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shooz
- FB Fan -
USA
42 Posts |
 Posted - 02/07/2004 : 10:43:30
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For those who are desperate for tickets to the Brixton shows and are not willing to wait to see if more dates are announced, eBay is still an option. Of course I don't condone extorting fans like the ebay sellers do, but it is an option nevertheless. If you decide to try it, there are some things you need to know to be an effective eBay bidder.
First of all, make sure you know how eBay works. Bids placed on eBay are "proxy bids". This means that when you enter a bid, you are entering the highest amount you're willing to bid for the item. However, ebay will only bid enough to make you the highest bidder, until someone enters a higher bid amount. For example, if the highest bid on an item is £10, and you bid £50, you will be the highest bidder on the auction with a high bid of $11 (depending on the bid increment). If someone comes along and bids £20, you will still be the highest bidder with a high bid of £21 -- that's the proxy bid. If someone then bids £51, you will no longer be the highest bidder since they bid more than your original bid.
For this reason, you must decide how much the ticket(s) are worth to you, and bid accordingly. Is that ticket worth £50 to you? How about £51? Decide on a price and stick with it -- don't get caught in a bidding war.
Right now there are a lot of tickets available on eBay (70 different auctions at this time) -- this plus the number of people around here willing to buy extra tickets might be an advantage to you. More tickets on ebay keeps the demand down and the auction prices down. And if you bid on multiple auctions and get too many tickets, you could probably find someone here to take them off your hands.
Also, I wouldn't bother bidding on an auction until the very last second. If you bid before the end, all you're doing is tipping off others who also want the item that you are interested. Bidding at the last second is called "sniping" and works as follows. You find an auction that is about to end and has not gone over the price you're willing to pay for the tickets. If you place your bid with a few seconds left, the current high bidder will not have enough time to increase his bid. Of course, if the current high bidder's proxy bid is greater than your bid, you will not win the auction since the proxy bid system will automatically bid higher than your bid. Also, don't cut it too close -- the bid takes a little while to fly over the Internet, maybe wait for 10 or 15 seconds before end end of the auction. There is also software to help with this, check out Bidding Imp for Windows (although it has not been updated since last year and may not work anymore) or Bidwatcher for linux.
Another tip -- don't bid even amounts. Even if you're willing to pay £50 for a ticket, you may want to bid £52.67. This will help in the case that the highest bidder has a proxy bid in for £50 -- if you only bid £50 as well, he would win. However, adding a few cents to your bid might be just enough to beat him.
And be sure to read the Buyer Issues section of the alt.marketing.online.ebay FAQ and eBay's buyer's guide.
Of course, none of what I told you is a secret -- eBay pros know all these tips already. But you need to know these things to have a fighting chance!
good luck!
sho0z
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bedrock_barney
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
871 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2004 : 10:49:49
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Useful tips shooz.
Anyone noticed that one of the current highest bidders is called 'toutstopper'!!
 "Join the Cult of the Theremin / It's Velouriatastic!!" |
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bumblebeeboy2
> Teenager of the Year <
United Kingdom
2638 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2004 : 10:57:35
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quote:
Originally posted by bedrock_barney
Useful tips shooz.
Anyone noticed that one of the current highest bidders is called 'toutstopper'!!
"Join the Cult of the Theremin / It's Velouriatastic!!"
lol! fantastic.
seems they're going for around £200 for 2, well at the moment anyway... the £450 'buy it now' one has gone, i suppose ebay removed it, or the seller changed the amount, i hope no one bought it. crazy money!
of course i'm slightly tempted, but imagine if i got 2 tickets, for £250, then they added a manchester date... i'd top myself! 
~~~
I'm flat out, you're so beautiful to look at when you cry. Freeze, don't move, you've been chosen as an extra in the movie adaptation of the sequal to your life. Shady Lane, everybody wants one, Shady Lane, everybody needs one. |
Edited by - bumblebeeboy2 on 02/07/2004 11:05:30 |
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bumblebeeboy2
> Teenager of the Year <
United Kingdom
2638 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2004 : 11:08:23
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christ!
http://cgi6.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=evanabove&completed=0&sort=3&since=-1
not sure if that link will work or not, as i'm logged into ebay, but that guys (trusted power seller) list of items for sale! dispicable. complete tout... he's got westlife, britney spears, busted, rhcps... he must make a small fortune out of it...
~~~
I'm flat out, you're so beautiful to look at when you cry. Freeze, don't move, you've been chosen as an extra in the movie adaptation of the sequal to your life. Shady Lane, everybody wants one, Shady Lane, everybody needs one. |
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bedrock_barney
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
871 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2004 : 11:30:47
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I am imagine him (or her) sitting on their white leather sofa in their tasteless neo-georgian house counting out loads and loads of filthy lucre.
Probably not really happy though, deep down.
[apologies to all those FB members who have white leather sofas and live in neo georgian houses!]
"Join the Cult of the Theremin / It's Velouriatastic!!" |
Edited by - bedrock_barney on 02/07/2004 11:31:32 |
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gavredmaxx
- FB Fan -
United Kingdom
127 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2004 : 11:38:33
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I still find it amazing that no-one can do anything about people like that...
Ebay just make 'em 'Power Seller's.....
To quote ebay,
"As the pillars of our community, PowerSellers are committed to upholding and embracing the core community values that are the very foundation of eBay. They are exemplary members who are held to the highest standards of professionalism, having achieved and maintained a 98% positive feedback rating and an excellent sales performance record"
Gav
"Just like Michelangelo saw the angel in the stone, I can look at a guy like Kevin
Costner and see a giant peach grub who can fart 'The Blue Danube' " |
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Homers_pet_monkey
= Official forum monkey =
United Kingdom
17125 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2004 : 13:47:44
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quote:
Originally posted by bedrock_barney
Useful tips shooz.
Anyone noticed that one of the current highest bidders is called 'toutstopper'!!
"Join the Cult of the Theremin / It's Velouriatastic!!"
Hmmmm!!! Anyone else think that perhaps this is someone who is placing false bids to try and usurp the touts? They will have created a false account with a false address with no intention of paying. I hope so. I just can't see any other reason why you would call yourself that. Having said that he has certainly attracted attention to himself which is stupid. Very interesting!!! |
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DruggedBunny
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
395 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2004 : 14:40:16
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Funny thing is, I'd have easily handed over £50-100 for the real deal, but there's no way I'd hand that to some cnut who bought it at £25 just to sell on Ebay.
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gary13th
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
632 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2004 : 15:36:20
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its tosh... i wont get to see them...
roll on the next FB&TC tour !
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They are about, dressed to deceive, architect David Vincent |
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MangyKid
- FB Fan -
170 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2004 : 18:17:56
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| And a random ebay tip, always search for misspellings. sometimes you can find stuff pretty cheap, people will spell GeForce Gforce or G-Force, and stuff like that. |
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johndietzel
= Cult of Ray =
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)
464 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2004 : 18:37:10
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I think the guys who snatch the tickets up for resale are smart businessmen. People who whine about it tend to come across as resentful brats.
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Ok, I hope I don't screw this one up: "Jeffrey Jones, Roman Polanski, Pete Townshend, and James Randi walk into a kindergarten . . ." |
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Homers_pet_monkey
= Official forum monkey =
United Kingdom
17125 Posts |
Posted - 02/08/2004 : 03:32:37
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| You could describe the guys who run the sweat shops in India as smart businessmen, but you'd be missing the point - AGAIN!!! |
Edited by - Homers_pet_monkey on 02/08/2004 03:33:06 |
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gracie
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
573 Posts |
Posted - 02/08/2004 : 05:06:26
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| Yeah i am feeling pretty resentful at the moment. |
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Marcel
- FB Fan -
Netherlands
14 Posts |
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Old Neptuna
- FB Fan -
Ireland
200 Posts |
Posted - 02/08/2004 : 14:01:04
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Shooz,
Wish I'd read your post before I went bidding!
Tuna
 "I have seen the neighbours dog, and I was not afraid..." |
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a guy in a rover
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
535 Posts |
Posted - 02/08/2004 : 18:24:30
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Thanks for the tips shooz.
Looks like there will be lots of us giving in to these touting motherfuckers but i think that just shows our true passion for the pixies as the greatest band in the history of the universe, ever.
Anyone got any info on whether they are gonna announce any more dates?!
"You are the son of a mother fucker"
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