Errr...Ummm...Am I missing something here?

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scrumpyjack

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 16, 2014
134
14
Texas
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-UNSMOKED-KEVIN-ARTHUR-LARGE-CALABASH-FREEHAND-AMERICAN-Estate-Pipe-MINT-/201889660291?hash=item2f018fbd83:g:dkQAAOSwpkFY7uIb
Great for the seller, but as much as I like his work, me thinks this is a bit off on the sale price. 8O

 

scrumpyjack

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 16, 2014
134
14
Texas
Oh to be sure. The price is what someone will buy it for. Great for all involved. I am just thinking I may need to sale a pipe if this is the going rate right now.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,623
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
This eBay virgin sure got screwed. But the virgin asked for it. Why not post a maximum bid that's 3 times the market rate for this carver's work. What could be more intelligent? How could you lose? Nobody else would be stupid enough to bid even close.
Oops!
eBay, a world of endless blunder.

 

scrumpyjack

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 16, 2014
134
14
Texas
I agree with Sable. I think the bidder just put in a crazy high bid to win the pipe and got caught by the previous bidder who did the same? That is the only thing I can think of. Hard lesson to learn. I think I might have vomited if I got the notification that I bid the pipe up that high and was now on the hook for that price, but that's just me. Yowzza!

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,568
27,070
Carmel Valley, CA
Worth every penny!
s-l1600.jpg

Just look at the rim.... Is that artistic, or what!?!?

 

kiel

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 27, 2016
208
2
888 sounds like it was a Chinese bidder. The number 8 in China is a good number. It is possible they didn't know they were playing with U.S. dollars

 

toobfreak

Lifer
Dec 19, 2016
1,365
7
Sure seems very odd that a bidder came in out of nowhere to bid it up fantastically high above all of the (much more experienced) bidders, only to be beat out by a single bid by a guy who has never even bid before.
Can't say I've ever seen anything quite like that before. Something feels very odd here.

 

jmatt

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 25, 2014
770
74
The last bid is a shill. He will magically fail to pay and the seller will offer it to the next highest bidder. And if thatt bidder is smart, they'll run away fast.
(at least that's my theory - that does happen)

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,623
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Sure seems very odd that a bidder came in out of nowhere to bid it up fantastically high above all of the (much more experienced) bidders, only to be beat out by a single bid by a guy who has never even bid before.
I've followed tens of thousands of auctions over the years, noting the strange ritual behaviors of the denizens of eBay, and I've seen this kind of behavior quite often. A lot of people get this bright idea that they will snipe at the very end and will put in a high price to ensure a "win". It's a hilariously bad strategy. The eBay virgin clearly had no idea regarding what he was doing. Maybe he was fed up with being outbid. So he puts this ridiculous maximum bid which looms like a mountainside hidden in the clouds until the stratospheric bomber smashes into it.
None of this can happen if one doesn't bid more than an item is worth. Some bidders seem to be driven by emotion, vanity, or ego, more than sense.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,623
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Check out the bidding on this one. Several people sniped at the end with the result that the price on this ratty pipe went through the roof:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MERCHANT-SERVICE-SPECIAL-LONDON-Estate-Tobacco-Pipe-Smoke-Smoking-FREE-SHIPPING-/201890722580?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=T78%252B9KpJudwrY%252BG3OygVilRgrvw%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

wyfbane

Lifer
Apr 26, 2013
5,117
3,517
Tennessee
Oh come on now Sable! Who wouldn't shell out 400+ dollars for that beauty!?
I snipe, but it is for the price I want to pay in order to NOT get caught up in a bidding frenzy. If my bid isn't the winning one, i have no time left to re-bid. lol

 

Briar Baron

Can't Leave
Sep 30, 2016
440
569
Sydney
I have seen this a lot where the winner has zero feedback and next thing you know it is re-listed since they don't pay.
I think sellers should exclude bidders with less than 5 feedbacks to stop wasting peoples time with an ending like this (usually after a week of waiting).

 

pagan

Lifer
May 6, 2016
5,963
28
West Texas
I snipe, but it is for the price I want to pay in order to NOT get caught up in a bidding frenzy. If my bid isn't the winning one, i have no time left to re-bid.
Exactly how I roll :puffpipe:

 

bigpond

Lifer
Oct 14, 2014
2,019
13
The last bid is a shill. He will magically fail to pay and the seller will offer it to the next highest bidder. And if thatt bidder is smart, they'll run away fast.
This.
This is a common scam on eBay. So common and widespread, in fact, that I can not believe eBay doesn't have a mechanism to prevent it. Typically this is seen with electronics though and this is the first time I've seen it with something as obscure as pipes.
The seller should have the option to offer the pipe for sale to the next two highest bidders immediately after the auction. It's been a while since I've done anything with eBay and this is the reason why.

 
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