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I would like to discuss the idea of gross overbidding or misbidding. Gaia is pretty much aa free-market system - we buy and sell at any given price. One could offer an item that they bought for 2 gold and sell it for 1,000,000 gold. For a new person to the market, one could spend more than what is necessary for an item of choice - probably something we all have done. It will just happen and there is no need for recourse.
The other issue is one of overbidding. A person has an item that has a relative market value of 20,000 gold. They list it on an open ended auction with a small starting bid. As the auction progresses, one participant wants to bid 8000 gold, but accidentally hits an extra zero increasing their bid to 80,000 gold. Everyone makes mistakes, but the dilemna is what can we as Gaians do?
There is always a choice in the matter. If the person reasonably asks that you cancel the auction and there is time (10 minutes or more), ethically we should cancel the auction and just relist it with the same basic remaining time. You can see the bid history. This supposes that the full potential price of the item has not been realized.
If the item listed has reached its market potential (most Gains who have been online for a little while realize what the going market price is for an item and are trying to save some gold by buying it at auction) one should accept the overbid and come to an equitable compromise for the price.
By placing an item at auction with a starting bid far below the market value, one does not really believe that they will receive full market value for their item. They want or need the cash and so it is a quick sale they seek. So what is a fair compromise?
Certainly, the seller should receive full market value. On top of that it should depend on the market value of the item, but I would suggest a 5-20 percent surcharge as a fee. If the item's bid price is 1000 gold and the buyer has bid 10,000 gold and the market value is 4000 gold then the seller should take 4000 gold for the item and 200-800 gold for the extra service he provides in the overhead of adjusting the bid to make it equitable. If the intended bid is 20,000 gold and the bidder submits a 200,000 gold bid for an item worth 75,000 gold, the seller should take the 75000 gold as payment for the item and 3750 -15000 for the overhead. This is reasonable. Is it ethical?
Certainly the seller deserves full market value. To determine market value look at both what is the lowest priced item as a "Buy it Now" and the average selling price. Take the higher of the two, within reason. There are items that have an inflated average because someone bought a 2 gold item and sold it for 50,000 gold. If the average selling price exceeds the "Buy it Now" price of a majority of current listings, take an average of the lowest 10 listings to establish a fair market value. Just use some good plain common sense and put yourself in the place of the buyer.
A surcharge for the extra effort is ethical, the dilemna lies within the amount charged. Surely, no more than a few thousand gold at the most would suffice for a surcharge on any given item. Yes, there are exceptions. Fortunately, you have a brain that can figure out what would be a good final value. Be polite and not greedy. If you are online long enough this may happen to you. Treat everyone with respect and understanding. Make Gaia a fun place. Remember it is only pretend gold, but your choices online reflect the person you are in real life. Be a fair, honest and equitable Gaian.
You also know that I will be more than happy to mediate the transaction as a service to anyone.
 shaved-beast · Wed Jun 17, 2009 @ 04:59pm · 0 Comments |
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