Auction loser writes me TO INSULT ME!!!!!

[rbudrick]

In reference to: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4315&item=3021114372


Hi folks,

Really, I'm just looking to vent here, becuase I repsect your opinions, but I couldn't believe it:

I recently won an auction using Esnipe, and the losing bidder has the fucking balls to write the following:

>
To member: rbudrick
From member: djoutkast
--------------------
FREAK! Do you know how long I've bein looking for Beyond Shadowgate! Sit there and watch the
auction til the last few seconds and place a bid.... least I pumped that bid up!
I'll make u a deal only game I was interested in was Beyond Shadowgate.... can we work something
out?
>

I couldn't believe it: I may have been out of line, but I wrote the following back:

>
Dude,

No deals. You have no right sending me an email calling me a freak. The last person who personally said that to me got their car burnt to the ground. I am in no fucking way joking. You don't know me and you have NO RIGHT TO INSULT ME. Sorry, but I consider that one of the worst possible insults.

I really shouldn't give you any tips since you have disrespected me so badly, but if you must know, I used Esnipe.com. I certainly didn't sit there and wait until the last second, as you did. You are most definitely a hypocrite for this reason, because I can plainly see that your timestamp shows that you did. You should seriously be ashamed of yourself.

You can't be the only person to ever lose an auction. Take it as a lesson.

To be honest, I really bid much, much higher than my final ending price. However, the final bid seems as though it was just enough to beat you. I obviously wanted it more than you. If you wanted it more than I, your bid would have shown it by sheer dollar value.

I can't believe you proudly state that you pumped the bid up on me. That is extremely unprofessional of you to do so, and immature at that.

Go to hell,

-Rob
>


Now, tell me please, was I out of line? Would any of you have actually wrote me such an email to begin with? I may have stooped a *bit* to his level, but, well...just tell me your thoughts, please.


--Rob

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

If it were me, I would've just forwarded that to eBay, on the off chance that their abuse department was having a bad enough day to yank the loser. That's precisely the sort of thing people are NOT supposed to use eBay's communications features for.

I've had second-place bidders write me to chew me out for beating them, and that's what I did. Don't give 'em the satisfaction of stooping to their level.

[Charlie]

"No deals. You have no right sending me an email calling me a freak. The last person who personally said that to me got their car burnt to the ground. I am in no fucking way joking. You don't know me and you have NO RIGHT TO INSULT ME. Sorry, but I consider that one of the worst possible insults."

See, it might end up you being the one who gets in trouble for this, especially if the guy is a trouble maker. If it had been me, I would have simply said "well, sucks to be you" and left it at that.

[zektor]

This should have gone in the Ebay Insanity forum...

[Arqueologia_Digital]

Bad and pathetic looser...i never saw that before after an auction

[Arrrhalomynn]

I think you're overreacting a bid. Maybe my knowledge of the English language isn't as good as it should be, but the word 'freak' doesn't sound THAT insulting to me. Especially if you consider what he wrote in the rest of his mail. He's just a bit upset and it's easy to understand why (even though it's his own fault).

[dsullo]

Rob

I am a hyper sensative person who reads into everything and I did not interpet him calling you a freak. I think he was trying to be expressive. It sounds like you overreacted. I find selling on ebay opens your life to many freeks and geeks , don't take any of them personally. Just move on

Dustin

[digitalpress]

To the objective eye (since I've never met you, Rob) your reaction seems a bit over the top. Maybe it's because I've seen these kiinds of responses many times over the years.

On the other hand, if you're missing a limb or your face was burned by acid or you have elephantism then perhaps being called "freak" IS one of the worst possible insults. So not having met I can't really say if you're overreacting.

[Tempest]

I get those on occasion and I just ignore them. One was actually nasty enough that I responded but only with a simple "Haha! Sucks to be you!". It's usually not worth it because if they took the time to write an insulting e-mail they're probably freaks with no life. Those aren't the kind of people you want to mess with.

Tempest

[Bighab]

I checked out that auction and you got a sweet deal on those games :o Congrats :-D

[Masco73]

He should have never emailed you at all, but your own email could get you in more trouble with ebay than his. Particularly your car burnt to the ground statment.

[Achika]

Yeah, that whole first paragraph about burning the car to the ground, etc. was out of line and could be taken as a indirect threat if taken to the proper people.

[zot wildstarr]

I have not had the pleasure an auction loser whine to me yet, however.....

I did have some numb-nut taunt ME after an his auction victory. It was pretty funny. I think he thought I would retaliate, but I just ignored him. I'm sure he will never leave his mom's basement....... LOL

[Atari7800]

Lighen up, I say. It's a hard world already... O_O

[tynstar]

Your reply is over the top but very funny. What a sore loser. To piss him off some more you could look for other Beyond Shadowgate auctions and win those. :D

[Bighab]

Hey Rbudrick I just noticed something very weird about the auction. The seller had the exact same auction end 3 days earlier http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3020479192&category=4315
Have you gotten your games yet?

[Sylentwulf]

B'ah, I get those all the time.

"My daughter had her heart set on that game, and we've been watching it together all week just waiting for it to end, then you outbid me in the last second, I hope ytou burn in hell for breaking my 4 year old girls heart, she's crying right now as I type this. You're a horrible monster!"

I've gotten that exact e-mail at least 4-5 times from a mother/father concerning son/daughter. ALWAYS a load of crap from some moron.

[rbudrick]

Thanks, Guys.

I actually had a few beers before I wrote the reply and the post, but I see all your points.

The whole car thing, while true, was not a threat, only a statement about what happenned to someone else. I see your point though.

As for freak not being that bad of an insult, it is if you've been called it by certain belligerant assholes in life often enough....won't bore you with the details though. I've got no acid burns or disfigurements :-) A bit eccentric maybe though. Hey, what game collector isn't?

I suppose the freak thing could have passed if he didn't taunt me with saying that he at least pumped up the final price.

Kidding or not though, when you start an email with an insult.....well, that's just bad.

Move on, I shall though. Thanks for letting me rant!

-Rob

[Eternal Champion]

Dude,


No deals. You have no right sending me an email calling me a freak. The last person who personally said that to me got their car burnt to the ground. I am in no fucking way joking. You don't know me and you have NO RIGHT TO INSULT ME. Sorry, but I consider that one of the worst possible insults.

I really shouldn't give you any tips since you have disrespected me so badly, but if you must know, I used Esnipe.com. I certainly didn't sit there and wait until the last second, as you did. You are most definitely a hypocrite for this reason, because I can plainly see that your timestamp shows that you did. You should seriously be ashamed of yourself.

I think you overreacted. If I got that email, I would not feel insulted. To me this person was pissed you sniped, and that's happened to me and I think it's an unfair advantage, but I don't think it was directed at you personally. Exhibited by the fact that the person ended on a civil note. And then you blatantly threatened this person...that was way over the edge. I'm at a loss to see how this person "disrespected" you.

[Cheese]

I
You have no right sending me an email calling me a freak. The last person who personally said that to me got their car burnt to the ground. I am in no fucking way joking...

Now, tell me please, was I out of line? Would any of you have actually wrote me such an email to begin with? I may have stooped a *bit* to his level, but, well...just tell me your thoughts, please.


--Rob

Dude, you're a freak! :-D

[Scoots]

Personally I think nothing is funnier than those who threaten others with physical harm or brag about how hard they are on the internet. I just automatically assume that they're 10 years old and pissed cause Dad won't let them go to the mall past 9.

[chadtower]

Yep... those are the people who have gained 15lb and don't wear sexy clothes anymore.

LOL

[rbudrick]

Thanks, EC.

I didn't threaten any one. I was only stating my distaste for the insult. I don't think he ended in a very civil fashion, either.

Thanks, Cheese :-)

Lotsa love to you to.

-Rob

[Eternal Champion]

Rob,

As much as I hate sniping (to me it's like putting The Flash on your basketball team--it erodes the whole idea of Ebay, but that's just me, I guess), I think emailing you is going a little far; I don't know why anyone would expect you to make a deal. Obviously it's a game you wanted, why else would you bid?

I think the impersonal nature of internet communication tends to make people unreasonable (Blabbermouth.net, I'm looking in your direction). This board rocks, though!

[NE146]

The way I read it, I think "Freak" was used as an expressive term (like "FUCK!") and not as an insult directed to you. But anyway, even if it was, give me a break, that's such a lame insult.. it's like calling you a goofball LOL Yeah, you overreacted. But in the end, who cares ;)

[Sylentwulf]

Theres nothing at ALL wrong with sniping. It's a proxy bid system, if you're willing to pay $100, bid $100. If someone bids $110 in the last 5 seconds of the auction and you lose, well... that was more than you were willing to pay wasn't it? Why should the fact that someone else bid INCREASE the amount you were willing to spend on an item?

If you bid what you are willing to pay, then you have nothing at ALL to worry about.

[tynstar]

The last person who personally said that to me got their car burnt to the ground. I am in no fucking way joking.


How is that not a threat?

[Eternal Champion]

But that doesn't seem to be the point of Esnipe. The point is to NOT bid until the very last second, to not get into a bidding war. To be able to jump in at the very last second gives you an advantage. There is NO WAY I can do that. To me there's something unscrupulous about it. I don't think we'll see eye to eye on this, seeing as you are a self-described Sniper. I'm done buying on Ebay anyway.

[NE146]

But that doesn't seem to be the point of Esnipe. The point is to NOT bid until the very last second, to not get into a bidding war. To be able to jump in at the very last second gives you an advantage. There is NO WAY I can do that. To me there's something unscrupulous about it. I don't think we'll see eye to eye on this, seeing as you are a self-described Sniper. I'm done buying on Ebay anyway.

It doesn't matter if someone snipes an auction you bid on if your MAX BID is higher. So if an item is at $10 and you bid $100 (which will bring the bid up to $10.50 or so). If someone snipes $48 at the VERY LAST SECOND, You'll still win the auction at whatever the next highest increment is ($49 or so).

So yeah sniping is an advantage and probably the best way to win auctions. But in the end, cash is king.. you can win anything you want if you're willing to pay the price, snipers or not. That's just the way it goes ;)

[rbudrick]

It's true, I am a self-professed sniper. And I totally understand the arguments for and against it. I know I've been sniped before. I've also learned that you can get royally screwed if you don't snipe (Nasty bidding wars).

It is understandable to be against it. Unfortunately, I sometimes see it as a necessary evil.

-Rob

[bluecollarninja]

sniping is an assholes tool, but its nesscary. did the guy need to send an e-mail to you? no, move on with your life its a fricking auction.

now as you sending an e-mail back to him. that was out of line. and like achika said. that could be construed as a threat. and when you said

"The whole car thing, while true, was not a threat, only a statement about what happenned to someone else. I see your point though. "


this is like a mob guy telling someone about another guy whos sleeping with the fishes. indirect threat.

[bargora]

Sniping is fun. And it keeps the ebay n00bs from getting emotionally involved in getting the lead back and thereby driving the price up. I might even be a big enough asshole to consider it as doing them a favor.

And ne146 is right. Cash is King. If your maximum bid was too low to beat my well timed bullet, er, bid, then what does it matter if I put it in sooner or later? What's that crying I hear? Your maximum bid was less than what you were willing to pay? What part of "maximum bid" didn't you understand?

Did I mention that sniping is fun?

:snipersmile:

P.S. Yeah, that dude just didn't want to put "FUCK" in a message sent through ebay's system. And congratulations, sniper.

[ManekiNeko]

Someone actually called you a "monster" for outbidding them on eBay? That's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard. Next thing you know, someone's gonna sue for pain, suffering, and loss of liberty because they were sniped in an online auction.

JR

[rbudrick]

Wow...I didn't expect a congrats, but, umm, Thanks Bargora!

*gets warm fuzzy butterfly feeling inside*

-Rob

PS: Rob's new quote for the day---"Sniping may be evil, but so is eBay"

Yes, I entertain my self if no one else :-)

[drumguy79]

rbudrick,
You sound like an oversensitive asshole to me. If you burned someone's car to the ground for calling you a freak (which you never did) you would be an oversensitive asshole in jail.
That guys email wasn't even insulting... he just wanted to buy the fucking game from you. Looks like he wanted it bad enough to pay $40+ for it... your dumbass should have sold it to him and gotten the rest of the lot for almost nothing.
Finally, FREAK is a very common expression among my friends for SHIT or FUCK. He was merely expressing his displeasure about losing the auction.

[Eternal Champion]

EVERYBODY KNEEL BEFORE MASTER BARGORA

[rbudrick]

Wow, drumguy...look who's REALLY oversensitive!

LOL

-Rob

[Videogamerdaryll]

That really sucks..I would be pissed off too if i got an email like that..and I'm short tempered so I probably would of responded to the email in a Really bad mouth way.. :o
I've had my share of emails like that..but I don't use esnipe..I watch most of the auctions I bid on to the end..and If I really want something I bid high..or higher near the end...depends on how bad I want something..
People have got pissed at me just for outbidding them,or winning something the wanted...and cursed me out..through an email
I just got an email from a person who was pissed that I won a certain Mario game..
They bid a dollar..and I won it for $11.00 outbidding the second person.
This ebayer was mad at both of us because we didn't let them win the game for a dollar.
Ebays loaded with some Crazy people..

I only read the original first post...

[Queen Of The Felines]

<-- Agrees with Zektor

>>Zoop!!<<

Kristine

[Charlie]

"Theres nothing at ALL wrong with sniping. It's a proxy bid system, if you're willing to pay $100, bid $100. If someone bids $110 in the last 5 seconds of the auction and you lose, well... that was more than you were willing to pay wasn't it? Why should the fact that someone else bid INCREASE the amount you were willing to spend on an item?"

Ding ding ding. Give Sylentwulf a cigar. Ebay isn't about finding a good deal, it's about getting stuff you want, and the way to get that stuff is to bid the most you're willing to pay for it. If you win an auction, good for you: you get the item you've been looking for. If you lose, good for you: you've still got the money in your pocket.

Bragging about commiting a felony... on the internet no less... is about one of the most childish thing I've ever seen in my life. It doesn't matter if you intended it not to be a threat or not, because it certainly comes across as one. All that person has to do is report you to the cops for vaguely threatening arsin against him and your collecting days will be over... at least for 12 months. People take this shit seriously...

And by the by, if the only way you can deal with being insulted is to burn someone's car to the ground, then do the world a favor a commit yourself into an asylum now. That is all.

[bluecollarninja]

<applauds charlie>

[nesman85]

i think its hilarious when people email you after winning an auction by sniping. dboz who posts here sometimes has posted messages to me in the proto forum twice after i won genesis proto auctions by sniping him, gives me a good laugh. i think you overreacted with that reply, but he overreacted to losing by emailing you.

[Tritoch]

Looks like he wanted it bad enough to pay $40+ for it... your dumbass should have sold it to him and gotten the rest of the lot for almost nothing.

That's EXACTLY what I would've done. I would've emailed him back with a semi-outrageous purchase price, and if he agreed to it then you'd be even better off then you were before. That's always been my strategy with situations like these.

[D_N_G]

just making sure you realize that this guy sells cdrs and not the real games, they are all backup copies

[Rolland]

It is a ridicule(ous) statement but maybe he meant that it was a totally accidental occurance (no fowl play) that the guys car burnt down that really was all due to bad karma. Think about it, all Rbudric was doing was warning the disgruntled bidder about these type of things. Right.

[Griking]

I think you took it much too personally. The guy was pissed that you sniped himabd he just vented a bit. But in the end you got your toy. I wouldn't have even responded.

[Griking]

Theres nothing at ALL wrong with sniping. It's a proxy bid system, if you're willing to pay $100, bid $100. If someone bids $110 in the last 5 seconds of the auction and you lose, well... that was more than you were willing to pay wasn't it? Why should the fact that someone else bid INCREASE the amount you were willing to spend on an item?

If you bid what you are willing to pay, then you have nothing at ALL to worry about.


Please explain to me what keeps eSnipe in business and why people bother useing their service if it offers absolutely no advantage at all.

[bargora]

As I mentioned above, the advantage to sniping is that it keeps people (other bidders) from realizing that they are actually willing to pay more than they thought. Thus, you stand a better chance of winning the auction, and at a lower price.

People who rail against being sniped "by only a dollar" apparently don't really understand how ebay's proxy bidding system works.

The advantage of esnipe (which I've never used, btw) would be that you don't have to set your alarm clock for 4:15 a.m. or excuse yourself from a meeting to get your snipe on.

[rbudrick]

Rolland is completely right. I never commited any felony. This person was a bullyish asshole/bitch and got what he/she rightly deserved by the almighty, not by my hand. Prayer works in your favor sometimes. Just cuz I wished it and it happenned is not my fault.

-Rob

[Griking]

As I mentioned above, the advantage to sniping is that it keeps people (other bidders) from realizing that they are actually willing to pay more than they thought. Thus, you stand a better chance of winning the auction, and at a lower price.

Tell me this then, how can some of you people who are also sellers support eSnipe since it effectively keeps the final sale prices of your auctions down?

[k8track]

Well, I certainly know the sting of losing an auction. I just recently lost three auctions (the only three I was in!) this past week, even WITH using eSnipe! Sometimes it just doesn't matter if you use it or not. People who had placed bigger maximum bids before me got the stuff, rendering my bid useless, whether I bid early or within the last six seconds. There's always some chuckle-boy out there that's willing to pay more. Let the baby have his bottle, I say. If they want it that much, maybe it's a sign to spend my money on something else more useful, like food. I'll get that Lush EP someday, maybe.

Obviously, as a seller you wouldn't be keen on anything that kept the price down, but if two people really want the item, the price will go up, eSnipe or not.

As for the morality of using eSnipe, I too once balked at such an "underhanded" tactic. But I realized that if I really wanted an item, there wasn't any use being nice about it. Now I use it every time as a matter of course. I believe it was Maxlords that said that eBay wasn't a place to be nice; it's a shark tank. Truer words were never spoken. An auction by its very nature is going to cause some harsh feelings. Whether you're outbid early on or at the end, you're still outbid. As a friend of mine put it once, since when do "fight" and "fair" go together anyway?

Some times you get the elevator; sometimes you get the shaft. Gotta take your lumps. And if you do lose, rejoice. You've been spared from spending your money on something you don't really need anyway. You don't need that Mary Worth phone.

[Achika]

As I mentioned above, the advantage to sniping is that it keeps people (other bidders) from realizing that they are actually willing to pay more than they thought. Thus, you stand a better chance of winning the auction, and at a lower price.

Tell me this then, how can some of you people who are also sellers support eSnipe since it effectively keeps the final sale prices of your auctions down?

How would this work? Say you put in a bid for eSnipe at $100, but you're not around to watch the auction. Say there are two people that ARE watching the auction and fight over the final price, leaving the auction to end at, say....$150. The eSnipe bid is rendered useless as it was way lower than the auction end price. Since the eSnipe bid was useless, how does this keep the price down?

[NE146]

As I mentioned above, the advantage to sniping is that it keeps people (other bidders) from realizing that they are actually willing to pay more than they thought. Thus, you stand a better chance of winning the auction, and at a lower price.

Tell me this then, how can some of you people who are also sellers support eSnipe since it effectively keeps the final sale prices of your auctions down?

How would this work? Say you put in a bid for eSnipe at $100, but you're not around to watch the auction. Say there are two people that ARE watching the auction and fight over the final price, leaving the auction to end at, say....$150. The eSnipe bid is rendered useless as it was way lower than the auction end price. Since the eSnipe bid was useless, how does this keep the price down?

What you're talking about is an case of an auction price going up by those high bidders. In that case it doesn't matter one way or the other what you do, because there's nothing you can do about it. That's just the way it goes.

However, what they're saying is it is OFTEN THE CASE that bidding at the last minute does have a better chance (note the word "chance") of keeping the price down especially if the item is a relatively low key item. However, like I said, if there is a bidding war (most often seen in rare/popular items), then there's nothing you can do except BID YOUR MAX and hope for the best. In the end.. Just bid the maximum you're willing to spend (whether sniping or any other time) and you'll never have anything to worry about. :)

Like on the auction you described above, if I bid a max of $1000 at the beginning of a $5 auction and then end up winning the auction at $155 due to 2 bidders bidding it up (you realize the $1000 bid doesn't put the high bid price up to $1000 right?), then that's my right as I was willing to fork out up to $1k and got it for $155 ;) If however, like you said I use Esnipe to snipe at my max of $100. Then I wouldn't win the auction. Oh well. That's ok because in that case, $100 was my max.

See? Easy ;)

[Kairi]

One more vote for overreacting. And I totally agree with the whole someone calling you a freak just being a generic insult. What's so wrong with being a freak anywhoo? :hmm:

I used to ebay snipe but now I just bid the absolute max I would pay for it right off. Saves me from spending too much just to win if you get into a bid war anyways. :)

[Griking]

As I mentioned above, the advantage to sniping is that it keeps people (other bidders) from realizing that they are actually willing to pay more than they thought. Thus, you stand a better chance of winning the auction, and at a lower price.

Tell me this then, how can some of you people who are also sellers support eSnipe since it effectively keeps the final sale prices of your auctions down?

How would this work? Say you put in a bid for eSnipe at $100, but you're not around to watch the auction. Say there are two people that ARE watching the auction and fight over the final price, leaving the auction to end at, say....$150. The eSnipe bid is rendered useless as it was way lower than the auction end price. Since the eSnipe bid was useless, how does this keep the price down?


Here's an example of how eSnipe can keep an auction selling price down.

Say Joe is browsing SNES games and he spots a complete Final Fantasy II game that he'd like. Currently there's 2 bids and the high bid is at $30. there's also 4 days left in the auction. In Joe's mind he'd prefer to not pay more than $50 for it. If he enters his maximum bid right there and then it gives the person who he just outbid (or anyone else) 4 more days to decide if he wants to bid any more for the game. Yet if he waits till the last second to place his max bid it doesn't give the other bidders the opertunity to even decide if they want to bid more or not. Now, I know that it's easy to say that if you just bid the max that you want to bid the first time then you have nothing to loose. The fact is though that MANY people just don't bid this way, they like to have a final option of upping their bid.

As an example look up some auctions for some desirable games. I'll bet that many of them have a flurry of activity that takes place in the final minutes before the auction ends including the ultimate winning bid. Why should I believe that that action wouldn't have continued if there were a few more minutes or if the high bid were placed earlier?