thepriest
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posted on November 24, 2003 08:38:28 AM new
Hi... does anyone know of a way to block sniper progams?
thank you
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bunnicula
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posted on November 24, 2003 08:55:07 AM new
Sorry, no. Why do you want to, though?
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
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neroter12
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posted on November 24, 2003 09:18:51 AM new
Lol Bunnicula, for a seller thats a pretty funny question.
Maybe he is trying to do something with buying???
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AuctionAce
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posted on November 24, 2003 09:31:41 AM new
Nowadays a snipe is usually welcomed as bids are few and far between. 
One way to possibly foil some sniping is to change the auction length or duration. Start at 3 or 5 days and increase the length before the 12 hour mark of each duration. I don't think the sniping programs are sophisticated enough to adjust to a new ending date.
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
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bunnicula
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posted on November 24, 2003 09:32:21 AM new
Looking at it from a seller's POV, why would you want to block sniper programs? They are the same as a bidder who manually snipes an auction in the last second(s). The emphasis being on "bidder." Why would you want to block bids? The more the merrier as far as I'm concerned...
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
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horsey88
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posted on November 24, 2003 10:44:40 AM new
Blocking snipes can be done in two ways.
Asuuming you are selling on Ebay just for the kicks of doing so.
The following will work perfectly.
1)Site Map:End my auctions early,with the sell to the high bidder option,2-5 minutes before the auction ends.
2)Site map...Bidder management...Make the high bidder the only preapproved bidder 2-5 minutes before the auction ends.
I have recommended the Polish Auction Format to Ebay on several ocassions just for folks like you. In the polish auction format the person holding the high bid for the longest time during the auction would be declared the winner.
People are basically dumb.
[ edited by horsey88 on Nov 24, 2003 10:45 AM ]
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toolhound
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posted on November 24, 2003 11:17:14 AM new
If you don't want people sniping your auctions sell everything with buy it now or better yet since you must not want to make money doing this why not just give your stuff to charity.
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photosensitive
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posted on November 24, 2003 11:22:16 AM new
Excuse me! How is blocking snipe programs going to be in the best interest of any seller? If you think you can make people bid early by threatening to stop snipers it is not going to work. I never bid except by sniping (after being stalked by other bidders in my category). When I was selling the really jaw dropping surprise bids always came from snipers.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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photosensitive
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posted on November 24, 2003 11:25:09 AM new
OOPS! double post. Don't know why I didn't submit twice.
[ edited by photosensitive on Nov 24, 2003 11:29 AM ]
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AuctionAce
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posted on November 24, 2003 01:04:20 PM new
The downside of sniping for bidders is a rare ebay/or sniping program glitch that denies their bid or that a seller may get depressed and pull the item early if it gets no bids. By bidding early it tends to lock the seller into selling the item although they may still cancel bids and end the auction early.
Many sellers feel that sniping hinders bidding wars and gets them occasional sad letters from outbid at the last moment underbidders. The proxy bid system on ebay prevents any seller from ever losing an item at their proxy.
An Ebay rep recently said on one of the ebay message boards that ebay was considering an anti-sniping option ( Yahoo Auctions has one ).
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
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photosensitive
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posted on November 24, 2003 02:17:05 PM new
I really think that would be unwise of eBay. There are bidding wars all the time on the stuff I really want. They just take place in the last few minutes of the auction. The early bidder or the nibbler who whines "I would have paid a dollar more than the hight bid." can't know if my proxy was $50 more. I do some pretty convoluted searches. Why should I find the obscure items for everyone who collects what I do.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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stonecold613
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posted on November 24, 2003 08:06:00 PM new
Anti sniping programs. Get real. Do you really want to sell your items for less then a seller that accepts sniping? Hey all snipers, your sniping happily accepted on all of my auctions. Please place bids so they bid in the last minute.
Thank you.
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sparkz
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posted on November 24, 2003 08:42:03 PM new
The best way to foil a sniper is to end your auction 5 minutes after you list it. Get's 'em every time.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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neroter12
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posted on November 25, 2003 01:48:10 AM new
It is pretty nerve-racking to always have to wait until the last day/hour to see bids come up on your item.
And if you do the 1day auction thing; you dont get the exposure you could have gotten in 7 days.
Maybe somebody is haunting "thepriest"'s auctions and sniping them that is messing with him and thats why he wants to know if you can stop it?
Am I right, priest?
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peiklk
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posted on November 25, 2003 03:15:27 PM new
I've won on snipe.
I've lost on snipe.
I've sold on snipe.
But, the problem is NOT so simple as a cut and dried -- "snipes are bids".
Snipes HAVE become a phantom weapon in auctions and I truly believe they are a part of the problem with fewer bids. Before bidders became snipe-sophisticated, they had to post a bid early, perhaps revisiting the auction near the end for tweaks.
While yes, the "bidding war" does take place at the end of the auction now, that is a short window of opportunity for the war to take place. Whereas a 7 day auction (without snipes) works with more schedules to allow bidders to check in often to see where they stand on the item, driving the cost up.
With a boatload of snipes going on, yes, the item sells, but it seems to sell for less than it might have without snipes.
Like I said, I use it -- but I would not shed a tear if it went away either -- because I think in the long run we would all fare better.
As for one-day auctions. Right now, most of the exposure is when an auction is listed (first 12 hours) and when it is ending (last 12 hours). One day auctions just cram all this time together. Sure you'd get some people trickling by, but few scroll through pages of listings to maybe see your auction.
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Dragonmom
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posted on November 25, 2003 03:29:44 PM new
yep- I see the difference in final bids, with people using sniping programs, I don't like it.
"And All Shall be Well, and All Shall be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall be Well"
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getalife
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posted on November 25, 2003 03:39:34 PM new
In my opinion the only reason thepriest would want to stop a sniper is because thepriest is the bidder and wants to stop competing bidders.
[ edited by getalife on Nov 25, 2003 03:41 PM ]
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horsey88
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posted on November 25, 2003 05:53:07 PM new
If that is the case maybe the priest should get some of the cobweb out of his wallet since the highest bid always wins a non-reserve auction,the last bid only wins a few.
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FloridaShark
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posted on November 25, 2003 07:08:03 PM new
Peikilk, I agree with everything in your post except the 1 day auction comment.
The most exposure does not come in the first 12 hours and the last 12 hours of an auction, it comes in the first 24 hours and last 24 hours.
What we need is a 2 day auction !
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peiklk
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posted on November 25, 2003 08:37:05 PM new
I like ubid's way of handling snipes. If a bid comes in with less than X minutes to go (I think two minutes), then the deadline is increased by a few minutes to allow other bidders an opportunity to bid.
This benefits bidders AS WELL as sellers.
Instead of a snipe getting an item for the lowest possible price, other bidders get the chance to one-up the deal. Which of course, the seller will love.
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toolhound
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posted on November 26, 2003 02:16:01 AM new
I thing thepriest is being a funny fella.
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Damariscotta
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posted on November 26, 2003 04:17:03 AM new
>>If a bid comes in with less than X minutes to go (I think two minutes), then the deadline is increased by a few minutes to allow other bidders an opportunity to bid.
>>
This is a cinch to implement technically (some other auction sites already use this). I would like to see this combined with an option that allows seller to set a time period to automatically kill an auction if no bids within a specified period from the start. This would make it mirror the excitement effect of live auctions. Live auctioneers frequently "pass" items not receiving an immediate (or reasonable bid). They don't stand up in front of an audience for a week waiting.
I think eBay will eventually divide into a fixed price market (where 95% of the items on eBay now belong anyway), and keep the auction setup for items that are appropriate for auctions.
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thepriest
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posted on November 26, 2003 05:37:25 AM new
Thanks for all the input...
What do you think of this site
http://www.snip.pl/en/help/32
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horsey88
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posted on November 26, 2003 07:07:05 AM new
Yes if you use that blocking tactic 99.99% of the users who see the "NO Sniping" logo will honor your request,the other .01% who use the service being adverstised by your troll will be blocked.
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sanmar
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posted on November 26, 2003 03:00:05 PM new
I have read all of notes on this thread & there is nothing here that would convince me that sniping is bad. After all if an item has been on for 7 or 10 days, tell me why the snipe is bad. Everyone has had a chance to look & bid. The sniper just aced them all out. The bidder who bids last gets the prize regardless of the price. How can you determine that sniping has lowered the price?
[ edited by sanmar on Nov 26, 2003 03:00 PM ]
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peiklk
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posted on November 26, 2003 03:17:27 PM new
After all if an item has been on for 7 or 10 days, tell me why the snipe is bad. Everyone has had a chance to look & bid. The sniper just aced them all out.
As was stated clearly before, the threat of snipes forces savvy bidders to bid later instead of earlier. As such the whole "war" is forced into a very small period of time (when not everyone interested can be there).
The bidder who bids last gets the prize regardless of the price. How can you determine that sniping has lowered the price?
Untrue. The last bidder does NOT always get the prize. They could bid too low (due to a proxy bid)
You cannot. However, common sense indicates that since early bids were squelched, then the sniper DOES get it at a lower price.
Again, I've sold stuff on snipes and as it is it's not a problem per se. But bidding would be so much better and dynamic if a few common sense measures were implemented.
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alwaysbroke
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posted on November 26, 2003 05:27:47 PM new
the threat of snipes forces savvy bidders to bid later instead of earlier
I agree. I like the way it used to be...when bidders bid all week on your items and then came back at the last minute to try to secure their win.
My Gallery:http://www.sparedollar.com/sdGallery/usergallery.asp?uID=2261
My Auctions:http://www.sparedollar.com?ref=2261
My Store:http://www.ioffer.com/viewShop.do?sellerID=doccompuwiz
http://half.ebay.com/shops/shops.jsp?seller_id=1109942
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brooklynpubliccouture
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posted on November 26, 2003 06:09:55 PM new
Here is an example of how sniping is detrimental to the seller. (I think)
Sniper A sets a max bid of $180 to be placed 4 seconds prior to close.
Sniper B sets a max bid of $210 to be placed 2 seconds prior to close.
Near the end of the auction, the high bidder who is not using a sniper program has bid $150. Sniper A's 4 second entry will be $152.50. Sniper B's 2 second bid will be $155. This is the winning bid.
Eliminate sniping and the seller will get a bid from Sniper B which outbids A's high proxy, that is $182.50.
A seller would be stupid to eliminate snipers "unilaterally". But if my analysis is correct; it would be good if Ebay outlawed it across the board.
Am I missing something?
$$$$$$$
@@@@@@
I know you probably didn't pay much for that; but you never know, it could be worth nothing.
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whatnot3
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posted on November 26, 2003 10:58:19 PM new
Sniper A sets a max bid of $180 to be placed 4 seconds prior to close.
Sniper B sets a max bid of $210 to be placed 2 seconds prior to close.
Near the end of the auction, the high bidder who is not using a sniper program has bid $150. Sniper A's 4 second entry will be $152.50. Sniper B's 2 second bid will be $155. This is the winning bid.
Eliminate sniping and the seller will get a bid from Sniper B which outbids A's high proxy, that is $182.50.
That is not correct. With those amount mentioned, the auction would end for $182.50 not $155
The proxy system still works with a snipe.
[ edited by whatnot3 on Nov 26, 2003 10:58 PM ]
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ahc3
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posted on November 26, 2003 11:32:55 PM new
Bring on the snipers...As a seller, I love these people. That is what makes ebay fun, seeing how high something can go. I can understand why buyers sometimes complain, but why would a seller not want sniping?
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