We understand the privacy and security reasons behind hiding Proxibidders’ names, showing only “Internet” or “You” with a winning bid. And we accept the change as bittersweet, for we will miss certain users with quirky habits, as Proxibid becomes more safe and perhaps less fun for some of us.
Goodbye to the bidder with the Italian user name who paid 25% over retail for almost every Carson City dollar on the Proxibid portal and who would keep raising bids until he won every coin that he liked. May he discover Teletrade and Heritage to buy the same wares so much cheaper.
Goodbye to the bidder who has the same user name as his eBay coin shop who purchases cleaned and damaged key date coins but does not mention that in his auctions. May he continue to buy e*Z*est coin solvent by the gallon.
Goodbye to the bidder who based his name on a far north locale who purchased thousands of dollars’ worth of gold at retail for the past two years, knowing the precious metal would continue to rise. May you retire early and enjoy your snowmobile.
We will miss so many of our competitors, including the whales with deep pockets, who made Proxibid more of a social network than an auction portal.
Now, when we see “Internet” and “You” (whenever Proxibid can get that function to work), we can only harken past memories of who might be bidding … except on those Carson City dollars, perhaps.
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I completly agree with your comment on removing the nicknames on proxibid, I do not believe that they had to do that for security. I thought removing high bidders name when the auction started tookcare of that. I also believe that it will hurt the action comanies bottom line . the reason I believe that is there had been some competitive bidding between so-called rivals! It is the human nature in all of us to be competetive and this new policy removes that excitement from the process.proxibid bid has done a very good job for the most part of trying to bring the auction expereience to the online masses, but I think they dropped the ball on this one!!!!
We agree with you. Until now, Proxibid always strove to re-create the auction experience, and in real as in online auctions, there were bidding wars driven by personalities as much as by bids. We wrote about Proxibidding wars moving from one auction to the next. You can access that here: https://proxiblog.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/proxibidding-wars/
Proxiblog has always encouraged competition. Auctions thrive on it. Portals may thrive on it, too.
Increasingly, Proxibid is becoming eBay with harsh terms of service and no reviews of auction houses, which is why we exist, to remind both the portal and the auctioneers that competition counts and that the best houses (i.e. Weaver, Western, Silvertowne, et. al.) understand this … which is why we rank and recommend.
Thanks for your comment. It’s an important consideration.
I have conducted over 500 auctions on PROXIBID, as I watch the changes being made I do wonder where the direction is coming from. Whom should PROXIBID be taking the lead and developement from? The BIDDER or the AUCTIONEERS… I believe it should be about the auctioneers, we are paying the bills, granted without bidders we would not have success. I have called several times in regards to recent changes, I honestly feel as though my thogts are dismissed as quickly as expressed. I do worry that PROXIBID is moving towards an eBay like system. I believe that the head of RISK MANAGEMENT there is a former eBay employee… I am oftem told that PROXIBID makes changes based on what the bidders are requesting… I am not sure really who or what is driving the changes, but I do fear that PROXIBID in some ways is moving in the wrong direction despite what I believe is their best intention for all. Ron Krause, Krause Auctioneering, Rochester, MN 507.319.0098
Ron Krause is one of our conscientious auctioneers. He is high on customer service, too. We like competitive bidding because it is good for the auction house and, ultimately, the Proxibid user. Keep in mind, though, that it’s not only about the auction house; it’s about the technology. The old Proxibid had a social network style. It could have gone in two directions–toward eBay, as it is doing, or toward a virtual reality environment. Think about that. Suppose in addition to user names bidders could personalize icons. We’re not recommending that. And we continue to support Proxibid and help auctioneers get top dollar for their consignments by sharing best practices. But Proxibid is eliminating the fun element of online auctioneering. It would be good for the company to think about how to infuse that again, spark competition, promote houses with good terms of service, and use technology as social network.
I think i missed the oppotunity to voice my opinion about the changes that have occured here on Proxibid. Oh that’s right, I wasn’t. Did anyone else out there, bidders, get asked what there opinion was? I liked being able seeing who I was bidding against, it was more like attending the actual auction. This is an auction website, correct? If I didn’t want to feel like I was at an auction, I would be bidding on Ebay.