BTRIPP (btripp) wrote,
BTRIPP
btripp

Wow ...

I haven't done any eBaying of late (the times I've surfed in there haven't been any deals on anything that I'm looking for) but tonight I stumbled on a number of cards from one vendor that we don't currently have in Daughter #1's collection. Most are still listing at a 1¢ initial bid, although a number have been bid on. Most of these were bid on by one guy ... an ID that I didn't recognize ... so I went into his Member Profile to see what I could find out about his bidding patterns (it's always helpful to see the bid history on things folks you're going up against have won). I'm guessing that he typically comes in with a close-to if not specifically at the minimum bid, as I've looked at several dozen of his wins and almost all of them are him winning unopposed at the initial bid (and the others he came in late with a single bid), so I'm guessing that if I go in with a moderately low bid, but above the minimum, I'll do OK (since I have yet to see him counter an upbid).

What's odd is that I've yet to see him bidding on any Pokemon cards before the ones in this bunch ... but he's won DOZENS of Beatles-themed auctions, tapes, CDs, record jackets (without records), albums, 45's, 8-tracks, thimbles, music boxes, books, figures, press release photos, cards, keychains, stamps, buttons, posters, etc. etc. etc. ... all in the past month or so. I'm amazed ... I wonder if he has a "retro shop" somewhere, or if he's just obsessed! The sheer volume of what this guy's picked up (and, at the minimum bid mostly) is truly impressive.

I mean, I've bought a lot of stuff on eBay, but it's largely based on a combination of my being too cheap to BUY the Pokemon cards at retail and "enjoying the hunt" ... I don't think I've ever gotten something there for "sentimental reasons" (OK, I have paid more than I really wanted to for a couple of particularly rare cards once or twice) ... and this guy's devotion to Beatles stuff is an eye-opener. I guess I've gotten a lot of cards for a penny a piece, but this guy has quite a pile of unchallenged low bids!

Ah ... now, looking at the few things when he's come in over an existing bid, it looks like he goes to an $x.07 bid ... which makes me guess that his opening bid on these penny-start auctions is probably seven cents ... (AHA! finally found an auction where he "fought for it", and his opening bid was 7¢!) ... this is good info to know if I'm going to snag some of these cards.

Yeah, yeah ... like you care!

{edit}
This guy either has to have a record store or is "made of money" ... because despite all the things he's getting for a penny or 99¢ opening bids, he's paying huge shipping charges ... anywhere from $2 to $5 per item! Heck, at least when I go in on these cards, I keep the shipping costs in the equation ... over the past couple of months this guy must have shelled out three hundred bucks just on the shipping for all this crap he's won!


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