Forum Feedback Auction system in TE marketplace

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Renegade

Renegade

Staff member
Mastermind
We say that auction is not allowed on TE but the fact is that auction is an integral part of TE marketplace.



So here is a thought which can transform the way we interact in the market. It’s just a personal opinion so everyone including the staff is open to pitch in with their views.



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Current scenario: Reverse Auction

The seller list a product and then keeps on reducing the price till he finds a buyer.



Problem: Low ballers

The bids are made to reduce the price. Otherwise people try to make the maximum killing by waiting for the buyer to reduce the price.



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Proposed scenario: Auction

The seller lists a product and mentions his base price. That will also be a reserve price. Others can bid and the good is sold to the highest bidder in say a 15 days or less time period.

After the auction expires the buyer can again list his product with a lower base price.



Problem: Transparency of bid

Bids through PM will not be authentic and bids through the thread may not attract as many members as many may not like to divulge their bid with identity. So there has to be a system where only the bids can be made visible to members.



Benefit: Organisation of products

Since it is a bid every sale will have to be listed under a separate thread/listing. Currently all the products get listed in one garage sale thread.



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So what do you think? Will something like this improve the way all of us operate? Is it worth the effort or is the current setup sufficient?



A middle way would be to have a subsection where the interested sellers can take the Auction route. Others can still go to the traditional reverse auction sections.
 
A very good idea if implemented, although I'd like to add that it should be the seller's prerogative to sell his/her item to the highest bidder or not. Also, the names of the bidders should only be visible to the seller and the bidders. (While keeping the the highest bid open to public). There should also be a provision for prospective buyers to bid an amount lower than the base price, while keeping the amount and the bidder both visible only to the seller and bidder in this case.

And this could be optional, the seller may or may not choose to implement this for his thread.
 
Potential pitfall: Proxy boosting of price through multiple ids or friends. Other complications will arise too. IMO, no auctions please.
 
logistopath said:
Potential pitfall: Proxy boosting of price through multiple ids or friends. Other complications will arise too. IMO, no auctions please.
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But the buyer still has the discretion whether to keep bidding or call it quits when the price is not reasonable for him.

e.g. I list a phone for sale. I get 5 bids, the highest being for 1k. I want to get a higher bid. SO, I place a bid for 1.5k using a fake ID.

The person who placed the bid for 1k still has the option to give my thread a pass. Ultimately, I don't get to sell the phone (as 1.5k is a fake bid) and end up with nothing!! :P
 
Well it might works but I have these doubts

* What happens if the highest bidder does not honour his bid will the seller have the freedom to go with 2nd highest bid and in case of conflict of bids as they would arise who handles the issue. Will the system keep track bid amounts like in ebay

* If auction is the only system members looking for quick sale will have trouble listing items and waiting for bidding period to end. If old system and bidding system exist side by side will it not cause technical issues. And say the deal goes wrong then the member would have to start all over again.

* TE market sale ads are like classifieds. With bidding system you would always need a neutral middle party in between to ensure bidding is going fair and square.
Problems like fake bids to hike prices and not necessarily from fake accounts would arise.

* A ebay like system would be needed with bid tracker, auction ending timer, reserve price checks.
 
Boosting the price will work if someone else is ready to pay more. In that case the seller has found a right buyer for his product.

And as Mephistopheles said the seller can have the option to sell to whoever he wants. He has the list of people who are ready to pay a specified amount.
 
There will still be a problem.
The dealer would not want to make any loss or see that the buyer will try to make a profit by selling it to a different forum (known or unknown). Which may or may not induce a certain loss to the seller for bringing this deal.
I would say this auction should be done for items which have a defect as in some patchy paint job to the product, dent on a cabinet which does not affect the total usability of the product but will be termed defective if sold otherwise.
So then the dealer comes forward with the product such as
1)he mentions the defect of the product.
Shows the item in pictures.
2)provides warranty of the product (full/part) since service centres wont accept for physical damage.
3) and then the auction where the base price is about 40% of the retail price.
This way the dealer gets to clear his stock without him having to bear the loss for not sold product and a member gets to use the product at a much discounted price.
4) or else limit it to direct imports of users.
 
ronnie_gogs said:
Well it might works but I have these doubts

* What happens if the highest bidder does not honour his bid will the seller have the freedom to go with 2nd highest bid and in case of conflict of bids as they would arise who handles the issue. Will the system keep track bid amounts like in ebay
Click to expand...

Nothing happens, The seller could decide to go with the second highest bid and so on. No need to keep track of anything.

ronnie_gogs said:
* If auction is the only system members looking for quick sale will have trouble listing items and waiting for bidding period to end. If old system and bidding system exist side by side will it not cause technical issues. And say the deal goes wrong then the member would have to start all over again.
Click to expand...

The decision should be of the Sellers to implement this or not in their FS thread. Also there shouldn't be any bidding period IMO.

ronnie_gogs said:
* TE market sale ads are like classifieds. With bidding system you would always need a neutral middle party in between to ensure bidding is going fair and square.

Problems like fake bids to hike prices and not necessarily from fake accounts would arise.
Click to expand...

Why would a middle party be required? Fake bids, well the prerogative is of the buyer to continue bidding or not, he has the option of backing out.

ronnie_gogs said:
* A ebay like system would be needed with bid tracker, auction ending timer, reserve price checks.
Click to expand...

No need for all this. Only a feature wherein prospective buyers could bid their desired amounts would be needed.
 
Call me a purist, but I think it is prudent to keep it as is and let auctioneers post the link to an ebay thread if thay really want to auction the item. An auction system will essentially go on getting muddier with fake bids, backouts, conflicts (Remember bazee before ebay took over).
 
Very nice idea for sure....It looks like people are against it just because they are afraid of change, but I am sure normal FS threads and Auction can co-exist.
 
Mephistopheles said:
^Backouts, conflicts etc. still happen :)
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And will increase more with auctions. I echo the views of others who are against it. Auctions will only bring more headaches and more disputes. What exactly is the problem with the current reverse auction method, that we need to look at alternatives? A well priced product has been found to sell out in a matter of hours, sometimes minutes. Ill-priced products do not sell as long as the seller reduces the prices.

Convince me that the auctions will bring drastic advantages to the buyer and seller both, and maybe then I might change my opinion. ;)
 
One good point has been the articles being sold for their actual worth.

If the seller is looking for gains/auction, then nobody is stopping them from using Ebay or the likes.

Already the quality here has been down.. regarding the post and regarding mkt section moderation. Dont turn this into auction pad.
 
@Mephistopheles

Well if it is kept that simple then a simple rule change would make much more sense rather than a entire bidding system...

Change these rules
5. Quoting Price is mandatory.

6. Bidding or auction is not allowed.
Click to expand...

Members can ask for price offers for the product... He/She can then choose the best offer for them...

In true bidding you dont get to choose who you sell it to... If someone has a high bid he gets the product and if someone bids its legally bidding to honour your bid..
When members trade online and a issue arises people ask them to approach the police... That makes even this bidding process if implemented come under legal jurisdiction...
Although I have yet to see anyone approach law in these online purchases... Which makes me wonder if all these transactions are actually legal..
 
ggt said:
There will still be a problem.
The dealer would not want to make any loss or see that the buyer will try to make a profit by selling it to a different forum (known or unknown). Which may or may not induce a certain loss to the seller for bringing this deal.
I would say this auction should be done for items which have a defect as in some patchy paint job to the product, dent on a cabinet which does not affect the total usability of the product but will be termed defective if sold otherwise.
So then the dealer comes forward with the product such as
1)he mentions the defect of the product.
Shows the item in pictures.
2)provides warranty of the product (full/part) since service centres wont accept for physical damage.
3) and then the auction where the base price is about 40% of the retail price.
This way the dealer gets to clear his stock without him having to bear the loss for not sold product and a member gets to use the product at a much discounted price.
4) or else limit it to direct imports of users.
Click to expand...
I prefer the current market system, and don't support for this bidding system, still i can agree with ggt, on the above case
 
I had opened a thread long long back asking about this exact thing, though many that time didn't wanna see this happen. I feel it's a good idea if implemented correctly, for example, there should be strict screening on who can place bids. Someone who just joined 2 mins ago should not be able to place bid, as this can result in shill bidding etc. Also, it means increased load for the mods, as there may be more cases of conflicts.

BTW, here's the thread. http://www.techenclave.com/market-feedback/market-auctions-143428.html
 
logistopath said:
And will increase more with auctions. I echo the views of others who are against it. Auctions will only bring more headaches and more disputes. What exactly is the problem with the current reverse auction method, that we need to look at alternatives? A well priced product has been found to sell out in a matter of hours, sometimes minutes. Ill-priced products do not sell as long as the seller reduces the prices.

Convince me that the auctions will bring drastic advantages to the buyer and seller both, and maybe then I might change my opinion. ;)
Click to expand...
Its a fabulous idea to implement a Auction structure.

Think of the following scenario:

1. I am selling an item with a base price of Rs. 1000 (say the actual price is 3000, and I want at least between 1.5-2k for the product)

2. Some one bids at 1.7k

3. Now suppose you want to buy the product, but your maximum reserved price for this 2nd hand item is 1.7k. Now since its a bidding, you would be able to see the last bid price.

4. Now if you think you can pay a bit more you will bid further, or bid at the same amount

Under the current scenario there is NO way to ensure how much you can "haggle" with the seller for the price, since only the seller knows all the details (buyer's rates being offered).

This auction system would then empower the buyer a little more by providing more details.

Of course then this Auction system will have to be fair/regulated enough, maybe like a eBay system.

But I don't think that a requirement for the beginning.

This auction system would indeed be a good thing for TE and I think it should be introduced.
 
1. There are many forums where a person can sell his product. So what happens if I win here but he decides to sell elsewhere? I know it happens even in the current system but auctioneering just adds more salt.

2. Auctions are sticky business as they create scenarios where seller and buyer might not get talking.

3. For those talking about fake bids in terms of it being becoming buyer's pregorative are forgetting current system is about seller's pregorative (of selling or not to lowballers). So we could say that current system is buyer-favoured and newer auction seller favoured ?
 
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