"BID ABOVE BUY IT NOW PRICE" - IMO Stupid

Guest

So I just logged in to see that a bid I had scheduled was not placed because "BID ABOVE BUY IT NOW PRICE".

I think bidding above the buy it now price can be an effective strategy and these bids should not be blocked.

BIN was $59.99. I added a snipe for $61.87 in case auction when above BIN (auctions sometimes do as I've noticed BIN disappears once auction reaches a % of BIN). I was willing to pay more than the BIN price and almost ended listing early with BIN. However knowing the competitive landscape I figured the item was likely to sell at auction for a price below BIN. I was right, bidding ended a $36. So instead of my $61.87 getting placed and me likely winning, I ended up sitting on the sidelines.

I kinda pissed my bid was canceled as this was a very unique item I'll likely never see again and was willing to pay much more than it went for at auction. I've been using Gixen for years now and never had a problem with it before. I think it's a great service and don't but without it but this experience left me baffled.

Cupid · Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 7599 Location: Bristol, UK

Gixen does not block such bids, eBay does. Gixen is just reporting what happened when it tried to do as you told it.

If it was important to you why did you not just buy it for the BIN price?

You said yourself you were actually willing to pay more.
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Mark

Guest · Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 2:20 pm Post subject:

Well if eBay blocked the bid then eBay is stupid (as they lost money by not accepting my bid) and in that case I'm also stupid for assuming it was Gixen.

[quote]If it was important to you why did you not just buy it for the BIN price?

You said yourself you were actually willing to pay more.[/quote]

It wasn't important that I won (that said, had my bid been accepted I'm highly confident I would have won). It was important that I was in on the action.

Had I used BIN for $60 I would have had to pay $60.

Now, assume no BIN; a simple auction format. With a bid of $61.87, I may have paid up to $61.87 but this is unlikely. I may have paid as little as $37 (winning bid of $36 plus on bid increment).

So by using a 61.87 bid my downside over the $60 BIN was $1.87. On the flip side my upside was $24.87. I doubt many people would be bidding over the BIN (which would more or less guarantee me a winning bid) and I would most likely get the item at a discount to the BIN price.

mario · Site Admin Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 7131

I agree with you that your strategy makes sense; if it's more likely that you will win an item for less than paying over BIN, it's an educated gamble that makes sense in many cases.

Unfortunately ebay does refuse a bid of over BIN. I am partially at fault here for not implementing some kind of warning.

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Guest · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 5:54 pm Post subject:

Please, please include something about this issue in the FAQ, on the bidding screen itself, or in the program. I lost an auction because of this today, and it would not have happened had there been a little snippet about it.

Very disappointed. :/

mario · Site Admin Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 7131

You are right, this warning is long overdue. I'll try to implement it by tomorrow.

mario · Site Admin Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 7131

OK, the "price above buy-it-now" warning is implemented now. Hopefully I didn't break anything else. If you notice any issue, please let me know.

Guest · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:32 pm Post subject:

When entering a bid greater than the Buy It Now price, we now get a warning
"[color=red]Your maximum bid is higher than buy-it-now price. eBay may (and probably will) refuse your bid.[/color]"

Awesome, thank you.

timmyma · Guest

thanks for the quick update on this Mario! I'm sure many of you may already use this technique, but I'll share here just in case.

For auctions that have a BIN price, I will generally put in the minimum initial bid through Ebay just to kill the BIN option and then put my real bid through Gixen.

mario · Site Admin Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 7131

[quote="timmyma"]
For auctions that have a BIN price, I will generally put in the minimum initial bid through Ebay just to kill the BIN option and then put my real bid through Gixen.[/quote]

Sure, if that BIN price is set to disappear after first bid, which is not always the case.

Cupid · Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 7599 Location: Bristol, UK

I think it depends on the category of the item whether the BIN is removed after the first bid, or not.
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Mark

Guest · Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 3:05 pm Post subject:

[quote="Cupid"]I think it depends on the category of the item whether the BIN is removed after the first bid, or not.[/quote]
I've noticed that BIN does not disappear till reserve price is reached