This is not the first time this has happened to me. I got a nasty e-mail from some waste of his fathers sperm bitching at me about an item I had won on an auction site.
“I was trying to get this for my mother. Now what am I suppose to do? Placing a bid at the very last moment is a sneaky rat thing to do and I hope you have a lousy new year”
[SIZE=“7”]B-O-O H-O-O![/SIZE]
What are you supposed to do? A suicide pact with your mother would make interesting reading in tomorrows paper.
What’s really fucking weird is, I won that item over 2 weeks before I got this fucked up e-mail.
My wife loves being a “sniper” on Ebay. It’s all part of the fun. What ParentalAdvisory said–if everyone is playing by the same rules, tough shit when you don’t win. You don’t want a last minute bid to beat you? Then bid higher and reduce the chances. Highest bid wins, seems fair to me.
Other than being mentally deranged I see no reason for this email two weeks later. Better watch out with that person. They haven’t tracked you down yet, so be sure to not reply.
The thing that most impresses me about E-bay is how they have got people to talk about winning a fucking auction as though it’s an achievement.
“Hey man I just won the Pulitzer prize.”
“What a coincidence I won a red hat on Ebay.”
Excuse me didn’t you simply bid more than anyone else? The few things I have bought haven’t made me feel like a winner on any level. Anyhow I am off now to win some breakfast at the buy it now price at the local cafe.
How’d they even get your email in the first place? Even if I’ve had a transaction with someone in the past, they won’t let me get at a way to contact them unless it’s something current. Folks who’ve got no reason to bother you (like this schmuck) shouldn’t be able to even get to your information through the eBay system.
Solutions for someone who really wants and needs the item that badly:
Place a maximum bid that’s really really high. Through the magic of eBay, your nominal bid will only stairstep up to a little beyond what someone else is willing to pay (putting aside shills, which unlike sniping are a legitimate problem).
Buy It Now.
Or, don’t join the game if you don’t like the way it’s played. Maybe even consider paying retail.
I’ll admit I hate sniping, but I was on eBay before it was popular and before sniping got started. And I realize that sniping is the standard way of winning right now, so I don’t bitch about it. I still wish people had to bid normally before sniped, just so you knew how much competition you have.
(I hadn’t realized before I did a paper on eBay that there’s sniping software. Sheesh.)
In other words: if you don’t like how eBay works (which is mostly sniping) don’t use it. Sniping isn’t unfair, it’s a good way to get what you want and not spend more than you mean to.
What word would you suggest they use?