[Steve Stockham]

So, here I was sitting at my computer and just browsing ebay for a lark when I decided to check out the saxophone section to see what's cook'n. I decided to check out the Keilwerth saxes as we were able to find a mint example of an EX90 Series III at a pawn shop and I wanted to see what the going price is for these saxes now. Judging by the bidding prices (not asking!) we got a steal of a deal (yes!!) I was checking out the SX90R's and seeing pricing that reminded me of MkVI's and ST90's that were only a couple of hundred dollars!

I was just about to go elsewhere when up popped an ad for an EX90 Series II Tenor sax in the same black nickle with gold keywork that my son's alto is and it was in mint condition as well! The starting price was $1125 which I thought quite reasonable with a "Buy it Now" price of $1810. My boy has expressed a desire to go to tenor sax after next year when they will let him and I am encouraging him to do so if he really wants to. This sax would be, visually, a perfect match for his alto making a striking set! I "bit the bullet" and put in a bid of $1125 and then decided after thinking it over, to increase my bid to the "Buy it Now" price plus one dollar.

I just found out that I got it for the maximum price I had posted! The only way that could have happened is if someone put in the "Buy it Now" price and tried to snipe the sax at the last moment! (It turns out that adding that single dollar was a good idea after all!

I know that there are a lot of people that look at ebay transactions with a great deal of wariness these days but I have had nothing but good experiences with it so far! The sax is going to be a surprise for my son and I am looking forward to working on the tenor lessons with him. This is my Christmas present to myself! I was able to get the sax my son wanted at a reasonable price (even if he won't play it until next summer.) :santa:

 

[JayeLID]

Congrats....but I don't quite follow.

You put a bid in for the opening amt. of $1125...then upped the bid to "Buy Now plus one dollar"....$1811 .....?

Meaning: you entered a bid which was more than the Buy Now....$1811 ?....

This is where I don't get it. I never figured you could actually submit a high bid which was greater than the Buy Now price. One can actually do that ?

You said that the only way it could have made the $1811 final price is if someone 'submitted' the Buy Now price. So does this mean after you submitted your initial or second bid....the Buy Now button disappeared ?

 

[Woosax]

Interesting question. Placing any bid on a buy it now auction does make the buy it now option disappear, as long as there is no reserve or the bid placed exceeds the reserve price. So, its possible that the OP placed the $1125 bid but the Buy It Now option was still available because the reserve may not have been met. However, placing the $1811 bid would have made the BIN disappear. The minimum bid showing on the listing would have been one increment over whatever the reserve was. Other bidders then must have placed their bids. The last bid placed was apparently for $1810, but since the OP had bid $1811 previously, he won.

It is not a bad strategy on the part of the OP if he was willing to pay $1811 but hoped to pay less.

 

[JCBigler]

Steve, good to hear that you got a quality horn for you son. It will do so much for him in his musical endeavors. As it happens, I'm 99.97% sure that my horns are off the market and won't have to be sacrificed to the demi gods of financial woes.

 

[JayeLID]

Actually, don't bid increments for high-priced items go in more than single dollar amounts ? So, the last bidder could have bid $1809....?

OK, so I can see the scenario, then. Bid of $1811 made the BIN vanish....so from then on, it was just a regular auction item....and at the end someone tried to win it with a bid one increment less than Steve's....

This is a really interesting strategy....because there have been times when I have been tempted by a BIN and went for it even though it was a bit over what I feel an open auction would garner. And I have also come across very tempting BINs but had to let' em go because I wouldn't have been able to pay in time.....

So this is sort of a way to "freeze" the BIN price and put off winning the instrument for a few days...allowing that nobody else will come along and bid higher than the initial (but now invisible) BIN price....

 

[Jonathan C.]

I have never heard of that strategy. But I like it, its a risk. But its a win, win for everyone involved. Thanks for sharing I'm going to give that a try, and congrates on getting a great horn for your son

 

[lhoffman]

You might want to check the bid history on that item. Once you place a bid, BIN disappears (providing that if there is a reserve price, the current bid is over that). Since you wound up paying your maximum bid, it would be interesting to know if there had been any bid retractions. Been there, done that.

 

[JayeLID]

It is not a bad strategy on the part of the OP if he was willing to pay $1811 but hoped to pay less.

Yeah...that's what strikes me, too. You are sorta saying 'I'll buy it for the BIN but am willing to take the risk that I can end up with it for less....and am in no rush to end the auction and pay now, particularly..."

 

[Steve Stockham]

Precisely. Although, that's not quite how I originally planned it! I was tempted to do the "Buy it Now" price but the opening asking price of $1125 was too good to pass up trying to get or so I thought. I posted the lower bid with a high of $1500 and immediately regretted not doing the "Buy it Now" option! That was when I decided to add $1 to the "Buy it Now" price. I honestly didn't think I'd get it for that exact price! Now, looking at your analysis of what happened, I wish I could claim that it was "my brilliant and daring strategy" (heh... I can't even type this without gagging!) that succeeded but while I "hedged my bet," it was mostly dumb luck! Oh well, the seller has a 100% rating and the horn is a reputable one and more importantly, it's the exact horn he wants! The only thing I'm unsure of is how someone would know to bid $1810? The "Buy it Now" option did disappear when I submitted my first bid. :scratch:

 

[jrvinson45]

Someone else may have posted a bid in response to the OP's opening bid with a max bid of $1810. That would have racheted everything up to the OP's max $1811. All in all still a pretty good bid strategy. The other bidder was hanging back waiting to snipe at the asking start price, but the OP's first bid screwed up the second bidders strategy.

 

[Steve Stockham]

Thanks. That was kind of the "worst case scenario" outcome I was hoping for by going the $11 extra route. As follow up: The sax arrived on Friday, 12/16 and it's gorgeous!! There are maybe two or three tiny scratches otherwise it's mint!! Even at $1811 it was a great deal! :santa: