For Berserker eyes first- new WineBid feature coming soon

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

I’ll wait to see how it’s executed before casting judgement, but as a practical matter will people’s max bids on lots carry over into this overtime bidding, or will it only be for people participating during that period? For example, if a lot’s current winning bid $50 and I set a max bid at $70, will that $70 bid continue to hold for that extended period if participants post 7pm bid higher than $50?

I assume folks’ max bids will carry-over into this Overtime period. If they don’t that really defies logic.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

I don’t really see how this is about sniping. Not at all. It’s about having a time when a transaction will end. The sniping is just people coming in at the end. Sniping has nothing materially to do with how the auction is executed.

What’s at issue is that we know when an auction will end and we know it’s on us to get in there or not if we want action. Now there is some other mysterious possibly end time that may or may not show up. So we have a transaction that will occur at the listed time or it might occur at another time. Do we have any control over it? Do we have any say in it if we want to do business there? Does my bid mean anything or is it subject to an algorithm that will shrug at it?

First world problems for certain but it feels like yet one more annoyance in life we could do without. What percentage of the customer base is really clamoring for this?

Is it really important to know exactly when an auction is going to end? It sounds like the answer, as of now, is “either at the set time or 10 minutes thereafter.” Is that really a PITA?

Now, if one goes with the idea I support, then the time the auction ends really is unknown, and I can very much see how that would disadvantage east coast buyers, as snipers could slowly bid a lot up, one bid per minute, driving east coast buyers out of the action on account of wanting to go to bed. But, really, how many extra minutes would this result in? An extra hour would necessarily mean at least 60 additional bids placed after the penultimate minute of the previously-arranged auction end time. How many lots garner that much action? Not many.

[Cris_Whetstone]

That’s sort of it though isn’t it? Bid your max. Snipers are irrelevant if you do that. I am arguing there is no sniping in online auctions because of that. You can set a max that is greater than the current bid. No one can snipe you other than people who are willing to pay MORE than your max. You didn’t get sniped, you lost to someone willing to pay more. Why do we need ten more minutes to figure that out? Will we need an additional ten in some cases? What need is this serving?

[Glen_Gold]

That’s sort of it though isn’t it? Bid your max. Snipers are irrelevant if you do that. I am arguing there is no sniping in online auctions because of that. You can set a max that is greater than the current bid. No one can snipe you other than people who are willing to pay MORE than your max. You didn’t get sniped, you lost to someone willing to pay more. Why do we need ten more minutes to figure that out? Will we need an additional ten in some cases? What need is this serving?

I think there’s a difference - though logically there shouldn’t be - between putting your max bid in six days before the auction ends versus one minute. Six days gives other bidders a lot of time to wonder if they would bid higher or not. Turns out some folks don’t actually have a specific number in mind, just “if someone else is bidding this high six days out, surely it’s worth more.”

[Rodrigo_B]

I don’t really see how this is about sniping. Not at all. It’s about having a time when a transaction will end. The sniping is just people coming in at the end. Sniping has nothing materially to do with how the auction is executed.

What’s at issue is that we know when an auction will end and we know it’s on us to get in there or not if we want action. Now there is some other mysterious possibly end time that may or may not show up. So we have a transaction that will occur at the listed time or it might occur at another time. Do we have any control over it? Do we have any say in it if we want to do business there? Does my bid mean anything or is it subject to an algorithm that will shrug at it?

First world problems for certain but it feels like yet one more annoyance in life we could do without. What percentage of the customer base is really clamoring for this?

Is it really important to know exactly when an auction is going to end? It sounds like the answer, as of now, is “either at the set time or 10 minutes thereafter.” Is that really a PITA?

Now, if one goes with the idea I support, then the time the auction ends really is unknown, and I can very much see how that would disadvantage east coast buyers, as snipers could slowly bid a lot up, one bid per minute, driving east coast buyers out of the action on account of wanting to go to bed. But, really, how many extra minutes would this result in? An extra hour would necessarily mean at least 60 additional bids placed after the penultimate minute of the previously-arranged auction end time. How many lots garner that much action? Not many.

My concern over it is slightly different.

I’m not a fan of staggered closes on auction lots.

I may be tracking several wines and bidding on a few that I find the most competitively priced. If I’m priced out of some of those, I may chose to start bidding on other lots I’m following that are still competitively priced.

Staggered auction lots fundamentally prevent me from doing that as a lot I may have chosen to bid on may have already closed. As a more concrete example, say I’m following 3 lots, lot A, lot B, and lot C priced at 50, 100, and 150 respectively . I may only bid on lots A and C, but if close to auction close the price of lot C hits $300, I may chose to no longer bid on that and bid on just lots A and B now. Under the new bidding, if lot B isn’t driven into extended bidding time, I wouldn’t be able to shift my spending $.

[Alan_Rath]

What about implementing the “going once…twice…” minute? If someone bids at 6:59.30…it triggers a going once…twice…minute to bid. Continues until no more bids after the extended minute(s).

I personally like it the way it is…I think snipping is FUN!

He did say “up to” 10 minutes.

As someone who has lately been more of a seller than a buyer, I’m all for it.

[Cris_Whetstone]

Similar to what Rodrigo is pointing out I think this mainly enables whales to roll in a take more than they might if just hunting and pecking normally. Getting that nice catch will become that much harder if more people get more chances.

But then again, nice finds are becoming harder to come by on WineBid these days. This might just send it closer to being just another retail stop.

[Rich_Brown]

What about implementing the “going once…twice…” minute? If someone bids at 6:59.30…it triggers a going once…twice…minute to bid. Continues until no more bids after the extended minute(s).

I personally like it the way it is…I think snipping is FUN!

He did say “up to” 10 minutes.

As someone who has lately been more of a seller than a buyer, I’m all for it.

As you should be! Unless I’m completely missing something, this model clearly favors sellers and Winebid.

[Alan_Rath]

What we all want, from a buyer’s perspective, is more sellers. The more wine in an auction, the better your chances of winning what you want, or finding something under the radar you’re interested in. As a seller, i love this idea. People with multiple bids that end up being outbid on some things might be more inclined to go after some bottles at a higher price than they would otherwise have been willing.

Winebid needs a balance between attracting sellers and buyers, let’s wait and see how this impacts both. They will of course know the answer, and adjust accordingly.

[Patrick_Taylor]

It took me a while, but I finally realized there’s always going to be another offer.

I have 9 or 10 bottles currently at Winebid. I have a few more weeks before I’ll get charged for storage. If I fill the case, I fill it. If I don’t, I don’t.

[Rich_Brown]

What we all want, from a buyer’s perspective, is more sellers. The more wine in an auction, the better your chances of winning what you want, or finding something under the radar you’re interested in. As a seller, i love this idea. People with multiple bids that end up being outbid on some things might be more inclined to go after some bottles at a higher price than they would otherwise have been willing.

Winebid needs a balance between attracting sellers and buyers, let’s wait and see how this impacts both. They will of course know the answer, and adjust accordingly.

If I was selling a bunch, I’d be trying to preach that as well

The reality is sellers, IMHO, frequent winebid because they #1 want a good deal on an interesting selection of wines, and #2 appreciate the streamlined platform and great customer service. Once you take away #1, #2 becomes less valuable and peeps start to shop elsewhere. I can’t see how this model will not increase the final price of most wines (which is obviously the point), and as evident by 99% of the responses here, I expect many to ultimately start buying less.

Again, I’m a huge Winebid fan and don’t want to see that happen with my own purchases. Hoping Russ and team potentially reconsider.

[JoelD]

Its probably going to be similar to Acker. Yes it’ll be an annoying change for sure. Yes it’s all about putting more money in the seller’s pockets, and raising auction prices of the items, and in turn more money in Winebid’s pocket. That’s his job. They’re doing quite well right now, well enough to make it hard for us to get deals anymore. I doubt I’ll like it. It won’t come out of our pockets because we just won’t get into the bidding wars. It will be interesting to see if the overall effect is positive or negative. Personally I wouldn’t screw with it when they’re clearly on an upward trajectory.

[YLee]

This just in…the Indianapolis 500 is now the Indianapolis 500.5.

Haha!!!

[Rodrigo_B]

Its probably going to be similar to Acker. Yes it’ll be an annoying change for sure. Yes it’s all about putting more money in the seller’s pockets, and raising auction prices of the items, and in turn more money in Winebid’s pocket. That’s his job. They’re doing quite well right now, well enough to make it hard for us to get deals anymore. I doubt I’ll like it. It won’t come out of our pockets because we just won’t get into the bidding wars. It will be interesting to see if the overall effect is positive or negative. Personally I wouldn’t screw with it when they’re clearly on an upward trajectory.

WineBid’s goal is to maximise strike prices across lots. The question is whether this model maximises profits for all lots or just in the aggregate. I don’t know the answer to that. How many bidders are there like the example I described a bit above, where upon being outbid on one lot, decide to start bidding on another lot they hadn’t before? In those cases, staggered auction closes could prevent the maximising of bids on some lots in cases where the lots shifted to already closed prior to extended bidding

[Rich_K0rz_nk0]

I can’t see how this is a good thing on the surface however they seemed poised to give it the old college try.

When it rolls out, if it becomes frustrating like I suspect it will be, I just won’t bid there anymore.

[Alan_Rath]

In my experience as a seller watching my lots, the majority of wines don’t see action at the last minute, I think people are getting a little worked up over something that won’t impact most of their bids.

[Rodrigo_B]

I find that most lots I bid on get lots of bids in the final auction moments. Bird of a feather I guess

[Alan_Rath]

I find that most lots I bid on get lots of bids in the final auction moments. Bird of a feather I guess

Then it would be business malpractice for winebid not to exploit that to maximize their revenue.

[Chris_Crutchfield]

Then it would be business malpractice for winebid not to exploit that to maximize their revenue.

Is their goal to maximize their short-term revenue gain by optimizing for sales prices, or is their goal to maximize long-term revenue gain by optimizing for user retention?

[Rodrigo_B]

I find that most lots I bid on get lots of bids in the final auction moments. Bird of a feather I guess

Then it would be business malpractice for winebid not to exploit that to maximize their revenue.

I wouldn’t quite describe it as that, but I don’t blame WineBid in their efforts to maximise bid prices for their sellers, that is their main goal after all. WineBid and bidders have some competing interesting. Bidders want the lowest possible market clearing price, while WineBid and sellers are out to maximise it. It’s just part of the dynamic of auction markets.

My main potential gripe is in not being able to effectively shift my spending on bids as I get priced out of some, but mine may be a smaller edge case, I don’t know and I’ll have to wait and see how Russ and the rest of the team implement this new feature before I cast judgement on it.