In response to GS Dreamin's comments the other day, I went online to E-Bay and hunted around for an Exoto 1/18th Grand Sport to bid on. They are available directly from Exoto, of course, but they are expensive. (For me, $165 for a toy, even a great collectable one, is expensive. Particularly when other very desirable Corvette models are available for much less.)
Once on E-Bay, I found the #80 GS and the bid was $72.00. I thought that was an excellent price. (It wasn't the extraordinary yellow one I lust for, but it wasn't chopped liver either.) And I should add now that this was my first venture into the world of E-Bay bidding.
I upped the bid a buck, and hit enter. Immediately I was told that a higher bid had been submitted, and the minimum was $74.00. Ok, I bid $75. And, again, the same thing occurred. Three times, same result.
Let me cut to the chase. When I got to $85.00, I was still being told the bid I had just submitted had been topped already. Which brings me to my question: What the heck was going on? I occurred to me that when I was told the "initial bid" was $72.00, that figure was bogus -- perhaps made up by the seller, who, after posting $72.00 as a bid, turned right around and bid a higher price himself -- say, $100.00 -- knowing that he couldn't be out bid until the price got much higher than his "lure" price of $72.00. As soon as that possibility dawned on me, I dropped out of the bidding.
So, again, I ask, What the heck was going on? I can't imagine that the very second I submitted my bids they were being topped by someone else at that precise instant, particularly when the price was rising only a dollar at a time. Anyone's insight regarding the bidding process would be genuinely appreciated.
Re: Need a "coach"/advice re E-Bay Corvette GS (Mechanic)
Easy answer, mate. Lemme try to explain.
Ebay allows a bidder to set a "maximum bid" for an item. The key thing to know is that the bidder's "maximum bid" may not be the highest bid showing.
Say I want to buy a diecast Corvette, and the high bid showing is $25.00. I figure I'll bump it up one dollar, so I enter a bid of $26. I get an immediate reply that says "You've been outbid...", and the high bid is now $27. So I enter a bid of $28, and the reply is immediately the same, "You've been outbid...." and the high bid is now $29... Sound familiar?
What's happened is that the guy with the $25 bid entered a higher amount than either of your bids. Each time someone places a bid higher than his minimum bid, but lower than his maximum bid, Ebay's computers will automatically enter a higher bid by the minimum amount it takes to outbid you. Confused? If his "maximum bid" is $30, if you'd bid $30.01, you'd be the high bidder. But you still may not get the item - because he's going to get an email at home telling him that he's been outbid, and if he wants the item bad enough, he's likely to come back in and place another bid higher than your bid. It's the game...
Q- "Why do I get messages immediately telling me I've been outbid? "
A- "This just means that the current high bidder's maximum bid is higher than the bid you placed. For example, let's say you place a $20 maximum bid and another person places an earlier $25 maximum. In this case, you are immediately outbid because your bid of $20 is not high enough to beat the earlier maximum bid of $25. Remember: eBay will confidentially bid up to your maximum, but in order to avoid being outbid, you must have the highest maximum bid."
Re: Need a "coach"/advice re E-Bay Corvette GS (GSDreamin')
YEP! - exactly like he said. You hafta figure what the highest amount that you feel the item is worth to you. With 2 or 3 minutes left in the auction ("sniping"), you bid - if you feel $100 is your "number" - $101.01. The E-Bay computers kick in and move your bid above the other bidders "Proxy" bid. If he put in $90 - and he's watching - he'll see it go to $91 (IF the next "raise" is a buck), then frantically throw in a bid of mebbe $95; then YOUR "proxy" takes it to $96 and he tries to jump in with another bid... if he has enough time. The last item I bid, I was the leader @ 40 seconds to go; at 3 seconds left, TWO people OVER-BID me! Sometimes you're a HERO, sometimes you're a ZERO! ;) :yesnod: :cheers:
Cruz
Re: Need a "coach"/advice re E-Bay Corvette GS (Mechanic)
Well, at least you didn't get sniped. Check Chevymall.com or close to that as they had the #80 for a good deal. Don't expect to get an Exoto for much less than $85.....very unusual if it happens. Go to the search function and then check "completed items". This will give you a price basis so you know what the ebay market is like. Hope this helps as well. :seeya
Corvette Store
Need a "coach"/advice re E-Bay Corvette GS
YEP! - exactly like he said. You hafta figure what the highest amount that you feel the item is worth to you. With 2 or 3 minutes left in the auction ("sniping"), you bid - if you feel $100 is your "number" - $101.01. The E-Bay computers kick in and move your bid above the other bidders "Proxy" bid. If he put in $90 - and he's watching - he'll see it go to $91 (IF the next "raise" is a buck), then frantically throw in a bid of mebbe $95; then YOUR "proxy" takes it to $96 and he tries to jump in with another bid... if he has enough time. The last item I bid, I was the leader @ 40 seconds to go; at 3 seconds left, TWO people OVER-BID me! Sometimes you're a HERO, sometimes you're a ZERO! ;) :yesnod: :cheers: 
