How About Having Auction Extensions For People Who Forgot To Bid?

[stevesrecords]

I was thinking it would perhaps be a good idea to have a period of time after the auction ends, anywhere from 2 hrs to 24 hrs ,whereby someone who really wants an item they forgot to bid on could "steal" the item away from a winning bidder. Of course this should come at a cost to the interested party. Instead of being able to offer $1 or whatever the minimum increment bid was during the auction they would have to pay perhaps 10 %-20% of whatever the winning bid was.  This person would place their bid ,and the auction process is set in motion again, and if someone wants to outbid him/her ,they would either be able to place the same minimal incremental bid as during the auction, or it could be so they have to bid  10% -20% of the new high bid.   Of course there are many people who don't just forget to bid,but are somehow influenced by seeing others bidding,so this could be a great way for sellers to get their items bid way up sometimes.

[mr.elmwood]

That is just a variation of the soft close auction. eBay has already said no.

[stevesrecords]

thanks mr Elmwood.just kind of curious how close that idea was though now,never heard of it myself

[stevesrecords]

I just did a bit of research on the subject myself,and found the following statement which would likely be the main argument against such an idea:

"The fact that most bidders understand, but do not like soft closes, is my main point of concern. Bidders get a gambler's thrill from sniping, which is not possible in a soft close scenario. When we use soft closes, bidders report that it just isn't as fun and exciting. Just not as addictive."

[rose-dee]

I remember the concept of the "soft close" auction coming up and being rejected by eBay, although I can't remember how many years ago that was.  Besides, I think eBay is slowly turning away from its focus on auctions, to a more fixed-price, e-commerce, storefront sort of site -- witness the recent promotion of eBay store subscriptions with free listings. 

In a way, this idea does already exist, in the form of reserve bids: if there is something you really want to buy, you can enter your highest possible price, walk away, and in many cases you'll outbid the final bidder.  This isn't much different from being able to come back to the table and place another bid after the last bid is closed.  Would you really be bidding any higher just because the auction had closed?  I'm not so sure. 

The one problem with reserve bidding I've found is that you can still be foiled by automated sniper programmes.  But that's a whole other issue with auctions. 

[stevesrecords]

upon further reading however I noticed that the response to this statement was:

"That was very well put Russ. I suppose it's much like it was when we shifted away from traditional open outcry auctions to online auctions. The bargain hunters, who had been loyal bidders, were quite vocal in their displeasure as they were supplanted by those who were willing to pay more.

One of the liquidators who uses our online auction software has started implementing soft closes and seems to like it. Given that it's a feature of our platform, we will start using soft closes on a more frequent basis. "

[stevesrecords]

Would you really be bidding any higher just because the auction had closed?  I'm not so sure. 

Personally rosee dee.I really do think that many bidders are influenced by how much activity there is in the final closing minutes of an auction. If there is a lot of frantic activity on an item near the end ,then yes they will be impressed,maybe so much so that they will want it themselves to hold onto for 10 years and then try listing it  themself. As far as reserves go,Im sure a lot of people don't want to bother paying any more than they have to,so if their reserve is much higher than the final bid,then they will feel like they got cheated .

[pierrelebel]

Looking at it from a seller's perspective, only one auction in three attracts one or more bid.  Two in three do not attract a single bid.

I am always thankful when one bid comes along and thrilled when I get two (or more).

Adding a few minutes or hours to the scheduled end of an auction listing will not materially affect the outcome of the vast majority of transactions.

We have seen enough changes on eBay.  We do not need that one.

[nan*55]

Personally as a seller I think it would be a nightmare trying to sort out who won..who didn't etc.. And as a buyer I would be ticked right off if I won a auction and ?? hrs after it closed ,someone else outbid me.

[bb_cool_stuff]

I am always thankful when one bid comes along and thrilled when I get two or more ( or more ).

Same attitude I take also.

I always keep records on my auction items over the month.

While Pierre's auction statistics are accurate with my sell through rate, I always consider my listing  & FVFs , my cost per item, including shipping & have come to the conclusion that I am still ahead.

Nothing wrong with a few extra bucks, plus it drives traffic to my store where hopefully a prospective buyer turns into a one time or better yet, a repeat buyer.

[stevesrecords]

I know it isn't a great idea for lower end items and should have pointed that out right away. I was thinking particularly about a record I sold today for $956 . I couldnt help but wonder how if either of those buyers or any others who were watching it,would have been willing to pay an extra couple hundred or so for it if they had to. Someone else sold a mint- copy of this jazz lp for $3000 ,not that mine was mint-,only vg+/vg++, but still,Im sure its not unreasonable to think that someone who saw this listing may have been persuaded to pay a fair bit more if they thought about it for a while. Anyhow ,I was also thinking that this could be an option that could be chosen for each listing so that sellers wouldn't have to use it at all if they don't want to. There are many cases when I wouldn't choose to ,since I sell many fairly common items myself and wouldn't want to chase away possible buyers.

[stevesrecords]

"trying to sort out who won..who didn't etc"

this would be determined by ebay, not by the sellers and would be very easy for them to figure out ,or their computers to figure out I should say. Anyhow ,in spite of the lack of popularity on this thread for this idea,at least I know that it is actually being used on other sites ,so it wasn't  such a bad idea after all.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Congrats on your $956 Sale. Way to go.

Don't analyze, the item could have sat for months.

Take the money, run & reinvest it in some other items.

My experience has been you will make up that extra couple hundred dollars rather quickly.

[stevesrecords]

thank you bb ,here it is in case anyone is interested. it had 0 bids til the last couple minutes when it went up from $749 to $956. That's another reason why I couldn't help but wonder if there would have been more bids if there was a bit more time. Anyhow ,of course I am still happy to get this much. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/291009811830?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1559.l2649

[stevesrecords]

It was also nice to see that $956 works out to over $1000 CA . Didn't realize our dollar was down that much, but I certainly don't mind.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Anyhow, of course I am still happy to get this much.

Right attitude to take my friend.

[anguscoinshop]

I would likely be the exception.

I still run a lot of .99 start auction and even if i consider them as being bait, the majority of them get a lot of bidding with a lot of bidder not making it in time. I would definitely benefit with a floating extension.

But i certainly do agree it would make to many unhappy bidders.

So, steady as she goes Captain.