# Stop Outbidding Me! And Super Mario Brothers are NOT Little People!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 13, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-outbidding-me-and-super-mario-brothers-are-not-little-people/250166 "2004-06-13T20:31:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-outbidding-me-and-super-mario-brothers-are-not-little-people/250166/41 "2004-06-16T19:06:16Z")
> [@Number Six](#): > > Incremental bidding doesn’t bother me, I just don’t understand why anyone would bid that way. If you’re willing to pay $50.00, rather than $30.00 then upping your bid $5 at a time, just bid $50.00 to start with, and let the computer bid $1 more than your opponent. It doesn’t bother me either, because I always snipe. > [@](#): > > I don’t think you understand proxy bidding. The bid you enter initially isn’t a proxy bid, it’s your maximum bid. Proxy bidding occurs when e-bay’s computer bids on your behalf when someone bids against you. For example, I bid $50.00, and bidder A bids $30, e-bay’s computer proxy bids $31 for me. To bid with 10 seconds to go, I’d have to be sitting at my computer waiting for the auction to count down the seconds and then time it just right to get in that bid. Oh, well sorry I called it the wrong thing. Yes, each bid is called the “proxy” bid, and the entire amount you enter is called the “maximum bid”. Thanks for bringing this picayune detail to my attention. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > In the scenario I presented, there were three people all trying to snipe the same auction. Regardless of when I had bid, I would have lost. So you can _never_ conceive of a scenario such as I described happening? Yes, there often are multiple bidders, but if you’ve ever won an auction, it had to have come down to being between you and the second-highest bidder. > [@](#): > > I can see your scenario happening, but out of hundreds of auctions I’ve won on E-bay, I honestly don’t think that’s ever happened to me. Every time I’ve seen the incremental bidding, it’s either been done in an auction with multiple bidders, or the increments went up until I lost the auction. Did you ever consider the fact that if you had sniped, you might not have lost? Sounds like you put in your bid early, the incremental bidder _saw_ your bid, entered a new, higher bid, and beat you. > [@](#): > > I personally think that the best solution would be to set things up so that auctions don’t end until something like one or two minutes after the final bid. That would allow for both the benefits of proxy bidding and live bidding. How would that help? The same thing would happen, just 1 or 2 minutes later. > [@](#): > > Last, insulting those you are trying to convince is seldom an effective tactic. Huh? Who did I insult? ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-outbidding-me-and-super-mario-brothers-are-not-little-people/250166/42 "2004-06-24T15:30:14Z")
IIII got 3 airplanes that’s what I said, I said IIII got 3 airplanes with a lit-tle aaair-port I quitting eBay now (doing little happy dance w/baby) ---
**Author:** ![GraphicsGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@GraphicsGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraphicsGal)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-outbidding-me-and-super-mario-brothers-are-not-little-people/250166/43 "2004-06-24T21:04:17Z")
I collect “vintage” (1960s) dimestore Nativity stuff. I have a large collection from when I was a kid and wanted to add to it. Boy was I surprised at what people are selling animals for! Sheep (not plastic but a composition material) are just ridiculous (I’ve seen them go for $25+ each) and camels are just out of sight. Fortunately, I snagged a few choice auctions and now have flocks of sheep and camels (of course, I also have a kajillion EXTRA pieces that I need to get rid of…hey, I could auction them on ebay!). Funny what things people want to collect…I would never have thought ANYONE would find these things interesting. After all they cost way less than a dollar in the 60’s and are not elegant or beautiful; they’re actually kind of homely. My main interest is that I remember buying a piece at a time as a kid and how much that meant to me. Even then, finding sheep and camels with unbroken legs was kind of a challenge. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-outbidding-me-and-super-mario-brothers-are-not-little-people/250166.md?page=2)