The Energon Pub

This might be a general TF thread, but I opted to post it here.

I don't buy a lot of things from Ebay, so my view isn't the same as people buying and selling often. So when I bid on something, its something I am very interested in. This doesn't mean I will go to any length to win it, but needless to say I am invested in acquiring it.

It seems that whenever I lose an auction or something falls through, the desire to get that item faster goes way up, to a financially unwise level. I am 25 and smart with my money, definitely not one to purchase unreasonably priced items for no reason. Yet this feeling still is there.

For instance, today I was bidding on a basically mint condition loose God Neptune. Because the buyer was local and i was going to pick it up and pay cash, I submitted a best offer after emailing him. This best offer was financially better for him than any buy it now would have been... yet in the time between my offer, and him being able to check his email to accept it... someone else used buy it now.

Pretty crushing defeat. I don't want MIB Neptune, because I am just going to tear it open. The seller doesn't want to sell it to him over me, but is now obligated to by lovely Ebay policies.

Now I am foaming at the mouth to have him just to get rid of this annoying feeling, and looking at 100$ more expensive MIB auctions. I won't buy them, but its a struggle to remember how silly I am being.

I've also done this on items in the past and ended up spending more because I am kicking myself over a misstep or deal I should have acted on in this past.

How do you react to lost auctions on prized acquisitions? Or am I one of the few bidders whose mind still won't isn't satisfied, even though I KNOW there will be others listed in the future.

(this is my outlet to distract me from browsing ebay in frustration )

The feeling of losing isn't as bad as the feeling of paying way too much! After all, chances are high you'll see the same figure again.

I have found that in the long run, you win some and you lose some. It's nice when there are options such as once an auction goes above the BIN price from another seller, the choice is obvious. But if it's the ONLY one on Ebay, and you really want it, wow does that mess with your wallet! What's another 5, 10, 100 dollars?

And don't even get me started on being outbid in the last second that washes all your hopes and dreams of that new figure into the garbage.

Most of the figures I want these days are just not winnable via auction. They fall too far into the 'whatever it takes' category of bidding.

G1 Wheeljack is sold for anywhere between $90-130 with BiN. Auction him off though? People will push it further.

It's just not worth bothering with auctions most of the time now.

Losing an Auction makes me so angry! I typically forget when auctions are going to end so I usually place my maximum bid on an item a day or so before the auction ends and just hope for the best...

So yeah... I never win

The one thing I have learned from buying from eBay over the years is that if I miss a prized auction at a reasonable price (to me) there will always another one at a similar price and comparable quality. It might mean waiting a few more weeks, months, or even a year but it will happen.

While it is disappointing to miss out on a coveted figure, it is more important to not get into an instant gratification frame of mind of buying the next available figure for more money.

When I eBay, I have a set price that I will not go over no matter what. Then I sort of make a game out of winning or losing the auction. I don't think of how cool the figure is or how it will look in my collection. I just focus on winning or loosing the auction. If I win, then great, and I can then start thinking of owning the figure. If I loose, then I haven't invested a lot into getting the figure and I am less inclined to start looking for a replacement figure in order to get my fix.

I hope this helps...

what burns so hard this time is that i was totally willing to pay the buy it now price. But my offer was above the price in total profit so it was in the bag... except for the wildcard bidder that owned me. I saved 5$ today at lunch just not going to quizno's and getting a salad instead, really sucks to lose by that type of margin. Ohhh to rewind a few hours.

My biggest reason for losing an auction is because I forget about it!

Suffice to say there's lots of "goddamn it"'s.

But my desire for the figure doesn't go up, because as SnapTrap said, there will always be another one.

Then I just have to remember when it's ending too.

One time I was winning bidder with 3 seconds to go, and I got sniped THREE TIMES in that timeframe.

Stuff like that irritates me, but otherwise I roll with the punches.

I don't freak out at all about it. I hate to lose, but if the item goes higher than my budgeted amount, then I am done. I don't want to go broke for something unless it is something I just completely need to have.

[Auction discussion is toy discussion.]

moved back

99% I would get outbid at literally the last second, so I said to hell with this online auction BS and never did it again.

When something looks so good... someone else with a faster internet connection think its looks good too.

SnapTrap wrote:When I eBay, I have a set price that I will not go over no matter what. Then I sort of make a game out of winning or losing the auction. I don't think of how cool the figure is or how it will look in my collection. I just focus on winning or loosing the auction. If I win, then great, and I can then start thinking of owning the figure. If I loose, then I haven't invested a lot into getting the figure and I am less inclined to start looking for a replacement figure in order to get my fix.

I hope this helps...

Ow, that was a realistic blow to me then, dont look to much into the figure. damn, thats auction bidding life changing things. helped me, i shouldnt roam around the forums, some hit me in the face

Delicon wrote:One time I was winning bidder with 3 seconds to go, and I got sniped THREE TIMES in that timeframe.

Stuff like that irritates me, but otherwise I roll with the punches.

Evil_the_Nub wrote:99% I would get outbid at literally the last second, so I said to hell with this online auction BS and never did it again.

Sounds like you boys need a lesson in good old fashioned e-bay sniping!

It's not that hard really, hence why you were getting beat out, but once you get good at it, damn if it ain't exciting!

Burn wrote:

Delicon wrote:One time I was winning bidder with 3 seconds to go, and I got sniped THREE TIMES in that timeframe.

Stuff like that irritates me, but otherwise I roll with the punches.

Evil_the_Nub wrote:99% I would get outbid at literally the last second, so I said to hell with this online auction BS and never did it again.

Sounds like you boys need a lesson in good old fashioned e-bay sniping!

It's not that hard really, hence why you were getting beat out, but once you get good at it, damn if it ain't exciting!

I actually learned a lot about ebay sniping along the way. These days I do more selling than buying (at least on ebay) so I've learned the best times to have items end are on weekends when people are more "snipe-prone"

Burn, if you would like to show Evil_the_Nub the joy of sniping, I will gladly send you the links of the next TF items I list. Feel free to bid as many times as you'd like to prove your point.

Delicon wrote:Burn, if you would like to show Evil_the_Nub the joy of sniping, I will gladly send you the links of the next TF items I list. Feel free to bid as many times as you'd like to prove your point.

Throw in free shipping to Australia and you've got a deal!

I'm old and crabby, so most times on Ebay I'll look for a Buy It Now price. I have a dial-up connection at home (hey, the economy sucks and I try to live within my means!) and sniping? Just no way I could win.

When I do bid, my first bid is my last bid. I decide how much I'm willing to pay for an item including shipping (which, whoa buddy, didja ever notice how ridiculous some of those shipping charges are?!) as my Maximum Reasonable Price. If I win, even at my max, I feel like I paid a reasonable price (instead of falling for outsniping, which can sometimes make you pay waaaay too much for an item in the thrill of the hunt). If I lose, well at least I made the other jerk pay more than he probably wanted.

And someone else here said it best: that item will ALWAYS show up again, sooner or later. And probably at a better price.

HK, bargain hunter. I stalk my prey.

Counterpunch wrote:[Auction discussion is toy discussion.]

moved back

This thread belonged in this section not toy discussion and that is where it is staying.

Please do not move threads that another mod has moved unless you consult with me first.

I learned this the hard way. Especially when a figure first comes out, its easy to spend (for Masterpieces, anyway) at least $100-120. And quite especially after they've been hyped.

But what I did learn, is that after a while a lot of the prices do go down, and if you don't mind not being the first person to get a figure, then you save a lot.

There were several times I bid more then I wanted in the heat of the moment, and then suffered buyer's remorse. I don't regret getting the figure, only the price that I foolishly paid for it.

hellkitty wrote:I'm old and crabby, so most times on Ebay I'll look for a Buy It Now price. I have a dial-up connection at home (hey, the economy sucks and I try to live within my means!) and sniping? Just no way I could win.

When I do bid, my first bid is my last bid. I decide how much I'm willing to pay for an item including shipping (which, whoa buddy, didja ever notice how ridiculous some of those shipping charges are?!) as my Maximum Reasonable Price. If I win, even at my max, I feel like I paid a reasonable price (instead of falling for outsniping, which can sometimes make you pay waaaay too much for an item in the thrill of the hunt). If I lose, well at least I made the other jerk pay more than he probably wanted.

And someone else here said it best: that item will ALWAYS show up again, sooner or later. And probably at a better price.

HK, bargain hunter. I stalk my prey.

That's how I always did it, now I just skip auctions altogether. The last thing I bought on an auction was movie Starscream because I thought the stores weren't carrying it anymore. After getting sniped 3 times in a row at the last second I found one with the buy it now option and ended up paying about $30. Two weeks later, they restocked them and I got one for x-mas . Online auctions have scarred me for life.

Well at least if you lose an auction, you've saved your money.

The figure does NOT always show up again, though.

My 3 grails - Oversized Classics Astrotrain, oversized MW Thundercracker and Machine Magnum Robo that inspired Actionmaster Treadshot, have never reappeared for me. Astrotrain was only around 20 euros as well.

Oh apparently there's an oversized Tentakill out there but I've never seen him.

If the auction goes way higher than i'm willing to pay, or i'm overbid early in the auction, i'm usually ok with losing it.

If I'm outbid with 30 seconds left by some ass who has waited to make sure nobody else is bidding to jack up the price and grab it for a couple bucks more than my bid... Then I'm pissed.

When I lose a desired auction, I usually head next door and beat their kids.

Makes me feel worlds better.

If I lose, I tend to hit the bottle, hire some pros...

Not really. I'm generally patient. I keep looking for other auctions for the figure. Assess whether my price limit is reasonable or too low to get what I want.

I never get that angry when I lose an auction that I tried bidding on, and lost. I just chalk it up to the other person(s) is willing to pay or money? or has more money than me.

In some cases, I feel it's the seller's 2nd account jacking up the price, in that case, I feel nothing.

The ONLY time I get PO'ed and throw a hissy fit is if I forget to bid, and the final price is less than what I would have bidded on it. Then I feel as angry and sad as Anakin at the end of Ep III, without the funny walk, and urge to control the galaxy.

PS - I've been a member of Ebay since Jun 2000