I Win?

While I enjoy the images involved (especially the somewhat chubby people riding horses), the current EBay campaign – shop victoriously – has me asking why we are so excited by paying the most. Doesn’t that just make us the biggest sucker? As an avid ebayer myself I understand the compulsion to win an auction – it is so easy to get drawn in to the bidding that you almost impulsively keep raising your price in hopes of winning. For most people this is probably more satisfying than actually purchasing the item in question. And the sense of loss when something slips away can be just as strong. I have found myself searching for new auctions of similar items after bidding on something I never actually planned on buying has ended – especially if the price was really low. Which is the appeal of EBay – that you can get great stuff for a good price. Of course, this doesn’t explain why there are so many auctions out there with people buying items for higher prices than retail. Are those people just stupid, or have they gotten caught in the thrall of “shopping victoriously?”