ChrisCavalier
10-29-2007, 07:15 PM
Hello Everyone,
I wanted to take a moment to make a "behind the scenes" observation about ceiling bids placed in our auction. First of all, there were a number of people who called us prior to the GUU auction who expressed concerns that their ceiling bids seemingly always hit the top number they placed in auctions. While I told these callers it may be a mere coincidence, there were enough comments for us to realize this was a genuine concern for collectors.
So that everyone knows, we set up our auction system so that those taking bids can not even see the amounts of ceiling bids that were placed. While we would never compromise our commitment to "integrity before profits" we wanted to set up the system itself to make sure there could be no question regarding our resolve in this area or any other.
Interestingly, after the auction closed, we received a call from a bidder who told us he thought there was a mistake on our website regarding an item he won. When I asked what he thought the mistake was, he told me that he had placed a bid for $500 on an item but the site was showing the winning bid as $242. Intrigued, I asked if he placed a straight bid at that amount wondering if there was a flaw in the software. He answered "no" and that his bid was a ceiling bid.
I went on to explain that although his ceiling bid was $500 his bid amount would only go as high as required to exceed the next highest bid. Apparently, he was used to items going for his top ceiling bid and found it refreshing that it didn't have to pay the maximum amount of his ceiling bid. In fact, this bidder won 3 items where the closing price was below his ceiling bid. He went on to compliment his experience in our auction and appreciated our system of not allowing his ceiling bid amount to be disclosed to those accepting bids.
While we have been complimented for the prices achieved in our auction, I am also proud to say that all the bids placed were legitimate bids and no one has to worry about shill bidding in Game Used Universe auctions.
Sincerely,
Chris Cavalier
I wanted to take a moment to make a "behind the scenes" observation about ceiling bids placed in our auction. First of all, there were a number of people who called us prior to the GUU auction who expressed concerns that their ceiling bids seemingly always hit the top number they placed in auctions. While I told these callers it may be a mere coincidence, there were enough comments for us to realize this was a genuine concern for collectors.
So that everyone knows, we set up our auction system so that those taking bids can not even see the amounts of ceiling bids that were placed. While we would never compromise our commitment to "integrity before profits" we wanted to set up the system itself to make sure there could be no question regarding our resolve in this area or any other.
Interestingly, after the auction closed, we received a call from a bidder who told us he thought there was a mistake on our website regarding an item he won. When I asked what he thought the mistake was, he told me that he had placed a bid for $500 on an item but the site was showing the winning bid as $242. Intrigued, I asked if he placed a straight bid at that amount wondering if there was a flaw in the software. He answered "no" and that his bid was a ceiling bid.
I went on to explain that although his ceiling bid was $500 his bid amount would only go as high as required to exceed the next highest bid. Apparently, he was used to items going for his top ceiling bid and found it refreshing that it didn't have to pay the maximum amount of his ceiling bid. In fact, this bidder won 3 items where the closing price was below his ceiling bid. He went on to compliment his experience in our auction and appreciated our system of not allowing his ceiling bid amount to be disclosed to those accepting bids.
While we have been complimented for the prices achieved in our auction, I am also proud to say that all the bids placed were legitimate bids and no one has to worry about shill bidding in Game Used Universe auctions.
Sincerely,
Chris Cavalier