Thread: Anyone watch the A. Tadross auction?

Last week? Somebody REALLY wanted it.

Antoni Tadross figural saber knife straight razor Germa - eBay (item 230545191717 end time Nov-07-10 11:26:56 PST)

Actually, two people really wanted it. This is a classic perfect example of why sniping is the only way to bid.

Nice razor ! Very good condition , blade etch , and unusual novelty scales . I don't know how many more of them exist , but for what it sold for , the others will probably come out of the woodwork . Would I pay that much for it ? Hell no ! But it is a very desireble razor IMHO .

Originally Posted by Utopian

Actually, two people really wanted it. This is a classic perfect example of why sniping is the only way to bid.

How does sniping overcome a previous max bid? If I put a bid in today for a max of $1155, and your snipe bid is less than that amount, won't my bid win anyway?

Not putting words into other persons' mouths. I use a sniping program which allows me to decide ahead of time how much an item is worth to me. If I get it fine, if not, I have not let my emotions get the best of my pocket book.
Respectfully
~Richard

Originally Posted by souschefdude

How does sniping overcome a previous max bid? If I put a bid in today for a max of $1155, and your snipe bid is less than that amount, won't my bid win anyway?

If you look at the bidding history between the two bidders, it is clear that each kept sequentially bumping up his maximum bid. If one of them had instead set a snipe, then the other would not have had a reason to raise his bid until the last five seconds of the auction when it would have been too late. Sniping would have saved hundreds of dollars.

Looking at the bid history: The winning bid of $1155 was placed on Nov 4 and Nov 6th. The challenge bids were being bid up until Nov 7 when the auction closed. So the Max bid won out.

THat is not to say I disagree with what you said, that sinpe bidding prevents all the run up bids, but if the winning bidder really wanted to pay 1155 he still would have won.

o***h made the stupid mistake of bidding $350 on Oct 31

y***g bid $45 on Nov 2 and discovered that o***h was still the high bidder
so he bid $80
then he bid $125
then he bid $175
then he bid $225
then he bid $300 and gave up for a while

The next day onward the madness continued but hopefully you get the idea.

If o***h had set his snipe at $350 and walked away, then y***g would have been content as high bidder at $45. With 5 seconds left in the auction, his snipe would have been entered at $350 (or it could have been $1155) and y***g would not have had time to repeatedly bid up as he did. For that reason, whether o***h had entered $350 or $1155 as his snipe, he would have won the auction at $50, as it would have been higher than y***g's first bid. The ultimate winner of the auction blew $1000 because he put his bid in too soon.

Sniping prevents people from repeatedly jacking up their bid. It prevents them from competitively and repeatedly upping their bid. Sniping saves money for the buyer. Emotional bidding profits the seller--in this case by over $1000.

I agree with everything you say, with one caveat. We can say all this because we know what the other bidder did, we have post-auction knowledge. y* had no idea if o* placed a max bid or not, and if it was under $350 or not. He could have waited to snipe his $350 bid, but it would have lost had o* placed a max bid higher.
If everyone agrees to snipe, or bid last second, without Max bidding, you can feel safe your max bid will win. That isn't the case.
It's a market. Or a racket, depending on your point of view.

I may have my Y's ond o's backwards..
My head hurts.