[meteorite-list] Steve Arnold's Famous Reverse Auction

Tue Apr 29 03:10:38 EDT 2008

Steve, Michael & all
        The reason this is called a Dutch Auction is it is how ALL the
Dutch auctions are conducted in selling Tulips and Tulip Bulbs
In Holland - far from a "circus act" (nor is it "stupid") they
Supply ALL of the WORLDS demand for Tulips and Tulip bulbs.
Millions of dollars a year are exchanged within this format.
        I have always been amazed eBay has bastardized the term, "Dutch
Auction" and defined it as auctioning multiples of a given item.... How odd.
        Doing this on Ebay would require exactly what you mentioned,
Steve - Offering it at a "Buy it now" price and announcing in the
description that the price would be lowered 10% (or whatever %)
Per day at a specific time (Midnight, CA time would be good - so would
Noon, for that matter), That way, everything would be sold within
10 days. 
        You might mention that after a certain % of the items you are
offering are sold, all other auctions will be withdrawn, if that is your
intent - otherwise, withdrawing auctions would seem unethical to me.
        Steve, I suggest you notify your email buyer's list as opposed to
Posting the "the list" more than twice - once when it starts and a day or
So before you anticipate closing the remaining auctions. This would keep
The advertising within list regs - even if the 2 times are less than a week
Apart, it would seem OK, since you by no means abuse the frequency of
Advertising rule. 
        I look foreword to your auctions.
        Best wishes, Michael PS: This might be fun to do with one or two
Items in The Tucson Auction next year.

on 4/28/08 9:18 PM, MeteorHntr at aol.com at MeteorHntr at aol.com wrote:

> Hey Guys,
> 
> I really didn't want to get into this yet, as I wanted to  be the first to
> try this on Ebay.  Talk about it too much, and someone else  might try this
> before I get to do it first!
> 
> But I will explain it so you  guys don't get too confused.
> 
> Ebay has an Auction format and a "Buy It  Now" feature.
> 
> Yes, "Buy It Now" is NOT a true "auction," even  though most people think of
> Ebay as an Online AUCTION Site.  With "Buy It  Now" sellers can place items on
> sale for a fixed price.  As a seller, if  you want to discount things for 5%
> or 50% or 90% off some of your items, you  can.  Michael Cottingham had a 40%
> off sale for a few days, just  a couple of days ago.  So I am sure most all of
> you are aware of  this Ebay feature.
> 
> Since, so many people seemed to enjoy my so called  "Reverse Auctions" I had
> in the past, I thought "Hey, why not do it on  Ebay?"
>  
> The problem with doing it the old way was that there was a LOT of work on  my
> end, lowering prices, dealing with an influx of emails on people that wanted
> to buy it at the new lower price.  With Ebay, it will be much easier to do
> this.
> 
> So that is my plan.
>  
> My email earlier was simply an attempt to contact some of you that have
> previously bought from me, people that enjoyed the process.  I wanted to  talk
> with you guys off line about some things.
>  
> Of course, in my description on the Ebay lots, I was going to explain how I
> was going to progressively lower the prices, in my "Reverse Auction" style,
> starting with my asking price, then maybe a day later, putting a 10% discount
> on  the ones that had not sold.  Then maybe the next day, putting a 20%
> discount on the remaining ones.  This keeps going until everything is sold,
> or 
> until I raise enough cash and decide I don't want to sell some or all  of the
> remaining at too low of a price.
> 
> The opposite way of  doing this is with a normal auction with a reserve
> price, or at a starting  price.
> 
> Theoretically, a lot might get down to 99% off, before someone  "Buys It
> Now."  If the lot was a $1.00 item at the start, then it would  then be marked
> down to $0.01.  If it was a $1,000.00 item, then it might go  down to $10.00.
> 
> In fact, someone might not even pay $0.01 for some  meteorites.  It happens
> that some "Normal" auctions start at $0.01 and the  seller hopes that the bids
> go up, yet sometimes no one even bothers to bid once  on them, so there is no
> sale at $0.01.
> 
> Is it a "scam" to start high and  then lower the price until an items gets in
> a price range that someone decides  they want to buy it?  I don't really
> think so.   
> 
> If I  think a 100 gram Goa is worth $1/g or $100, I might start it out at
> $100.   If someone likes that rock, and agrees it is worth $100, they can "Buy
> It 
> Now"  at that price.  If not, I might drop the price with a 10% of Sale, and
> it  is now $90.  If no one likes that price, and I want to go lower, I can
> offer a 20% off price, and thus the "Buy It Now" price is temporarily at  $80.
> And so on.  If I have 2 Gaos up, each 100 grams, and one is  oriented, and the
> other isn't, someone might jump at the $90 price, while  someone else might
> wait until the price gets to $50 to Buy the nonoriented  one.
> 
> In fact, I think some dealers put "retail" prices on their web  sites, but if
> you call them, or email them they are willing to lower the prices  to make a
> sale.  Maybe the first day they put something up, they might not  sell
> something too discounted.  But talk to them a week later, or a month  or year
> later, 
> and sometimes buyers can talk a seller down.  No scam  involved.
> 
> Is this a gimmick?   Well, I guess it depends on the  definition of
> "gimmick."  I would tend to think it is  "marketing."   Of course, it being on
> Ebay, no 
> one is forced to  participate.  Is Ebay a "gimmick?"  Is "Buy It Now" a
> gimmick?   Is offering a discount a gimmick?  Is "Free shipping" a gimmick?
> Is  
> saying "hurry up and buy before I sell out" a gimmick?   By a broad  enough
> definition, about anything can be called a gimmick.
> 
> AND having  said ALL that, I don't even know if I will call this a "Reverse
> Auction."   My original email to the group only asked if anyone here had
> participated in one  of my "Reverse Auctions" of the past.  Maybe my previous
> "Reverse Auctions"  didn't fit the legal definition of a true auction, but
> those 
> that enjoyed  participating in them in the past, know what I meant when I
> asked 
> my simple  question to contact me off list.
> 
> Doug mentioned, this more as a "Going  out of business sale" format.  I would
> agree, with the exception that I am  not "going out of business."  Maybe it
> would be best compared to a  furniture store that is having an inventory
> liquidation sale.  The goal of  the store is to move out enough inventory so
> there 
> is enough room for the new  inventory coming.  The sale gets better and better
> each week, until there  is the floor space for the new, then the sale goes
> off.  You expect the  best stuff to go early, and real bargains can be picked
> up 
> on items that others,  for whatever reason, don't seem to value.
>  
> Maybe if you have had a yard sale, you know that over time you get to be
> more flexable on price, often lowering prices, maybe more than once, over a
> weekend sale.  At the end of the sale a guy shows up with a truck and  offers
> you 
> $20 to haul it all off, and you are happy to take the deal!
> 
> I  had items in previous auctions sell for 80% off what my first asking price
>  was.  In those cases, either I totally missed guessing what the real value
> was, or someone got a real sleeper of a good deal.
> 
> "Sniping" can  occur, but it happens EARLY instead of at the last second.
>  
> I have just acquired a lot of inventory some of which, to be honest, I  don't
> know what it is worth.  I could put it on Ebay, and let the price go  up, but
> that requires I sell it.  With a reverse auction, someone could  offer me a
> trade for something, as the price is going down, and if I wanted to  take, I
> could tell them to "Buy It Now" and I could take barter instead of cash  or
> paypal.  With and absolute auction, you don't know until the very last  second
> what it will (or will not) sell for.
> 
> Anyway, my request of asking  those of you that have done it before, if you
> enjoyed it, please email me off  list. I still want to chat with you.
>  
> If you didn't enjoy the process in the past, I would have to assume that  you
> didn't participate, or you were too greedy, hoping the price would go down
> one more time, and someone else jumps in and gets it before you do.
>  
> If I do end up doing this on Ebay, by all means, if you think it is a scam,
> and you don't want say a 3mg crumb of Chassigny from the Natural History
> Museum  in London for $100, or $90, or $80, or $70, or $60, or $50, or $40, or
> $30, 
> or  $20, or $10, or $5 or $0.01 by all means don't bother participating.
> 
> In  fact, there are a lot of people that might like the Chassigny at $10 that
> would  hope you DON'T show up and "Buy it Now" at $20 and you get it instead
> of them  getting it.
>  
> Maybe I shouldn't have said that?  Now no one will probably want to  say
> anything nice about it hoping to run off all the competition.   Drats...
> 
> Steve Arnold #1
>  
> 
> 
> 
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