GunBroker 15-minute rule: What do some people not get about it?

[Borderboss]

Tonight I managed to win on GunBroker what I hope to be an excellent condition Rossi 62 pump action .22 rifle. But the auction took 45 minutes longer than it should have because some guy kept putting in these last minute snipes for an extra $5. See the bid history below.

What do some people not get about the GB 15-minute rule? This isn't ebay where you can snipe something at the last moment. With GB, you put in the max you're willing to pay and you win or you don't.

Sorry, rant over. At least I won it.

Bids
Date Name Amount

3/29/2019 9:44:26 PM ET "The other guy" $520.00

3/29/2019 9:32:39 PM ET "The other guy" $510.00

3/29/2019 9:19:05 PM ET "The other guy" $500.00

3/29/2019 9:15:53 PM ET "The other guy" $485.00

3/29/2019 9:14:58 PM ET "The other guy" $475.00

3/29/2019 9:14:41 PM ET "The other guy" $465.00

3/29/2019 9:12:53 PM ET "The other guy" $450.00

3/29/2019 9:12:33 PM ET "The other guy" $425.00

3/29/2019 9:11:54 PM ET "The other guy" $395.00

3/29/2019 9:11:25 PM ET "The other guy" $385.00

3/29/2019 9:10:40 PM ET "The other guy" $375.00

3/29/2019 9:10:07 PM ET "The other guy" $360.00

3/28/2019 12:52:43 AM ET "A third guy" $350.00

3/25/2019 10:28:18 AM ET "Me" $556.00

 

[murphydog]

Simple, they are seeing if you will go to sleep and get outbid before the auction closes.

By my evaluation "The other guy" put in 12 extra bids, so if he waited to the last second for each that might have extended the auction nearly 3 hours. And you still got the item for less than your maximum bid. Congratulations!

 

[Glashaus]

I have had this happen as well, extending an auction by an hour and a half, $5 at a time. I have heard that there is an app or auction program that people have that do this, betting the minimum, $5 at a time , at certain time periods under the last 15 minutes, to the set max that they want to spend. They are hoping to meet and beat your bid and catch you sleeping with the least amount possible. When this happens I am always thinking, come on man, if you want to beat me then bid $100 to try to find my maximum instead of nickel and diming me!

 

[Valmet]

I’ve seen certain items skyrocket near the end of an auction due to this rule. Hell, about 3 years ago I lost out on a gorgeous German Weatherby right there at the end. While frustrating to some buyers (like myself in that particular case), the 15-min rule is often a seller’s best friend.

 

[double-dipper]

Hey Boss I've been the other guy. You see a firearm that you really want and the price is still at what you are willing to pay so you bump up the bid in hopes to win. And sometimes to my surprise I do win at a good price.
Then I have to tell my accountant (wife) I just bought a new gun.
BTW congrats on your new rife.

 

[Ackley1952]

Imagine the audacity of allowing others to bid at an auction! And the crazy rules allow the highest bidder to make the purchase. I’ll bet the seller would like to change rules to where some mid range bid takes the item. Which part of this bidding process violated the rules ? I just wanna be fair cause I don’t enjoy whining now that my kids are raised .

 

[Bladeswitcher]

Hey Boss I've been the other guy. You see a firearm that you really want and the price is still at what you are willing to pay so you bump up the bid in hopes to win. And sometimes to my surprise I do win at a good price.
Then I have to tell my accountant (wife) I just bought a new gun.
BTW congrats on your new rife.

Yeah, but do you sit there bumping $5 at a time trying to find the winning price? If so, you're doing it wrong.

There's no reason to do it in $5 increments because Gunbroker will do that for you. Say the high bid showing is $300. If that is truly the No.1 bidder's top dollar (i.e. he bid $300), it doesn't matter if the new guy coming along bids $305 or $1,000, it's still only going to bump to $305 (assuming a $5 increment). The software is only going to raise the next guy's bid high enough to take the lead.

If the No.1 $300 bidder actually submitted a bid of $350 (but only $300 shows because that's all it took to beat the No. 2 bidder) then the new guy coming along will go to $355 if he bids higher (even if he bids $1,000 it will only go high enough to beat the No. 2 bidder).

But if he tries finding the No. 1 guy's price by bidding $5 increments, he could be there all night for no reason. Say the No. 1 guy actually bid $400. No. 2 comes along, sees the $300 price so he bids $305. No joy, the price is now $310. So, No. 2 tries again at $315. No joy, price is now $320. This goes on until the No. 2 guy finally bids $405 beating the No. 1 guy's high bid.

If this is all going on during the final 15 minutes, then the clock is reset to 15 minutes every time the No. 2 guy tries to slip in . . . which gets to the OP's point. Trying to snipe on Gunbroker doesn't work.

So, yeah, you spot a good buy at the last minute so you put in a bid. Fine, but bid what you're willing to pay. There's no reason to try to inch it up since GB will only raise your bid high enough to beat the No. 2 bidder. Your "willing to pay" price will either JUST beat the other guy, or it won't. Either way it doesn't matter because A.) you got the gun for equal to or less than you're willing to pay or 2.) the other guy wanted it more than you did.

 

[deadin]

the 15-min rule is often a seller’s best friend.

It is also the auction house's best friend as they get a percentage of the selling price.
I like to snipe and have found two ways to beat the 15 minute rule. (Both already described.) #1.- Just bid what you are willing to pay right off the bat and then forget about it. or #2- Don't participate in 15 minute rule auctions.

(To me they are even worse than reserve auctions because there is no "set" price that has to be met before you even have a chance to win.)

 

[TripLeader]

The paranoid part of me always wonders if it's some sort of collusion to raise the price.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The definition of 'Auction' is -
A Collusion to Raise the Price.

 

[Engineer1911]

The S&W products that interest me, pre-lock revolvers and adjustable rear sight semi-autos, do not appear in local retail stores. My choice is GunBroker to buy what I want.

Enter your MAX bid and walk away. You win -- Oh Happy Day, or you lose -- Tough there is always tomorrow.

 

[bigggbbruce]

I had a hard to find Colt Auto on GB..with 10 minutes left it met reserve. I left the house for a couple hours, when I came back and checked on the results, it had gone up another $1100.

Also had a Mod 66 ND snub went up over $300 after scheduled end of auction.

No problem with the 15 minute rule here.

 

[deadin]

The problem I have with solution #1 (just bid what you are willing to pay and walk away) is I can't afford to have very many different bids active at the same time. (If I were to win them all, I would be in a world of hurt....).
So I am pretty much limited to bidding on one item at a time and this can get boring if I put in an early bid and then have to wait a week or so to see if I won. Other good things might be listed and I will be stuck waiting for the end of the auction I did bid on. My method is to bid what I'm willing to pay right before the 15 minute rule is invoked. This, hopefully, will catch any "nibblers" that have entertaining themselves by manually upping the bid a few dollars at a time. I will never bid again after it has gone into overtime. I've already given it my best shot.........

 

[storyman]

Anyone ever attend a live auction? The bid goes on as long as more than one party is bidding. I don't throw my high bid at anything to begin with whether it's a live auction or internet. If I don't like the way the game is played, I keep my hands down or my fingers off the mouse!

 

[Ackley1952]

When you look at bidding history the bids are not redacted. I’ve been dying to use that word .

 

[THE PILGRIM]

When you look at bidding history the bids are not redacted. I’ve been dying to use that word .

Are you related to P O Ackley?
I’ve been dying to ask you that!

 

[Rocket3]

What do some people not get about the GB 15-minute rule?
Sorry, rant over. At least I won it.

The idiots think its eBay. Irritates me as well. I do like the policy.

 

[Ackley1952]

No but Ackley was my favorite dog rest his soul and he was named for p o

 

[deadin]

The bid goes on as long as more than one party is bidding.

Any live auctioneer that waited 15 minutes for the next bid wouldn't keep his job very long.......

 

[brjr51]

It is entertaining though to watch two bidders duke it out for an hour $5 at a time. And yes the few times I’ve won on GB, I put in my initial bid at my top dollar and let it ride. But I usually wait till the auction is close to ending so someone doesn’t peck away at my top bid three days before the auction closes.