My highest praise - for Audiogon

Yes, A-gon is a very nice site & the auction feature is more than fair. Like anything else, you have to use common sense when making any deal.

I want to point out that not just for the NCAA championship & the Superbowl, but for all games, when the buzzer sounds at the end of the game or contest, that means it's over. At least every game I've ever played in or watched or heard about. (Of course unless called due to weather, etc.) Even if somebody scores during the last microsecond of the game it counts & the winners with 1 second on the clock are now losers. Well guess what? That's what happens on ebay.

Trelja, I've had my heart set on some items before but was outbid in the closing seconds. I don't harbor any animosity towards those that won & I accept that they were willing to pay more for the item, regardless of it's perceived value. In every situation like that the winning bidder was willing to pay more & usually they bid at the last second. It's just one of those annoying trends like all the slow drivers on the interstate who've decided the center lane is now the slow lane instead of the right lane.

As an avid member of eBay, and the occasional sniper, I must take issue with the way this method is described in this thread. First, the highest bid DOES always win an auction, no matter what time the bid was placed. Someone who carefully watches the clock on an auction and then times his bid to best another still has placed the highest bid, no? For those who complain about this "unfair" practice, resulting in losing a pair of earrings or other item, why did you not place your highest maximum bid initially and let the system proxy bid for you? Both eBay and Audiogon appear to use virtually identical systems, so why not place a bid, as recommended, for the MOST that you're willing to spend? Should a sniper come along and bid more, then you have very little room to call "foul" since that person was willing to spend more than you. If you REALLY want an item, why not bid $100,000? I'm pretty sure you'll get it... The whole point of the proxy bidding is to avoid problems with slow versus fast connections, since nothing is faster than the system to increase the current bid price.

To that last argument, some might say "But what about those nasty people who just bid and bid just to drive up the price?" To me, this argument appears specious, since I know of no one who has unlimited funds just to ruin other people's days. In fact, I believe that the overtime system utilized here (and I must confess that I have never used the A'gon auction system and am merely going on a logical extension of what was described in this thread previously) lends itself to a higher incidence of shill bidding which could result in unfair auctions. An "associate" of the seller can easily bump up the price in the last few minutes of the auction, especially if there is considerable interest in the item, and cause a new round of bidding which inflates the price. Again, I make no accusations, and have no idea if this takes place. I would like to hope that it does not, since the vast majority of people on this board appear both congenial and sincere.

I'm terribly sorry if this post has aggravated anyone. I don't post very often, quite rarely in fact, although I do enjoy reading the dialogues in these threads and I do see some names above which regularly contribute and whose opinion I respect.

Audiogon is the premier audio website, and for good reason. It is run right and the people in charge and the people who are members are good people. It is up to us to maintain this standard. Treat every person here as you would like to be treated yourself. The "Golden Rule". I never miss a day on this forum, unless I am totally jammed up. And then I spend double the time the next day catching up. I don't do auctions much, I prefer to just buy at a price, but many like the excitement of auctions. Let those who do, enjoy them, those who don't can sit out. It is rare these days to find anyplace that has integrity. This is one haven in a crazy world. And who would imagine that it could be populated by a bunch of audio nuts? Let's keep this place in the top spot by doing the right thing each time we make a transaction or post. It is all in our own best interest to do so.

I too have been an Agon member for about 3 years now and I tip my hat to the staff and members. I have met some wonderful people and picked up some pieces of equipment that if not for this site I would not be able to afford. As the auctions go, I do get disappointed that I have not got some pieces that I really would have liked to have. I try and look at it from the respect that it just wasn’t meant to be, and it always seems that something better always comes along. Patience really is a virtue.

I am also an avid member of ebay, but when it comes to my audio equipment it is not even a consideration anymore. I have seen too many scams and people paying way more for the same equipment that you can buy it for right here on Agon. Too many people get caught up in the auctions with the “I’m going to win this no matter what” attitude. That’s when it’s time to walk away. When it comes to auctions, my rule of thumb is to always place the maximum bid that I am comfortable with and is a FAIR price for the piece. When it goes beyond that you can’t get upset about it because, TO YOU, it is beyond a fair price, and you have to look at it from the respect of someone just paid too much money for that item. I hope this helps in some way to soothe your conscience and ease your mind.

I also have the highest praise for Agon. It is truly the ONLY high end marketplace for me.

Good thread Joe, and I agree-- Audiogon is the best. I don't participate in the auctions much, but have certainly gotten a lot of use out of the Classifieds, both buying and selling. Cheers. Craig