My apple peeler auction got me to thinking about the reasons why I was motivated to put in a fairly high bid for this particular peeler, when there were others out there of the same brand for less.
First off, this peeler was clean and nicely oiled. That goes a long way, especially for potential food prep items. Most of those on Ebay are rusty and crusty.
Most importantly, the seller didn't just say that it "appears to be in good working order". The seller not only tried it out with an apple, but posted a photo that demonstrated how well it worked. I could see very clearly that the spring mechanism was functioning very well, resulting in a thin peeling and not a deep gouging of the apple. The photo below was what finalized my decision more than anything else.
The seller also aimed this item at both the antique collectors and the pie bakers. It was double listed in both the antiques and collectibles topics. At least 2/3 of the antique peelers are in collectables rather than antiques because there is a "peelers" category.
The seller also timed it so that the auction ended shortly after the end of the Ebay Bucks program, when I had a few extra bucks to spend- even more motivation to bump that bid just a little higher to make sure I got it.
