Members Barryj61 Posted June 17, 2006 Members Share Posted June 17, 2006 Sniping is the most misunderstood part of Ebay, and it's amazing how much anger is generated over it. I always do it, and I usually let the software do it for me - I could care less about the 'heat of battle' - I only give a {censored} about getting a reasonable deal. I'll lose most of the time, and that doesn't really bother me - there's always another auction right around the corner. Here's the main 2 things about sniping: 1. Sniping NEVER increases your chance of winning an auction. I only bid once, and I bid the max I'm gonna pay - if someone else thinks the item is worth more than me (and bids accordingly), he's gonna beat me every time. If my max is $100 and somebody else's is $110, I'm gonna lose whether I place my bid 10 seconds, 10 minutes, or 10 days before the auction ends. 2. What sniping DOES do is minimize the amount that you pay IF you are the highest bidder - it gives competing bidders less time to react and 'discover' what your high bid is. Say an item is going for $100 and you think it's worth $200. Why tip your hand before the end of the auction? Someone else may think it's worth $190 - you're gonna win no matter what, but if the guy bids like a {censored} you may get it for 160 or 170 instead of 190 if you give him no time to bid against you. Why pay more than you have to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DARKMETL/ Posted June 17, 2006 Members Share Posted June 17, 2006 I have lost as many or more auctions from sniping because my bid wasn't high enough...thats the bottom line. The only benefit you get by sniping is maybe an item is already a bit low on the bid and you get it before someone else can up it. Does that sound accurate/possible to you other snipers? It still boils down to what you are willing to pay. If you are willing to pay more than the sniper...you will win. You might pay a bit more at the last second because of it, but that is what a auction is about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted June 17, 2006 Members Share Posted June 17, 2006 Originally posted by Fosse Fox I've just looked through all your posts on this thread for something constructive:rolleyes: Why don't you run along. I'm hoping you'll post another ultra-silly comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted June 17, 2006 Author Moderators Share Posted June 17, 2006 Originally posted by tlbonehead I'm hoping you'll post another ultra-silly comment. I'm hoping you have a freak yachting accident:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pigsinzen Posted June 17, 2006 Members Share Posted June 17, 2006 Originally posted by dewees 10 minutes doesn't stop snipers. My program places bids a few as 15 seconds before the auction's end. I said my first bid is within that. When you set a minimum bid, Ebay automatically puts it there. Say someone bids at the last SECOND, and my bid I put was higher, they would still lose. As always, if your maximum bid is lower than mine, I'll win the auction. Correct. But when I put a max bid, that is the Max I am willing to pay for it. If the other person is willing to pay more, let him or her. I don't care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted June 17, 2006 Members Share Posted June 17, 2006 I am sending out this wave dude to cool things off. This thread has had a bit of "heat". Well here he is..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bdegrande Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by ylwledbetter68 Snipers don't make me angry quite as much as the people who bid within the first 2-3 days that the auction is put online. There's no reason to place a bid when there are 4 days left unless you're gonna be w/o internet for those 4 days. But it seems to happen very often where I'll see a great deal and within a day people have already beefed the price up a lot. People would pay a lot less for the item if they waited til the last day, or hour, or minute, to bid. There are LOTS of reasons to bid early. First off, many auctions get no bids or one bid. If this is the case, you will get the item for the lowest price possible by bidding first. If there are several of the same items up for auction, people can (and should) bypass the one you bid on to bid on one of the others. If there is a Buy It Now price in a non-reserve auction which is too high for your taste, placing a bid will kill the Buy It Now option. A novice seller may be scared when there are no bids, and pull an auction for an item that you wanted. There are also lots of reasons for sniping as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ylwledbetter68 Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by bdegrande There are LOTS of reasons to bid early. First off, many auctions get no bids or one bid. If this is the case, you will get the item for the lowest price possible by bidding first.If there are several of the same items up for auction, people can (and should) bypass the one you bid on to bid on one of the others.If there is a Buy It Now price in a non-reserve auction which is too high for your taste, placing a bid will kill the Buy It Now option.A novice seller may be scated when there are no bids, and pull an auction for an item that you wanted. Those are very good points. I guess I didn't think it through before posting:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members saturdaysaviour Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by Shredhead11 The other night I lost a bid with 7 secs left, someone outbid me by $2.50. It was for a kickass Randall WH-40 (Dime's Sig Combo, 40w, efx loop). How do you know it was only $2.50? If the other person bids $100 more than you with 7 seconds left, the winning bid still would have only shown up $2.50 higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mateo150 Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by Funderbunk Ummm... why shouldn't they bid early? If I am, indeed, willing to pay $200 bucks for something, then that's what I bid. Heck, I like bidding early - because I only bid once. Bid once, with my true genuine max bid, and if it goes over that, then I can forget it and start looking for something else. Impulse buyers and buyers excitement, fore example, if you really want something but your budget or boss tells you that the limit is $200... some people may break that limit by paying $210. Thats not bad, its justifiable, your only paying a hair more, you won't be on the couch for that one. If you bid early, it just lets people rationalize and act on this impulse, and even if your bid is higher, that one little prodding bid drives up the price. Everyone has done this sort of thing in some form or another, It happens all the time when people purchase cars for example. Oh yeah, I vendors do drive up the prices of their products, I hate it when I see an item won 5 times and relisted 5 times... scumbags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mighty Coogna! Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by tlbonehead WOW! How do you allow an auction to go the full amount of time yet not allow people to bid in the last minute of the auction? How is the auction still live if you can't bid? So you can't bid in the last minute so everyone bids in the minute before. Rediculous. I said AFTER the auction is DONE, then a grace period for last chance bids. It was just an idea, I don't know where you got that other stuff.I should add that's it's a great pleasure to up the bids on that "max" bidder that shows up in the last few minutes. You really think you're paying the least amount? You won, You Won! Only $295 for a used Squire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bgmacaw Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 My bidding suggestions: 1. Use your watch list to monitor auctions you're interested in. 2. Bid late in the auction, either manually or using a sniping program. 3. Bid only once. No bidding war. 4. Bid your max proxy bid in that one, late, bid. Once again, avoid a bidding war. 5. Bid an uneven increment, ie, bid $101.02 rather than $100 even. This takes advantage of eBay's auto-incrementing of bids and will often beat other snipers who still bid even amounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members red|dragon Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 idiot. thats why when you bid, your suppose to bid the maximum amount that you are willing to bid. you dont know how to "play" ebay at all. go read the {censored}ing manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boxhollow Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 I'm sure this has been said...but I find placing my highest proxy bid in the last minute of the auction tends to win me the auction more often than not and it usually gets me a better price than if I was bidding earlier. I usually do not make up my mind what I am really willing to pay for something until I see where the auction is going. I have many times decided that I was willing to pay more when an auction went higher than my original high bid. It works as a checks and balnce sytem for me too. I show up at the end of an auction and decide wether I still want to bid.....then I make up a price in my head wait till the last minute (30 seconds) and I place the bid....If I lose I don't really have enough time to change my mind and try again.....If I win the other guy doesn't have enough time to figure out what he wants to do. Of course I'm not a chronic E-bayer so I only end up in front of the computer waiting on auctions to end every odd once in awhile........and it's a rush to see if your going to win and get some new gear when your not completely jaded on being an E-bayer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Maxx61 Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by Fosse Fox You wouldn't pay an extra 2 cents for something you really wanted? You sound like the sort of person who drives up the prices of auctions. If you're not prepared to win summat bad enough, you should let the people who really want the stuff win it. Your analogy has one fault. If 65 people are bidding on an item, how many of them would not bid .02 higher than their last bid? Before it's over, you're $40 above your financial line in the sand.eBay is simple. If your budget can allow $300 and no more, bid $300 and let the chips fall where they may. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wader2k Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by Funderbunk That's true; I admit that I was wrong. However, they are annoying as hell. As a seller, I really hate snipers.....kinda slows down the bidding action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wader2k Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by Barryj61 Sniping is the most misunderstood part of Ebay, and it's amazing how much anger is generated over it. I always do it, and I usually let the software do it for me - I could care less about the 'heat of battle' - I only give a {censored} about getting a reasonable deal. I'll lose most of the time, and that doesn't really bother me - there's always another auction right around the corner. Here's the main 2 things about sniping:1. Sniping NEVER increases your chance of winning an auction. I only bid once, and I bid the max I'm gonna pay - if someone else thinks the item is worth more than me (and bids accordingly), he's gonna beat me every time. If my max is $100 and somebody else's is $110, I'm gonna lose whether I place my bid 10 seconds, 10 minutes, or 10 days before the auction ends.2. What sniping DOES do is minimize the amount that you pay IF you are the highest bidder - it gives competing bidders less time to react and 'discover' what your high bid is. Say an item is going for $100 and you think it's worth $200. Why tip your hand before the end of the auction? Someone else may think it's worth $190 - you're gonna win no matter what, but if the guy bids like a {censored} you may get it for 160 or 170 instead of 190 if you give him no time to bid against you. Why pay more than you have to? Bingo! Which is why buyers love sniping and sellers hate it. I pretty much gave up selling on ebay because of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members M900 Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 I have a question...Originally posted by dewees - You still place your highest possible bid. You just do it in the last minute. Will Ebay apply your max bid, or will it register just enough to win the auction?like if you sniped for $100 and the current max bid is $50, will it register $55, or will the Ebay computer not have enough time and end it at your max ($100) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members M900 Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by dewees - With sniping software I don't have to be at my computer to bid when the auction ends at 4:00 AM or in the middle of a work day.- Bidding much before the last minute of the auction only drives the final price up because there's always some idiot with a compulsive gambling problem who feels compelled to "win" the auction even if it costs more than the retail price.- The above has nothing to do with the proxy bidding system. You still place your highest possible bid. You just do it in the last minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunset_gun Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by M900 I have a question...Will Ebay apply your max bid, or will it register just enough to win the auction?like if you sniped for $100 and the current max bid is $50, will it register $55, or will the Ebay computer not have enough time and end it at your max ($100) It will move up to the next bid increment, whatever amount that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crispete Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 I've only so far won 3 auctions but already am starting to form my own plan, tell me if this figures. This is for items that there seem to be more than a few of, not especially rare but are fluctuating somewhat in price. I'll look at a few of these items an see what they are ending up selling for. Most things if they are in pretty good shape end up costing about the same in the end. So I just place my max bid at that price range around the top end. If something goes for say 200-225 and I want it bad enough I max bid 225 then my chance of being the one who bids that price first should have a good chance of winning it. Wad-ya think? I'm trying out my theory now as we speak. If I don't win there's always next time no biggie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by Fosse Fox I'm hoping you have a freak yachting accident:thu: I see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members strangedogs Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 sniping is an art... I'm an artist. I keep 3 or 4 browsers open with bid amounts ready in each one - then the last 40 secs. it's click, click, click! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted June 18, 2006 Author Moderators Share Posted June 18, 2006 Originally posted by strangedogs sniping is an art... I'm an artist. I keep 3 or 4 browsers open with bid amounts ready in each one - then the last 40 secs. it's click, click, click! Hmmmm, I'd never thought of multi windows or for us Firefox users multitabs......I will try that tommorrow:thu: Thank you Strangedogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6942 Posted June 18, 2006 Members Share Posted June 18, 2006 Okay, I'll admit it: I....do...snipe!Buy hey, money doesn't grow on trees!If I can save a few $$$, or REALLY want something BAD, then I'll snipe.It's really a guessing game though.I won an auction by 1 cent, with a one second snipe.I've always wondered, how many men and women screemed like child birth, when my e-bay moniker poped up on the screen: "You won this item."Who say's guilty pleasures aren't satisfying!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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