just got sniped on ebay

[greasemonkey44]

3 different buyers within the last 30 seconds, damn them and thier oily hides
does it drive anyone else friggin bonkers? anyone else had this happen to them? first time in years ive gotten sniped

 

[ptab01]

- I would if I have had not sniped someone the other day

but i feel ur pain - i spend three days chasing one thing and got blasted in the final minutes myself

 

[BBQ&Love]

Use a sniping service and put in your maximum bid!

 

[Coolabah]

3 different buyers within the last 30 seconds, damn them and thier oily hides
does it drive anyone else friggin bonkers? anyone else had this happen to them? first time in years ive gotten sniped

Its disappointing when you miss out on something .But I often find , if I bid early, the selling price seems way higher and I am more likely to miss out on the item. Seems to me, ebay is a battlefield- all's fair as far as bidding , I tend to bid as late as I can and if I am at my computer at the end of the auction, possibly I am sniping someone (but I've never looked into the sniping software so far). Maybe you could look at it this way- they might have been checking the item all week just like you, but chose to bid at a different time than you ?? Just different tactics maybe.

 

[toolnut]

I always put my maximum bid in and if the snipers want to beat themselves up over it after that then they are more desperate for the item then I am.

 

[ARAMP1]

I've sniped the $h!t out of people. Heck, that's half the fun. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't though.

 

[Danglerb]

I'm too lazy to snipe anymore, I just bid in the last few minutes.

The reason sniping works is that most people don't realize they are willing to bid higher until they are losing.

The trouble with bidding your max at the start, is that very often you will end up paying close to that max bid when a snipe might have won the auction for a LOT less.

 

[MrMark]

I'm too lazy to snipe anymore, I just bid in the last few minutes.

The reason sniping works is that most people don't realize they are willing to bid higher until they are losing.

The trouble with bidding your max at the start, is that very often you will end up paying close to that max bid when a snipe might have won the auction for a LOT less.

Interesting . . . I think it has some truth in it too!

 

[treasureseeker]

I often don’ bid an item that has a starting bid when that amount is close to my max bid. I just bid by price most of the time as with EBay there is always another one coming. You can’t get beat by a sniper if you bid your max which is all they are doing. I don’t bid early as I don’t like to tie up the funds. I may find a better deal.

 

[wornoutoldman]

What did you lose out on?

 

[warmpancakes]

sniping has nothing to do with it they were willing to pay more than you, simple you didnt bid high enough

 

[Kirbot]

sniping has nothing to do with it they were willing to pay more than you, simple you didnt bid high enough

x2

If people would just place their maximum bid, it wouldn't matter if their were snipe bidder's anyway.
If your willing to pay more for an item, you will win.
If they are willing to pay more for an item, they will win.

What is so freakin hard about that?

 

[MartyO]

Why not just snipe yourself and call it a day?

Using sniping software is simple and effective.

If I am not doing a BIN, snipining is the only way I will bid.

 

[W650Mike]

Place your bid and go to bed. You'll either win or someone else is willing to pay more.

 

[scott37300]

There are 2 kinds of bidders on ebay, those that enter in highest amount they are willing to pay and let it ride and those that wait till the last minute to enter their highest bid.

If you enter in your highest bid on the first day it just drives the price up. People come along during the auction and put there highest bid in and the price keeps going up and up. Usually when people do this the seller benefits because the price usually will end higher because it's a bidding war and once people realise they ahve been out bid a lot of the time they will enter a higher bid. Some just want the item and some do it just because they don't want to be beat! But in the end the item usually sells for a higher amount if a few people enter in maximum bids right at the begining.

Now if most people wait right till the end to enter their bid you usually only get one bid to enter, depending on how close to the end you enter your bid. So if you enter **.** dollars and some one else enters **.**=1 dollar you lose because there is not enough time to enter another bid. Usually if no one bids till the very end the prices will be lower, usually.

When I bid I wait till the last minute. No reason bidding in the begining and just watching the price rise. Only the last minute matters in an ebay auction anyway. If you don't really care if you win or not then just enter in your highest bid and forget about it. But if you want the item bad enough and want a good deal on it the best thing to do is to add it to your watched list and wait till the last minute to bid. Open up two windows and keep one on the auction and the other one with your max bid typed in and ready to hit the confirm button. With a few seconds left, depending on your connection speed hit confirm. This will get you the best price because it doesn't give others a chance to enter a higher bid. If you do this with 2 minutes left and there are others bidding on this item and they get outbid it gives them plenty of time to think if they want to spend another 10 bucks on the item or not and enter a higher bid.

Those have been my experiences and I have won my share of great deals on ebay. Also you have to be willing to lose and look for another item to come along. There were times that I paid more than I wanted to because I got excited thinking I was going to get an item and bid more than what I really wanted to, it's easy to get caught up in the bidding war if you are competative!

 

[tdab]

3 different buyers within the last 30 seconds, damn them and thier oily hides
does it drive anyone else friggin bonkers? anyone else had this happen to them? first time in years ive gotten sniped

Step up next time and throw your max out there....You can't expect that you are going to pay 10 cents on the dollar everytime!

 

[larry_g]

You may have lost this time but have you experienced the winning over a group of snipers that underbid your days old bid by a few cents?

lg
no neat sig line

 

[csmitty]

Hmm, what was it? Don't think i've sniped in the past day or two. Tried on some SO universals since I can't justify 30-40$ off the truck. I haven't gotten the last two I tried with sniping. Still were 1/2 off though. Oh well. If you really REALLY want something. Like the FSLF936 I got, you gotta go alittle higher than normal.

 

[kc-steve]

I know it's hard to get past the psychological aspects of eBay's auctions but I found the best cure is to go to a live estate auction with a 100 or more bidders.

I was instantly cured when I watched people bid up a set of used Pittsburgh wrenches to $22 and a Harbor Freight store was less than a mile away.

Steve

 

[greasemonkey44]

What did you lose out on?

dual 80 1/4 " ratchet,
should have put in my max bid like yall said, i went 15 over the established max should have done 20 over
Consolation prize was a f936 industrial. Same seller just started the bid at 20 and no one else bit

 

[Skyline]

dual 80 1/4 " ratchet,
should have put in my max bid like yall said, i went 15 over the established max should have done 20 over
Consolation prize was a f936 industrial. Same seller just started the bid at 20 and no one else bit

Funny that they call it a Dual 80...yet the 1/4" drive model only has 72 teeth.

 

[Boiler]

Yes sniping is evil stop doing it

 

[canuckian]

Unless a buyer is just setting their max bid and leaving it, I don't understand why someone would bid early in an auction as it just drives the price up - great for the seller but often just inflates the price. I'm an avid sniper. I don't use sniping software as, as silly as it may seem, i like the "rush" of seeing the last few seconds of the auction.

sorry you lost your auction. Funny thing about those dual 80 1/4 ratchets. I rarely see them go for anything less than 75% of retail.

 

[kc-steve]

. . . sorry you lost your auction. Funny thing about those dual 80 1/4 ratchets. I rarely see them go for anything less than 75% of retail.

I could be wrong but I think most brands of 1/4" drive ratchets are relatively high compared to retail pricing. I can only guess why but maybe it is the electronics sector that demands them.

Steve

 

[gsport]

ok..... i've never bid on ebay, i've looked it over alot, just never bid on anything. so, what exactly is this "sniping" you guys are talking about??

 

[MartyO]

ok..... i've never bid on ebay, i've looked it over alot, just never bid on anything. so, what exactly is this "sniping" you guys are talking about??

Clif Notes version of sniping:

I use a proxy service (www.ezsniper.com) to handle my bidding for me.

I tell it I want to bid no more than $100 (or whatever) for item number 123456. The proxy service enters my bid at the last second (usually four econds before auction end).

The use of this approach keeps folks from running my bid up and at the same time let's me bid teh highest amount I would have bid anyway.

There are some auction sites, such as www.gunbroker.com, that do not allow sniping and extend an auction for 15 minutes past the last bid made. I predict that eBay will try do this at some point in time.

The bottom line is that sniping is good for the winning bidder and bad for sellers who hope for bidding wars.

 

[gsport]

Clif Notes version of sniping:

I use a proxy service (www.ezsniper.com) to handle my bidding for me.

I tell it I want to bid no more than $100 (or whatever) for item number 123456. The proxy service enters my bid at the last second (usually four econds before auction end).

The use of this approach keeps folks from running my bid up and at the same time let's me bid teh highest amount I would have bid anyway.

There are some auction sites, such as www.gunbroker.com, that do not allow sniping and extend an auction for 15 minutes past the last bid made. I predict that eBay will try do this at some point in time.

The bottom line is that sniping is good for the winning bidder and bad for sellers who hope for bidding wars.

does this proxy bid just put in your max. bid?? or does it keep bidding up to that amount for you??

 

[MartyO]

does this proxy bid just put in your max. bid?? or does it keep bidding up to that amount for you??

Your max bid BUT the way eBay is designed, you are only committed to the bid amount that is necessary to win the item (up to your maximum bid, of course).

Frankly, other than a Buy it Now sale (which really isn't bidding), I would not bid on eBay without sniping. Plain and simple, you handicap yourself if you don't snipe.

 

[kc-steve]

Your max bid BUT the way eBay is designed, you are only committed to the bid amount that is necessary to win the item (up to your maximum bid, of course).

Frankly, other than a Buy it Now sale (which really isn't bidding), I would not bid on eBay without sniping. Plain and simple, you handicap yourself if you don't snipe.

Do it THAT way, or else take the "cure" . . . .

I know it's hard to get past the psychological aspects of eBay's auctions but I found the best cure is to go to a live estate auction with a 100 or more bidders.

I was instantly cured when I watched people bid up a set of used Pittsburgh wrenches to $22 and a Harbor Freight store was less than a mile away.

Steve

 

[mrb]

im suprised ebay hasnt changed to eliminate sniping. other commercial auction services extend their auctions by 5 min if there is a bid in the last minute or two. (not that i like this)

 

[MartyO]

Do it THAT way, or else take the "cure" . . . .

Steve, I love live auctions for all sorts of stuff.

Next week I am going to one and even the better half is coming with me! Wait, that may not be such a good thing!!! LOL!!

 

[thrifty bill]

I've sniped the $h!t out of people. Heck, that's half the fun. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't though.

+1 Bidding early is a suckers game. To do well on ebay, you have to understand how it works. Bidding early just reveals your interest, and newbies will increase their bid when they see competition. Kind of silly, but that's what happens. So I will not reveal my interest until it is too late for my competition (other bidders) to react.

I typically win a couple of snipe auctions a month, and lose probably two to three times that amount, if not more. That is OK with me, as I always snipe the maximum the item is worth to me. And I always bid towards the low end of recent history. If it is worth more to someone else, great, they can have it.

Why would ebay eliminate snipe bidding? They get a percentage of the final sales price, and my snipe bid will either push up the price and someone else wins, or pushes up the price and I win. Either way, ebay makes out just fine.

 

[fflintstone]

I recently started looking at eBay to replace some of the vintage stuff I lost in the fire, and just to see what I can get. I have yet to buy anything as the stuff always goes for higher than I am willing to pay. I thought I was going to snipe a something last night but at 37 seconds somebody bumped it 5 bucks. Quite often I can buy the stuff at an overpriced used tool place for half what it goes for on eBay.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

The trouble with bidding your max at the start, is that very often you will end up paying close to that max bid when a snipe might have won the auction for a LOT less.

This has been my experience also. If I bid early, someone drive my bid to the top and quits (shill bid?) and if I wait and snipe, I usually get the item for a reasonable price.

Charles

 

[BJ42LX]

There are 2 kinds of bidders on ebay...

Snort. I thought you were going to say "winners and losers."

 

[wafrederick]

I put the highest bid on an item and it works.Other bidders lose out.I lost out on one so far and I put my highest bid on it,was a 1930s Snap On catalog.

 

[Danglerb]

The other half of bidding early is that when a seller only sees one bidder they may ask a "friend" to make a few bids to bump up the price, with a dozen ways to never complete the sale if they win, and then later just relist with the first bid at your old max bid.

 

[MartyO]

The other half of bidding early is that when a seller only sees one bidder they may ask a "friend" to make a few bids to bump up the price, with a dozen ways to never complete the sale if they win, and then later just relist with the first bid at your old max bid.

Yep.

 

[cglasgow]

Your max bid BUT the way eBay is designed, you are only committed to the bid amount that is necessary to win the item (up to your maximum bid, of course).

Yep -- it's important to keep in mind that the second-highest bid determines the closing price.

 

[ajchien]

I just got sniped a minute ago. Life goes on. I guess I saved $20.