Sniping might have paid off here...

jamnut · Oct 1, 2005

Here's an example of why bidding early and often can be trouble:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7549452293&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

Tom Hoskinson · Oct 1, 2005

Hey! as a seller, that's what I like to see! Auction fever! (Let's see if there are a couple of snipes at the end).

ann · Oct 1, 2005

so, what am i missing here?

Andy K · Oct 1, 2005

Check out the bids on an auction I sniped (and won) last week. I'd like to know what Ada268 thought they were playing at.

http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=7548952424

ann · Oct 1, 2005

perhaps they didn't understand the system, it does happen

Andy K · Oct 1, 2005

That is possible, but with 223 feedback points they should know the system by now! Lol!

Dave Parker · Oct 1, 2005

I have never heard of a relected light meter, am I missing something?

Andy K · Oct 1, 2005

Lol, there's no f in relected light meter...

Dave Parker · Oct 1, 2005

Oh okay, sounded like a recycled politician!!!

Charles Webb · Oct 1, 2005

Snipeing is a disgusting practice, and in my mind not something to brag about
the entire ebay auction has become a "sniping" game and one I am proud to say I don't do. The system was set up to be fair, but then again nothing in this world is fair, so the "last second machine snipes"pretty much have ruined ebay. Sorry, but I wont stupe that low to save a nickle! again, my opinion!
Charles LTFB,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tom Hoskinson · Oct 1, 2005

Hey, eBay set it up that way - not to save anybody money - just the opposite! More fee money for eBay and a higher profit for the seller.

Ebay knows there are a lot of compulsive bidders in auctions and the eBay proxy bidding system, coupled with the fact that eBay auctions "time out" takes full advantage of this knowledge.

Dan Fromm · Oct 1, 2005

Andy K said:
Check out the bids on an auction I sniped (and won) last week. I'd like to know what Ada268 thought they were playing at.

http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=7548952424

Seems to me that ada268 probed for a bit, beat the next highest bidder at the time by a tiny bit, and then hoped for the best. Not rare behavior, but yes, I don't see the point of it either.

Dan Fromm · Oct 1, 2005

Charles Webb said:
Snipeing is a disgusting practice, and in my mind not something to brag about
the entire ebay auction has become a "sniping" game and one I am proud to say I don't do. The system was set up to be fair, but then again nothing in this world is fair, so the "last second machine snipes"pretty much have ruined ebay. Sorry, but I wont stupe that low to save a nickle! again, my opinion!
Charles LTFB,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Charles, in the end you'll win if you're the high bidder and won't if you aren't. End of discussion. What's unfair about that?

If you'd have bid more than you did, you cheated yourself.

And the word is "stoop", not "stupe," which I believe is a slangy way of referring to someone stupid. English orthography is a killer, gets even well-trained native speakers.

magic823 · Oct 1, 2005

Charles Webb said:
Snipeing is a disgusting practice, and in my mind not something to brag about
the entire ebay auction has become a "sniping" game and one I am proud to say I don't do. The system was set up to be fair, but then again nothing in this world is fair, so the "last second machine snipes"pretty much have ruined ebay. Sorry, but I wont stupe that low to save a nickle! again, my opinion!
Charles LTFB,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sorry, but "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Sniping is part of the game. The highest bid wins whether it was placed in the first second or the last second. If you want to win, outbid. Sniping just keeps the bid low till the end.

Andy K · Oct 2, 2005

Charles Webb said:
Snipeing is a disgusting practice, and in my mind not something to brag about
the entire ebay auction has become a "sniping" game and one I am proud to say I don't do. The system was set up to be fair, but then again nothing in this world is fair, so the "last second machine snipes"pretty much have ruined ebay. Sorry, but I wont stupe that low to save a nickle! again, my opinion!
Charles LTFB,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I don't use 'machine snipes'. I watch the auction, using my page refresh button every minute or so, then bid my maximum amount with 20 or 30 seconds to go. What's unethical about that? If I had bid early the price would most likely have gone higher than it did, and I would not have won the auction.

srs5694 · Oct 2, 2005

ann said:
perhaps they didn't understand the system, it does happen

Andy K said:
That is possible, but with 223 feedback points they should know the system by now! Lol!

Putting on my cynical cap, I'll say that some people are slow learners. I'm actually serious about this, too; I wouldn't be surprised if this person has just never figured out a better way to bid. Of course, other explanations are possible, too.

srs5694 · Oct 2, 2005

Charles Webb said:
Snipeing is a disgusting practice, and in my mind not something to brag about

There was a recent (there was a url link here which no longer exists) on this topic in which it was hashed to death. I can't resist also tossing in another reference to this page on sniping, which provides an opinion on sniping that closely mirrors my own.

Gay Larson · Oct 2, 2005

I am such a novice, I have never heard of sniping and it shows. I rarely win because I play by the rules. Oh well, I usually put in what I would be willing to pay and take it or lose it. I am not usually as desperate for an item as someone who needs to use sniping to win would be. Maybe I have stumbled on to the real reason "to win".

Tom Hoskinson · Oct 2, 2005

The winner is the person who posts the highest bid before the auction closes - it is as simple as that.

eBay's proxy bidding system is designed to generate the maximum profit for eBay - not for the purpose of helping out the buyer! It takes advantage of impulse bidding and compulsive bidding. It also fosters competitive bidding.

If you really want an item, either "Buy It Now" or bid the maximum amount you are willing to pay (make a single bid) in the last 3 seconds of the auction.

Paul Sorensen · Oct 2, 2005

Gay Larson said:
I am such a novice, I have never heard of sniping and it shows. I rarely win because I play by the rules. Oh well, I usually put in what I would be willing to pay and take it or lose it. I am not usually as desperate for an item as someone who needs to use sniping to win would be. Maybe I have stumbled on to the real reason "to win".

Gay,

It really isn't about playing by the rules, because the rules state that the auction ends at the listed time, not 30 seconds before the listed time. If I come along and am willing to pay more, then I will outbid you whether I bid with a day left or 10 seconds. What I gain by sniping, and I do snipe, is that I keep my intentions and interest private. That means that folks who are beginners, who often have a habit of just bidding until they are in front and then stopping, will not have me as a target. I don't win a high percentage of auctions either, because I am looking for a really good deal usually and I am usually bid by someone else who is willing to pay more. Actually, usually I end up not even bidding because my target is passed before I have a chance to snipe.

I understand that it just feels wrong, but once you think about it you realize that you were either willing to go higher and weren't being honest with yourself or that the competetive juices got stirred up and you don't like "losing."

Paul.

reellis67 · Oct 2, 2005

Gay Larson said:
I am such a novice, I have never heard of sniping and it shows. I rarely win because I play by the rules. Oh well, I usually put in what I would be willing to pay and take it or lose it. I am not usually as desperate for an item as someone who needs to use sniping to win would be. Maybe I have stumbled on to the real reason "to win".

I am not a novice, and I don't snipe either. Like you, I bid the most I am willing to pay and if someone wants to outbid me, it's theirs. A few times I have gotten an offer from the seller because someone sniped the auction and then refused to pay, but only a few times.

I don't consider sniping wrong, just more like poor manners. But, it's part of the system and everyone is free to choose the way they bid. If eBay worked like a real auction, it wouldn't matter when you bid, only that you did bid. The way I see it is if someone was going to pay more than me, it doesn't really matter when they do it, they still win the auction.

- Randy

Dave Parker · Oct 2, 2005

I don't quite understand, why people get upset over the so called "snipping" of an auction, the format is set up that you can place a bid at anytime that the auction is running, that means from the time it starts to the last second it is available, often times, I will watch an auction and see how it is going, then manually place a bid at the last few seconds, I win some, I loose some, and I don't get upset, if your worried about it, just place the bid your comfortable with, however even if your high bidder right up until the time it ends, you still never owned it, you just made a offer on the item, if someone beats you out at the end, then they made a higher offer and by virtue of the auction style(which by the way is a real auction style) that is the offer the seller has agreed to accept..it is very simular to a sealed auction bid, no one knows who wins until the bids are opened, in the ebay style, no one knows who wins until the time runs out, but at least you have a chance as you know what others in the market are bidding, I really don't see the difference than if we were all standing in a room, had a certain amount of time to bid and we bid against each other, until the auctioneer has said sold, its not sold and still open for bids, until such time as the gavel has fellen. You have to remember, the seller is out to get as much as he can, and the buyer is out to get the best bargin he can, the defenition of bargin falls with the buyer who won the auction.

Dave

tim atherton · Oct 2, 2005

Charles Webb said:
Snipeing is a disgusting practice, and in my mind not something to brag about
the entire ebay auction has become a "sniping" game and one I am proud to say I don't do. The system was set up to be fair, but then again nothing in this world is fair, so the "last second machine snipes"pretty much have ruined ebay. Sorry, but I wont stupe that low to save a nickle! again, my opinion!
Charles LTFB,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

actually the way the ebay system was set up encouraged sniping, even before sniping software came along. Apart from certain very specific types of auction, most "real" auctions don't have a time limiut - they end when the bidding stops. Sniping works to generally ebays advantage (and the way they designed the system) so they aren't going to discourage it

Charles Webb · Oct 2, 2005

I am not at all surprised that many of this list practice and support sniping, I don't!. As I said it is my opinion. Dave I am not sure what you mean in what you wrote, when you are in an auction you know who the bidders are and can read their interest in the item, and bid accordingly, to me there is a great deal of of difference! On ebay to be successful you you hide your identity and interest to in my mind "steal" the item at the lowest possible price. According to this list that is what the game is. I am always willing to pay the "fair" industry wide going amount for any item I am bidding on. I am not bidding to steal the item there fore if the game is Sniping I simply won't play. Simply a difference of opinion here, I have stated my opinion. The rest of you disagree, so be it!

Dan F,
Thanks for the spelling lesson, if any body in the world needs help, it's
me. I do so much appreciate the superior intellengence displayed by
this "all knowing group!"

Dave Parker · Oct 2, 2005

Charles,

I am not disagreeing with you, but the dynamics of what a fair price is has changed over the last few years, and yes ebay has made a difference in the real or perceived worth of an item is, I still purchase from people who ask a price and I still pay more than what the going rate is sometime, Just did it the other day on apug, There is an old saying around that pertains to ebay real well, the best deal in the world is the one that both the seller and the buyer are happy with, no matter if it is what the market says it is worth, again, I just happen to have a difference of opinion on stealing an item, I don't understand how anyone can say it was stealing if it is what the seller is willing to sell it for? as long as all parties are happy with the transaction, then I don't see a problem. I often times have people tell me I should raise my prices because they feel like I am to low, but for the most part have maintained most of my price structure, because it is what I am happy in selling my products for. So I never feel someone is stealing it, if I am happy to accept it. If I put something on ebay with no reserve, then it shows I am willing to take what ever someone is willing to pay for it. If I have a certain figure in mind I want for an item, then I put either an opening bid on it, or I place a reserve on the item. I never get unhappy as long as I have set the rules and standards, for which I am willing to sell an item for, and I don't see how what it bid has much to do with it, the sellers know the game as well as most of the buyers do, that is one reason most people who shop at a store always go to the bargin bin first, to see if they can secure the best buy possible on an item that will work for them, the store set the price they are willing to accept and the buyer agrees to pay it if it fits what they want.

Just my opninon as well.

Dave

Sniping might have paid off here...

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