Ethics of last minute auction "poaching"

Sory about my speling.

Megasam, I disagree with you. As long as the rules of the auction are followed, all is fair. I believe in ethics when buying and selling, but an auction is a form of competition, and there is strategy involved. I think what is unethical is changing a deal once it is made. I have had this happen to me. After I made a deal, the seller backed out and told me he got a better offer. He asked if I would like to match it. I sold cables this week and while I was waiting for the deal to close, got a better offer. I would not back out.

I agree with Blbloom,hard to separate capitalism and strategy.I also have had unusual experience at very end of auction,so i learned to pretty much shine those on.Stay high,keep low,its an interesting time to be in tune.

Bidding at live auctions is an art. Professional buyers, and yes they are skilled, NEVER bid while the general audience is bidding. In effect, the general bidding is part of the auctioneers show. The auctioneer knows the audience will exhaust their bids and then the real buyer steps in to scoop up the item without competition. The same process applies in cyberspace. The fact that Megasams' "poacher" bid within the last 60 seconds indicates that he is in fact an amateur (the poacher). A real pro will time their bid
to within a few seconds of the auction end to prevent the possibility of a counterbid or overbid by a competitor.
Auctioneering 101.

Msnloeth, BLBloom and Going Once all hit it on the head with various points. Why telegraph your moves to "the enemy" that your competing against ? It makes no sense if your competing for the same item and there are only so many to go around. There are two types of people that end up with expensive or rare items. Those that can afford to outright buy it and pay face value for it or those that know how to manipulate the best possible deals that bring it down to their price range. Auctions are the same way. You either have to walk over the top of everyone else with a monster bid or do you best to camoflauge your attack and try to sneak in when nobody is expecting it. I will say that Audiogon's auction process is much closer to that of a real live auction, as those don't end at a specified time. As long as there is bidding going on, the auction is still open. Sean
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