Doing the Bidding of the Beast
31 July 2009I am amused by this eBay bid history:
I'll translate:
- On 27 July, at 11:30:10 PDT, seller posts item with an opening bid of $1.00 and some still unknown
reserve
price. - At 19:36:05 PDT, first bidder enters a
maximum
bid of $6.16; this does not meetreserve
price, so first bid is $1.00. - On 29 Jul, at 12:45:05 PDT, second bidder enters a
maximum
bid of $5.00; entry automatically pushes bid of first bidder to $5.50. - 10 seconds later, second bidder enters some
maximum
bid more than 50¢ than first bidder'smaximum
bid, and finds that his or her bid is now $6.66. - 12 seconds later, second bidder enters some higher
maximum
bid, but his or her bid remains $6.66. - Another 12 seconds later, second bidder enters some even higher
maximum
bid, but his or her bid remains $6.66.
If the second bidder were to enter a bid not less than the seller's reserve
price, then his or her bid would become that. Otherwise, his or her bid will remain at $6.66 until some other bidder enters at least $7.16.
(BtW, I put the words reserve
and maximum
in quotes, because, as far as I'm concerned, eBay abuses each term, one way or another.)
Tags: Beast, eBay, everyday absurdity
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