Site master Glenn Hauman has started up a new auction site called LotAuctions.com. It’s a rather unique site, from my understanding, in that if you have a group of objects to sell, you can list them as both individual properties and as a single lot, and the bidding determines which way it will go. So for instance, if you have a four-issue comic series, and issue #3 was written by Stephen King, people can either bid on the entire set or for the single issue by King. Also the site is constructed in such a way that “sniping” (someone jumping in during the last ten seconds or so of an auction and snatching it away without you having a chance to counterbid) isn’t possible.
To help kick things off, there’s a set of my “New Frontier” novels, proceeds from which will go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. These will not only be signed, but I’ll personalize them to the winning bidder if he or she so desires.
So check it out.
PAD
UPDATE FROM GLENN: There’s a problem with accepting bids, and we’re working on fixing it. As soon as it’s resolved, we’ll let you know– but you can still register in the meantime and be ready to go when we are. We’ll also be extending the bidding time on Peter’s auctions to compensate.
SON OF UPDATE: All better now. Thanks for bearing with us. We’ve extended the auctions to compensate. Don’t forget, if the bidding gets to high for the set of my “New Frontier” novels, you can bid on just one of the items in the set.
RETURN OF UPDATE: Okay, new problems. Grumblegrumble…
• 
Hey!!! you did not personalise the Hulk novel I had you sign many a year ago.
I feel left out. 😉
That’s it….. I will never buy any novels ever again. 😉
Well, I registered. Then I bid. Then when I clicked “submit bid” from the review page, I got an error.
Oh well.
-Joe
What sort of error did you get? And what system and browser where you using?
It was a page with gray tables on it, that made it seem like there was a problem on your end (I imagine it was a problem brining up the “Bid Successful” page).
I tried bringing the error page back up, but it was just a Page Expired error by then.
I’m running Win98se and MSIE 5.5
I got an e-mail saying my bid was accepted though, so that worked all right.
I’ll probably be outbid anyway
-Joe
Okay, we’re on it. Your bid doesn’t appear to have gone through, so you haven’t been outbid yet. 🙂
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I’ll check it out first thing in the AM when I get to work.
-Joe
I absolutely cannot stand it when people complain about eBay “sniping.” I do not think it is a valid complaint that there is no chance to counterbid. There *is* a chance to counterbid. A bidder has all the time from when he first finds the auction to counterbid. You counterbid by *entering your maximum bid at the beginning*. If the bidding happens to go above that, you weren’t willing to pay more than that amount anyway. If it doesn’t go above that, you have successfully counterbid anyone that tried to outbid you.
Complaining about “sniping” is brought about solely by “regular” bidders trying to just barely eek out the current top bidder and only bid a couple increments more than them.
I won’t even look at this auction site because of the idiotic sniping policy. I snipe dozens of eBay auctions per week (it’s so convenient). Most of the sellers have no objections to taking my money when I outbid everyone. If others aren’t willing to bid more then me, oh well.
The inability to “sniper-bid” will, by itself, mean the inevitable (and rapid) failure of this new auction site. Good.
Marco
Sniping is for dirtbags.
A REAL auction doesn’t end at an exact time, after the last bid is placed, there is time to keep bidding. Snipers are what sucks about eBay and an anti-sniping auction site deserves support.
“A REAL auction doesn’t end at an exact time, after the last bid is placed, there is time to keep bidding. Snipers are what sucks about eBay and an anti-sniping auction site deserves support.”
Whatever made you think eBay was supposed to be a direct translation of an auction house?
Here’s a hilarious sendup of the whole “sniper” thing a friend of mine wrote: http://www.duke.edu/~rah2/sniper.html
So can you bid for the auction if you are from oversea (Germany to be exact). And how do I pay? Of course, I’m a regular ebay bidder, but as far as I know americans always pay with credit card while most germans don’t even own one. They pay with money-transfer(I don’t know if I got the english word right). Is this possible,too?
Pascal
“A REAL auction doesn’t end at an exact time, after the last bid is placed, there is time to keep bidding. Snipers are what sucks about eBay and an anti-sniping auction site deserves support.”
Exactly!!!
Well, that, and their not accepting real money. Cash, that is. Banks (and credit card companies) are rich enough as it is. I much prefer dealing in coin of the realm than pay user fees for the ‘privilege’ of being allowed to use my own hard-earned money..
Off Topic
From Cinescape:
Next week I’ll cover some DC characters who could use a fresh look, but if I’ve missed out on any Marvel heroes you feel need the treatment, write me! In addition to that, I’d also like your help on a future project. After THE HULK comes out, I’m going to do a two-part column on the best and worst movie adaptations of comic books (which one THE HULK will ultimately fit into is up to the filmmakers, obviously). I want to include your views on the subject, so mail your votes for best and worst movie adaptations of comic books, along with the reasons why, to me at feedback@cinescape.com. Should be fun!
Since the same topic got so much response here, I thought everyone might be intresed in giving their opinoins and insights again to a diffrent source.
SPB
Site looks good, Glenn. I’ll be visiting often, and hopefully, when you start to get a bit more traffic and sellers, something will pop up that I can’t live without.
Rob R.
I do not bid on eBay for the sole reason of the “sniping” problem. True, no seller is going to turn down payment regardless of how unethically the purchase is made, but the bidding process is flawed and I for one will not participate. If I happen to see an item I am interested in, I contact the seller, and inquire about selling the item directly. I find this process much more enjoyable…and fair. Those who uphold the values of “sniping” may be adhering to the letter of the rules, but they are certainly trashing its spirit.
>True, no seller is going to turn >down payment regardless of how >unethically the purchase is made,
Unethical?…
>If I happen to see an item I am >interested in, I contact the >seller, and inquire about selling >the item directly.
Which is against eBay’s rules and is unfair to everyone else who follows the rules. NOW who’s being unethical?
Geez.
Corey
>>True, no seller is going to turn down payment regardless of how unethically the purchase is made,
>Unethical?…
I don’t know about “unethical”, but an auction result should not hinge on who has the fastest connection speed, or the more precise watch.
As for people putting their “best bid” up front, this is unrealistic as circumstances can change from day to day and someone may change their mind along the way. Best to just allow people to keep bidding until no one wants to outbid the winner. A grace period of a day (because people can’t realistically sit at their terminal all day and night waiting to see if they’ve been outbid) with no bids and … viol
“…but the bidding process is flawed…”
No, the bidding process is exactly what it says it is, a process to bid on an item for a limited amount of time. Nothing more, nothing less.
One only complains about “sniping” on an auction when the auction has ended and one was willing to go higher than the final bid price. My question to those who do complain is WHY DIDN’T YOU ENTER WHAT YOU WERE WILLING TO PAY?
Unless there’s a legitimate answer to that question, all the complaining is is sour grapes.
“As for people putting their “best bid” up front, this is unrealistic as circumstances can change from day to day and someone may change their mind along the way.”
I do not agree. A bidder consciously decides to bid. They can consciously decide that they aren’t willing to pay more than $25 for an item and enter that bid. If they later get outbid, just move on to other auctions with that same item and try your hand there. If they mistakenly enter an amount that is higher than they were really willing to go, there are mechanisms in place to retract bids.
People get too hung up on planning to win every auction they bid on. A bid is merely a show of interest. It is not a sign of weakness to lose an auction.
I consider it analogous to an impulse buy at a store. The buyer may regret the purchase later, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t always in full control of their decisions.
“Best to just allow people to keep bidding until no one wants to outbid the winner.”
Well, considering I would rather spend less than more, I think eBay’s system is just fine.
“A grace period of a day (because people can’t realistically sit at their terminal all day and night waiting to see if they’ve been outbid) with no bids and … viol
“True, no seller is going to turn down payment regardless of how unethically the purchase is made, but the bidding process is flawed and I for one will not participate. If I happen to see an item I am interested in, I contact the seller, and inquire about selling the item directly.”
For someone who acts concerned about the “ethics” of bidding under a fixed set of rules, you seem quite willing to have the seller violate eBay’s terms, effectively taking advantage of their listing service without paying them for the sale.
There is nothing unethical about someone outbidding you. If you choose not to enter your maximum bid, or if someone chooses a larger maximum bid, that’s not unethical — that’s an auction. (I can certainly understand not enjoying that style of auction.)
First, I am not aware of any rule against an eBay seller selling an item directly to an individual (not to say there isn’t one), and in fact, I have mentioned to potential sellers that I only want to discuss the possibility if there isn’t such a rule.
Second, I have only approached a seller for items that have had no bids at the time. If we agree on a price prior to anyone bidding on an item, the seller cancels the auction, removing it from bidding. If this process is in fact not allowed, I will certainly stop using it (and eBay altogether, which isn’t much of a loss). Regardless, I am sure eBay gets their money anyway. But let me emphasize once again…I have never approached a seller for any item on which bidding has begun.
“First, I am not aware of any rule against an eBay seller selling an item directly to an individual (not to say there isn’t one), and in fact, I have mentioned to potential sellers that I only want to discuss the possibility if there isn’t such a rule.”
Here is the relevant page: http://pages.ebay.com/help/index_popup.html?policies=transaction-interference.html
“Second, I have only approached a seller for items that have had no bids at the time. If we agree on a price prior to anyone bidding on an item, the seller cancels the auction, removing it from bidding. If this process is in fact not allowed, I will certainly stop using it (and eBay altogether, which isn’t much of a loss). Regardless, I am sure eBay gets their money anyway. But let me emphasize once again…I have never approached a seller for any item on which bidding has begun.”
Just to clarify, eBay doesn’t “get their money anyway” if the above scenario occurs. eBay’s cut is calculated as a percentage of the final auction price and charged to the seller. They also charge a minimal fee for just listing the item. So if the above occurs, they still can charge for the listing itself, but have no way of charging the final value fee.
-Ralf
I have to agree with my pal Ralf on this. I think eBay’s proxy system works just fine. I put in my bid on, say, a piece of original art when I see it. I know that I don’t want to pay more than $50 for it. I am immediately outbid. I realize that this art isn’t for me. The next auction I see that I like, I again place my bid for the total amount I am willing to pay for it, am not immediately outbid, and continue to watch the auction until it ends. If I am outbid in the interim, I have to ask myself how much more it is worth.
Just last Friday, I was outbid in the final 4 minutes for a laptop computer. The ending bid was for ~$30 more than I was willing to pay for the item. I simply moved on and started looking for similar auctions.
That is not to say that I won’t use Glenn’s auction, as I have heard of other sites using a similar ending method (can’t recall where right now), but I have no problem with ebay’s system or “snipers”.
-Joe
“That is not to say that I won’t use Glenn’s auction, as I have heard of other sites using a similar ending method (can’t recall where right now), but I have no problem with ebay’s system or “snipers”.”
I’ll echo that sentiment. I have no problem whatsoever with this new auction site. I encourage more variety. It can only be better for the consumer in the long run after all. 😉
-Ralf
Ralf, thanks for the link information. And to others: I consider myself justifyably chastised, and will never again contact an auction seller directly (for the record, I made only a single small purchase in this manner). But I will also never bid on eBay items again either. Sorry for my breach of policy.
Let me note that, if you wish to avoid the “sniping” situation, you can still use eBay but limit your searches to the items with the “Buy It Now” option. That allows you to buy an item that no one has yet bid on for a fixed price set by the seller. This has much the same effect as the private deal you made, only the deal is publicly available to everyone and eBay gets their cut. I’ve found it a very useful feature in the past.
I will also note that some of eBay’s own policies are ethically problematic, such as “Members are not permitted to email buyers in an open or completed transaction to warn them away from a seller or item.” There is something wrong with being forced not to let someone know that they are purchasing a fraudulent (or simply misdescribed) item. I’ve seen a few too many “autographed” Peanuts books published after Schulz died to feel comfortable letting that go by without warning.
I, too, have found the Buy It Now option to be very useful. I always include a Buy It Now price on anything I list. Never underestimate the power of the impulse buy.
Tried to register for Lotauctions.com. Got to the screen that requires a credit card number and stopped right there. PAD or Glenn, what do you suggest for those of us who don’t own a credit card, but want to sign up for this?
Going backwards:
ObeeKris: We’ve given that some thought. THe main reason for the CC is for anti-fraud purposes and payment. We’re working on a system whereby we can draw money from a checking account, but it’s taking longer to implement.
Pascal: we do also take Visa and MC debit cards, I’m not sure if that works for you.
To both: we’re trying to avoid using PayPal, as it puts money directly into eBay’s pocket.
Sniping vs. no sniping: As a seller, I don’t want my auctions sniped. I don’t care about somebody being cleverer than someone willing to bid more money, I want to get the most money possible.
For what it’s worth, I specifically instituted this after receiving an offer minutes after eBay ended an auction for $2000 more than the closing price. (No, that’s not missing a decimal place. Two thousand dollars.) I figured I wasn’t the only seller that was ticked off.
BTW–any idea when we can look forward to the finale of “Being Human” or did I miss it?
” I specifically instituted this after receiving an offer minutes after eBay ended an auction for $2000 more than the closing price. (No, that’s not missing a decimal place. Two thousand dollars.)”
Yes, but that can happen with an auction sniping or no sniping. The auction has to end sometime, and whenever that is, it’s always possible that someone will come along later and be willing to pay more.
Yes, but that can happen with an auction sniping or no sniping. The auction has to end sometime, and whenever that is, it’s always possible that someone will come along later and be willing to pay more.
Point noted. In this case, however, it was somebody who’d been involved in the bidding previously. In an offline auction, you’d have “going, going, gone” and here we didn’t.
This also brings up one of the other things involved with auctions– the argument that “you should know your maximum price and stick with that” is problematic, as part of determining the value of an item is dependent not only on what you will pay for it, but on what other people will pay for it. I don’t think Dingo Comics #1 is worth that much, but others disagree with me, therefore, I might want to pay a higher price for it than I might otherwise.
There can still be a bidding frenzy, but at least the concept of the “winner’s curse” is alleviated because of proxy bidding; you only end up bidding one increment higher than the second highest bidder. (Hardcore auction theorists or Nobel Prize fans will recognize this as being functionally equivalent to a Vickrey auction.) No one is deterred out of fear that he will pay too high a price. Aggressive bidders receive sure and certain awards but pay a price closer to market consensus. The price that winning bidder pays is determined by competitors’ bids alone and does not depend upon any action the bidder undertakes.
My problem with sniping is that it appears that the only way I can be reasonably sure of getting an item is to set an obscenely high maximum–especially if the auction is going to end in the wee small hours of the morning. I can’t stay up until 2:00 AM
EDT on a weeknight to make sure I get that uncracked black dash pad for my 1968 Plymouth Fury (a real example, by the way). I have a real job and my alarm goes off at 6:30 AM. It pìššëš me off no end when I find that someone logged in at 1:59:54 and outbid me, meaning that even if I had been able to stay up that late there’s no way I could have gotten another bid in. I’ve had friends tell me to set my maxes really high, but then there’s the possibility that the sniper will do the same thing and either get it anyway or cost me a ton of money.
Also, shrugging and finding another auction for the same item isn’t always a viable option. Sure, there might be five people offering, say, Green Lantern #4 from 1961, but I’m probably not going to find five people offering a clean hood edge molding for that ’68 Fury (another real example that got sniped with ten seconds left).
I also would prefer not to use company time and company equipment to bid on eBay auctions, so mid-day end times are also a problem.
I’ve decided that, should I ever sell anything on the ‘Bay, all my auctions will end before 11 PM EDT…
It reminds me of what happened in the mid-’80s with the game Photon (think Lazer Tag): It was a lot of fun until the locations got infested with teenage players who spent hours developing specialized combat techniques. Then you’d pay your $3.50 and spend five minutes hiding in a corner waiting to recharge because of some f***wit who had figured out how to block his own sensors while shooting. It stopped being fun for anyone but the “pros,” who unfortunately weren’t sufficiently numerous to support the franchises by themselves, so the franchises went away.
The same thing could happen with eBay–if no one but the snipers can ever win an auction, eventually the only bidders left will be the snipers.
Paul
My problem with sniping is that it appears that the only way I can be reasonably sure of getting an item is to set an obscenely high maximum
Except that’s true in a normal auction as well… the only way you can be sure of getting an item is by being willing to bid higher than the other guy is willing to bid. And isn’t that what auctions are all about?
Well, yeah, but in a normal auction you’re in the same room at the same time as the guy who bids higher, so you have the option of yelling a higher amount or holding up your paddle or whatever (the “going-going-gone” situation described earlier). If I bid eighty bucks for that piece of trim on eBay and someone swoops down with six seconds to spare and places a higher bid I don’t have that ability. Even if I’m watching the auction live, the time it takes eBay to record his bid and send me an outbid notice exceeds the amount of time left in the auction. Even repeatedly refreshing the screen is no solution because of the delay in updating information in the system.
Paul
Yup, that’s right… at a normal auction, you are pressed into getting carried away with the moment, and the effort could go on indefinitely. With an eBay auction, you plan your maximum bid, and you know when it will end (barring eBay failure.)
Yes, but in the regular auction, the guy who comes in at the end knows exactly what your previous bid was and also knows that whatever amount he shouts out is the amount he’ll have to pay if you decide you don’t want to go higher. So you don’t have some wiseacre jump in with a bid of ten million dollars to keep you from getting the item for a hundred. I’ve lost a number of eBay auctions by exactly one bid increment. This doesn’t mean that the sniper just happened to bid $89.50 when my max was $87, especially since the price showing may only have been $60 when he placed his bid. I’ve gotta figure that the snipers are coming in and entering some ridiculously-high figure in order to guarantee a win. Why not bid, say, $500 for an item that’s currently at $60? You know what the bid increment is and you can be fairly certain that the current high bidder’s max isn’t going to be an order of magnitude higher than the current price shown. If you outbid the guy, you only wind up paying the next bid increment, and since you’ve placed your bid with seconds to spare, you stand almost no chance of the other bidder screwing you right back with a bid almost as high as yours. Why not bid $500 for that $60 item? Hëll, why not bid $1000? $10,000? $12 million? You’re most likely going to get it for $62.50 anyway.
When I set my maximum bids, I look at the item, the amount of time left and the current high bid, and set my bid accordingly. I might be willing to go higher at the end, but I’m not going to open with $150 when it’s only at $44.95 now. Especially if I’m hoping to get it for $75. I resent having someone come in with ten seconds to go and entering some huge number so they can snatch the item for an extra $2.50. I’ll go the $2.50. Hëll, I’ll go another $50 if the item justifies it, just give me a fighting chance…
Paul
Anyone who bids $500 for an item he’s not willing to pay $500 for is not only a fool, he is apt to quickly be a broke fool. It only takes two such people bidding to make one broke. The smart bidder will enter the actual maximum he’s willing to pay; he may get it for much less, but he won’t be forced to pay more.
And that, by the way, should also be your strategy for avoiding being outbid while keeping for paying more than you’d want to. You have more than a fighting chance to bid that extra $50; generally, you have seven days of auction.
If you’re not willing to place in a real maximum value as your maximum bid, then it should come in as no surprise that you are outbid by people willing to bid more than you.