"sniping" on eBay-tired of being the victim...

[ideaguy]

Once again, with seconds to go and ready to up my bid if need be,bam! another
hat whisked away for a nickel more than my bid. Now, I don't mind a good scuffle now and then, but in order to even the playing field and violate my rule
of "fight fair"...how does one "snipe"? I've been buying for a while, all honest
and innocent, and for once I'd like to get the item that I'm stretching all my
money for without it being snatched away by a dealer at the last moment.
Yeah, it's hypocritical, yeah, I'm darn embarrassed for asking, and I'd still like to
know the magic behind "sniping". Y'all can throw the vegetables now...[huh] [huh] :eusa_doh:

 

[decodoll]

I almost alway snipe. It's the only way in most cases nowadays to have a chance at winning. Plus, you avoid the person that just keeps adding to their bid little bits at a time and pushing up the price. I use eSnipe and have never had any problems with it.

 

[Spatterdash]

eSnipe, gad.

How delightfully bloodthirsty.

Thanks!

 

[green papaya]

sniping

sometimes when I really want to win something , I accept the fact that I might pay too much, but i take a gamble and just bid higher than usual, your chances of winning are much better if you make one high bid at the end.

like if somethings worth $50.00 then bid $100.00 and you will probably win the auction for $53 - $75 max

if something that usually sells for $50 and your max bid is $55 - $60 you have a high chance on losing.

you have to be willing to take a loss if you really want to win, it just depend how much you really want something? sometimes i will bid way high because the item Im bidding on is hard to find and I think it's worth it.

 

[decodoll]

Yeah, sure...but isn't it a little frustrating to pay more just because someone else just keeps bidding it up little bits at a time. If you just bid at the end, you save them all the extra energy of trying to find your top bid. Plus, yourself a little extra cash!

 

[Andykev]

Snipers

You should just set a price you are willing to pay for an item, and leave it at that. Feeding frenzy takes place in the heat of bidding....where you will discover "Bidders Remorse" when you wildly bid and bid again on something worth a mere fraction of the item.

Snipe tools help in that the price stays low, and then bids as necessary for your item up to your limit.

I do not use them, I just bid on something and set my price$$$.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Sometimes it's not such a bad thing.

I once bid up to about $300 for an item I thought I wanted, and I did really want it at the time. I was whacked at the last second.
I went into the seller's history a short while later, and found that he had bought that same item a week or so earlier in a buy it now for a mere $100 or so!!!
So, I'm glad I didn't "win" that auction.
The key is patience. For every item that gets away, even at a reasonable price, there is another one out there that could be even way better.

 

[green papaya]

Yeah, sure...but isn't it a little frustrating to pay more just because someone else just keeps bidding it up little bits at a time. If you just bid at the end, you save them all the extra energy of trying to find your top bid. Plus, yourself a little extra cash!

yes, I always watch the auction until the last seconds before bidding, if it gets too high, I dont bother making any bids, I never bid ahead of time, because I dont want to make more competition or expose myself.

 

[decodoll]

Yes, in the end of it all, it doesn't matter when anyone bids because the person willing to pay the most gets it. I just get tired of the people that keep bidding over and over because they keep deciding they can afford just a little bit more. If everyone would just bid rationally and bid their top to start with, sniping wouldn't be necessary. If you snipe, the "repeat bidder" doesn't have time to rethink their bid.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Yep, bidding at the last second prevents those sort of bidding wars. I tend to bid high enough so that if I get out bid by fitty cents, I don't feel bad.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Yeah, sure...but isn't it a little frustrating to pay more just because someone else just keeps bidding it up little bits at a time. If you just bid at the end, you save them all the extra energy of trying to find your top bid. Plus, yourself a little extra cash!

This is the way I always bid. What is the point of bidding on the item way before the auction is up, all that does is drive up the cost.
Unfortunately my strategy of placing a bid at the end that is a lot higher than the actual cost hasn't been working. Other people are doing the same, and the price at the end just skyrockets.
I don't blame you for wanting to use a sniper. But, if you have a fast connection, just place your bid with 30-40 seconds left. This gives you a little time for the bid to process, but usually not enough time for someone else to come along and up their bid.
It is so frustrating. The prices lately on ebay have been getting out of control.

 

[decodoll]

I find eSnipe really cuts down on my stress too. I don't have to sit there watching if I don't want to. A lot of the time an auction is going off when I can't bid manually at the last few seconds. Also, keeps me from being tempted to be the "repeat bidder" and bid irrationally. eSnipe is so cheap, it's really worth it.

 

[green papaya]

I only bid higher than usual on rare items, like the type of things you may never see again

paying an extra $20 or $40 more than you expected is no big deal, because I figure I would have wasted the money on gas and spare time by driving around searching for something, it's almost impossible to find the unique items on ebay locally.

 

[jamespowers]

I find eSnipe really cuts down on my stress too. I don't have to sit there watching if I don't want to. A lot of the time an auction is going off when I can't bid manually at the last few seconds. Also, keeps me from being tempted to be the "repeat bidder" and bid irrationally. eSnipe is so cheap, it's really worth it.

Shhhhhh! Don't tell them about eSnipe if they aren't willing to use it. We both will. Six seconds before the end and then wham---mine.

Regards,

J

 

[decodoll]

lol lol lol ok... my lips are sealed from now on.

 

[jake_fink]

Yeah, sure...but isn't it a little frustrating to pay more just because someone else just keeps bidding it up little bits at a time. If you just bid at the end, you save them all the extra energy of trying to find your top bid. Plus, yourself a little extra cash!

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Sniping is the only way to bid. If you can sit around staring at ebay whenever you are bidding on an item, then, friend, you have too much time on your hands (or you don't bid on many items). Let esnipe or hammersnipe or any snipe free you to go out and live... and save the bidders of the world a little bit of $$$ to boot.

 

[Twitch]

Ideaguy- any supplemental service that allows you to outbid someone in the closing seconds is yet another dealy-o that costs money to maintain so you can spend even more money on Ebay! Make a bid of the maximum you want to spend and leave it at that. As someone mentioned frenzied bidding is usually only beneficial to the seller and undoubtedly you will soon see the same or similar item and get it at a lower price as often no one even bothers to bid on it.

After all, it's just a hat. They're like streetcars. another will be along shortly.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Auction Sniper...

Works like a charm. The main reason to avoid putting in a bid is to NOT telegraph to people that you're interested in an item. Let me tell you a story...

Scott and I were BOTH interested in a vintage double-breasted jacket. Looked to be formal, great condition, 44XL. I kept my eye on that and waited until the last 30 seconds and pulled a Daisy Buchanan. Now I only bid $9.99 because I sorta, kinda, am supposta (rubbing his toe in the dirt) to not be buying anything for a while. Figured: A) I get it for the minimum (fate); or B) get sniped (fate). Turns out SCOTT sniped me and got it for $10.49.

I can easily envision a DIFFERENT scenario in which either Scott or I put in an early bid and we either did a back-and-forth, itty-bitty increment war or I put in a series of bids until I sniffed out his maximum. In either case the price would easily have doubled. (What's the biggy $10 > $20?) See how this unfolds?

I'm glad it worked out the way it did. Scott got a great coat and I got off the hook...

 

[jake_fink]

Ideaguy- any supplemental service that allows you to outbid someone in the closing seconds is yet another dealy-o that costs money to maintain so you can spend even more money on Ebay! Make a bid of the maximum you want to spend and leave it at that. As someone mentioned frenzied bidding is usually only beneficial to the seller and undoubtedly you will soon see the same or similar item and get it at a lower price as often no one even bothers to bid on it.

After all, it's just a hat. They're like streetcars. another will be along shortly.

Many snipe services offer limited sniping for free. So either don't bid more than a couple of times per week, or sign up to multiple snipes. You can shop smart, even on the internet.

 

[Rosie]

I sure wish more people would snipe, even if it means I lose an auction at the last minute. Right now, there are some beautiful items I would love to snatch up but some idiots (forgive my un lady-like choice of words) are trying to outbid one another 7 SEVEN days before the auction ends . What's wrong with these people? :rage: I know hate is a strong word but they are seriously annoying me.