# Am I missing part of the "big picture" here? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 28, 2004, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-missing-part-of-the-big-picture-here/276975 "2004-11-28T07:51:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-missing-part-of-the-big-picture-here/276975/1 "2004-11-28T07:51:03Z")
nascarfan82088 heads over to ebay to find something he might use. Ah ha! A gift card worth $125 at Walmart. nascarfan82088 decides to place a bid. Along comes nelliesheaven and decides this is just what she wants. She places a bid. And the bidding goes, and goes. nelliesheaven decides she’ll take it to 125.01 while good ol’ nascarfan is going to get this card if it kills him. He bids it all the way up to $127.51. Pardon my French but WHAT THE FUCK?! [http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5537280095](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5537280095) What am I missing here? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-missing-part-of-the-big-picture-here/276975/2 "2004-11-28T08:19:13Z")
Remember that built-in drive for survival and thrival (aka dominance) that all basic organisms have? In humans, it went a little haywire. Minor… minor glitch… ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-missing-part-of-the-big-picture-here/276975/3 "2004-11-28T08:35:22Z")
> [@Seven](#): > > nascarfan82088 heads over to ebay to find something he might use. Ah ha! A gift card worth $125 at Walmart. nascarfan82088 decides to place a bid. > > Along comes nelliesheaven and decides this is just what she wants. She places a bid. > > And the bidding goes, and goes. > > nelliesheaven decides she’ll take it to 125.01 while good ol’ nascarfan is going to get this card if it kills him. He bids it all the way up to $127.51. > > Pardon my French but WHAT THE FUCK?! > > [http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5537280095](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5537280095) > > What am I missing here? If you’re a long time eBay user, you will come to realize how irrational and, dare I say, not very smart are some buyers. I’ve seen a bid price go over $10 when the same item is being offered in another auction by the seller at a Buy-It-Now price of $9.99. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-missing-part-of-the-big-picture-here/276975/4 "2004-11-28T08:49:06Z")
I think the name **nascarfan** says it all. 😉 (I’m from Mississippi, so I think I can say that.) (But if anyone’s offended, I didn’t mean it.) ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-missing-part-of-the-big-picture-here/276975/5 "2004-11-28T08:55:16Z")
> [@Seven](#): > > What am I missing here? Ooh, let’s see! [This](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31411&item=5537951276&rd=1), [this](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31411&item=5534330877&rd=1), [this](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31411&item=5533446296&rd=1)…oh, I’ll stop now, it’s just depressing. :smack: I wonder if I could make a living buying gift cards and selling them for more than they are worth. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-missing-part-of-the-big-picture-here/276975/6 "2004-11-28T11:20:29Z")
Maybe it’s worth $2.51 to the person to not have to leave the house. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-missing-part-of-the-big-picture-here/276975/7 "2004-11-28T11:34:14Z")
My girlfriend’s aunt frequently buy kids’ toys at Target and sells them as-is on eBay. She makes a _very_ healthy profit.