Ebay Bitching! Need to vent? Vent away! - Collecting Tiki

T Tangaroa Tiki Socialite Joined: Apr 25, 2002 Posts: 1566	T Tangaroa Posted posted on Tue, Jan 25, 2005 6:42 PM John - I do feel your pain... I've had similar things happen to me in the pursuit of Disneyland memorabilia - out bid by a certain Hollywood agent who has a great deal of money, and little understanding of the history behind it, or the love that I have for it.... So - yes, when you are passionate about something you've grown up with, and someone takes that away (Ebay is deadly for giving you feelings of ownership when you don't actually have the item in hand) - well - it feels personal... It totally sucks - and if passion and knowledge were the criteria for obtaining these things, you'd probably have had that mug a long time ago... Having said that - you tipped your hand by not sniping... I hate bidding wars. So I Esnipe. I use it on all my auctions - ones that matter and ones that don't... It's only failed on me once, and that was my fault for not updating credit card info. I set an absolute limit for every one of my auctions, place it with Esnipe and forget about it (no reference to your nemisis there!). Otherwise, you are in serious danger of what happened to you happening! This person (who may very well be a TC'er) is obviously a serious tiki collector (I tracked down your auction)... Has a history of not just paying a lot for tiki items, but collecting in quantity as well. He or she obviously responds to bids, which creates a bidding war.... You still have time on this auction (18 hours I think). Here's what I would do - decide how much I would spend - the absolute limit (based on your financial situation as well of course) I would spend if I thought that this would be the last one I'd ever see. Type that amount into Esnipe & try & get a good nights sleep. If you are more commited than him - than you'll win. Yes - you may regret having to have paid through the nose (I have many times myself), but your search will be over (if I understand your above post), and you can be done with it. And if you don't win - at least you will have the satisfaction of knowing you made him pay more than he/she would have... If I wanted this mug as much as you seem to - I'd shoot for the moon on it. You still have time! [ Edited by: Tangaroa on 2005-01-25 19:03 ]

John - I do feel your pain... I've had similar things happen to me in the pursuit of Disneyland memorabilia - out bid by a certain Hollywood agent who has a great deal of money, and little understanding of the history behind it, or the love that I have for it.... So - yes, when you are passionate about something you've grown up with, and someone takes that away (Ebay is deadly for giving you feelings of ownership when you don't actually have the item in hand) - well - it feels personal... It totally sucks - and if passion and knowledge were the criteria for obtaining these things, you'd probably have had that mug a long time ago...

Having said that - you tipped your hand by not sniping...

I hate bidding wars. So I Esnipe. I use it on all my auctions - ones that matter and ones that don't... It's only failed on me once, and that was my fault for not updating credit card info. I set an absolute limit for every one of my auctions, place it with Esnipe and forget about it (no reference to your nemisis there!). Otherwise, you are in serious danger of what happened to you happening! This person (who may very well be a TC'er) is obviously a serious tiki collector (I tracked down your auction)... Has a history of not just paying a lot for tiki items, but collecting in quantity as well. He or she obviously responds to bids, which creates a bidding war....

You still have time on this auction (18 hours I think). Here's what I would do - decide how much I would spend - the absolute limit (based on your financial situation as well of course) I would spend if I thought that this would be the last one I'd ever see. Type that amount into Esnipe & try & get a good nights sleep. If you are more commited than him - than you'll win. Yes - you may regret having to have paid through the nose (I have many times myself), but your search will be over (if I understand your above post), and you can be done with it. And if you don't win - at least you will have the satisfaction of knowing you made him pay more than he/she would have...

If I wanted this mug as much as you seem to - I'd shoot for the moon on it. You still have time!

[ Edited by: Tangaroa on 2005-01-25 19:03 ]

Post #137348 by Tangaroa on Tue, Jan 25, 2005 6:42 PM