# Thanks for the great app, ebay (assholes) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 1, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201 "2010-09-01T00:11:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/41 "2010-09-01T17:06:22Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > > No, I didn’t say that in the OP. > > I said you acknowledged that the app will be useless against those that use bots. That’s what you did via sarcasm in the OP: > > > [@](#): > > > > It’s sure gonna be a big help against all the people who use bots, like the asshole who won my CD. :rolleyes: > > If that meant something else, what was it? Can you tell us how you think the app would have been useful in winning the CD when you were outbid by someone in the very last seconds of bidding? Yes, without notifications that I’ve been outbid, I will have a very difficult time knowing that I’ve been outbid, especially by someone who uses bots that make timeliness more critical. How difficult is it to understand that I am pitting a product that did not work as advertised? What is the sticking point that some of you can’t get past? The fact that there were consequences resulting from said product not functioning somehow derails the fact that the product didn’t work properly? It would be useful the same way that my computer is useful when alerting me that I have been outbid: I would then know that I’ve been outbid and would have a chance to make a new bid. How is that concept beyond so many of you? Have you never used eBay and won an auction before? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/42 "2010-09-01T17:18:15Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > It would be useful the same way that my computer is useful when alerting me that I have been outbid: I would then know that I’ve been outbid and would have a chance to make a new bid. Please answer, in plain English, these two questions: 1. Were you outbid in the very last moment of the auction, which you presume was done using a bot? 2. If the answer to #1 is yes, how would the notification have helped you other than to tell you you’d been outbid and the auction was over? ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/43 "2010-09-01T17:33:22Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Yes, without notifications that I’ve been outbid, I will have a very difficult time knowing that I’ve been outbid, especially by someone who uses bots that make timeliness more critical. Answer the question you’ve been asked repeatedly. I and other posters have pointed out that time is not critical when you’ve been outbid by a sniper because you could never receive and read a message and then place another bid in time. Time is meaningless at that point you have zero chance of placing a bid in time and you acknowledged this in the OP. I pointed out that you acknowledged it and you’re not responding to that directly. > [@](#): > > It would be useful the same way that my computer is useful when alerting me that I have been outbid: I would then know that I’ve been outbid and would have a chance to make a new bid. Getting an alert via PC would also be useless against a sniper. I’m not sure if you’re just not getting it or you’re just avoiding admitting that you can’t beat a sniper by responding to a message. By the way you’re avoiding answering questions, I’m leaning towards believing the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/44 "2010-09-01T17:48:36Z")
The problem isn’t that the app didn’t alert him _in time_. The problem is that it \*didn’t \*alert him, _period_, which it theoretically was supposed to do. Given the prevalence of last-second sniping, I’d personally consider an app like that to be pretty useless even if it \*did \*work, but I can certainly appreciate the frustration of thinking you’d won the action only to get home and find out you hadn’t, when you \*should \*have already been alerted. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/45 "2010-09-01T17:57:15Z")
I sold some things last week on eBay in a seven day auction. Both started at 99 cents. By day three they were each up to around $4.00 with about ten bids apiece. By the end of the auction they sold for $12.50 with 23 bids and $12.05 with 20 bids. It was hilarious. Seriously rip roaringly hilarious. I loved watching this auction. Do you know why Snowboarder Bo? I’ll go ahead an explain. 1. You had multiple potential buyers throwing in bids with days left to go in the auction. That just gives away your hand right there. Every time the auction price goes up it tips off your competitors that someone else is taking an interest in owning my item. 2. I could tell based upon the way the bids were coming in that the bidders were just throwing a bid out there (probably just the next minimum bid they could) and seeing if that earned them high bidder status. Complete rookie mistake. 3. It’s a rookie mistake because you always need to have in mind what your max price will be for purchasing this item. Then, when you’re ready to bid, you plug that sucker in and be done. Step away and see what happens because it’s now out of your control. Did you get it for less? Awesome. Score. Did someone bid 25 cents more at the last second? Sucks, but if you’re truly disappointed you didn’t put your max bid in! The point is that these stupid bids of plug and see what happens with no real clue as to what your true max bid is or should be just makes you mindlessly plug more money into the auction and drives the price up for everyone. And as a seller, I say thank you for your efforts. ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/46 "2010-09-01T18:01:12Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > The problem isn’t that the app didn’t alert him _in time_. The problem is that it \*didn’t \*alert him, _period_, which it theoretically was supposed to do. We get that that is a problem for him. However, that’s not the only problem he mentioned and it’s that other problem he keeps getting asked about and he avoids answering. > [@](#): > > Given the prevalence of last-second sniping, I’d personally consider an app like that to be pretty useless even if it \*did \*work The OP acknowledged the same thing in the OP, yet he makes contradictory statements such as this: > [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > You believe that notification would have been helpful against a bot had you received the notification? > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Yes, I do, as I’ve indicated, perhaps most visibly, by starting this thread to bemoan that fact. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/47 "2010-09-01T18:02:35Z")
I used the iPhone eBay app a couple of weeks ago, and was sniped for an outbid of 50 cents at the last minute. I don’t remember whether it alerted me via a push message or not, but when I opened the app to check the status it showed that I’d lost. The question, I guess, is if it didn’t generate a push notification, was that because push notifications are broken, or simply because the outbid occurred right as the auction was ending? I would presume if someone raised the bid 10 minutes prior to the end of the auction, that you would get a push notification (assuming they’re enabled). If it all happens at the last second, the notification isn’t really as relevant. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/48 "2010-09-01T18:03:56Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > 1. It’s a rookie mistake because you always need to have in mind what your max price will be for purchasing this item. Then, when you’re ready to bid, you plug that sucker in and be done. Step away and see what happens because it’s now out of your control. Did you get it for less? Awesome. Score. Did someone bid 25 cents more at the last second? Sucks, but if you’re truly disappointed you didn’t put your max bid in! Which is why I make my one and only bid in the closing few seconds of any eBay auction. ---
**Author:** ![Fantome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Fantome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fantome)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/49 "2010-09-01T18:09:50Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > 1. It’s a rookie mistake because you always need to have in mind what your max price will be for purchasing this item. Then, when you’re ready to bid, you plug that sucker in and be done. Step away and see what happens because it’s now out of your control. Did you get it for less? Awesome. Score. Did someone bid 25 cents more at the last second? Sucks, but if you’re truly disappointed you didn’t put your max bid in! > The point is that these stupid bids of plug and see what happens with no real clue as to what your true max bid is or should be just makes you mindlessly plug more money into the auction and drives the price up for everyone. I’m wondering if maybe the OP isn’t aware that this is how it works based on what seems like confusion on his part in this thread and statements like this: > [@](#): > > They outbid me by US$.25. That’s a bot. OP, do you realize if you put in a bid many price increments above the current highest bid, no one will know what that max you’re willing to pay is unless they outbid you? Do you realize losing an auction by .25 is no indication that there was a “bot” involved? You are using the word “bot” as a synonym for “automated sniper”, right? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/50 "2010-09-01T18:11:49Z")
There’s a much bigger point here that everyone seems to be missing: \*\*Snowboarder Bo \*\* deserved to lose the auction, because he’s a cheapskate. If he really wanted the item, he should have put the absolute maximum he was willing to pay for it at the outset, and just let ebay’s proxy bidding bid for him. Trying to save a few dollars on something that one has been looking for for a decade is just foolishness. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/51 "2010-09-01T18:21:24Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > The problem isn’t that the app didn’t alert him _in time_. The problem is that it \*didn’t \*alert him, _period_, which it theoretically was supposed to do. > > Given the prevalence of last-second sniping, I’d personally consider an app like that to be pretty useless even if it \*did \*work, but I can certainly appreciate the frustration of thinking you’d won the action only to get home and find out you hadn’t, when you \*should \*have already been alerted. Why is this so hard for others to understand? Haven’t I said that a couple of times now? Thanks, **SFG**. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/52 "2010-09-01T18:21:40Z")
I’m willing to bet $0.25 (at the moment - maybe I’ll raise the stakes later…) that the OP doesn’t have push notifications turned on on his iPhone. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/53 "2010-09-01T18:25:16Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Why is this so hard for others to understand? Haven’t I said that a couple of times now? We all understand that. What we don’t understand is why you think you would have had time to put in another bid during the roughly 3.2 nanoseconds after the sniper put his bid in and the auction ended. If the app had worked perfectly, here’s what would have happened: (08:02.57 PM) iPhone (via eBay app): Dear Snowboarder Bo - you have been outbid. (08:03.00 PM) iPhone (via eBay app): Dear Snowboarder Bo - sorry, the auction you bid on has ended. Good luck next time. (08:03.04 PM) Snowboarder Bo: Oh crap! I need to put in another bid! (08:04.00 PM) Snowboarder Bo: Dear SDMB - I’m an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/54 "2010-09-01T18:26:46Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I’m willing to bet $0.25 (at the moment - maybe I’ll raise the stakes later…) that the OP doesn’t have push notifications turned on on his iPhone. You’d lose that bet. When you install the app, one of the first thing it does is tell you that it can send you push notifications; do you want to enable this feature? If so, enter eBay login ID, etc., etc. I had to go thru those steps when I got the app last week. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/55 "2010-09-01T18:27:17Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Why is this so hard for others to understand? Because they’re all caught up on the fact that it’s a pretty useless app. It really is, though. If someone outbids you, either you’ll have enough time to check your auction and up your bid when you get back to the house, or the auction’s going to get sniped at the last second and there won’t be shit you can do about it even if you know. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/56 "2010-09-01T18:29:59Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > > Why is this so hard for others to understand? Haven’t I said that a couple of times now? > > We all understand that. What we don’t understand is why you think you would have had time to put in another bid during the roughly 3.2 nanoseconds after the sniper put his bid in and the auction ended. If the app had worked perfectly, here’s what would have happened: > > (08:02.97 PM) iPhone (via eBay app): Dear Snowboarder Bo - you have been outbid. > (08:03.00 PM) iPhone (via eBay app): Dear Snowboarder Bo - sorry, the auction you bid on has ended. Good luck next time. > (08:03.04 PM) Snowboarder Bo: Oh crap! I need to put in another bid! > (08:04.00 PM) Snowboarder Bo: Dear SDMB - I’m an idiot. I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, and that others have concurred that they have had the same experiences: I’ve won auctions before on eBay, sometimes under these types of circumstances. What I don’t understand is why so many of you, despite testimony from more than just me that this happens, repeatedly have to ask me why I think I can do again what I have already done before? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/57 "2010-09-01T18:33:31Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > > Why is this so hard for others to understand? > > Because they’re all caught up on the fact that it’s a pretty useless app. > > It really is, though. If someone outbids you, either you’ll have enough time to check your auction and up your bid when you get back to the house, or the auction’s going to get sniped at the last second and there won’t be shit you can do about it even if you know. Which was the subject of the pitting, if you’ll remember: the shitty app I got that doesn’t work as advertised and is perhaps of no real value at all. If everyone is caught up in the fact that it’s a useless app, why are those same people trying to hurl shit at me? Hurl your shit at the app. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/58 "2010-09-01T18:33:34Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, and that others have concurred that they have had the same experiences: I’ve won auctions before on eBay, sometimes under these types of circumstances. > > What I don’t understand is why so many of you, despite testimony from more than just me that this happens, repeatedly have to ask me why I think I can do again what I have already done before? You think you can receive a push notification, log onto eBay and submit a bid, all within 3 seconds? You cannot. If you think you can, you are severely deluded. You can’t do ANY of those steps in 3 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/59 "2010-09-01T18:37:37Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > > I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, and that others have concurred that they have had the same experiences: I’ve won auctions before on eBay, sometimes under these types of circumstances. > > > > What I don’t understand is why so many of you, despite testimony from more than just me that this happens, repeatedly have to ask me why I think I can do again what I have already done before? > > You think you can receive a push notification, log onto eBay and submit a bid, all within 3 seconds? You cannot. If you think you can, you are severely deluded. You can’t do ANY of those steps in 3 seconds. The eBay app stays logged in to eBay. That’s how it can send you push notifications. When you get one, you open your phone, it goes right to the app and shows you the new high bid and do you want to make a new bid? the cursor is already in the box, just hit the #s and then enter. Yes, it takes a couple of seconds. Yes, I think that if I had a few seconds notice I might have been able to outbid, based on past experiences. How about you do this, since it will save some time: go get the app and when you know what you’re talking about, come back and post stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201/60 "2010-09-01T18:41:21Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > How about you do this, since it will save some time: go get the app and when you know what you’re talking about, come back and post stuff. You mean the app I’ve had on my iPhone for a year and a half now? I just accessed the app. It took about 8 seconds to load up. So - what do I do for the next negative 5 seconds? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-great-app-ebay-assholes/552201.md?page=4)