Has anyone noticed...

...that there seems to be a new batch of folks on e-bay who are kickin' down big bucks for tiki?
It looked like things had somewhat leveled off there for a while, now I'm seeing prices being driven up again, and for pieces which are not all that rare.
Anyway, just thought I'd see if anyone else had noticed or had any thoughts.
Aloha,
:tiki:

aloha,

On 2004-03-03 21:29, Tiki Royale wrote:
...that there seems to be a new batch of folks on e-bay who are kickin' down big bucks for tiki?

Always new converts to the faith, ya know willing to pay top dollar for that rare monkeypod wood mug, or leilani!

But, I notice prices on the bay always RISE when it's winter. snow, and cold in the Northeast drive up the $!

Guess who doesn't wanna go out, and play in the snow...

Has anyone noticed that there aren't as many of what I refer too 'classic mugs'? You usta be able to see a Steve Crane pop up at least once every two weeks but not anymore. I am seeing less Tiki Bobs. Of course this can be a good thing.

On 2004-03-03 21:29, Tiki Royale wrote:
...that there seems to be a new batch of folks on e-bay who are kickin' down big bucks for tiki?

Here's hoping you are right. Seeing my "El Tiki Espanol" hovering around the basic reserve for a couple of days now makes me think:

With everybody having a snipe program nowadays, why would a collector bid during the week and drive up prices uneccessarily, why not just do the sniper battle at the last moment, which will happen ANYWAY, taking the chance of loosing, but keeping the price down that way?

I think the sniping has taken a lot of fun out of the e-bay process, some people feel like they have no chance and don't bid at all, others don't bid all week and just snipe at the last moment. That's not much of an "auction" anymore.

It used to be the case that there were 3-4 high bidders out there and if a new mug came up, those guys bought very high and then the price got reasonable as new ones emerged. Now the names of big bidders are new people. The market just keeps going up.

As for sniping: In an auction, if you have a lot of bidders, it's good for the seller. If you have a few bidders, it's good for the buyer. By it's nature, Ebay always has a lot fo bidders. The only thing the buyer has to their advantage is the time limit. If you bid as late as possible, you keep the prices low. Otherwise, the auctions always favor the seller and high bids.

As a seller, I want bids all week long. As a buyer, I want no bids at all, or, in the last 3 minutes. It also keeps you from going past your set limit.

I don't know anything about software for that. I just try to wait to the last minute and bid.

It also becomes important as a seller, when you post your item. A lot of people only go online at work. And a lot of people bid at the end. So, if you post your item at 5AM EST on Saturday, very few people in the US will be around when it closes to bid. If you post it at 5PM on Tuesday, the East and West coast will be at work when it ends. It's all perfectly logical...

esnipe.com is pretty much the only way I bid on eBay. It sucks for people that don't use it, but it is great for me when I really need (want) something. The cost for the service is almost free and it saves me a lot of time watching auctions. I still bid the most I would be willing to spend (maybe even a little higher) just to make sure I get it. Generally this practice does keep the final price lower than if I bid through ebay "proxy" service.