-Andy- Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Just thought I should share this. Once, I was bidding on a Sycamore leaf on Ebay, and it was an item that I had been eyeing for the longest time. Even though I put in a large sum of money(to me) in the very last seconds, I still got outbid, and I actually raged for quite a while(as a beautiful specimen like that was hard to come by). Weeks later, I went to my neighbour's(he lives within walking distance from me) house, and he introduced me to all his fossils. I saw a very very familiar sycamore leaf fossil on his table. "WHAT?! IT WAS YOU?" "Wait- dude, you were bidding on that?" So seriously, what were the chances? There are probably less than twenty serious fossil collectors in Singapore. We got a laugh out of it. He and I are good buddies anyway, he even passed me one of his other sycamore leaf fossils. Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 All's well that ends well! I've probably bid against people I know thru TFF, but since ebay doesn't reveal bidders' IDs I wouldn't know (just as well, I guess). The only time I knew who bid on and won something was a certain Scott who won a nice Tertiary seaweed fossil that I was eying, as he later posted it here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down under fossil hunter Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Interesting topic. I will often go into a sellers feedback profile to find out who outbid me in the last couple of seconds, especially if it is on a very rare item sometimes it is someone I know other times it is someone who has bid against me in previous auctions. I have actually made friends with collectors by sending them a PM through ebay when we have been bidding on the same item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Not for fossils, because my better half views it a harmless entertainment to get me out of the house, BUT I once bid against my wife on an item. LEFT HAND not knowing what the RIGHT HAND is doing? :doh!: The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Great minds think alike! Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeriderdon Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Ihave not on fossils that I know of, but have with coins. It takes the sting away a bit if it is someone I know and like that out bids me. Makes it worse if I can't stand them. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Heck, I even bid against myself once Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Andy- Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Heck, I even bid against myself once Do share! Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 I will often go into a sellers feedback profile to find out who outbid me in the last couple of seconds, especially if it is on a very rare item sometimes it is someone I know other times it is someone who has bid against me in previous auctions. Good idea, I'll try that!... oh this opens a whole new world of intrigue and jealousy.... I have actually made friends with collectors by sending them a PM through ebay when we have been bidding on the same item. How do you make friends with a competing bidder, you must have a way with words? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Do share! Post #16 in this thread but it was well worth it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Heck, I even bid against myself once I got trigger happy on the 'one-click bid' button once. I don't know if that's what I was doing, or not! I won, though! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 I usually end up 'bidding' against other hunters. They always end up finding the good stuff before I do.... Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear-dog Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Had the chance to go on a nice auction and had a friend and myself take me good.We stepped out to get coffee and a smoke.When I came back in,my friend won our items with out me knowing it.I then continued bidding for the next items not watching what I was doing. I got the fossils well over what I paid for them.Then I dawned on me,what I did .I still laugh at it. Bear-dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down under fossil hunter Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Good idea, I'll try that!... oh this opens a whole new world of intrigue and jealousy.... How do you make friends with a competing bidder, you must have a way with words? Just acting humble, has worked for me. The fossil world is a very small one so the chances are great that once you have made contact with a fellow collector you will be able to learn from them and make great contacts through them. There are some pretty established collectors out there, I just ask that they keep me in mind next time they are trading up or come across something they already have. I also have bid against my wife, she sniped me in the last few seconds! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Sounds good in theory... but must take a lot of networking and luck - and social skills... Anyway that's why I'm here, partly. In a way I'm glad my family/friends aren't competing with me on ebay/etc! But I know what Missourian means about competing with other hunters; however he has found some nice stuff himself. Probably everyone who tries gets something that others are jealous of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Up until a few years ago eBay showed the eBay userID's of all the bidders. In addition, if you were an eBay member, you could look up the member information of any eBay userID to see the name of the person and their contact info. At some point eBay decided this probably wasn't a good idea and removed that capability, and now disguises all bidders userID's with some sort of random hash tag like a_277. Other than seeing the history number (in parens) after the userID, you really have no idea who the person is you're bidding against. And even if you did, most people bid (snipe) in the last few seconds of an auction anyhow, so even if they showed the real name of a bidder, in most cases, the person who wins wouldn't be revealed until the auction is over. I also think eBay took away certain capabilities so that folks couldn't bother each other so easily, especially after an auction. For example, I've heard stories of folks winning an auction, and then they had one or more people send them messages asking if they could buy the specimen from them, or how they missed out on bidding for some reason and life wasn't fair, etc, etc. It's eBay. It is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxman56 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 If you want it ......BID ON IT BIG TIME. Some one has to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old dead things Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 All the time, but not on e-bay. At estate auctions, liquidations of fossil and/or rock shops, silent auctions at rock shows or in some cases yard sales. In many cases it is a business and I like to make a profit. And sometimes I get caught up in the auction an pay too much, but...............well it's a lot of fun. I do shake my head from time to time when people over pay for a fossil or rock. Jim Old Dead Things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micropterus101 Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 I havent that know of but its possible. Heres some more sycamores to look at. collected 9 in colorado this summer. fossil crabs website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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