"Honey, I was low on cash while you were away so I sold that old game of yours. You never played it anyway. It was just sitting there ..."
I don't think like that, because if just two people were interested, then it is a question of fair chance. A member at the Neo-Geo forum said he didn't make an offer when it was for sale on eBay as an auction, only because he wanted to win it fairly against other collectors, but knew he might of lost too. He could of made a private offer as well, but he didn't, it isn't about being filthy rich for everyone. He hoped to win fairly but lost out anyway, all because of what... Just because an item is really rare, doesn't mean sod everybody else and not leave anything to chance or be fair.
I think you missed my point. If the bidding continued, the game would still reach a really high price, so only those willing to spend so much cash would have a chance. That's one thing. Second, if anyone from Neo-Geo.com wanted it, knowing how much it's going to cost, he or she should have made that offer. Simply bidding on such items is no longer an option and if you're doing that "to be fair", someone else will surely get it. If I had that kind of cash, I would have contacted the seller myself because I know others would too. With all that in mind, it's strange to me that someone would say "Ooooh! No faaair!" and wouldn't bid if they had the cash to buy it.
But I think most people bid in the last moment at auction, but those who were waiting to do that can't now. I think people make offers sometimes because of being scared of losing the game, so like you said, not leaving it to chance or being fair, but those who did have lost out. My point is, is it fair/right to that, knowing other collectors would like to try and win it by the auction. Everybody is different, so it's not strange for a person to try and win an auction fairly, without trying to get the seller to sell privately and stop it.
That applies to regular auctions. What you have here is one of very few items of its kind. People will do what they can to get it. From what you're saying it sounds like you think someone would get a bargain just because they were the last second bidder. If you ask me, deals outside of eBay are more fair on the seller. Like I said earlier, he doesn't need to pay eBay now. Plus - and again, I have already said this - anyone had a "fair chance" of getting it as long as they made a proper offer. If you wanted to, you could still contact the seller and offer him 20K. I'm sure he wouldn't say no.
But that was my point, not everybody will do what they can to get it. You're just saying, forget everybody else, if other people are interested winning the auction, well that's to bad, I'll try and get it before that. I am trying to say a fair/equal chance. I have seen many auctions before were a seller has posted a question from somebody, that reads ''will you sell this item now for XXXX amount'' but the reply is something like "Thank you for the offer, but several people have expressed interest, so I don't think I can cancel the auction. Good luck!" That is the point I am trying to make. You're saying because everybody had the chance to make an offer, then it is fair, yet it was for sale at auction, not a private sale on a forum or between friends or something. A 'fair auction' is one that is left to finnish until the end.
