I Hate Snipers!

[WillyChang 1814]

T-5sec, not bad Paul

at least you snipe... unlike other famous "names" where they're first bidder & you don't bother bidding against them as you know you won't win... but still bid just to jack up his price a bit hahaha

there are a few auctions sites that end auctions "X minutes after last bid"... can drag on & on... i just don't have the patience to sit there continuously bidding repeatedly until the other side gives up. Sillier than playing online slotmachines.

[loaded 4]

Bidding is very personal, it even depends on what the item is. If there is something missing in my collection, or I want a better one etc, ie I really want it, I have bid nuclear before to win it, but prefer not to show my interest until the end. If it is a small item, I may place a bid early, but kits are nearly always sniped. Thing is, no one ever knows what I, or anyone else is really looking for or are willing to pay, so I guess the secret is to place your highest bid and only be angry with yourself because you didn't win it.

Paul.

[Blacque Jacque 4]

Regardless of when a bid is placed, it still comes down to who places the most monetary value on the item.

Part of the key is to know the market value of the item, personal desire (need?) for a thing will often drive you to exceed that rational value.

This is my system:

Always research the value of anything I'm inclined to bid on.

Bid once and only once, as late as possible.

Be happy in the knowledge someone else paid over the odds if I lose.

All of which loosely translates into:

Don't bid too high.

Avoid other people "pecking at" your bid & driving it up unnecessarily.

Never blame myself.

[Corpse Thrower 16]

I suspect you are referring to this auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=320277656873

Which I won, albeit a couple of weeks before the post you made. I only guess this as bidder 1 has the same feedback rating roughly as you and has been a member about as long, although ebay information is more scant than it used to be. I might be making assumptions and coming up with the wrong answer, however, the point stands, as I sniped that auction and won.

No, that wasn't the auction I posted straight after the auction ended, more or less.

Everybody has their own opinion I guess, and I stand by mine, which is sniping is a dogs act.

If you're in the market let your intentions be known. Don't come in at 2 seconds before it ends and win the bits for 50 cents more, when others have been bidding fairly and squarely all the way through the auction.

I was really annoyed when this happened. Things like this don't usually bother me, but I really wanted those bits.

[loaded 4]

Woof!

[WillyChang 1814]

haha... i think the ULTIMATE snipe is when you Win it at < 10s AND for less than 1 std increment amt over the loser's max bid

its all a game fellas

"woof"... talking of which... recently scored a Dogfighter, been looking for one of those for a while.

Thought there would be lotsa last-minute competition from the usual suspects but ended up none!

wasted snipe

[Taman 3]

I hate being sniped but then when I think about it, obviously someone was willing to pay more, its also interesting of how may more of those items I seem to notice for auction further down the road If your patient another one comes along.

[ChrisB 0]

I guess I fall into the camp that doesn't really care about snipers that much. Bottom line is the person willing to bid the highest wins - whether that bid goes in 5 days or 5seconds before the auction ends it will win... thats why its called an auction folks

The only advantage sniping gives is reducing the chance that the item will be bid up too soon. With ebay I find I don't trust myself to watch auctions through to the end and not pay over the odds - people do it all the time. I sold a used welding helmet last week that someone paid virtually new price for - crazy!

The key to not paying over the odds on ebay is knowing what similar items have gone for recently - do your research and decide on the maximum you want to pay and stick to it.

This site is good for historical prices:

http://www.get4it.co.uk/

Ebay is so huge, that unless you are after something exceedingly rare, another one will always come along if you miss the current auction.

[Lonestar 1]

Hi there - sniping is the only way to go... it keeps the final prices lower on average. Do it too and you'll soon figure out that overall it's better for everyone... and if one loses an auction to a sniper and complains about it, it means that person should have bidded higher in the first place, the only person left to blame is oneself.

Paul

[TWINSET 1793]

I think there are a lot of contributory factors which lead to sniping (yep, me too) but the main one is 'bid your maximum' - and people who don't

I think eBay's proxy bidding is partly to blame; If they didn't operate this system you'd know where you stood all the way through the auction - If someone's prepared to pay 500 for something, it should be shown. After all, why should the seller only receive the proxy bid amount (last bid, plus increment) if someone is willing to pay more?

As it is, most 'bidders' I know place little bids and get outbid, then place another and so on.

None of them ever place their maximum bid.

That's ok, but sniping doesn't leave them time to react to the final outbid.

I believe it's 'little and often' bidders that are most upset by snipers, for the rest of us it's just a case of not bidding high enough.

It's probably been said thousands of times already, but the highest bid wins, not the one placed last!

If you bid the highest amount you are ever going to pay ever, then no amount of sniping, entering the market early or any other buying tactics are ever going to win that item if someone is prepared to pay 10% more than you were.

I do agree with the premise of extending the auction past the last bid though, say a couple of minutes on each bid - from a seller's point of view (and eBay's) the extra few bids at the end would make a lot of difference and create a 'real' auction

[Lonestar 1]

I do agree with the premise of extending the auction past the last bid though, say a couple of minutes on each bid - from a seller's point of view (and eBay's) the extra few bids at the end would make a lot of difference and create a 'real' auction

I would actually push the model even a bit further, like the "real-world" auctions... if no activity for a certain time after a bid (say, 24hrs), then close the auction and sell to the last guy...

Paul

[ryanbored 3]

How can you possibly get upset by someone who is willing to pay more for something than you are?!! You must get upset alot in life.... (not aimed at anyone in particular)

If you are annoyed at the way they do it (sniping) then it's not illegal, so deal with it, or join in. I've kicked myself many times for not buying stuff, but it's part of the game. If everything came easily then it wouldn't be that rewarding, would it?

Putting in a high bid at the beginning [suggested by alot of people here] is just stupid. I'm not made of money, so chasing 'the green tick' (winning bidder sign!) would become expensive. It is not human nature to disclose your intentions, for feel of not getting the best deal available.

My views on e-bay are well published, so I will not mount the soap box again, but it is a nessasary evil, and a tool to be used to your advantage.

[loaded 4]

It occurs to me that perhaps on this well policed family website, we shouldn't be using the word 'Tard'

Paul.

[wingate 0]

Which sniper programs are good?

[Corpse Thrower 16]

Got me again!!

I HATE SNIPERS!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...em=370472668320

I'll be watching the showrooms....prepare to be flamed if it appears in here

[BeetleLover 4]

If you can't beat them join them! If you can't wait or be at the right place to watch the close of the auction and place your maximum you don't need the item badly enough! I agree with pointless early bidding that promotes the price climbing. I don't think I need to show anyone my intentions, someone will outbid me regardless.

[terry.sc 16]

Still the same question to ask yourself.

Did you bid the maximum you were prepared to pay for it?

If you did, then someone was prepared to pay more than you and they would have still won if they had bid at the start of the auction, sniping has nothing to do with it. If you had sniped as well you would have still lost the auction.

\If you were prepared to bid more, then you of all people should know how proxy bidding works and I doubt very much they only bid $31, remember they have no idea how big your bid was and to be successful at sniping you have to be prepared to bid big so expect their bid to be much higher. I know if I was determined to win that auction with the current high bid being $22.50 I would look at bidding $35-40 as I wouldn't have a second chance to up my bid. Only ebay newbies who don't understand the ebay bidding system should be unhappy that they lost out "by $1" when in reality they were way off the actual winning bid.

You should only feel aggrieved if you were prepared to pay much more than the final price, which once again begs the question why didn't you bid what you were prepared to pay.

[Robee 0]

Got me again!!

I HATE SNIPERS!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...em=370472668320

I'll be watching the showrooms....prepare to be flamed if it appears in here

I wait until 3 min ...then I overbid on the highest bid which is my maximum bid. That is how I have won my last 20 or so Ebay auctions. Try it......IT WORKS!!!!!!

You think you feel bad? I just let a set of Parma shocks for my Hornet go cause I nodded off! I had it it my hands.....2 min to go.....and ARRRGGHHHHH!!!!!!!

That is one I let get away if I don't find another set which are quite rare. Anybody knows where I can get some?

[TWINSET 1793]

I wait until 3 min ...then I overbid on the highest bid which is my maximum bid. That is how I have won my last 20 or so Ebay auctions. Try it......IT WORKS!!!!!!

That is no more effective than placing the same bid at the start of the auction. 3 minutes gives snipers and 'refreshers' ample time to react.

Snipers win auctions for two reasons;

1. People don't bid their maximum, so snipers tactics are effective because they don't leave people time to react. If, as Terry has said (and a million other people) you bid the very most you are ever prepared to pay for an item, then a sniper can only win if he is prepared to pay more - either way he wins BECAUSE HE IS PREPARED TO PAY MORE
   
2. They are prepared to pay more than you, or at least more than you are prepared to pay
   

If people got out of the 'small bids' mentallity and just bid the most they could afford to spend on the item then, whether it's a sniper or not, they'll either win or lose - but they will only lose if the sniper is prepared to pay more [/endless repetition]

Question to Corpse Thrower - What's the most you'd ever pay for that radio?

If it's $30 then you lost because the other guy was prepared to pay more

If it's more than $30 then you've only yourself to blame

[TA-Mark 195]

The biggest confusing factor here is thinking that ebay is an auction. It's not! It's merely a timed sale. Entering how much you are prepared to spend on the item 30sec or less than the end time is just how you buy in a timed sale. The proxy bidding system ebay has working will automatically bid one increment above the next highest offer, no matter how high you bid. Sniping is what people who haven't worked this out yet call those that have.

An auction does not stop until the bidders are not prepared to put on any more bids. Then the auction ends and the highest spender gets the item. There is no time limit.

[Gruntfuggly 562]

I can see it from both sides - the problem is that you can tell yourself that the most you're prepared to pay for something is £50, for example, but then if you lose by £1, you can't help thinking that you would have actually paid £51...

Until eBay change auctions into proper auctions which are extended everytime somebody makes a bid the only thing you can do is join the snipers, and snipe with your highest bid.

[TWINSET 1793]

Until eBay change auctions into proper auctions which are extended every time somebody makes a bid the only thing you can do is join the snipers, and snipe with your highest bid.

No, it's not - as you said, you might be prepared to pay £51 instead of £50, so that's where 'how much is it REALLY worth to you' comes in - would you pay £55? £60?

Your highest bid is your highest bid, regardless of when it's placed.

If eBay stopped the proxy bidding so people's maximum was visible, then it'd mean that not only does everyone know what the selling price is, but the seller gets what someone's actually prepared to pay and eBay then get more fees.

For once eBay are actually doing everyone a favour by using proxy bidding and keeping the fees down

You're always only going to lose by a couple of £/$ because of the bid increments

[Gruntfuggly 562]

They don't need to stop the proxy bidding - just stop the fixed finishing time. It would just mean there's no advantage to bidding at the last possible moment. I know it's weak, but my highest bid isn't really my highest bid - it's my highest bid when I'm thinking rationally. Once I'm in the dying seconds, my highest bid becomes a bit more flexible. If the time pressure was removed I'd be able to come to terms with my new highest bid... if you see what I mean...

[TWINSET 1793]

my highest bid isn't really my highest bid - it's my highest bid when I'm thinking rationally

Rational thinking is good (just rare )

The fixed end time is good though, as it allows sellers to get themselves organised as far as shipping stuff out goes - I prefer not to have to queue in a post office on a Saturday, so get all my auctions (except for the BINs) to end on a Monday or Tuesday - I'd prefer set end times and no proxy bidding meself, that way if I'm selling and someone offers a good opening bid, I can end the sale there and then, rather than let it drag on.

[BeetleLover 4]

In New Zealand the Auction site has a finish time but will auto extend beyond this for 2 minutes each time the winning bid is placed. Also you have 2 options for your bidding either you place your maximum bid and then that becomes visible as the bid to beat or you can select Autobid with your maximum and it will go up in $1 increments, if someone beats you it will bid on your behalf to your maximum. Twinset when you mention auctions dragging on that it will stuff up your shipping dates I have never known an auction to extend more than maybe 45 minutes. Stats for Ebay might be a little different due to the larger audience but auctions generally finishing on the weekend have a much higher number of views. I much prefer the NZ auction system to Ebay and the listing prices are much much cheaper

James