Re: [MOPO] How to Beat The Clock

[Twonine5]

JR   Although I don't have the time to spar with you on this subject I find it fun and therefore am taking a little more of my working time to reply.  I mention time because it is quite important to me.  I enjoy working, playing racquetball, spending time with my wife, children, grandchildren and friends.  I enjoy the closing 10 seconds (though rarely) when I am at the computer and able to see the last few snipe bids come in and the auction terminates.  If you think that I would ever spend time at a computer while Mr. Smallbid keeps an auction going in perpetuity in the smallest possible increments to see if he can beat out Mr. Deep Pockets, you have another guess coming.  I truly believe most people could care less about the ability to see a constant stream of minimum bids arrive keeping an auction going until they become bored to tears.  The only ones who would not be bored by having $35 posters going up in $1 increments from an opening of $2.99 are those who are having mental orgasmic spasms.  Don't you realize that if a poster is at $10 and the winning bid is $35, this auction could be extended 25 minutes?  The excitement that is being generated under these circumstances does not appear to be on a par with anything unless you are masochistic and enjoy pain.  If you are bidding on a few items don't you realize how much time you would be at the computer playing mental games with Mr. Smallbid who just loves to go up $1 at a time.  The average item does not run into the thousands of dollars.  Your idea is a huge waste of time.   This bit about ebay auctions being a guessing game as opposed to your keeping them alive and kicking is also wrong.  Mr. Small Pockets can only bid as much as he can afford, not how high he can guess.  Mr. Big Pockets can afford to bid, or guess using your terminology, much higher.  Whether you extend the auction a few minutes or a few hours the person with the deepest pockets will win.  Let's also address psychology.  Mr. Small Pockets wants this system because Mr. Small thinks that if he only had one bid more he could have outbid the sniper who in the last 5 seconds took the poster away.  Nothing is further from the truth.  When Mr. Big wants something Mr. Small will never win.  An extra thousand bids will not let Mr. Small win when Mr. Big wants the poster.   Now, let's talk about Mr. Hershenson---He places around 1000 items a week on ebay.  They end every 2 minutes or less on a regular basis every Tuesday night.  There are many people, including me, who bid on approximately 20 items.  How is it possible and watch the auctions to bid on these items when there is no end in sight for any of them?  You have forgotten one very important aspect of a live auction.  Regardless of how many items are being auctioned  in a live auction, they go in order, and until the hammer drops, the next lot does not come up for bid.  This is not the case in an internet auction.  Mr. Hershenson's posters will not be held up waiting for the hammer to fall on the previous lot.  Extending these auctions would create a huge amount of confusion and rather than bidding on  more  items, people will not bid on many items that they wanted to in the first place.   I have not forgotten that for many years there were no sniper bids.  I have also not forgotten the small black and white TV screens and no color TV, 7 TV stations in NY compared to 300 right now, no cellphones, no fax machines and huge computer rooms  with huge computers with less power than today's laptops.  I have adjusted to the complexities of life and the improvements technology has made to enable us to do things faster and better.  I do not want to take steps back in time.  Extending auctions will not do what you think it will do.  It will only add to frustration and boredom and stifle progress.  I have exhausted this subject and if you still feel it is worthwhile, then sobeit.    You said in your opening that we agree to disagree.  I don't agree with that either.   Claude Litton Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.