Ebay is stupid

[danphoto]

So ... I noticed this morning that the two auctions I have running on Ebay which should end tonight at a carefully calculated 8.32 are now showing an end time of 9.32.

Apparently this is because Ebay knows that we went to BST in the night, so Ebay has accordingly added an hour to all the UK end times, FFS.

They can't see where they're going wrong, so the moral is - if you aim for specific end times, don't have any Ebay listings running on the dates the clocks change ...

 

[vernon]

You've got what you have asked for - a whole number of days for your auction and not n days - 1hour.

Ebay have done nothing wrong.

 

[Norm]

Indeed, 8:32 yesterday (in GMT) is the same as 9:32 today (in BST). I don't think that ebay is the one under scrutiny here.

 

[Panter]

So ... I noticed this morning that the two auctions I have running on Ebay which should end tonight at a carefully calculated 8.32 are now showing an end time of 9.32.

Apparently this is because Ebay knows that we went to BST in the night, so Ebay has accordingly added an hour to all the UK end times, FFS.

They can't see where they're going wrong, so the moral is - if you aim for specific end times, don't have any Ebay listings running on the dates the clocks change ...

Been stung myself with that, immensely irritating.

I know that it's technically correct, but the whole point of scheduling, or planning, a finish time is because you want the item to end at that particular time. Not +/- an Hour.

 

[danphoto]

OK, for those of you who apparently think the same way Ebay does ...

Let us say that at 11.30 last night (Saturday) I sent you an email and said I'll phone you at 9am Sunday (today).

What time would you have expected my call this morning?

 

[PBancroft]

OK, for those of you who apparently think the same way Ebay does ...

Let us say that at 11.30 last night (Saturday) I sent you an email and said I'll phone you at 9am Sunday (today).

What time would you have expected my call this morning?

Not being a big user of eBay, what do they tell you? Do they say the auction will end at X time, or do they say it will end in Y days Z minutes?

 

[Panter]

Not being a big user of eBay, what do they tell you? Do they say the auction will end at X time, or do they say it will end in Y days Z minutes?

They state an (incorrect, well, uncorrected anyway) end time

 

[Rhythm Thief]

OK, for those of you who apparently think the same way Ebay does ...

Let us say that at 11.30 last night (Saturday) I sent you an email and said I'll phone you at 9am Sunday (today).

What time would you have expected my call this morning?

9am. Allowing for the clocks to have gone forward an hour, that's, er, 9am. Granted, yesterday it was 8am, but it's 9am today. Easy.

 

[terry_gardener]

OK, for those of you who apparently think the same way Ebay does ...

Let us say that at 11.30 last night (Saturday) I sent you an email and said I'll phone you at 9am Sunday (today).

What time would you have expected my call this morning?

9am (BST)

 

[danphoto]

Correct, gentlemen.

By the same logic, Ebay should not add an hour to the end time of an auction because the clocks have gone forward an hour since the auction started.

I do realise that some people will never get this, for I have been married 30 years to an otherwise intelligent woman who will never understand why 1 x 0 is not 1 ...

Not being a big user of eBay, what do they tell you? Do they say the auction will end at X time, or do they say it will end in Y days Z minutes?

You pick the start date and time, and a duration of 7 or 10 days, therefore the reasonable expectation is that the end time will be the same as the start time.

 

[Norm]

They state an (incorrect, well, uncorrected anyway) end time

That's not strictly true...

Vintage Pashley Work Bike Traditional Trade Cycle.Condition: Used

£175.00 Pick up only: Free Time left:16d 13h 35m

You pick the start date and time, and a duration of 7 or 10 days, therefore the reasonable expectation is that the end time will be the same as the start time.

In your opinion.

In my opinion, a 10 day auction would last 240 hours and not be subject to the artificial vagaries of summer time.

 

[danphoto]

That's not strictly true...





In your opinion.

In my opinion, a 10 day auction would last 240 hours and not be subject to the artificial vagaries of summer time.

Erm ... that's exactly what I'm saying. Adding an hour should make no difference to the duration of the auction.

 

[vernon]

Erm ... that's exactly what I'm saying. Adding an hour should make no difference to the duration of the auction.

They have not added an hour. You still have had 7 x 24 hours or 10 x 24 hours. All they have done is change the name of the time they have not extended the duration of the auction.

Think about it.

An outside observer in a time zone that does not undergo daylight saving adjustments will see your auction end at the same instant as you.

They will have seen the auction start at the same instant as you and will see it end at the same hour seven or ten days later at exactly the same instant as you.

So why do you think that you have an hour extra added to the auction and the observer hasn't. The elapsed time is the same for you both - there is no extra hour.

 

[danphoto]

They have not added an hour.

If you say so Vernon, but Ebay says they have and I say they have.

You still have had 7 x 24 hours or 10 x 24 hours. All they have done is change the name of the time they have not extended the duration of the auction.

No, they have extended the duration of the auction by one hour - as they say. Their start and finish times are local times, not GMT.

Think about it.

An outside observer in a time zone that does not undergo daylight saving adjustments will see your auction end at the same instant as you.

They will have seen the auction start at the same instant as you and will see it end at the same hour seven or ten days later at exactly the same instant as you.

Yes, they will see it end at exactly the same instant as me - unless Ebay add an hour to the duration of the listing.

So why do you think that you have an hour extra added to the auction and the observer hasn't.

I don't.

The elapsed time is the same for you both - there is no extra hour.

Oh yes there is Vernon. Ebay added it as a service to their UK customers. That's what I've been saying right from the start. ...

So ... I noticed this morning that the two auctions I have running on Ebay which should end tonight at a carefully calculated 8.32 are now showing an end time of 9.32.

Apparently this is because Ebay knows that we went to BST in the night, so Ebay has accordingly added an hour to all the UK end times, FFS.

 

[vernon]

We are no longer on GMT bu tBST. Your calculations have not taken this on board.