offered, not sought...

**MacLowlife** · 17th February 13, 06:10 PM

I was just watching an auction on that Internet Auction Site and I had to scratch my head. The seller had a nice kilt- said to be in the Johnny Walker Whisky tartan, and a Crail jacket and the whole rig. It ended a few minutes ago. The bidding went from $100 to just over $200, which was probably a good deal for someone. It was a good deal for the seller, that is for sure.

But my advice here is simple. If you are going to bid on something and you know the exact time it is going to end ( as opposed to the other kind of auction that ends when the last bidder is left standing) then, for your own sake, do not bid the item up hours or even minutes in advance of the end of the auction. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO IS AHEAD WITH AN HOUR TO GO. IT ONLY MATTERS WHO IS AHEAD WHEN THE BELL SOUNDS. If those two guys who wanted the outfit so badly had taken this advice, then maybe one of them could have had it for $50 -$100 less. They sat there, like Kilkenny cats, raising the bid on each other until someone else swept in at the last moment and outbid them both.

As I say, it was a good deal and especially for the seller. His take doubled in the last hour, thanks largely to a couple of people who missed the point- and the "winning" bid, as it turns out.

**llyd** · 17th February 13, 06:37 PM

Life is like a box of chocolates...chocolates are not very smart either.

**sydnie7** · 17th February 13, 08:17 PM

If you really want to win, use a bidding (aka sniping) service. It's the only way I was able to finally score a pocket watch after seeing several go to a slightly higher bid in the last seconds.

**flairball** · 17th February 13, 08:42 PM

The eBay culture is strange, and sometimes hard to understand. I can't stand the sniping culture. If I want an item I'll wait until the last two or three minutes, and then put in a fair bid. If I get sniped then, someone wanted the item more than me. If I see an item that I'm somewhat interested in (my try, may not try, if I get it great, if not don't care), but has a few lowball bids in early I'll put in a bid of about 60-70% of what I'd pay just to drive the price up. If I get it cool, I got it for less than I would have spent, if not I know the cheap pricks had to pay a bit more.

**Robert F** · 17th February 13, 10:32 PM

I'm addicted to E Bay I'll freely admit, though I bid early after considering a reasonable budget and expectation and leave it at that. If it goes for more than I bid, then so be it.

Robert

**madmacs** · 18th February 13, 05:44 AM

And from the seller's perspective... "Don't lose for another $10 sir..."

Online auctions allow sniping... Real ones don't... Sniping saves you money... Buy it now gets you the item at a good price...

Now who needs a quality suit? Who'll start me at $20? Do I hear $25...?

**MacLowlife** · 18th February 13, 06:26 AM

I went back and looked. There was a sealskin sporran included. That and a kilt AND a Crail jacket. $225 or so sounds pretty good, come to think of it.

**CMcG** · 18th February 13, 07:36 AM

I usually try to snipe my bid, if I'm available at the time the auction is ending.

As for auctions of a full, second hand, kilt outfit, I've seen several over the years go very good prices. My guess is that it can be hard to find a buyer for the whole kit and caboodle, especially when there is only one choice of tartan...