damn you ebay!!

[zootsaxenberger]

i am absolutely gutted, i bid on a Rico Metalite Mouthpiece on ebay and right up to late this afternoon i was the only bidder, and then all of a sudden a flurry of mystery bids started appearing from an "undisclosed" bidder the last bid which was just a pound more than my maximum bid came in just as the auction ended.
what really annoyed me is that at no time did ebay inform me that i was in danger of being outbid, curses! i really wanted that mouthpiece!!!

 

[TomMapfumo]

Order one from www.rapidreeds.com for £22.80 inc. shipping - no worries....................

 

[zootsaxenberger]

I looked there first but the trouble is they havent got the one i was looking for(m9)
oh well back to the Claude Lakey until i can find one!

 

[TomMapfumo]

Do give them a ring or send them an email. That is how I got my Metalite M7 Alto when none were being advertised online.

 

[jonf]

Err, isn't that the way eBay works? All auctions are like that. Take you eye off the bidding in the last minute and you risk being outbid.

Still, as Tom says, there are opther sources of Metalites. Don't agonise over it, there'll be another one along sometime. Good 'pieces, by the way. I sold a load of them myself. on eBay..........

Jon

 

[zootsaxenberger]

Will do Tom thanks!

 

[zootsaxenberger]

Err, isn't that the way eBay works? All auctions are like that. Take you eye off the bidding in the last minute and you risk being outbid.

Still, as Tom says, there are opther sources of Metalites. Don't agonise over it, there'll be another one along sometime. Good 'pieces, by the way. I sold a load of them myself. on eBay..........

Jon

I agree my gripe is that according to Ebays own rules, they are supposed to inform you if someone has bid more than your highest bid, if they had i could have had another go and possibly won it

 

[zootsaxenberger]

email sent to Rapidreeds .com

 

[AndyG]

Ordered my M7 from them. There was a couple of weeks delay while they waited for their stock to arrive..but it was well worth it.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Err, isn't that the way eBay works? All auctions are like that. Take you eye off the bidding in the last minute and you risk being outbid.

I think so.

The way it works if you really want something is to bid the maximum you are prepared to pay. Then if you are outbid, it doesn't matter as someone else was prepared to pay more than you.

I usually wait until the last minute though.

 

[Pyrografix]

I use a snipe site (Lotsnipe) to place the bid for me in the closing seconds of an auction - that way I'm not tied to the computer towards the end of an auction, and I will have decided the max amount I'm prepared to pay for an item in advance so not tempted to place 'just one more bid.......'. If you subscribe to this particular site, rather than use the free version, where poss you will be advised if your potential bid is lower than the existing bids, so you have chance to increase it.

 

[kevgermany]

I agree my gripe is that according to Ebays own rules, they are supposed to inform you if someone has bid more than your highest bid, if they had i could have had another go and possibly won it

They do, but if it's at the last minute, the auction's too close to finishing or has finished, then they don't.

Someone nibbling away like that is a nuisance, but often a novice. The serious buyers just chuck a bid in in the last few seconds. Helps to keep prices down, especially when there are nibblers like that around. And many of them use a sniping program. Far fewer bargains than there used to be, but there are still some.

 

[MandyH]

I think so.

The way it works if you really want something is to bid the maximum you are prepared to pay. Then if you are outbid, it doesn't matter as someone else was prepared to pay more than you.

I usually wait until the last minute though.

and don't forget to add some random pennies, as you are then more likely to win it.
e.g if you've decided you're willing to spend £45, then make your max bid (say) £45.78.
I was advised to do this many years ago, and it seems to work (on occasions)

 

[jonf]

I agree my gripe is that according to Ebays own rules, they are supposed to inform you if someone has bid more than your highest bid, if they had i could have had another go and possibly won it

That's true, but you weren't outbid until a minute and a half before the auction ended. It's a bit harsh on eBay to expect them to be able to notify bidders they've been outbid that close to the auction conclusion. I doubt their systems could be that near enough to real time to send you an alert before the auction closed. Even if they did, what could you do? Assuming you were watching your emails like a hawk, by the time you read a notification, opened up eBay, logged in and bid you'd have run out of time. The only way to avoid this is to make a note of the auction close time and make sure you are watching eBay, logged in, during the last minute of the auction. That's when all the action happens in almost all auctions. It's also surprisingly exciting.

Also, eBay put up a banner of other items unsuccessful bidders might be interested in. This included a metalite M9 for sale at £22, from Thomann.

Hopefully you'll get one from somewhere, as they are, in my experience, by far the best budget mouthpiece available. A bit funny looking, but great to play, and really loud, too!

Jon

 

[kevgermany]

I'll also add that I always get an email when I'm outbid - except in the last few minutes, when, as Jon says, it's pointless/impractical.

These days I'm rarely on ebay to buy anything except bargains, so I usually get outbid... Often by quite a lot. but the odd one that does come in is usually worth it.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Best I won, recently, was a Runyon Tenor Quantum Metal at £37.50, but you've got to know your stuff to get a bargain...........

 

[jonf]

I buy and sell a lot of stuff on eBay, and generally find it's OK as long as you buy carefully. It's just a marketplace, and with it comes all the good and bad of a free market.

My philosophy when buying is to set a max and stick with it, and not get too emotional about whether or not I win an item. If I bid low and win, then good. If I don't win, then I move on to the next item. I reckon I only win/buy about one in twenty items I bid on, but when I do it's usually a good purchase. Buescher True Tone alto in silver for £100 anyone? Yamaha Vito alto, £122? Selmer Pennsylvania Tenor for £100? All these played great and were in good condition, with servicable cases. Loads more, too. So I don't agonise about the dozens and dozens of saxes, mouthpieces, motorbikes, astronomy kit etc etc I've missed out on.

 

[zootsaxenberger]

I agree with all the comments which have been posted,and normally i wouldn't have been to bothered,its just that the rock band that i play with is doing a showcase gig next month and i was hoping to have one of these mouthpieces by then just to give me a bit of an edge sound wise, but its looking doubtful that i'll get one in time.
thanks any way guys for your input.

 

[kevgermany]

Try thomann. If they've got stock, you'll get it very quickly.

 

[zootsaxenberger]

Thanks Kev, i have given them the once over, i would like if at all possible to purchase one in the UK and avoid the shipping costs,
plus i am a little worried about buying from abroad, how reliable are thomann?
if all else fails i will probably give them a whirl
regards Zoot