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eBay explicitly bans AI "buy for me" agents in user agreement update

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Re: eBay explicitly bans AI "buy for me" agents in user agreement update

#131

Post by Dylan16807 »

Terr_ wrote: post #59
WarmWash wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Hey ChatGPT, I need more glass cleaner" *OpenAI issues a micro auction to glass cleaner companies and distributors to see who will bid the highest combined commision* "Sure thing! I ordered some Glass Clean Plus from Target for you!"

[Recycling a joke from many months ago] My mistake, you're completely correct, perhaps even more-correct than the wonderful flavor of Mococoa drink, with all-natural cocoa beans from the upper slopes of Mount Nicaragua. No artificial sweeteners! ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzKSQrhX7BM&t=0m13s )

I don't understand why you're putting the joke here. I mean yeah they'll probably start putting ads in, but that's a whole different topic.

Re: eBay explicitly bans AI "buy for me" agents in user agreement update

#132

Post by muvlon »

gond wrote: post #94
blitzar wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I run up the prices in less competitive auctions just for fun occasionally, especially if I think someone is getting too good a deal.

Question: what kind of fun you are referring to here? Since, from the outside, it surely sounds like you get pleasure by inflicting some form of suffering on others. But that hopefully isn’t considered fun, is it?

I don't think this is inflicting net suffering, really. The money doesn't just disappear, the seller gets it. Auctions are zero-sum.

Re: eBay explicitly bans AI "buy for me" agents in user agreement update

#133

Post by JDSP »

dankwizard wrote: post #58

Tried selling on eBay as a regular Joe lately? Item sold for roughly $190 and I lost $45 in fees - I didn't even have a premium ad or pay for any of the boosting. No wonder Facebook marketplace has destroyed them

At least in the UK, I don't lose any of the selling price to fees, 0%. The buyer has additional buying fees on their side and postage is included in the final price.

Re: eBay explicitly bans AI "buy for me" agents in user agreement update

#135

Post by cge »

pwg wrote: post #71
HotHotLava wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you not know how ebay works? You put in the maximum price you're willing to pay, and if you win you're paying 2nd highest bid + 1. So you don't save any money by starting with a low bid.

From what I've seen discussed, it seems some percentage of "sniping" is to attempt to obtain both "winning bid" and "lowest possible price" (note, not the same as "max willing to pay for the same item"). The sniper is trying to hide interest, so as not to attract other interested bidders, and therefore grab "a great deal" of a small increment above the starting bid price. And this probably appears to work enough time…

> But as they can't easily (i.e., without expense) A/B test their strategy

There also isn't really any detriment. At worst, the sniper is making the same bid they would have made otherwise. If the opposing bidders are not purely rational, and have not put in their actual maximum bid, then sniping can deprive them of that opportunity and thus lowers the hammer price.

And bidders are not purely rational, especially when the items are not purely utilitarian. Getting notifications that you have been outbid has an emotional effect, as does having time to think about raising the bid.

Re: eBay explicitly bans AI "buy for me" agents in user agreement update

#136

Post by wooger »

kotaKat wrote: post #51
iLoveOncall wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But eBay hasn't done anything since the 1990's except raise fees. Meanwhile it's now 100% free to sell on eBay for non-professional sellers. https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/fe...

Only in the UK, and only on "private sellers". eBay is losing a lot of marketshare in the UK so they've taken drastic measures to try to get people listing again.

Makes sense. In the UK, their fees plus the encouraged (used to be mandatory as an option) Paypal payment option steals a very significant chunk of the purchase price from sellers.

In the last 5 years I've won multiple auctions for not-really-worth-shipping things like bikes, paid via Paypal, then had the buyers contact me to say the fees are too high, cancel the auction and deal separately in cash.

For anything that you're picking up in person anyway, very little reason to use ebay vs. FB marketplace.

Re: eBay explicitly bans AI "buy for me" agents in user agreement update

#137

Post by mort96 »

ryandrake wrote: post #37
dingaling wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Establishing the price ceiling is difficult, though. You might arbitrarily set it as $23, but be sniped at $23.30. The sniper bot only needs to bid that small increment over your arbitrary ceiling. Can you really say that $23 was your hard limit, or would you have paid $23.40? Unless you're buying something also available at retail, nobody can be that accurate in foresight. Sniping removes the 'contemplation window'…

Then just put your actual hard limit in as your bid, and sleep soundly, knowing that if someone pays $0.01 more, it's OK because you wouldn't have wanted to pay that anyway. I've never really been bothered by "sniping" in eBay. I always bid my absolute 100% maximum, and if someone bids more than me, then they can have it.

I don't understand this line of reasoning. I don't do auctions, but if I did, it would be because I want that item. When I want something, I never have an absolute hard price ceiling; if I'm willing to pay $10000, I'm willing to pay $10000.01. I can't imagine anyone who would be happy to pay $X for an item but not $X + $0.01.

Like, if I'm at a store and an item costs $500, and I bring it to the checkout and the cashier says "oh sorry that was mislabeled, it's $500.01 not $500", there is no world in which I go "okay never mind then, $500 was my max". There does not exist a situation where I've decided I want something at price $X, but would not buy it at price $X + $0.01, because $0.01 is absolutely negligible.

So where does this fantasy of an absolute max price come from?

Re: eBay explicitly bans AI "buy for me" agents in user agreement update

#138

Post by ycombinatrix »

cm2187 wrote: post #112
ryandrake wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then just put your actual hard limit in as your bid, and sleep soundly, knowing that if someone pays $0.01 more, it's OK because you wouldn't have wanted to pay that anyway. I've never really been bothered by "sniping" in eBay. I always bid my absolute 100% maximum, and if someone bids more than me, then they can have it.

But if that someone isn't rational it is better to not give him the time to react to your highest bid. Also some sellers seem to use some fake accounts to bid high on their own item, revealing your max bid, then cancel their bid, then bid right under your max bid to maximise their sell price. Happened to me twice, and now no longer setting my max bid in advance since.

What were you buying?

Re: eBay explicitly bans AI "buy for me" agents in user agreement update

#139

Post by ycombinatrix »

pks016 wrote: post #73
jsheard wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the point of sniping bots when eBay has automatic bidding? Counter-sniping is essentially built-in, if your price ceiling is higher then a snipers then you're guaranteed to win even if they bid at the last millisecond.

I have lost most of my bids to bots. Bots will literally bit at hh:59:59. The ceiling value doesn't work unless you bid way above the asking price.

Are you sure the winner didn't just have a higher max bid than yours?

Re: eBay explicitly bans AI "buy for me" agents in user agreement update

#140

Post by fennecfoxy »

grogenaut wrote: post #106
mkl wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This how Trade Me (NZ auction site) works: any bid in the last 2 minutes delays the close time to 2 minutes after the bid. That can happen repeatedly, and I've seen it go on for over 20 minutes on highly contended auctions. It works well.

There are 9 time zones in the US and depending on what your buying in the eu, jp, etc, I'm not going to be up to deal with the end of an auction, either too early too late or you know I have a real efing job and i'm doing something. Having ends of auction require you to be around means you lock out large parts of the market.

...that's what auctions are...being around to bid...
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