How many of you can relate?

[Josette]

I had to vent this somewhere, and what better place than here among fellow collectors.

I was bidding on an auction tonight and this item was something I've been looking for a long time...one of those "I desperately want it for my collection but I don't know if I'll ever see it" kind of deals. Needless to say, I had my heart set on winning this auction....

I lost.
Too many people on at the last minute with no time left.

And now I'm just so utterly disappointed. The likelyhood of me getting a chance to get one again is pretty much slim to none.

 

[King Darkness]

Ive been there...and it really sux!!

 

[Darth Madden]

That sucks, but it will come up again... you just may need to wait a while but it will.

 

[Wetanut]

I feel your pain Josette. 2 years ago, I lost out on a particular piece 4 times during a 10 month period -- 3 of them in the last 45-60 seconds. Hang tough....you'll get another chance!

 

[wookilar8]

I've been there. I would do a search on ebay with as much detail info of the item, such as company name or perticular edition number, etc... Save the search as your "favorite searches" and choose to get e-mail for the next 180 days when a new item is posted that matches your search. I hope this helps to catch it the next time it's posted.

 

[Buttmunch]

I hate it when stuff goes at the last second. It really defeats the purpose of having auctions last for days when it will only sell with 10 minutes or less left. It is one of the worst feeling a collector can get.

 

[Darth Madden]

I hate it when stuff goes at the last second. It really defeats the purpose of having auctions last for days when it will only sell with 10 minutes or less left. It is one of the worst feeling a collector can get.

Well, just about every auction ends that way. People think they will end up getting it for less if they don't drive the price up early.. but instead it drives it up late. Just the way it goes sometimes.

 

[Dr.Mirakle32]

Remember, If you REALLY want something, a good trick is to email the seller before anyone bids, to make them a fair offer. If you are lucky, they might end the auction early.

 

[gdb]

It's heartbreaking getting your hopes up but it's near impossible not to. I've been there and been on the other side. eBay giveth and eBay taketh away.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

i totally know how you feel. it sucks to have your hopes up only to get robbed at the last minute. one good thing is--- once you finally get it, it makes the accomplishment worthy of celebration. :chew

 

[Josette]

Thanks for all the replies.

I know many moons from now it may possibly be able to find it again, but it's extremely rare. In fact, that was the first time I've actually seen it anywhere, even on Ebay. I know someone who's probably keeping an eye out for me, but it's very doubtful I'll run across it again. It's one of those "holy grail" items that you know exists, but you only see it once in an eternity.

I so want it in my Dark Shadows collection (as I'm sure some have probably already guessed it was a DS item...I wouldn't be this upset if it were anything else.)

 

[Mithrandier]

on those holy grail items..............I never win them.................I know how you feel......................

 

[Agent23]

You could always e-mail the high bidder and offer to buy it from them. Just food for thought....

I know the feeling as well. Got outbid last Sunday (I wasn't home to watch the auction), and I came home and found out I lost by $1

That P'Oed me pretty good....



Another one will hopefully come around, don't drive yourself crazy over it...

 

[Josette]

on those holy grail items..............I never win them.................I know how you feel......................

I've never really tried for anything like that before because those kind of items don't always interest me. I never buy something because it's rare, only if it's something I like. This just happens to be an item that I really want - and it just happens to be one of the rarest DS related collectibles out there.

Agent23- I'm thinking about doing that....

 

[Mithrandier]

I've never really tried for anything like that before because those kind of items don't always interest me. I never buy something because it's rare, only if it's something I like. This just happens to be an item that I really want - and it just happens to be one of the rarest DS related collectibles out there.

Agent23- I'm thinking about doing that....

I buy items that I consider to be holy grails to my collection......................right now all the items I need for my LOTR WETA collection are holy grails............If I buy a piece it is because I want it, not because it is a rare collector's item...............got money but no to blow like that...........If I buy, gonna get it, open it and display it................

 

[Gruff Old Bear]

I'm sorry, but contacting the seller is a bad idea. Asking the seller to end the auction and sell privately violates eBay rules, and cheats eBay of their fees. eBay asks sellers to report such offers. If you contact the seller using eBay's "Ask Seller a Question" button, your message is accompanied by this disclaimer:

Is this message an offer to buy your item directly through email without winning the item on eBay? If so, please help make the eBay marketplace safer by reporting it to us. These "outside of eBay" transactions may be unsafe and are against eBay policy. Learn more about trading safely.

Should the seller forward your email message to eBay, your eBay account will be closed.

The problem isn't the timing of your bid. The problem is somebody else bid higher. Happens to us all, so we can all relate. Better luck next time.

 

[Shai]

Funny but, and I dont want to sound like an a**, when I want really something on ebay, I always end up having it.

 

[Josette]

Funny but, and I dont want to sound like an a**, when I want really something on ebay, I always end up having it.

When there are so many other people bidding down to the wire with you, there's really no way of predicting the outcome, especially with an extremely rare item, IMHO. Really, any of us could have won it, our bids were put in on top of each other so that the price was continuously rising even as we threw in higher bids at the very last 5 seconds. I never even knew what it was up to when I put in my last bid (and I had run out of time).

Gruff Old Bear - I never contacted the seller.

 

[DCFett]

I definitely feel your pain...and Gruff is definitely RIGHT! You cant contact the seller and ask for them to end the auction and sell to you off-site. Nor can they contact you and make another deal.
What you can do, I believe and have done on more than one occassion, is after you lose the item, contact the seller and see if they have another or have access to another. Usually, if they have it, they'll seel it for the last price the first one went for, or for your highest bid. Ive found no violations on EB for that sort of transaction. I have NEVER asked a seller to end an auction.
Snipping does burn though, so I can relate.

 

[Dr.Mirakle32]

I'm sorry, but contacting the seller is a bad idea. Asking the seller to end the auction and sell privately violates eBay rules, and cheats eBay of their fees. eBay asks sellers to report such offers. If you contact the seller using eBay's "Ask Seller a Question" button, your message is accompanied by this disclaimer:



Should the seller forward your email message to eBay, your eBay account will be closed.

The problem isn't the timing of your bid. The problem is somebody else bid higher. Happens to us all, so we can all relate. Better luck next time.

They don't have to end the auction to sell offline. Most of the time you can ask them to edit the page so they can add a "Buy it Now" option.