EBay Snipers

[Wooders28]

17 hours ago, Nobbi1977 said:

I always use the software so I do not forget to bid

I run on the, if I forget about it, then I didn't really want it anyway.

(Then cry, when a ,fat finger listed , Vintage Cat XLS goes for under £30.....😳😭) 

[Willy iine]

I just punch in my highest bid and let it run automatically.   If I win, great.  If I don't win, it wasn't meant to be.

What bothers me more are sellers that apparently change their mind to sell after the auction.  I've had sellers give me a tracking number, but they never drop it off at the carrier and never reply to my messages inquiring about updates on shipping after that.  I obviously don't receive my purchase.  eBay refunded me my money, but what kind of idiot does that.  

[87lc2]

6 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

What bothers me more are sellers that apparently change their mind to sell after the auction.  I've had sellers give me a tracking number, but they never drop it off at the carrier and never reply to my messages inquiring about updates on shipping after that.  I obviously don't receive my purchase.  eBay refunded me my money, but what kind of idiot does that.  

That's crazy.  I sell a decent amount on Ebay and I wouldn't be able to sleep if there was an issue with something I sent, let alone not sending it at all...

[Problemchild]

I look at a few things to see how to bid 

has it had any bids

how long left 

If it’s got bids, how many bidders and what’s the bidding pattern look like 

 

then I’ll decide if I just hang on till the last min or set up a snipe 

 

if you miss out because you would have paid more then that’s your own issue 

but I fully understand sometimes you are just looking for a bargain and you missed out by 50p sucks!!!

you can get some great deals by sniping because other sellers think they will just up their bid at the last second 

 

JJ

 

[jonboy1]

On 10/26/2021 at 4:03 AM, yogi-bear said:

3. it tends to keep prices down. So the highest bidder will always win, but if there are more bidders on an item, and other bidders know this, I have noticed that the bids tend to go higher, its like people get carried away and have to have the item at any cost. So if I leave any bids until the last moment, there is less of chance to drive bids up. Best was to leave bids at the last moment is to program it. Sure some people might think it's sneaky, I think its just smart and its completely within the rules. If Ebay didn't like it, the could just extend the auction if say a bid comes in, in the last minute for example. That would kill the sniper industry overnight and I am surprised they don't do this. This is roughly how normal , traditional auctions work anyway.

I snipe (the old fashioned way by waiting until the last 20 seconds to bid - used to be really tense back in the days when we had dial up connection and you weren't sure if the command would process in time!) and agree fully with having observed some people continue to push up and up just seemingly because the red mist comes down and they have to win it no matter what.

On 10/25/2021 at 11:52 PM, JeffSpicoli said:

FeeBay has made the platform for the buyers, and not for the sellers.

Sellers get screwed all the time on shipping, last minute bidders, sniping tools, I'm not a fan of it anymore.

It was great when it first started because you had to sit there at the last minute and compete to win.  

And leaving negative feedback about a deadbeat bidder is almost frowned upon by FeeBay.   

They've tilted the decks.  And it's another tech monopoly.   

Agree with this too - I had a guy make me a silly low offer for something, i countered, he declined. A couple of days later he offered what I countered with, so I accepted. Then nothing. 2 days later I get a message from him saying "sorry, will have to cancel this purchase."  So I think "fine, you want to mess me about I'll raise a dispute or at least give you bad feedback....." Nope - ebay won't let you! What's up with that? It clearly states when you hit "buy" that "this confirms you will buy this item and creates a contract between you and the seller" or something like that, but evidently it can be undone just by saying "nah, changed my mind" and there's nothing you can do to incentivise people not to do that!

If I didn't strongly detest facebook I'd go on marketplace

[Problemchild]

11 hours ago, Willy iine said:

I just punch in my highest bid and let it run automatically.   If I win, great.  If I don't win, it wasn't meant to be.

What bothers me more are sellers that apparently change their mind to sell after the auction.  I've had sellers give me a tracking number, but they never drop it off at the carrier and never reply to my messages inquiring about updates on shipping after that.  I obviously don't receive my purchase.  eBay refunded me my money, but what kind of idiot does that.  

That’s more scammer selling not seller regret - seen that before 

it’s a fake tracking number or they say they have multiple of the same thing, and sell it 5 times but only post the 1 

they can then show they posted it 

JJ

[Shodog]

Bottom line is the one who spends the most wins it.  If I can't be there to bid I use auctionsniper.com

[Dakratfink]

Taking this a bit off topic. But I’ve recently found a local cancer center has a charity listing online with several new in box Redcat RTRs on Buy it Now auctions 

 so i can buy a new crawler or basher and say 

“I did it for charity “ 

[Willy iine]

53 minutes ago, Dakratfink said:

Taking this a bit off topic. But I’ve recently found a local cancer center has a charity listing online with several new in box Redcat RTRs on Buy it Now auctions 

 so i can buy a new crawler or basher and say 

“I did it for charity “ 

Your wife will buy that?  

[Dakratfink]

10 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

Your wife will buy that?  

Actually , i showed her one listing and explained a 4wd , brushed , SCT is the type of driving man and handling she usually enjoys .

“I would support that is you did “ Do I have

to re fit a pink body on it though, since it’s for breast cancer ? 

[NWarty]

About 10 years ago, I bid on a vintage toy that was my favorite thing ever from childhood (besides my Wild One ) . It was called "Snoopy's Dream Machine", new in box and never assembled. They didn't come up but maybe once a year or so, so I was very excited.

I set my bid according to what I was wanting to spend very early in the auction. So for six days, I'm on pins and needles. Next thing I know, I'm outbid, with about five minutes to go in the auction. I get stupid, because I'm having impulse fever because I wanted this toy so bad. So I keep raising my bid past what they've historically sold for. Sniped again. Raise my bid again, sniped again. Two minutes to go, sniped AGAIN. I go back and forth because suddenly I know I'm dealing with a bid bot. So I make a large incremental bid, sniper bot counters. 30 seconds to go and it's still back and forth.

At this point, I know I'm going to lose and I'm so mad I'm seeing red. So I take a calculated risk and make two more huge incremental bids. Now we've eclipsed $175, more than 2.5 times the "market value". It moves past $200 now. And finally I lose the auction to a bot that has overpaid nearly 300% at nearly $220.

I was so upset to lose the auction. But took solace in making that person pay a ridiculous, grossly inflated price for that toy.

Four years later, I won one, brand new-in-box, for $70 shipped.

[rich_f]

On 10/28/2021 at 7:30 PM, NWarty said:

I set my bid according to what I was wanting to spend very early in the auction. So for six days, I'm on pins and needles. Next thing I know, I'm outbid, with about five minutes to go in the auction. I get stupid, because I'm having impulse fever because I wanted this toy so bad. So I keep raising my bid past what they've historically sold for. Sniped again. Raise my bid again, sniped again. Two minutes to go, sniped AGAIN. I go back and forth because suddenly I know I'm dealing with a bid bot. So I make a large incremental bid, sniper bot counters. 30 seconds to go and it's still back and forth.

At this point, I know I'm going to lose and I'm so mad I'm seeing red. So I take a calculated risk and make two more huge incremental bids. Now we've eclipsed $175, more than 2.5 times the "market value". It moves past $200 now. And finally I lose the auction to a bot that has overpaid nearly 300% at nearly $220.

A few things. Firstly, if this really was a bot whose aim was to snipe auctions from other bidders, it was an impressively poorly programmed one. It would have been far more effective for it to place its bid just before the auction ends, so that human bidders don't get the opportunity to see red and outbid them, as you did - several times apparently. 

Secondly, what if your calculated overbid was more than the 'bot' was programmed to pay? Then you'd have paid the inflated price and you'd have nobody to blame but yourself. 

Whatever your bidding opponent was doing, it wasn't sniping - the whole point behind sniping is to leave it so late that other bidders don't have a chance to get lost in the moment and go beyond their previously determined maximum, and this is exactly why I and many others do it.

When done properly (i.e., in the last couple of seconds) it keeps auction prices lower - which means it's better for the buyer (but not for the sellers - as a seller you want as many bids as possible, and you want people to get into bidding wars so the price goes sky high - sniping, when done properly, prevents this, so it's the buyer's friend, sure enough, but not the seller's...)

[InsaneJim69]

I would say NWarty, the seller either had a 2nd account or had a friend outbid you each time and they just got greedy imo. 👍 Was common years ago on eBay. Not so much these days thankfully.

James.

[JeffSpicoli]

I just made a $50 sale on eBay, eBay took 12% of the value.

Talk about getting screwed without a kiss good night.

[alvinlwh]

15 hours ago, JeffSpicoli said:

I just made a $50 sale on eBay, eBay took 12% of the value.

Talk about getting screwed without a kiss good night.

This is the whole problem with ebay. 

[87lc2]

The fees are crazy, but you also get a lot more money and a much wider audience.  I typically list things on Marketplace or Craigslist for a few weeks and if no bites I'll throw it on Ebay and it's gone within a few days.  The fees are nuts, but sometimes it's worth it.  

[nowinaminute]

I only ever list when they have offers on. 80% off the fee or £1 max fee. Cheap as chips. I can charge significantly more than on FB because I know way more people will see it, more than enough to cover £1 or 20% of the standard fee.