Giving dibs to others?

[wELCOME cONSUMER]

I agree with that. I also think though that gallery wishlists tend to become problematic for you when it comes to bidding. Other bidders will know which cels you will be going after...and the mean people who bid against you just because you want it know exactly the type of thing you will be going for...I took most of my wishlist down for that reason...but the same people can look at your gallery and guess what it is you are going to go for!

~ Bri ~

This is exactly why I don't have a wishlist and prefer not to look at the wishlists
of others. I don't really care what anyone else is looking for, that's their business.
And I'm not interested in sharing my secret goals with the general public.
Chances are, you'll give other people ideas of what to look for and possibly
increase the bidding on items you want. There are some extremely petty
people out there who will bid up things on purpose and will have no
intention of winning the item. The other problem with wishlists is that
curators tend to think they have rightful ownership of the item in question.
"You can't buy that, it's on my wishlist!" Uh, so what?

If you really want to know my interests, just look at my current collection.
If you can figure me out, good for you. In any other transaction, you'd
never know who the other bidders were. But with the cel community, it's
a bit of a double-edged blade. You get to know people on a more personal
level, which might garner feelings of resentment and jealousy. I'd never
ask someone not to bid on something I wanted and certainly wouldn't
expect anyone to approach me with that request.

The best thing you can do is decide in all honesty if you really want an
item and bid your absolute max. That way, if you do lose, you won't have
any regrets. At least you tried. I feel asking for dibs on something would
cause resentment or ill-will. If I stepped back, I might regret it later. And
this practice isn't fair to the seller either. I know if I was auctioning off
something, I'd want all interested parties to bid their maxes. Holding back
devalues the item in question and skews the market. Just be honest and
everyone will be a lot happier.

[Keropi]

I used to think that way for the things I was getting, but it doesn't make that much difference to me anymore. I'm always looking for new shows to collect from. If I can't get something I want there's always something else out there. Like I said, I'm not collecting from the most popular shows anyway. I try to steer away from popular series unless if they were based off a ren'ai game because I don't enjoy going up against popular show bidders (like Rurouni Kenshin). They suck the fun of collecting away because it's too hard to win anything from them. My desire to get something from those shows is dwarfed by theirs.

I wouldn't ask someone not to bid on something. If I brought up the subject it would be more like:

"I was thinking of bidding on this, but I'm on the fence about it. If you're going to bid on it I'll step out."

If it's something I want badly, I won't say anything. That's where possible future problems could occur. Maybe not, but I don't want to be the one that first brings up the subject because I don't want to make it sound like I'm saying:

"Stay Away!! Mine!! Mine!!" Woo-Hoo!!

[graymouser]

It really depends. For the big wishlist cels then I will tend to go all out. For other items I will usually give dibs. I am very open to emailing others to split an auction or being emailed during an auction to work out a deal. Contacting me after I have won an auction rarely works, since I tend to get attached to my cels fairly quickly.

Giving dibs helps me in a number of ways.

The first is that I would feel really bad if I snagged someone's wishlist cel as an impulse or "gee that's nice" purchase. I can't really argue that if it was really a wishlist cel to the other bidder, they would have outbid me. Not everyone has the same financial situation. My definitions of cheap and expensive are not going to be the same as those of a struggling college student.

Secondly, giving dibs helps to curb my spending. Multiple small ticket items can still add up. Ceding an item to someone else means that when a wishlist cel does come up, my war chest is that much larger.

Occasionally I have publicly stated that I would be going after an item. I have never intended it to mean that I was calling dibs. I just meant that I would not be backing down from that particular auction very easily. I would be very uncomfortable asking someone to stay away from an auction.

OK... so I'm kind of contrary

[darksuzaku]

ah, so that's a dib.....

unfortunately for me, on the few shows i collect, it's a luxury to give or receive dibs. Actually it's the opposite, as if the other bidders wanted to make sure that you'd have to sell both of your kidneys on each purchase....., quite depressing -_-

[Hana]

For me, I think it really depends, both on the series and who I know collects it. CLAMP Gakuen, my main series, is something from which I will back down for no one, and have probably at one point or another outbid or outnegotiated friends for the pieces in my collection. However, almost every other series I'm far less cutthroat about and if it's something I know a friend really wants, especially if my want is not as great, I don't mind bowing out. Ultimately it means I know where the cel is going, that it will have a good home, and that makes me happy.

Sometimes it's not even about winning, losing or competing. I think there are very few of us who haven't had a friend point us in the direction of a pretty from our series of choice, and few of us who haven't in turn pointed out a cel to someone else. It all balances out, and being able to share in the hobby (because if it was about hoarding, none of us would have a public gallery) is one of the best things about it.

[HotIce]

i've only asked people not to bid on one item that i can remember... and she is happily sitting in my gallery now. Although I'm not 100% sure how many people were really wanting to bid on it.

A few friends know what i'm looking for in a general broad since, and its nice to have another set of eyes keeping an eye out for things... example, I would have never got my cel of Hitoriga from outlaw star, if someone hadn't sent me the Y!Japan link... see Hitoriga wasn't listed under Outlaw Star at all... so odds are i would have missed out.

Much much love to the link sender, you know who you are!

[blueheaven]

It's funny, because it happens now more than ever. I collect ROD The TV, and my main opponent on auctions is usually TabbyKitty. There have been times where a sketch is just TOO good looking, and I mus go for it. There are other time where I will not even try, simply because Tabby has bid first and she seems to want it more than I. I like TK, so we are both batting around .500 against one another. That's just fine with me.

[Krafty]

I give and receive in this manner all the time, especially for the items that might sell for over 10,000y. This saves us both money [which is the main concern] and gives us both an opportunity to obtain some art from the series we love.

There are a few series that I'm territorial over, I have a silly half-belief that anything I see from a select few anime is automatically mine.
I've immersed myself into the art, characters and essense of the story so much that they feel like a part of me and I get upset if I loose.
That is selfish and I feel ashamed to feel that way. Just as well it doesn't happen often!
In cases where others bid on these items, I'll politely contact them to discuss my feelings and we usually work something out. Of course, problems arise when you don't know who the bidder is because they're shilded by the deputy's ID.

Generally, I've done favours for a lot of people so some of this fortune comes back- that's the way it should be.
I'd never be rude or demand anyone to back down, who am I to do that?! That's not in my nature anyway.

If the auction is a low-end item I may bid regardless of who's already bidding or intends to bid. I don't bid in 100y increments so I shouldn't annoy the fellow bidders

The best thing you can do is decide in all honesty if you really want an item and bid your absolute max. That way, if you do lose, you won't have any regrets.
I feel asking for dibs on something would cause resentment or ill-will.

I take that point on board but I can't operate like that. I never have a maximum bid in mind, I put in a ball-park figure and hop for the best, monitoring the auction till its close.
If I'm outbid, it's time to stump up some more cash- I guess the competition instinct kicks in to an extent, but I'm always learning about what artwork is worth, so I go with the flow.

Perhaps NOT asking for dibs on something could cause ill will too.
If both parties were to bid their max or keep bidding against each other, a 2,000y cel could rise to 20,000y needlessly.
The winner would feel bad shortly after the win because they paid too much and the looser would also feel bad because they don't have the artwork at all!
That's nasty friction that I always try to avoid.

[sensei]

Yes, it's a tricky situation. One compromise I've used is that if there's something that I want on which someone that I know has already put down a bid, I'll watch it, and then if that person is outbid, then, I'll come in and avenge that person's honor by nabbing the item from the new high bidder.

Actually, that happened earlier this year with a cel that Rei had bid on, then got outbid on, then It's a rapidly rising star in my gallery, having recently spiked into my "Top 50" list, the only new item from the past year's collecting to do so.

http://sensei.rubberslug.com/gallery/in ... mID=157316

So, Rei, be assured that the next time someone outbids you, vengeance will come again, swiftly and surely.

Otherwise, like others, if it's a high-ticket item, already priced high, I will inquire among a select group that I know who might be competitors, to see who's jockeying for position. If they agree to step back, then they know that the bid that goes up from my ds is me. And I've done the same also with other collectors. That's fair and ensures that we all get high-ticket cels for steep but not looney-tunes prices.

Ah, but, yes, under 4000 yen, it's still survival of the fittest!

[Not Sir Phobos]

i always give dibs to my friends. It's only the nice thing to do

[RoboFlonne]

I'm like NSP.

If you really want something... I don't mind letting you have it if I know you.

If you're a friend, then it's not worth messing that up just for the cel!

[klet]

i always give dibs to my friends. It's only the nice thing to do

I'll be your friend . . .

As far as dibs go . . . my views actually coincide with graymousers. I suppose I kind of asked for dibs on a cel I wanted earlier . . . didn't get it, but I couldn't afford $350. That's about the only time. I'm always hesitant to post anything that I'm bidding on, just because while I'd love it if everyone backed off from what I want, I would never want to ask anyone to do so if that person wants the item as well. That is part of the reason why I don't have an "About Me" linked to my Ebay account and also the reason I decided on sticking with my Ebay id rather than using "klet" when I signed up for my own YJ account.

[aernath]

i always give dibs to my friends. It's only the nice thing to do

I like the minty ones.

[Not Sir Phobos]

i always give dibs to my friends. It's only the nice thing to do

I like the minty ones.

I swear that the minty ones have crack in them, they are just too good.

I think the dibs system is the keenest idea! When people know who is bidding on things they don't bid the price up and everybody is a winner.

[ashenfairy]

I'm happy to give dibs to other collectors for things I'm not that interested in I've often backed off because I recognize someone's bidding ID. Wether or not they realize I'm doing it. (IE there were a recently set of sketches that I was outbid on by someone else and then I noticed Krafty bid on them so I backed off becasue I knew he'd appreciate them whereas if it had been someone else I would have bid again) I don't think anyone has ever directly asked if we'd stay away from something, and I don't think any general announcements I've seen have really pertained to anything we'd be interested in so I've never had to feel bad about it.

Though I did accidentally buy someone's wishlist cel and since I wasn't particularily attatched to it. (it was an OOH PRETTY type purchase) They made a public request for it and I sold it to them because, I'm that type of person. It's the same reason I look at wishlists not to outbid people ior anything equally as stupid (and really while I don't doubt people do it, it's hard ofr me to see the reasoning behind it) I do it so if in my searches I see something I recall someone else wanting I let them know. I've had people do it for me when I've been in a I'm too broke to collect so I won't even look funk and I love them for it. So always try to show the same courtesey. Same thing if I'm selling something I check people's wishlists for it so I can sell it someone who'll appreciate it before sending it to the open market. When we sold a rare Queen Serenity cel it went to someone who had it on their wishlist rather than having ever put it on the open market.

There have been some times when I've been up against people I know and like but, it was for items I really wanted and then knew that too so I guess you're always occassionally going to hit times like that.