eBay: blowing up the spot on eBay (not my auction)

Here's my good deed for the day - only because of my self-imposed window-shopping-only eBay policy

http://cgi.ebay.com/Exotic-Masks-Mugs-and-Shot-Glasses_W0QQitemZ6222036438QQcategoryZ35713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Let the games begin!

Grrrr. I had found those and was hoping to bid last minute and get good deal. Now I have to contend with everyone else. This topic of "letting-the-cat-out-of-the-bag" on hidden auctions has been discussed before, often with hurt feelings and strong opinions on either side:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=3564&forum=5&start=0

I know you feel you are doing a good deed by letting the tiki public know about this auction, and you are definitely helping the seller get the money he/she would have gotten had they done a little homework and researched the items they were selling. There are probably Westwood collectors here on Tiki Central who are thankful as well that you tipped them off to a great auction that they probably wouldn't have found on their own.

I however, feel like a treasure-hunter who discovered an unknown sunken Spanish Galleon off the Florida coast due to some diligent hunting and now, just before I can dive to start collecting the treasure, I see a dozen boats on the horizon converging on my spot. Someone tipped them off.

I'm still of the opinion that if you find a good hidden tiki auction on eBay that you don't want, then just email one friend and let them know about it. That way, at least someone gets a deal. Or bid on it yourself and voila - you've got an inexpensive Christmas present that someone will really enjoy.

It's a dilemma. I don't want to pour cold water CowboyMike's good deed because he had the best intentions and many people here would agree that what he did was good. But for me and maybe one or two other TC'ers who found this auction, it's frustrating.

What are the opinions out there on this topic? Have they changed at all since the last discussion?

PS: CowboyMike deserves some kudos for finding this auction in the first place.

Sabu

Sabu,I also thought I found a hidden treasure...In regards to this subject, you must remember by letting the cat out of the bag, TCERS arent the only ones reading these posts. Alot of ebay tiki sharks read up to get their edge on this stuff. I would suggest people to keep it to themselves or just PM Me.JK. It was a good catch though, grasshoppa.

When I find hidden auctions like that that I think are a good deal but I dont need the item myself (already have westwoods!) I just think of someone I know who WOULD like that item and privately email them.

On 2005-11-06 09:51, tikifish wrote:
When I find hidden auctions like that that I think are a good deal but I dont need the item myself (already have westwoods!) I just think of someone I know who WOULD like that item and privately email them.

Ditto! I have PM'd TCers about hidden treasures (Formikahini can back me up on this) but would never post them here. First, I'm sure most of the high rollers scan these forums for such nuggets and second, you're giving away your secret search words. It's too damn hard to win anything on ebay as it is. I also appreciate the sentiment but I agree with the others and would vote for not posting these finds here.

On 2005-11-06 12:02, Kono wrote:

Ditto! I have PM'd TCers about hidden treasures (Formikahini can back me up on this) but would never post them here.
Yep! Thanks for the tip on the original sail from Heyerdahl's Kontiki raft!
(jk)
I'll have to agree with all the above. No hard feelings, CM - your heart was in the right place :). I say buy it yourself and secure a swell gift or give the gift of news about an undiscovered treasure. Especially good if it's a "Local delivery only" and the tippee can get it no prob but you couldn't (too big/expensive to hire a shipping company). And it's one of those really nice random-act-of-tiki-things when you you don't even know the tippee but you know they live close to the item.
F

I agree with you all, too.

Only exception I ever make is with a NOT hidden Buy-It-Now, like the recent Steve Crane mug I posted. With something like that, it's purely a matter of timing and luck, not crafty treasure hunting. Since not all TCers spend as much time noodling around on EBay as I do...I post it or PM it.

Especially as EBay has become such a dreadfully difficult place to find reasonably priced tiki items, I completely understand the "grrr" response, Sabu! :wink:

But yeah...good job sleuthin', both of you!

On 2005-11-06 16:12, tikivixen wrote:
Only exception I ever make is with a NOT hidden Buy-It-Now, like the recent Steve Crane mug I posted. With something like that, it's purely a matter of timing and luck, not crafty treasure hunting. Since not all TCers spend as much time noodling around on EBay as I do...I post it or PM it.

I think anything with "tiki" in the title is fair game to post here as a bazillion people will have found it anyway. Also, if the high rollers are already bidding on it then it's fair game (as these are the people we are trying to sneak by).

I'd email my Tiki friends about any "hidden" auction upon which I am otherwise not interested bidding. 'Cause midnite is all about the love. Always, always about the love. Wait...I have no friends.

So that said, I'll usually kill one cockroach, stick its head on a pin, and put it out for the other ones to see... as a warning, ya know? Psy-ops, gain a tactical advantage by exploiting their insect weaknesses. Because even if their tiny brains are one ten-thousandth the size of mine, you put 'em all together and that adds up. Least that's the way I always looked at it, even with my lazy eye.

Oh well, shoot now, let God sort 'em out.

All's fair in love and lawn croquet.
midnite

yep, that was pissed off laney/eel back then and my feelings haven't changed! I also PM people deals I think they'd like but don't post hidden treasures here for all to view. That remains my pet peeve!
Although the tide seems to be turning as, if I recall correctly (from that old thread) I was the only one who spoke out against the community "tip-off"
Back to the hunt...

So, you thought it was a secret find...however, since you did not personally offer me a cut of your gains, I'm not under any obligation to not reveal what I find.

Sheesh, get a hold of yourselves...it's eBay! Half a million people look at it everyday...or is it every half hour?

I gotta have it cheap, and I gotta have it now! :)