Visit MPB Visit MPB Visit MPB

An appeal.

mowog
Posted 24/01/2009 - 14:31 Link
This morning, at 10.15 and 40 seconds, I was outbid on evilbay, for a hardly used ist D body. I have been after one for a long time. I bought a DL2, and it is very good - but the camera I really wanted, was the original D. It has a nicer viewfinder, and uses compact flash cards, instead of those fiddly little SD things. I placed what I thought was a good bid, exceeding the start price by a comfortable margin. Mine was the only bid all week - until some despicable Swine put in a higher one, about 5 seconds from the end! I had convinced myself that it was mine. I had started to think about what short zoom lens to buy for it. And then..... my dream shattered! This has happened several times, now.
So... I will appeal to my fellow Pentax user forum members.
If any of you have a lightly used Ist d for sale - now, or in the near future - I would be pleased to know about it. I don't think my nerves could cope with another auction.
No man is worth his salt, who has not been banned from at least one Forum, and two Flickr groups.

Mowog.
GrahamNR17
Posted 24/01/2009 - 15:52 Link
Sounds like you were had by the dreaded snipers. You can get your own back by adopting similar tactics. Google for "ebay sniper software" and go grab yourself a bargain or two

Personally, I think Fleabay should put in place technology to stop them, but they'd need to give a damn.
Edited by GrahamNR17: 24/01/2009 - 15:53
johnriley
Posted 24/01/2009 - 16:11 Link
Everyone is entitled to bid and to bid right up to the deadline. If you put in a suitable maximum bid you will win the item, regardless of any software employed by other bidders. They will have set their limit too, and if it's higher than yours....

As regards the *istD this is getting quite old now and I would expect the newer models to give superior image quality and faster response time. SD card slots are now even appearing on TV sets, so they are more or less universal over a wide range of electronic products.

New DSLRs are now very well priced, until all the price rises start to hit!
Best regards, John
Edited by johnriley: 24/01/2009 - 16:11
Hardgravity
Posted 24/01/2009 - 16:55 Link
The problem with snipers is that dealers use them to pay slightly more than something is worth, they then split the won item down into smaller bundles and sell on 'Buy it now' making a reasonable profit.

Was the camera you wanted in a bundle?

If not it was probably bought by some one with a bigger wallet.

I suffered this some months ago trying for a lens( thread here) and found the only way was to hope and pray!
Cheers, HG

K110+DA40, K200+DA35, K3 and a bag of lenses, bodies and other bits.

Mustn't forget the Zenits, or folders, or...

PPG entries.
Mannesty
Posted 24/01/2009 - 17:06 Link
Mowog, you have a PM.
Peter E Smith - flickr Photostream
smallman
Posted 24/01/2009 - 18:11 Link
Mowog, you have another PM.

Karl Smallman
iceblinker
Posted 24/01/2009 - 19:00 Link
The advantage of sniping is that not all bidders actually do have a set maximum bid in mind. Bidders are strange things called human beings.

Human beings often catch a disease called Auction Fever. This makes them change their mind about what they are prepared to pay after they have been outbid, then they manually place another bid. "Well, it's only another pound", they think. And so on.

You can beat the snipers by placing a bid any time that is higher than even a sufferer of Auction Fever will outbid, but you can often save money by instead being a sniper yourself. It will often enable you to win by bidding less than you would have to otherwise.
~Pete
Edited by iceblinker: 24/01/2009 - 19:03
Dwight-Morton
Posted 24/01/2009 - 22:49 Link
Sorry you lost this time around.
Mannesty
Posted 24/01/2009 - 23:08 Link
I always use a sniping tool for the reasons iceblinker states.

I set a maximum that I am prepared to pay for an item, and stick it in to my sniping tool. I then forget about the auction until its finished. If I win, good, if not I look for another similar item. I've got over the "I want it and I want it now" auction mentality.

It avoids bidding wars where an item might ultimately cost more than normal retail versions, and I've seen it happen.
Peter E Smith - flickr Photostream
fatspider
Posted 24/01/2009 - 23:16 Link
I'm in agreement with John, the istD is getting a bit long in the tooth and despite it being a superb camera there are probably better bargains to be had with a used K10D, I wrestled with the idea of selling my own but realised I would get very little of what I paid for it back.

In the end I decided to give it to my son for Xmas, with my first grandchild on the way I thought it would be an excelent way of ensuring decent pictures of her growing up Whether that happens remains to be seen, we rushed over to the hospital last week to find him snapping away without the flash, 1/6th wide open (set on auto)
My Names Alan, and I'm a lensaholic.
My PPG link
My Flckr link
George Lazarette
Posted 24/01/2009 - 23:17 Link
People lose on Ebay for two reasons only:

1 Somebody else thinks the item was worth more than they did. That's fair enough.

2 They didn't bid as much as they were actually prepared to pay. This is stupid.

To avoid nitwits who get carried away and bid more than THEY think the item is worth, you should bid in the last ten seconds, and bid the absolte maximum you are prepared to pay. Then nobody has time to bid more when they see your bid is slightly higher than theirs.

I usually win when I bid, but if I don't I know that the item went for more than it was (in my opinion) worth.

G
Keywords: Charming, polite, and generally agreeable.
smallman
Posted 25/01/2009 - 00:00 Link
Mowog, you have another PM.

Karl Smallman
Father Ted
Posted 25/01/2009 - 12:01 Link
George Lazarette wrote:
People lose on Ebay for two reasons only:

1 Somebody else thinks the item was worth more than they did. That's fair enough.

2 They didn't bid as much as they were actually prepared to pay. This is stupid.

To avoid nitwits who get carried away and bid more than THEY think the item is worth, you should bid in the last ten seconds, and bid the absolte maximum you are prepared to pay. Then nobody has time to bid more when they see your bid is slightly higher than theirs.

I usually win when I bid, but if I don't I know that the item went for more than it was (in my opinion) worth.

G

Exactly how I do it.

That way, they don't have chance to think " just another pound" etc.
The prices I've seen things go for when two bidders get into a battle for an item
Getting there! Thanks to you guys

Pentax K10d, *istDL, Kit lens ( 18-55mm ), 50mm f1.7 lens, Tamron 70-300mm lens, Prinzflex 70-162 manual lens, Various old flashes.
mowog
Posted 27/01/2009 - 23:46 Link
Thanks to a couple of helpful forum members, I may yet have, my longed for ist D.
No man is worth his salt, who has not been banned from at least one Forum, and two Flickr groups.

Mowog.
smallman
Posted 28/01/2009 - 09:28 Link
Hi Chris
It will be with you before you know it

Thanks Karl

Add Comment

To leave a comment - Log in to Pentax User or create a new account.