Re: [SWCollect] Best voice acting in a game
C.E. Forman wrote: My all-time personal favorite? This is gonna sound strange, but... Whoever did the voice clip of Professor Elvin Atombender at the start of Epyx's Impossible Mission for the C64: Stay awhile... Staaayyy FOREVE! Freaking awesome, even today. You'll kick yourself: That's 100% speech synthesis. You should give homage to the programmer that tweaked the phonemes and inflection. -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] This could get ugly
C.E. Forman wrote: I dunno, it could be a freak incident. leemanblue seems to be a total newbie, 1 feedback, about 86 bids on this one item, indicating he has no concept of subtlety or sniping. I've seen other newbies bid insane prices Sniping is a good thing? I'm going to turn that into another thread. Of course, you could always e-mail the winner and ask him to break the shrinkwrap and copy it for you, then continue to bring it up periodically even after he's made it abundantly clear he doesn't want to. (Hee, teasin'! B-) I have never done this. Hopefully you're just recounting personal experience and not confusing me with Underdogs ;-) -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
[SWCollect] Sniping
I abhor sniping. Not because of what it is or what it does, but how people react to it, both good and bad. Proxy bidding is a joy to behold: You bid once, with your maximum, and ebay/whatever will automatically up the bid until you hit your maximum. If someone outbids you at the last second, no problem -- you wouldn't have paid more than your maximum anyway. This is how I bid 99% of the time. I see something I want, think good and hard about the *absolute maximum* I'd pay for something, and then I bid that maximum amount. I don't give it a second thought; in fact, I don't even have ebay email me if I've been outbid. Based on this operating philosophy, I just simply cannot comprehend sniping. Some people perform sniping on this list -- even *enjoy* it. To those people, I ask you the following questions: 1. Why do you snipe when you can just enter in a maximum and walk away? 2. If you lose a bid due to someone else sniping you, do you get angry/frustrated? PS: This is an honest curious question -- I'm not mad that someone out-sniped me or anything. The goal of these questions is not to talk badly about sniping, but to try to understand why it exists when proxy bidding makes it unnecessary. -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Bad seller?
Dan Chisarick wrote: Communication stopped over a month ago. I've sent a steady stacatto of e-mail messages into /dev/null it seems. While I never had to use it, I think eBay offers some manner of fraud protection. A quick look shows a $25 deductable. The four items exceed $25, but each individual item is well under that. Paypal won't help once the money has been withdrawn by the receiver (I think). So, pretty much looks like I'm eating this one. Any advice, or at least some stories about getting blindsided or totally stiffed? This is exactly what's happened to me -- Guy has $35 of my money and hasn't shipped yet. I should've read his feedback before I bid, because there is some hint of that behavior previously. I'll send him another message. PS - Total irony here... the e-mail address for this person is @atcc.com. If you go to http://www.atcc.com, its a religious site. When I sent an e-mail message there, I got an autoresponder from a bishop's e-mail (or that's what it said). Who would think of getting the shaft from one of the cloth? Like that's never happened before at all? Hint #1: Since when do religious sites end in .com? -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Bad seller?
Dan Chisarick wrote: The seller claims to have suffered a tragic loss (2 deaths in her family). It was 2 months ago. Obviously anyone would sound like a total jerk trying to argue that she had enough time to mourn but she's swinging it like a hammer everytime someone dares to complain about her. Sigh. It is my personal experience that this is used as the ultimate excuse more frequently than it is used legitimately. In other words, it's been 2 months -- she's over it, or she was lying. Complain again. -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Worlds of Ultima/Martian Dreams
Alexander Zöller wrote: As for that bidder you've been watching, he was willing to pay $1500 for the Akalabeth cover art, and more than $300 for the FM Towns versions of U4 and the Ultima Trilogy. $300 for each, that is. FM Towns? -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Worlds of Ultima/Martian Dreams
In a message dated 08/28/2001 2:00:46 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: FM Towns? Japanese computer/gaming system. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
On Fri, 24 Aug 2001, Jim Leonard wrote: [snip] 1. Why do you snipe when you can just enter in a maximum and walk away? * If you bid early, and you bid primarily on game software, bidding early says loud and clear, look! cool stuff! (I actually find some of the stuff I get by searching for certain early-bidders. It's actually a good way of finding things.) * If you have only so much money to spend, and want multiple items, you're better off waiting as long as you can. For example, you have $100 to spend; there are 10 games that you want; on each, you're willing to pay as much as $20. You can't bid $20 on all of them right away, as you could be driven above your limit. It's better to wait on these as long as you can, and see how the first auctions go before you decide what to do with the later ones. * Bidding early has a tendency to get you into a bidding war with newbies (who have a tendency to pay too much). If you don't tip your hand you minimize this risk from those people with low ratings who are willing to pay WAY over value. * Bidding early puts you at risk of ye olde bid-and-retract trick. eBay has moved to reduce the viability of this trick, but it's still something to keep in mind. -- Stephen -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
In a message dated 08/28/2001 2:00:44 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: PS: This is an honest curious question -- I'm not mad that someone out-sniped me or anything. The goal of these questions is not to talk badly about sniping, but to try to understand why it exists when proxy bidding makes it unnecessary. For one it is exciting and makes it possible to get a bargain. If you have your max bid in someone can come along and test it (I've seen people drive up a person's bid to the max for fun) Tom -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
In a message dated 08/28/2001 2:00:44 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: 2. If you lose a bid due to someone else sniping you, do you get angry/frustrated? Oh yes I can by the way, especially if it happens quite a few times by the same person with a fast connect, one guy always gets in in the last 1-2 secs. Tom -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Also it prevents shilling (sp)? THIS is the first valid reason I've seen *for* sniping. However, it works both ways -- if someone is going to employ a shill, won't the shill just bid the minimum amount the seller wants for the item as his maximum bid? Just a thought. -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
In a message dated 08/28/2001 2:39:22 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: THIS is the first valid reason I've seen *for* sniping. However, it works both ways -- if someone is going to employ a shill, won't the shill just bid the minimum amount the seller wants for the item as his maximum bid? Just a thought. Nah, they would just use a reserve I would guess. If they shill they can do the testing thing to drive the bid that was made up to the max. Tom -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
In a message dated 08/28/2001 2:36:52 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: * If you bid early, and you bid primarily on game software, bidding early says loud and clear, look! cool stuff! (I actually find some of the stuff I get by searching for certain early-bidders. It's actually a good way of finding things.) Why is this an issue? Is it because you draw attention to yourself? If so, why is that a bad thing? This is valid also, say you find a lot of games that has a treasure in it (maybe you emailed the seller for some specifics on an item you thought might be a good one). If you bid early there are people who check what you are bidding on and this alerts them to something they probably would have never found. It happens!!! Tom -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
[SWCollect] Where is Pedro?
Haven't seen you in awhile Pedro? Tom -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
Alexander Zoller wrote: Why do you snipe when you can just enter in a maximum and walk away? Because placing my maximum bid days before the auction ends may result in newbie bidders nibbling away at my bid, thus driving up the price. Bidding at the last possible moment ensures that nobody gets a chance to react to my bid. Hm. This is a legitimate reason -- but in order to be ethical, ebay needs to restructure how they do things. Meaning, they should hide the current price and just let everyone bid their maximum. At the end of the auction, show who won. Here's an excellent guide to sniping: http://members.home.net/cruenti/ebay/snipe.html An excellent article, thanks! My final thoughts: I think it's only moral and ethical if the current bid were hidden from everyone before the auction was over, but the chances of changing ebay is as likely as me winning the lottery. And even if I could lobby ebay to change, they never would, since the underlying psychology of why people snipe ultimately makes ebay more money :-( Rest of the list: No more discussion on this is needed, BTW, I have my answer. Thanks to all who responded. -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 08/28/2001 2:37:28 PM Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: How can you tell they were testing it and not honestly bidding for the item? Well usually a person has a max around a round figure, say $100 for fun. Someone will increase bids below the round figures, say $24.09, 49.09, 74.09, 99.09 until they catch the max. The 99.09 would drive it to $100 instead of $102.xx or whatever so you know you have reached the limit. I saw someone drive up an item to the max of $2000 just for fun, they had no intention of buying the item. Ouch. I think I understand now; they'll bid in $.50 increments until the system won't let them bid something that won't break past the minimum-allowable bid? Geez. It sounds like everyone *has* to snipe in order for the system to be fair. This is really starting to stink :) -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
RE: [SWCollect] Sniping
I am a confirmed sniper... C.E. and I have out sniped one another on a few occasions. We've talked afterwards, and while there is usually disappointment, there is never hard feelings because that's the way it has to be done if you're a serious collector on eBay. The main reason I snipe is that you can absolutely get items for less money if you snipe. I 100% guarantee it. The reason is that the theory of proxy bidding is not the reality. Most people do not really bid their maximum on first bid. I learned this early on when I first started on eBay. Let's say you bid $50 for a game one week before the auction ends. Then, one day before the auction ends, somebody bids $51. You think, well what does $2 matter? So you bid again. Then the other person does the same. I have seen this time and time again on eBay. This is an old trick of auctions. Proxy bidding is not a service for the buyer (unless you have unlimited funds and very limited time). It is a service to the seller and to the auction house. That is how they drive the price up beyond what you would normally pay for an item. Their goal is to get you in a bidding war...ideally to where it becomes a matter of principle, and you will have the item at any cost. Most people don't get into this mentality, but all it takes is two people to drive the price up and get more money for the seller and therefore the auction house as well. If you are a buyer, it is in your best interest to snipe. It is the greatest buyer advantage eBay has over a traditional auction...a set time limit. There is no auctioneer who will keep the auction going until he is sure all people are done bidding. It requires more effort on the part of a sniper (you can't just bid and walk away), but you will get the item for less, and you are assured of either getting the item or at the very least only having to bid your true maximum. Hugh -Original Message- From: Jim Leonard [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 5:36 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Sniping Stephen S. Lee wrote: On Fri, 24 Aug 2001, Jim Leonard wrote: [snip] 1. Why do you snipe when you can just enter in a maximum and walk away? * If you bid early, and you bid primarily on game software, bidding early says loud and clear, look! cool stuff! (I actually find some of the stuff I get by searching for certain early-bidders. It's actually a good way of finding things.) Why is this an issue? Is it because you draw attention to yourself? If so, why is that a bad thing? * If you have only so much money to spend, and want multiple items, you're better off waiting as long as you can. For example, you have $100 to spend; there are 10 games that you want; on each, you're willing to pay as much as $20. You can't bid $20 on all of them right away, as you could be driven above your limit. It's better to wait on these as long as you can, and see how the first auctions go before you decide what to do with the later ones. But that isn't sniping -- that's just waiting a while before bidding your maximum. I'm talking about intentionally waiting until seconds before the auction. * Bidding early has a tendency to get you into a bidding war with newbies (who have a tendency to pay too much). If you don't tip your hand you minimize this risk from those people with low ratings who are willing to pay WAY over value. In my experience, these people rarely pay up and, being the second bidder, I get the item anyway. And using proxy bidding the way it was meant to work means that you *don't* get into bidding wars. * Bidding early puts you at risk of ye olde bid-and-retract trick. eBay has moved to reduce the viability of this trick, but it's still something to keep in mind. Huh? What's that? I'm unfamiliar with that practice...? BTW, thanks for the detailed responses. I still haven't been given an acceptable proof for the legitimacy of sniping, but I appreciate the willingness to help me understand why people do it. I'll reiterate that sniping doesn't really bother me from the *auction* standpoint -- when I bid my maximum, most of the time I see people bidding at the last few seconds and losing because the proxy bids me closer to my maximum by a buck or two. What bothers me is *why* people do it. I guess I'd need a degree in psychology to try to understand... -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
On Tue, 28 Aug 2001, Jim Leonard wrote: Stephen S. Lee wrote: On Fri, 24 Aug 2001, Jim Leonard wrote: [snip] 1. Why do you snipe when you can just enter in a maximum and walk away? * If you bid early, and you bid primarily on game software, bidding early says loud and clear, look! cool stuff! (I actually find some of the stuff I get by searching for certain early-bidders. It's actually a good way of finding things.) Why is this an issue? Is it because you draw attention to yourself? If so, why is that a bad thing? If you draw attention to yourself, that increases competition, meaning you'll have to pay more on average. You know, increased demand and all that. Actually, lately it looks like you're a good target for this, so maybe I'll intrude on your auctions (just because what you bid on tends to be cool stuff, and it's easier to search for your bids than to search for 300 things I want individually). There's a specific example given somewhere at YOIS (the photograph of Meretzky Adams). * If you have only so much money to spend, and want multiple items, you're better off waiting as long as you can. For example, you have $100 to spend; there are 10 games that you want; on each, you're willing to pay as much as $20. You can't bid $20 on all of them right away, as you could be driven above your limit. It's better to wait on these as long as you can, and see how the first auctions go before you decide what to do with the later ones. But that isn't sniping -- that's just waiting a while before bidding your maximum. I'm talking about intentionally waiting until seconds before the auction. Right, but (at least when I have money to spend, which I don't until my next paycheck rolls in) often this means waiting until the last hour or so, given how close many auctions end. Often, if the auctions are by the same person, and you're interested in several of them (which happens often), the auctions end only a couple minutes apart, and you *do* have to snipe in order to do this. * Bidding early has a tendency to get you into a bidding war with newbies (who have a tendency to pay too much). If you don't tip your hand you minimize this risk from those people with low ratings who are willing to pay WAY over value. In my experience, these people rarely pay up and, being the second bidder, I get the item anyway. And using proxy bidding the way it was meant to work means that you *don't* get into bidding wars. Huh? Proxy bidding makes automatic bids. If you place an early high bid, and a newbie wants a particular item badly, a newbie who has no sense of value will often keep placing successive bids until he's got your proxy bid of $60 beat. If you wait (and newbies often don't know about sniping), you can easily overtake his tentative bid of $10. You can save a LOT of money this way, because you are not tipping your hand that you value a particular item highly. Also, in my experience I rarely get these items. Getting the item as the second-highest bidder has happens to me twice in about a hundred or so lost auctions (if I lose an auction I'm bidding on seriously, I'm almost always second). * Bidding early puts you at risk of ye olde bid-and-retract trick. eBay has moved to reduce the viability of this trick, but it's still something to keep in mind. Huh? What's that? I'm unfamiliar with that practice...? Place a high bid, and retract it, so you know what the other's bid is exactly. (This isn't legal on eBay, but it still happens.) Also, bidding early leaves you open to people who drive up your bid just because they can. -- Stephen -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Best voice acting in a game
Really? I would never have guessed! Amazing what those early programmers could accomplish. Thanks for the info. - Original Message - From: Jim Leonard [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 2:45 PM Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Best voice acting in a game C.E. Forman wrote: My all-time personal favorite? This is gonna sound strange, but... Whoever did the voice clip of Professor Elvin Atombender at the start of Epyx's Impossible Mission for the C64: Stay awhile... Staaayyy FOREVE! Freaking awesome, even today. You'll kick yourself: That's 100% speech synthesis. You should give homage to the programmer that tweaked the phonemes and inflection. -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
Jim, I know you said you had all the info you wanted on sniping, but I'll share my experience anyway if anyone cares to listen. When I first arrived on eBay, I was a total newbie. Saw something I liked, stuck a bid on it. Not necessarily the max I'd go, I was still feeling out the system. But, long story short, a bunch of people saw me and immediately started searching on my ID. He's found some good stuff, let's watch what he's bidding on so we'll know about it too. Nothing wrong with doing that. I search on other people's IDs all the time. Because you can. I learned fast. Proxy bidding is great, but it leaves you vulnerable to someone who's easily willing to outbid your maximum. The Meretzky/Adams photo Stephen refers to was my second win on eBay, and I ended up paying about $48 for it because another collector found it by scoping my activity. (That was high at the time, but I would've easily bid that amount now.) The solution I came up with was, wait to bid until it's closer to the time the auction closes, so there's less chance of someone seeing your bid attached to an item. The snipe is the ultimate example of this tactic. It works great for poorly listed items (Suspected Face-Mask Game by Info-Com) that other bidders might not see... unless another known collector draws their attention to it. Fact: I've personally won more rare/valuable items using sniping than I have without. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
On Tue, 28 Aug 2001, Jim Leonard wrote: [snip] Maybe this leads into another question: I would like to watch several auctions to see what happens to them, but doing so manually is a chore. Is there a (free) service or piece of software that will let me set up auctions to watch? What's wrong with the service eBay provides? You're limited to watching 20 items, but in my experience this is adequate. -- Stephen -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
C.E. Forman wrote: to an item. The snipe is the ultimate example of this tactic. It works great for poorly listed items (Suspected Face-Mask Game by Info-Com) that Hey, just how *do* you find poorly-listed items? I've found stuff purely by accident that was mis-named just as badly as the above AND was totally mis-categorized (it was under Magazines -- I'm not kidding). I found it almost completely randomly, but do you guys actually search for these things? I imagine you would, because it's almost guaranteed you'd get something decent for 4 bucks. How do you actually find stuff so poorly categorized and named? -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
Stephen S. Lee wrote: On Tue, 28 Aug 2001, Jim Leonard wrote: [snip] Maybe this leads into another question: I would like to watch several auctions to see what happens to them, but doing so manually is a chore. Is there a (free) service or piece of software that will let me set up auctions to watch? What's wrong with the service eBay provides? You're limited to watching 20 items, but in my experience this is adequate. Didn't know about it. :-) Can you use it to watch people as well? I had no idea people watched other people... I had no idea some of you were watching *me* (shudder) -- http://www.MobyGames.com/ The world's most comprehensive gaming database project. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
Hey, just how *do* you find poorly-listed items? I've found stuff purely by accident that was mis-named just as badly as the above AND was totally mis-categorized (it was under Magazines -- I'm not kidding). I found it almost completely randomly, but do you guys actually search for these things? I imagine you would, because it's almost guaranteed you'd get something decent for 4 bucks. How do you actually find stuff so poorly categorized and named? Lots of ways: 1.) Obscure search terms, such as old computer game, flying saucer package, etc. Things the people who search on Infocom or Starcross will miss if it's improperly listed. 2.) Misspellings. Yes, search on people's typos. I've found items using Invisi-Clues and Kings Quest more often than you'd think. 3.) Browsing categories. It takes time, but it's worth it. My faves are the ones for Apple II / Vintage Mac, Atari Games, Commodore, and the all-encompassing vintage games. 4.) eBay provides a feature allowing you to save up to 15 searches. Use it, and use it well. For instance, searching on (infocom,zork,ultima,akalabeth,serenia,cranston,softporn,drash) will turn up the best collectible games in one decisive blow, and you still get 14 more searches after that. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
On Tue, 28 Aug 2001, Jim Leonard wrote: Stephen S. Lee wrote: On Tue, 28 Aug 2001, Jim Leonard wrote: [snip] Maybe this leads into another question: I would like to watch several auctions to see what happens to them, but doing so manually is a chore. Is there a (free) service or piece of software that will let me set up auctions to watch? What's wrong with the service eBay provides? You're limited to watching 20 items, but in my experience this is adequate. Didn't know about it. :-) It is one of eBay's most handy little tools. Exploit it :) Can you use it to watch people as well? I had no idea people watched other people... I had no idea some of you were watching *me* (shudder) You can't watch other people like this (you *can* watch sellers like this, but not bidders), and you can't watch bidders at all if they're from certain countries. Watching bidders is done by manually using eBay's search by bidder function every time you feel like watching what others are doing. The ways to avoid this are to (1) move to one of said certain countries (like Germany), or (2) snipe, or at least refrain from bidding until the final few hours the auction is open. -- Stephen -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
Speaking of sniping... http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=1266370886 ha ha ha C.E. Forman wrote: Hey, just how *do* you find poorly-listed items? I've found stuff purely by accident that was mis-named just as badly as the above AND was totally mis-categorized (it was under Magazines -- I'm not kidding). I found it almost completely randomly, but do you guys actually search for these things? I imagine you would, because it's almost guaranteed you'd get something decent for 4 bucks. How do you actually find stuff so poorly categorized and named? Lots of ways: 1.) Obscure search terms, such as old computer game, flying saucer package, etc. Things the people who search on Infocom or Starcross will miss if it's improperly listed. 2.) Misspellings. Yes, search on people's typos. I've found items using Invisi-Clues and Kings Quest more often than you'd think. 3.) Browsing categories. It takes time, but it's worth it. My faves are the ones for Apple II / Vintage Mac, Atari Games, Commodore, and the all-encompassing vintage games. 4.) eBay provides a feature allowing you to save up to 15 searches. Use it, and use it well. For instance, searching on (infocom,zork,ultima,akalabeth,serenia,cranston,softporn,drash) will turn up the best collectible games in one decisive blow, and you still get 14 more searches after that. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
Speaking of sniping... http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=1266370886 ha ha ha C.E. Forman wrote: Hey, just how *do* you find poorly-listed items? I've found stuff purely by accident that was mis-named just as badly as the above AND was totally mis-categorized (it was under Magazines -- I'm not kidding). I found it almost completely randomly, but do you guys actually search for these things? I imagine you would, because it's almost guaranteed you'd get something decent for 4 bucks. How do you actually find stuff so poorly categorized and named? Lots of ways: 1.) Obscure search terms, such as old computer game, flying saucer package, etc. Things the people who search on Infocom or Starcross will miss if it's improperly listed. 2.) Misspellings. Yes, search on people's typos. I've found items using Invisi-Clues and Kings Quest more often than you'd think. 3.) Browsing categories. It takes time, but it's worth it. My faves are the ones for Apple II / Vintage Mac, Atari Games, Commodore, and the all-encompassing vintage games. 4.) eBay provides a feature allowing you to save up to 15 searches. Use it, and use it well. For instance, searching on (infocom,zork,ultima,akalabeth,serenia,cranston,softporn,drash) will turn up the best collectible games in one decisive blow, and you still get 14 more searches after that. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
Speaking of sniping... http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=1266370886 ha ha ha C.E. Forman wrote: Hey, just how *do* you find poorly-listed items? I've found stuff purely by accident that was mis-named just as badly as the above AND was totally mis-categorized (it was under Magazines -- I'm not kidding). I found it almost completely randomly, but do you guys actually search for these things? I imagine you would, because it's almost guaranteed you'd get something decent for 4 bucks. How do you actually find stuff so poorly categorized and named? Lots of ways: 1.) Obscure search terms, such as old computer game, flying saucer package, etc. Things the people who search on Infocom or Starcross will miss if it's improperly listed. 2.) Misspellings. Yes, search on people's typos. I've found items using Invisi-Clues and Kings Quest more often than you'd think. 3.) Browsing categories. It takes time, but it's worth it. My faves are the ones for Apple II / Vintage Mac, Atari Games, Commodore, and the all-encompassing vintage games. 4.) eBay provides a feature allowing you to save up to 15 searches. Use it, and use it well. For instance, searching on (infocom,zork,ultima,akalabeth,serenia,cranston,softporn,drash) will turn up the best collectible games in one decisive blow, and you still get 14 more searches after that. -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
46 new messages, 44 from this list, its unlikely I'll contribute any new insight. But for the record, I'll snip anything except when the auction ends when I can't be in front of my PC. Anyway: - I use the watch list so people don't search for my bids - I also use the watch list to cut back on bidding on everything. Gives me time to think if I really want it. Also allows me to prioritize. - Cutting back on cost is good. When I started snipping, I did so at the 30 second marker. I've had people bid again within that window (+$50!) If I was more daring, I'd have saved the cash. And one absolutely dirty trick (in theory of course)... if someone is constantly warring with you (usually for multiple items from the same seller) you can get a feel for their limits, look at their bidding list, and crank up the bids on things you don't want that they're bidding on. They'll (hopefully) deplete their cash and not fight so hard for the items you really want. The risk is obvious, though. Did someone already say this? Not sniping has an advantage though. Intimidation. If someone is good and does a little research and sees that their opponent has deep pockets, they may reconsider bidding at all. This doesn't always work, but sometimes if I really could go either way on something, I'll stay away from vetran bidders. Or deep-pocketed newbies. I recently passed on a IIgs game that I saw was pursued by a list member. I passed solely on the premise of the bidder and it being a would be nice instead of a must have. The money I save usually scores me a half-dozen or so would be nice titles that go with one bid (mine). Dan -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Sniping
46 new messages, 44 from this list, its unlikely I'll contribute any new insight. But for the record, I'll snip anything except when the auction ends when I can't be in front of my PC. Anyway: - I use the watch list so people don't search for my bids - I also use the watch list to cut back on bidding on everything. Gives me time to think if I really want it. Also allows me to prioritize. - Cutting back on cost is good. When I started snipping, I did so at the 30 second marker. I've had people bid again within that window (+$50!) If I was more daring, I'd have saved the cash. And one absolutely dirty trick (in theory of course)... if someone is constantly warring with you (usually for multiple items from the same seller) you can get a feel for their limits, look at their bidding list, and crank up the bids on things you don't want that they're bidding on. They'll (hopefully) deplete their cash and not fight so hard for the items you really want. The risk is obvious, though. Did someone already say this? Not sniping has an advantage though. Intimidation. If someone is good and does a little research and sees that their opponent has deep pockets, they may reconsider bidding at all. This doesn't always work, but sometimes if I really could go either way on something, I'll stay away from vetran bidders. Or deep-pocketed newbies. I recently passed on a IIgs game that I saw was pursued by a list member. I passed solely on the premise of the bidder and it being a would be nice instead of a must have. The money I save usually scores me a half-dozen or so would be nice titles that go with one bid (mine). Dan -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
[SWCollect] Shrinkwrap again
Read the bottom of this description (about the shrinkwrap). Sound reshrunk? http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=1266478226r=0t=0sh owTutorial=0ed=999065385indexURL=0rd=1 -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
Re: [SWCollect] Shrinkwrap again
Well, I bought it over a year ago from a large-scale software distributor who went out of business, not a mom-and-pop used game outlet. The wrap isn't the brittle kind, but on the other hand, the holes and seams look a little crude. I know the game is new, regardless. The dealer assured me as much, and I've dealt with him enough to trust him. Chris Dan Chisarick wrote: Read the bottom of this description (about the shrinkwrap). Sound reshrunk? http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemitem=1266478226r=0t=0sh owTutorial=0ed=999065385indexURL=0rd=1 -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/ -- This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed to the swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect' Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/swcollect@oldskool.org/
