve NOT met" when it hasnt' been yet. It does seem odd but the price isn't odd.. it's precious I'd love to have a keepsake like this of my niece's work.

I agree it's cute. I can make the same thing for $10 and would probably sell it for $20 at the boutique, I just didn't know people would pay that much that's why I was watching this particular auction along with some others to get a feel for what people would be willing to spend but then the bidding looked strange so I am not sure what exactly to expect.

 

[DisneyMagic28]

I think the stuff is awesome. Check out the Disney bottle cap chokers they are so cute. DD saw it and wants one. They look really nice, isn't Disney copyrighted though? My friend makes the neatest Disney shirts but can't sell them due to the copyright issue.

Those disney bottle caps you can buy at a scrapbook store or Walmart they are around $3-$4 for the whole set for all of them. Just drill a hole and add ribbon and beads and viola you got yourself a choker for a lot less.

 

[DMRick]

I guess that makes sense. Seems silly to me to keep bidding against yourself so that you can pay more when she should have just put $125 in to begin with.

She wouldn't have been bidding against herself..eBay won't let you. Someone else must have had a bid higher than hers, and she had to keep going to beat it. I don't think the price is high because of the sterling silver, but because of the scans of the child's artwork that will be on it. Our local school sells something similar as a money making thing and charges a lot of money for just one item with a kids picture scan. For that amount, I'm only surprised the seller doesn't do the scanning..but it wasn't the seller who got the price up high.

That second highest bidder would have been bidding against her. As it says just above the bids :

*********
'Only actual bids (not automatic bids generated up to a bidder's maximum) are shown. Automatic bids may be placed days or hours before a listing ends.'
*********

So the second highest bidders won't show up..they must have been automatic bids.

 

[ceecee]

Those disney bottle caps you can buy at a scrapbook store or Walmart they are around $3-$4 for the whole set for all of them. Just drill a hole and add ribbon and beads and viola you got yourself a choker for a lot less.

I will be checking Walmart! I love them. Where are they located? With the crafts??

 

[SCQ86]

What happens in ebay is when you are going to bid, you have the option to put your maximum bid. When you do that if the next increment is ie. $5.00, but your max is $50, only $5 will show. When someone tries to put a bid in for the next increment $10, it will show up on theirs you've been outbidded. Their bid increment will not be shown in the history. It will only show that the first person that put the maximum bid, her name will show as the new bidder. However, if she wins the bid for $10, she only pays $10 and not the maximum that she initially would pay for the item.

Does that help.

 

[kellia]

No, that is how Ebay bidding works. If she bid $100 when it started at $1, if someone put in $5, it would show her go to $5, then if someone else bid $20, it would show her going to $20. The others never beat her original bid so that's why it only shows her bid increasing.

Boy, this seller sure got a lot of publicity, huh??

 

[i3utterfli82]

LOL, no this is not fishy, and as for the high price, this is completely normal.

What the seller is selling is boutique style jewelry with a unique touch. I am sure this seller has a huge following and that is why it is so high. You would not believe the prices people will pay for "custom" anything...especially childrens clothing!

 

[DisneyMagic28]

No, that is how Ebay bidding works. If she bid $100 when it started at $1, if someone put in $5, it would show her go to $5, then if someone else bid $20, it would show her going to $20. The others never beat her original bid so that's why it only shows her bid increases

Ok, so if I understand correctly it will only just show her name and bids and it will never show the other person's identity just exactly how this auction history is displayed for this particular item. I could have sworn when I bid on auctions and somebody had bid before me and had put in a higher price my ebay handle is shown on the bid history. Maybe this changed recently with all the new privacy things ebay is putting into place.

 

[DisneyMagic28]

I will be checking Walmart! I love them. Where are they located? With the crafts??

They are in the scrapbook section. Just checked the ones I bought and they are $2.48 - there are 4 different packages Pooh and Friends, Princesses, Tinker Bell and Mickey & Friends and there are 8 different ones in each package.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

I bid like this just this past weekend. I was bidding on a particular listing and lost. I searched and found another, not identical but would suffice. I placed a proxy bid for an amount. I recalculated how much I was willing to spend with shipping and place another bid for a higher amount, fearing I would be outbid again. Each time I placed a bid there would be a note from ebay that my highest bid was close to the current bid (within a few dollars) and suggested I place a higher bid. I actually did, at least once more within the last hour or two of the listing. My id probably listed six times until I placed the amount I was willing to part with. I won that item, unchallenged.

 

[bumbershoot]

If everyone would simply enter the highest price they are willing to pay for an item, it wouldn't matter when you bid. Either you win or you lose.

Having had very recent experience in this, I tell ya, value is relative! When I made my first bid, a Mater pin had a value of $5 to me. And then when I saw someone creeping up on me, suddenly it had a lot MORE value to me! So when I got a message on my bidding page that I could be outbid, and would I like to increase my max bid, I did, and I doubled it, because suddenly I just liked it a whole lot more.

And then in the last hours, after doing a couple BINs and winning a couple other little auctions, as I saw it creeping up to me again, I wondered if it had more value, and it did, but only a dollar (I think), but someone else thought it was worth more.

It's easy to say something like "just set what you value it at" and walk away, but it's not that easy for some of us!

 

[disneysteve]

It's easy to say something like "just set what you value it at" and walk away, but it's not that easy for some of us!

It isn't that easy for most, which is why auctions are so successful. Ego takes hold much more than logic. People don't won't to be outbid, no matter what. I've often seen items sell for considerably more than what the item would cost brand new in a store. It makes no sense. Its just how auctions work. Of couse, as a seller, I depend on that.

 

[Feralpeg]

I think the stuff is awesome. Check out the Disney bottle cap chokers they are so cute. DD saw it and wants one. They look really nice, isn't Disney copyrighted though? My friend makes the neatest Disney shirts but can't sell them due to the copyright issue.

If you buy merchandise that Disney has sanctioned for sale to use as material in something else, there are no copyrighted issues. For instance, you could buy fabric with pictures of Disney characters to make a dress and then sell the dress. You bought the fabric from a licensed Disney merchant, so it is okay. I made gift baskets filled with Disney merchandise I purchased at DTD and then sold the baskets. Not a problem because I purchased their merchandise. You cannot make something from scratch like a Disney t-shirt, draw their copyrighted characters and offer them for sale. Hope this makes sense.

 

[reillybelle]

Hi all! Thanks for your interest in my designs. I thought I'd pop on here and make some things clear. I started my auction 7 days ago at 49.99 with a reserve of $125. If you have ever bid on an auction on ebay, you know that the price DOES NOT CHANGE until reserve is met. Once the high bidder bid 125, it posted as such. When you saw the high bidder bid several times in a row, she was trying to meet the reserve. The reserve price is unknown to bidders, so that is why she was "bidding against herself". I only use reserves on my items that require a lot of time and work. The person that can make this for $10? Wow...I wish I could have made it for $10. I'm sorry that you have an issue with my work and my prices. I have been selling on boutique ebay for 4 years and all of my prices in my store have been dictated from what they have sold on auction. In order to be fair to the high bidder, I list the item in my store for $1 more than the highest bid. I am an honest, hard working seller that has managed a full time teaching job, 3 children, and have created a business that I have earned the status of powerseller on ebay with 100% feedback. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Thanks! ) Megan

 

[DMRick]

Welcome Megan. It's not often someone gets here to join the talk about their auction. I assume someone pointed you our way. Your items are beautiful. I have a friend who makes necklaces and bracelets, and the beads she uses are not inexpensive. I guess that's where I found out that not all beads are the same. Are those your own kids in your auctions? They certainly show your stuff off wonderfully.

 

[reillybelle]

Thanks for your welcome. ) I actually have sellathon and a program that is free via ebay called ebay traffic. I can click on any of my auctions and see how people are referred there, so I just clicked the link and came here. I can also see the originator's ip address and location via sellathon and how much time they spent looking at my auction. Everyone that has an ebay store has this feature...and everyone that has sellathon has the ip feature. This bracelet took 7 hours to make, plus the materials to make it....it is all sterling silver, fresh water pearls, and metal beads that cost about 50 cents each. So, if you do the math, you'll see that my prices are not so ridiculous. Yes, those are my children in most of my auctions...they are my inspiration. Everything mom related, I design for myself with my children in mind. I wear these items on a daily basis and get so many compliments, that I decided to share them with other moms. There is nothing better to be able to show off your little one's sweet face or art in a piece of jewelry....my kids think it is pretty cool too. Thanks again for the welcome and allowing me to set the record straight. Have a great day! Megan

 

[disneysteve]

Welcome Megan! Thanks for joining and clearing that up. As a long time ebay seller, I understood the reserve bidding system but it is nice to hear it from the actual seller. Best of luck on ebay.

 

[ceecee]

Welcome Megan:
Your items are beautiful and original and the kids are just too cute!

 

[DMRick]

Can you tell me more about this? I have a store, but it's the first time I've heard of this. Where would I go within eBay to find it?

Thanks for your welcome. ) I actually have sellathon and a program that is free via ebay called ebay traffic. I can click on any of my auctions and see how people are referred there, so I just clicked the link and came here. I can also see the originator's ip address and location via sellathon and how much time they spent looking at my auction. Everyone that has an ebay store has this feature...and everyone that has sellathon has the ip feature.