I find I prefer to just buy things I like. Auctions get me excited and wound up so much that I either make poor choices or can think of nothing else. Even as I rise this morning with several hours to go on an auction, I can feel my body tense up and it might be difficult to run. It was.
When I first moved to the Vegas valley, my dad took me to the auto auction. We kept an eagle eye out every week for Saturns in the event we could pick up a replacement for Car2-D2 on the cheap through the auction. That first trip, we weren't serious and made it more of an educational experience. We watched two people get caught up and bid up over $4500 for a vehicle that was clearly in a front-end collision and was worth way less than that.
Ever since I got onto eBay in 1997, i have hated their auctions too. In the very last moments, people will get on and snipe things away from me. There's really very little point to watching anything all week because in general the action occurs during the last half hour or even within the last few minutes with everyone jockeying to get it for as cheaply as they possibly can. I bid what I can afford and watch tons of items slip through my fingers.
Tuesday afternoon, when I discovered someone auctioning a full set of Thomas Jefferson's works from the memorial limited edition run in 1909, I was intrigued. Since I visited Monticello, I have longed to get ahold of his writings. It was too tempting, and so I got involved. Now, with only a few hours to go, I can feel my heart pound in my chest in anticipation of a possible win. it's killing me.
When I buy things, I prefer to just skip just to best offer. For 14 months I have been looking for a house, and I refuse to pay more than asking price. Other people can get caught up in bidding wars, but my best offer is my best offer, and I refuse to hurt myself and other people by paying more than an item is worth. That is kind of what happened with the housing market in the first place, and it's certainly what happened with the Tickle Me Elmo craze I remember back in High School. When I bought a replacement car, I asked what the asking price included (tax, title, doc, etc.) and then pointed out there were some slight damages to the car. He gave me best price, and I took it.
If I see something I like, I buy it. I like Buy it Now offerings because I can get it right now. I like Half.com because I list media for what I want and people select mine if they like. Sometimes I wait for things to go on sale, as they almost inevitably do, but I am not much of a haggler or bidder. I don't like how I feel during an auction or what it does to me to anticipate something. My life since High School has been replete with disappointments aplenty, and so I count my eggs as I gather them and not in advance of the harvest.
Once I bought something on eBAY for more than I was willing to pay. I still own it, and I think I keep it as a reminder to pay only what an item is worth to me. When I was tempted to offer more than I could actually afford on a home in anticipation of the tax credit, I thought twice. Sure, I might not win this auction either, but it might come back up again. Chances are that most of the bidders want it, not for the knowledge it contains, but for how much they believe it to be worth to other people. They want, like many who inflated the housing market in the last few years, to flip this item and resell it for a profit. I see plenty of profit in the item itself. That wealth of knowledge is what I seek.
I intended to buy this collection anyway eventually. Instead of a reprint bought piecemeal used for $30-$40/volume, I could pick up a matching set right now for less than that. Sounds like a good deal to me!
Update at 12:10PM: I have a strange auction strategy. I set as my maximum bid a strange dollar amount like $11.07 or $92.61 because most people use round figures in their bids. Five seconds before the auction ended, someone bid $0.07 less than my max bid, and so I won. Price with shipping comes out to less than $14/book, and they are a special limited issue. In all this week, I have purchased 71 books for $423 including shipping which is less than $6 per book. Beat that Amazon!
When I first moved to the Vegas valley, my dad took me to the auto auction. We kept an eagle eye out every week for Saturns in the event we could pick up a replacement for Car2-D2 on the cheap through the auction. That first trip, we weren't serious and made it more of an educational experience. We watched two people get caught up and bid up over $4500 for a vehicle that was clearly in a front-end collision and was worth way less than that.
Ever since I got onto eBay in 1997, i have hated their auctions too. In the very last moments, people will get on and snipe things away from me. There's really very little point to watching anything all week because in general the action occurs during the last half hour or even within the last few minutes with everyone jockeying to get it for as cheaply as they possibly can. I bid what I can afford and watch tons of items slip through my fingers.
Tuesday afternoon, when I discovered someone auctioning a full set of Thomas Jefferson's works from the memorial limited edition run in 1909, I was intrigued. Since I visited Monticello, I have longed to get ahold of his writings. It was too tempting, and so I got involved. Now, with only a few hours to go, I can feel my heart pound in my chest in anticipation of a possible win. it's killing me.
When I buy things, I prefer to just skip just to best offer. For 14 months I have been looking for a house, and I refuse to pay more than asking price. Other people can get caught up in bidding wars, but my best offer is my best offer, and I refuse to hurt myself and other people by paying more than an item is worth. That is kind of what happened with the housing market in the first place, and it's certainly what happened with the Tickle Me Elmo craze I remember back in High School. When I bought a replacement car, I asked what the asking price included (tax, title, doc, etc.) and then pointed out there were some slight damages to the car. He gave me best price, and I took it.
If I see something I like, I buy it. I like Buy it Now offerings because I can get it right now. I like Half.com because I list media for what I want and people select mine if they like. Sometimes I wait for things to go on sale, as they almost inevitably do, but I am not much of a haggler or bidder. I don't like how I feel during an auction or what it does to me to anticipate something. My life since High School has been replete with disappointments aplenty, and so I count my eggs as I gather them and not in advance of the harvest.
Once I bought something on eBAY for more than I was willing to pay. I still own it, and I think I keep it as a reminder to pay only what an item is worth to me. When I was tempted to offer more than I could actually afford on a home in anticipation of the tax credit, I thought twice. Sure, I might not win this auction either, but it might come back up again. Chances are that most of the bidders want it, not for the knowledge it contains, but for how much they believe it to be worth to other people. They want, like many who inflated the housing market in the last few years, to flip this item and resell it for a profit. I see plenty of profit in the item itself. That wealth of knowledge is what I seek.
I intended to buy this collection anyway eventually. Instead of a reprint bought piecemeal used for $30-$40/volume, I could pick up a matching set right now for less than that. Sounds like a good deal to me!
Update at 12:10PM: I have a strange auction strategy. I set as my maximum bid a strange dollar amount like $11.07 or $92.61 because most people use round figures in their bids. Five seconds before the auction ended, someone bid $0.07 less than my max bid, and so I won. Price with shipping comes out to less than $14/book, and they are a special limited issue. In all this week, I have purchased 71 books for $423 including shipping which is less than $6 per book. Beat that Amazon!
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