I started this thread so fellow Acaeum members can let each other know what they are bidding on. This way we are not outbidding each other which of course will cost us more money. Also if you see a fellow member bidding on an item you yourself want, it might influence you to hold off and wait for the said item to show up on ebay again.

Keep in mind of course, we are all free to bid on anything and bid as how much we want. Just thought with a thread like this, it could help some of us save some money. If its not a good idea for some reason, just tell me to shut the hell up.

xraygord wrote:I started this thread so fellow Acaeum members can let each other know what they are bidding on. This way we are not outbidding each other which of course will cost us more money.

So, those of us who sell stuff on eBay should expect to get lower prices for our goods now then?

KOP makes some good points.

And, it is not that I do not feel that fellow Acaeum members would NOT hold off when knowing it is you bidding on some items, but that many of the competing bids might come from Acaeum members who also want that same item.

Some Members also bid on too many things for them to realistically think that just because they ARE bidding that other member need to pass it by.

All that said, I have passed up on some items in the past when I was aware that other members were bidding on them.
I was happy to allow other members to bid on an item and back off on that item myself.
However, not all of our members will read this thread and with the new improved hidden bidder deal on E-Bay no one truly knows for certain who is bidding on what.
Or if somehow you learn who it is it was because you did a heck of a lot of searching to make your determination.

I have been very fortunate to be on the other side of that same coin too.
I have had members here who have passed things by so that they would not be competing with me.
Sometimes they would ask me (By PM) how much I wanted the item and we would then determine which of us wanted it more and the other would walk away from the listing.

But to expect all Acaeum members to abide by some unwritten, or even written behavioral system such as the one suggested here is (I think) expecting too much.
The item might be the very last one that a member needs to complete some portion of his/her collection.
Or at least something the member might have been searching for, perhaps for years.
That certainly happens I have seen it too often not to know it does.

The thought is a very good one.
But the doing of it may be too much to expect and could easily hurt some members here too.

Such as those members here who are sellers/re-sellers.

This thread most certainly does nothing to help them get a good price.
Some of those guys make their living doing this.

Sometimes a nice gesture can backfire in ways that one did not expect.

I agree the thought is a good one with good intentions but in practice, highlighting an auction here (particularly if it is of some interest) only increases the final auction price and it might end up costing you more if it is something you really want.

Part of the problem is that while I think the core group of people here are friendly enough and many would stay away from auctions where they see a fellow Acaeum member bidding, others are not and there are a lot of lurkers on the forums that don't post but read what is here.

For common items, I don't think this is much of a problem since most people here don't bid on this stuff anyway.  But in many cases, people here buy them cheap to resell.  For rarer items, items in shrink, nonTSR items, stuff that is really collectible, then these are items that don't show up so often and multiple people want them.  Having a system where the "first to bid" stakes out the item doesn't really work.  Just because you have placed the first bid doesn't mean that someone else here hasn't already found it first.  I think everyone here has the mutual understanding that anything on Ebay is fair game and there is mutual respect that we aren't going to hold grudges against each other for getting outbid (over and over again).

That said, the best strategy to minimize your cost is to snipe it and keep it on the down low (ie don't post it here).  In most cases, if it is something of interest, many people from here will have found it already.

serleran wrote:A lot of times I don't want anyone to know what I'm bidding on, because I know if they know, I'm going to have to fight for it.

If you place a bid, you are not safe.  Ebay still allows for cyberstalking which lets you see the auctions that a particular user is bidding on.  I regularly check out what some people are bidding on and what they have won just to see what I have missed and to find new items.  The only way to prevent this from impacting you is to snipe - by the time you are stalked its too late.  Don't think I haven't noticed you buying up some nonTSR rarities lately

If I find something particularly rare or someone has already mentioned they are looking for it, I think twice about posting a link even if I'm not interested in bidding. I figure most of you here have found it too and would probably groan if I drew attention to it.

Well some do not agree, I saw that coming. Those of you who don't want to take part, don't have to. For those of us that do, we can just take it to PMs. Its what I have been doing up til now anyway.

Don't think I haven't noticed you buying up some nonTSR rarities lately

Me? You've got the wrong serleran. Heh. I'm amazed when I win, actually.

Mars wrote:
I think a better place to start would be to identify the users who are looking for the same things you are.  I mainly collect nonTSR generic fantasy item and obscure RPGs.  I pretty much know the 6-10 other people interested in the same items.  In cases, where I track down multiple copies of things, I try and pass the extras along.

Yeah, thats what i do. I have a few online buddies and we compare our lists and let each other know if there are items available on ebay or elsewhere to fill in the holes.