Why you Overspend on ebay

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2012/08/30/ncbi-rofl-why-you-overspend-on-ebay/

From Discover Science.

 

Worth is relative. It is "worth" as much as I am willing to pay for it. Nothing else matters.

 

Even the extract is interesting on that paper. I haven't seen ebay as a competition for a long time now, and my buying is all the better for it.

 

I learned a long time ago that I cannot trust my judgment with 25 seconds on the clock.

So for anything I'm bidding on, I have the the max bid already decided and stored away, be it in a text file or in my head. And I am not permitted to go above that bid, no matter what the outcome. I'll go into the yellow zone (something slightly under that max) with that last minute to go, but if I'm outbid and my max bid doesn't get me to the top again, then I'm out. No exceptions.

 

I used to go to a lot of auctions when I had my antique business.

Even though you set a price in your head for certain items you want that you know will sell for a profit, you sometimes overspend due to competition or desperation. That's why they say you make your money when it's bought.

You may say, 'That would never happen to me', but unless you're actually at the auction house, it can get pretty nutty. You need self control.

 

I've been to many live auctions in a previous life, and yes the effect is much more pronounced in person.

It's interesting that the scientific comparison used 'online' style bidding but the behavior was different when the bidder was told the opposing bidder was a person rather than automatic.

I actually think ebay lost quite a bit of personality when the EU data acts pulled the bid names universally. I had regular nemeses, some of whom are still there selling.

 

I am trying to do this as much as possible, not always successfully, but I have only paid above market value a couple of times. It is most difficult when it is a record I have been looking for for years in top condition, and other people are willing to bid it far past its actual value. Much teeth-gnashing for me at that point.

 

As a potential buyer it's dangerous to start thinking an item as yours before the bidding ends, especially if its something you've been wanting for ages.

Couple that with a late-night auction-end and a few beers to settle the nerves, and you'll either wake up the next day mourning the loss of a 'cherished disc' or agonising over whether to tell your wife the truth on how much you spent

 

It's those EBay bucks!

 

Sniping cures the problem. As a seller I find that unfortunate, except for the occasional "Nuclear" snipe - where two buyers independently think "This will be mine. If I bid $XXX I will certainly get it, as that's a crazy price to pay and no one else would possibly put in anywhere near as much". Hoping for this outcome is basically the only reason to pay the extra tab to sell as an auction at this point.

 

Very true. But that's why you decide on that number in advance because no matter how long you've been looking, there is a max price for everything. And it's best to decide on that when you've got a level head vs. when you're in the thick of things.

It's almost like you're another person in that last minute and you literally need guidance from your more rational self that decided on that number for you. You just need to trust yourself, quite literally.

 

Ditto! Max amount to pay determined prior to the snipe. Either win or lose, but no regrets or having to stash purchases in the trunk until the Mrs. goes to exercise class to retrieve.