"Outing" Ebay auctions

[the_duke]

As you all know there are often auctions for bikes titled things like "mountain bike" or "bike" etc, when in fact it is a rare retro beast of value.

My question is this,


Is it good form to "out" such an auction, taking the bargain from someone else who has found it, or is it good form to open the said "rare beast" to the masses????


My view,

Since finding this site I have found that no matter how obscure the listing, or how secret you might think it is, someone else has ALWAYS found it

Once I realised this I decided that to "out" such a potential bargain was harsh on the other person / people if I didn't want to genuinely buy it myself. It is, after all, very hard to get things cheaply in the retro world any more.

If (and when) I "out" auctions I will only do so if it is an item with either a BIN or a realistic price starting point. . . .if that makes sense!



Discuss. . . .

 

[FMJ]

They have a dim view of outing in VRC over at MTBR. I kind of agree.

 

[cyfa2809]

i often come across many such bargains
and i post a couple on here in the watch section
as you do
but only if the buy it now is cheap etc. as you said

generally though
i just think, if you want it that bad that cheap
find it yourself
otherwise, i could be here all day posting ebay links

so no, i dont think its very good
ive found were very good people, us retrobike lot
who hold good values and morals

 

[the_duke]

My point is not to question any ones morals, far from it. I certainly dont believe anyone intentionally would do it.

I just wonder if it was something people had even considered as it took me so bloody long to realise and its not something talked about until after the fact

 

[Tallpaul]

The eBay links posted from this site help pay for it. Outing any and every auction is good because it prolongs the existence of the forum.

 

[cyfa2809]

while tallpaul is right

i dont think its right if you can see that someone has already spotted it


(i know your not questioning morals, just saying were goooood! )


it can often depend on the item too though

 

[legrandefromage]

if its a buy it now and a bloody good bargain, I usually buy it there and then regardless.

 

[FluffyChicken]

anything interesting and that I cannot buy or do not want, i'll post on here if I can be bothered.
Couldn't care less if there is 0 or 10 bids on it anyone that really wanted it would be sniping anyway.

Might as well make the poor man selling it get a bit more than he/she might have expected.

It also helps people interested in such items possibly see it if they missed it.

and it help keep John in a job.

 

[jonnyboy666]

double edged sword as far as i am concerned, we are all looking for similar types of bikes/frames/components so i think it's naive to think that others haven't found that same rare thing that you have, so 'outing' is annoying if you think you have found something that no one else knows about, but on the other hand i have won things that have been very useful because others have outed it.

i haven't got the time to waste looking for obscure things on ebay, i'd rather be riding, besides i tend to find my bigger purchases here, for example i just bought a buck shaver from northern dave, i think i paid a fair price, if dave had ebayed that frame it might have gone higher than the £200 he advertised it at purely coz it's a fat, atleast buying stuff here it's fixed (ish) price as opposed to watching that elusive part being bidded out of your price range.

as a result of lack of time i usually don't post links in the ebay section but i think it's fine to do so, it helps the seller get to a wider audience and you may highlight that part or whatever to someone who really needed to finish their perfect unicorn build! and to assume no one else knows about it, well that's just silly!!

 

[lewis1641]

i usually only search for complete bikes and within a small radius of my home. if i see something of interest (that i wont be bidding on myself!) i'll out it.