Shopping

Hey! Have you ever purchase anything from Yahoo auction site or eBays? A friend of mine has bragged about bargains he got on that site.

I have picked up something I’ve been looking for on Yahoo auction. And I think they haven’t reach maturity yet.

Is there any difference between Taiwan’s auction sites and international auction sites?

Well, as you can imagine, there are a great deal more buyers and sellers in the U.S. as far as geographical constraints are not concerned. However, if you want to buy a hard- to- find item, the bidding could go sky- high.

Sky- high? I thought the idea is to get a good deal.

There are a lot of deals to be found. Nevertheless, if you get two people that truly want a rare item, it could trigger a bidding competition!

You mean that neither one give way and they outbid each other in turn?

Fanny: Precisely. But this rarely happens on Taiwan’s auction sites. There is not an overabundance of buyers, so most item won’t go far from the starting price.

Young: I am still hesitant to lay down my hard- eared- money for something I can’t see with my eyes. What if it happens to be a auction fraud or the item is not what I have anticipated?

Well, good question! Actually they have a user feedback system which grades buyers and sellers in order to prevent auction fraud.

Oh! I guess this helps to keep all participants on the up and up.

hm…So does the sellers care about the buyer’s feedback?

Yes, it is quite important. The seller is concerned about non- paying deadbeat bidders.

I also heard about people selling bizarre items on the auction site, is that for real?

Actually, I remember seeing people listening for human kidneys on sale and some crazy people who sell roaches on eBay.

Who is their right mind would buy such things? And isn’t it illegal to sell human organs?

I see eye to eye with you, but I think we will all be astounded by what people would sell and buy on the internet.

Actually, there are a number of auctions that eBay or Yahoo auction would consider a prank. However, there are other ludicrous, ones that are very real. One restaurant listed a half eaten plate of French toast that the pop singer Justin Timberlake didn’t finish.

What for Christ sake would someone do with that? It would be green and moldy by the time it’s delivered!

Anyway, it does no harm just to take it as an “creative bidding!”

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