Perhaps you’ve witnessed what I call the “Buttinski Bidder” on DealDash.com. I’ll explain what this is.
There will be two or three bidders in an auction bidding hundreds of dollars’ worth of bids with the goal of winning the big prize.
Bidder Q will start stomping on the other bidder to run down Bidder R’s bids on bid buddy. This is perfectly legit and part of the auction process. Then, out of nowhere enters Bidder “X”, who is offended and angered by bidder Q’s attempt to win by stomping Bidder R. Bidder X will then start to bid on purpose with the specific goal of playing spoiler— stopping bidder Q from stomping on Bidder R. Thus Bidder X is the Buttinski Bidder.
Bidder X will not win the auction but will only waste fifty to one hundred of his or her own bids to make the point: “Don’t stomp.” Simply defined, Bidder X is minding someone else’s business while losing his or her own bids/money at the same time. Bidder X is your nosey neighbor, or nosey colleague at the office and is also your town gossip too. Bidder X is trouble, one you will want to avoid at all costs. The purpose of this blog is to educate you and to help you avoid becoming (Bidder X) the “Buttinski Bidder” of your next auction.
Make no mistake: People sign up, purchase bids and participate in auctions to win, period. Those who think otherwise are living in a fantasy world. It is comical for me when I see various bidders’ profiles with comments about stomping: “Don’t stomp I will stomp you back, etc.” Stomping is a strategy used by many bidders who have the goal of winning the auction, period. Get over it, this is a business where people want to win and will not play fair all the time. Bidders are in it to win it. That’s the way it is, REALITY. Just last week I participated in an auction for a 1,000 dollar Amazon.com gift card. After bidding a few bids hoping to be that lucky winner I withdrew from this contest to observe the auction’s conclusion. There were a total of three bidders. One female bidder was stomping on her competition for many hours. The cost of the item had risen into the two hundreds. All of a sudden out of nowhere entered the Buttinski Bidder of this auction who purposely started stomping this female bidder. Watching this amazing contest I counted over 120 Buttinski bids. This Buttinski was angry and trying to make a point. The Buttinski’s anger cost the Buttinski bidder over 17.00 dollars. Seriously is spending 17.00 of your hard, earned blood, sweat and tears to make a point, really worth it? It turns out this Amazon.com gift card sold in the four hundreds to a male bidder, a guy who entered to win without being a Buttinski Bidder. It is not easy to win an auction. Waiting it out can be frustrating at times. Invest your own time wisely and use your bids to win. Here’s to NOT becoming the next Buttinski Bidder!
By Josephine Deal Dasher
butt·in·sky or butt·in·ski (bŭt-ĭn′skē)