Ethics of last minute auction "poaching"

Right on, Sean on all points you have made.

Last minute bids - the competition - is the nature of auctions.

Offering a set price and someone responding with a yes/no - is the nature of classifieds.

Megasam, maybe the classifieds are a better fit for your style of purchasing. The auctions may be proving to be too much of a hassle, and once something is a hassle-it's not so fun anymore - and isn't that why we do all this? to enjoy it?

Megasam: Your winning bid was at the last minute. You place a proxy bid. You delegated authority to Audiogon to "Re-bid" for you if someone place a bid higher than your current bid. If you let's say, bid $500 on an item that was currently at $49, without delegating authority to "re-bid" to Audiogon, the "current" bid would have been $500 when you place your bid, not $50. ---- Besides all that; the winning bid at all auctions held everywhere is the last bid place before the end.

If you go to UBid.com you will see that to place a "proxy" bid you have to use their "Bid Butler". If you do not use the Bid Butler, then if you bid $500 on an item that is at $50, the current bid jumps all the way to $500, just like a live auction if someone did the same.

Megasam's right. The auction system on Audiogon has it's shortcomings as a way to procure equipment, such as its being heavily loaded in the seller's favor and the way bids close.

Jostler3 is right that closing the bidding 24 hours (or some reasonable time period) after the last bid was placed would be an improvement. Then it would be more of a true bidding process and more convenient to *all* the interested buyers. This change would benefit the sellers by helping to insure the absolute highest offers are received and would make playing the game more convenient to the buyers.

BUT as Blbloom says the rules are known and it's not unfair to use them to one's advantage. If someone doesn't like the rules, they shouldn't play the game.

Personally, sitting in front of the computer following a bid closing is a poor use of time. When something of interest goes up for sale I want to negotiate terms to buy it, not play games. The "excitement" of an auction simply has no appeal and is, in fact, an unneeded aggravation for the reasons already stated. Based on what little attention I've paid to them, there aren't that many *real* deals to be had through Audiogon's auctions, especially with the allowance of hidden reserves. IMO, it's not a real auction unless the bidding starts at the minimum of what the seller will take. In its current implementation it's little more than a tool to try to get a jacked up price or to safely test what the market will bear.

To those who find auctions exciting I'd like to suggest getting out more. There are far better ways to get your blood pumping! But if that's what turns your crank, have at it. You won't get any intereference, or competition, from me. Do what makes you comfortable and ENJOY!

The days of finding great deals at these specialized auctions is over. Most people on this sight know what things are worth. If they don't, they better find out. Not many of us have money to throw away. Personally, I have a tendency to research things to death. That is part of the fun, and the only way to get a good deal. I used to go to garage sales and, every once in awhile, I would come across a great deal on a vintage guitar. No more. Now, so called experts price things so high that you could end up paying more than things are worth if you are not informed. I think it is perhaps due to the fact that information is so easily available, and we all seem to be in such a hurry.