My younger brother Phil (The Motorcycle Encyclopedia Man) just called me to tell me that he has lost another bid on buying his dream bike off of ebay. My
brother has been actively searching for the past year for a 80's Yamaha Venture Royale. He has lost a couple of bids on ebay, due his really not knowing
how ebay worked. But after several attempts he was feeling that he had it down pat. Or so he thought!
My brother Phil found a really nice bike on ebay and put in his bid. He now understood about reserves and automatic bidding and he put in a hidden bid that he felt would buy the bike. His new found understanding kept him on the top of the bidding and he knew that this time the bike was going to be his. Then one day before the bidding was over the bike was gone. It turns out that the bike did not meet the reserve amount and the owner pulled it off of ebay. My brother was devastated because he felt that his maximum bid would exceed the reserve. Problem was he did not realize that if the bidding did not exceed the reserve his hidden bid would not guarantee him the sale, even if it did exceed the reserve amount.
I encouraged my brother to call the owner and tell him that he was interested, but my brother could not find the owners information to call him.
So my brother lost another one. Fortunately these bikes show up often enough, although often the worst for wear. But my brother is learning more and more how ebay works. Or maybe that is how it does not work! He'll try it again and maybe this time he'll win. I tell him that he is going to get a great bike when it happens. I firmly believe that if these deals were meant to happen they would. There is just a better bike out there just waiting for him if he doesn't get impatient.
My brother Phil found a really nice bike on ebay and put in his bid. He now understood about reserves and automatic bidding and he put in a hidden bid that he felt would buy the bike. His new found understanding kept him on the top of the bidding and he knew that this time the bike was going to be his. Then one day before the bidding was over the bike was gone. It turns out that the bike did not meet the reserve amount and the owner pulled it off of ebay. My brother was devastated because he felt that his maximum bid would exceed the reserve. Problem was he did not realize that if the bidding did not exceed the reserve his hidden bid would not guarantee him the sale, even if it did exceed the reserve amount.
I encouraged my brother to call the owner and tell him that he was interested, but my brother could not find the owners information to call him.
So my brother lost another one. Fortunately these bikes show up often enough, although often the worst for wear. But my brother is learning more and more how ebay works. Or maybe that is how it does not work! He'll try it again and maybe this time he'll win. I tell him that he is going to get a great bike when it happens. I firmly believe that if these deals were meant to happen they would. There is just a better bike out there just waiting for him if he doesn't get impatient.
