(no subject)
so i was just arguing about this with sumeena and i want to get opinions from other people.
i don't understand the psychology behind the last-minute flurry of bidding (aka 'sniping' on ebay items.
the system is designed so that it will bid in $0.50 increments up to a maximum bid that you set. that way, you don't pay any more than you have to in order to win. i.e. if you put a $30 maximum bid on something and nobody else bids more than $6, you get it for $6.50 even though you put $30 as your maximum. furthermore, in the event that two people entered the same maximum bid, the earlier bid will win the auction, so it's an advantage to submit your bid well in advance.
this makes me wonder why people get all concerned about being outbid at the last minute. are you willing to pay more for something two minutes before the auction ends than you were two days before it ends? and if so, why?
the only sensible reason i could see for this is if you didn't have a good sense of the item's market value, and had to rely on what other people were bidding in order to get a sense of what it might be worth. this is kinda dumb though because that shouldn't change what it's worth to you. i guess the other part of it is getting caught up in the 'excitement' or whatever of bidding, becoming irrational and bidding higher than you really want to just because you GOTTA WIN IT.
i want to argue with people about this more so your comments are welcome.
i don't understand the psychology behind the last-minute flurry of bidding (aka 'sniping' on ebay items.
the system is designed so that it will bid in $0.50 increments up to a maximum bid that you set. that way, you don't pay any more than you have to in order to win. i.e. if you put a $30 maximum bid on something and nobody else bids more than $6, you get it for $6.50 even though you put $30 as your maximum. furthermore, in the event that two people entered the same maximum bid, the earlier bid will win the auction, so it's an advantage to submit your bid well in advance.
this makes me wonder why people get all concerned about being outbid at the last minute. are you willing to pay more for something two minutes before the auction ends than you were two days before it ends? and if so, why?
the only sensible reason i could see for this is if you didn't have a good sense of the item's market value, and had to rely on what other people were bidding in order to get a sense of what it might be worth. this is kinda dumb though because that shouldn't change what it's worth to you. i guess the other part of it is getting caught up in the 'excitement' or whatever of bidding, becoming irrational and bidding higher than you really want to just because you GOTTA WIN IT.
i want to argue with people about this more so your comments are welcome.