RE: [photo-3d] Sniping

["Dr. George A. Themelis" <drt-3d@xxxxxxx>]

>Missing out on something that you can re-sell 
>for $500 because you waited until the last minute and
>could not get your snipe in hurts - for a LONG time!

Yeah, but do you know what the closing price would
have been with you in the auction?  Do you know
what the other person's maximum bid was?  You don't.
So why do you make the assumption that you could have
had it and resell it for a hefty profit?

Here is a real story:  There was a Greek stereoview
in ebay that I wanted.  Someone had a bid for $10
or so.  I started bidding a 5 minutes before the 
end (that's when I was the innocent unspoiled buyer).
I go $15 thinking I will blow the other guy out of
the water.  Nope!  Not good enough.  What about $20.
Nope!  Not good enough.  $25, $30, $35, $40, $45,
$50, $55, $60, $65.  Congratulations!  "You are
the highest bidder with $61".  "Oh my GAWD!  What
have I done???  Did I just bid $61 for this silly
stereo view?  And then they add $3 for shipping and
it really hurts.  They could have offered free
shipping as a small "thank you" for my crazy bidding.

Story no. 2.  Another Greek stereoview in ebay.
High bid $12.50.  Now I am going to snipe.  I wait
till the last 30-40 seconds and manually execute
my $35 bid.  Nope!  Not good enough.  But I still
have a few seconds... $90.  OK, now I am the highest
bidder with $81.  But what have I done??? It is just
a HC White stereoview, nothing that exotic.  

Actually, it was a series of stereo HC White 
stereoviews.  I bid in all of them.  I got 3
at very high prices and I made the other bidder
(who placed his maximum bid well ahead of time)
pay through the nose for the other 4.

When the seller asked for $5 shipping, I explained
politely that I had just made him rich with my
bidding and I asked why he wanted $5 to ship 3
stereoviews.  He said that they are mailed from
Uruguay.  OK, fine.  So I paid $5.  Three days
later the stereoviews came from Florida with a
$2 postage in them.  I asked for explanations.
I was told that the views were mailed from 
Florida but previously (before the auction started)
they were mailed from Uruguay to Florida.  That
insult I could not take.  Result:  Two more negative
feedbacks in my history...

George