posted on December 28, 2000 09:26:37 PM new
I am new to the site, so this might have already been asked or previously addressed.
I have noticed this several times, but when looking at the bid history on a completed auction, you can see where the winning bid was placed at the LAST FINAL SECOND. Are people using some type of software that might allow them to do this? I just find it hard to believe someone would be sitting there watching the seconds tick down and somehow be able to post a bid at the last second. One one occasion, I was able to watch the final seconds of an auction that I was the high bidder on. This happened to me and I ended up getting outbid. This is very discouraging. I understand you can always bid your maximum, but when it comes down to it, who wouldn't be willing to thrown in a couple extra dollars on say a $500 item if it is something you just had to have.
Hopefully someone can enlighten me on this phenomenom.
posted on December 28, 2000 09:38:27 PM new
Yup most use Sniper programs or web sites there are actually groups of people who get togeather and make a hobby out of last second bidding.
Im sure there are may who bid auction this way who can list some of the web sites or programs they use for this not sure you can look forword to many tips and advice as most snipers take there sniper bidding more seriously then some sellers take there suplyer for there Niche fast selling items http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
posted on December 28, 2000 10:04:28 PM new
I used to have a fine linux program that sniped, but it went out of date. now I use eSnipe.com for those 'must have' items.
people do it because it keeps you from stumbling into a bidding war with a clueless newbie. new users often are unsure of what an item is 'worth', and use the give and take of bidding to help them judge worth -- and they often don't know when to stop.
Snipers 'know' what they're willing to pay, and slam that in as their last second bid. They have to be able to judge worth, at least by their standards, because they don't have a second chance to bid. The only way to hang in there is to 'know' what you're willing to pay, and bid that up front -- although it doesn't hurt to wait awile yourself.
Although I snipe, I believe the activity chases many buyers away from the site. They come looking for an auction, are told that these are auctions, and are disappointed when they find that ebay is not exactly an auction format.
posted on December 29, 2000 05:27:04 AM newwho wouldn't be willing to thrown in a couple extra dollars on say a $500 item if it is something you just had to have.
You're assuming that the sniper outbid you by only "a couple extra dollars" - however much his high bid is greater than yours.
He may have bid (and, I'd suggest in many cases, most likely did) quite a few extra dollars more - sometimes significantly more than the item's worth - to shut out any other bids, gambling that (a) whoever's currently high bidder hasn't also placed an outrageously high max bid and (b) nobody's going to get in another bid before the auction ends, so chances of his actual high bid being pushed to his outrageous max are very slim. A sniper can seriously screw himself this way, but if he can handle the risk, he's almost guaranteed a win.
posted on December 29, 2000 06:42:29 AM new"I just find it hard to believe someone would be sitting there watching the seconds tick down and somehow be able to post a bid at the last second."
posted on December 29, 2000 07:01:23 AM new
There are many, many people who actually do hang around for the last second of an auction, whether for amusement value or distrust of sniping software (which can be unreliable and/or miss due to internet slowness).
Of course, there are also many, many people who don't feel like devoting a chunk of their day to hanging around the computer waiting for an auction to end, who use proxy bidding (or trust the snipe software).
reddeer: note that this person also illustrates my point, that you dispute, that people often don't know exactly what something is worth - that "a few dollars more on $500" is within their "zone of indifference". Happy New Year, by the way.
posted on December 29, 2000 07:09:35 AM new
Capt ...... The only thing that I dispute, is that IF they felt the need to bump their max up with a buffer, that they didn't have enough time to do so, before the auction ended.
When I first started bidding on eBay I made sure to add a small "buffer" to my max. If it was an item that I wanted to pay $500 for, I might add $20, then if I was outbid, I felt that the high bidder had truly paid more than what I wanted to.
If nothing else, it helped take the sting out of losing.
posted on December 29, 2000 08:16:02 AM new
Skelter: The ONLY way I bid on eBay is by last minute sniping. With many hours of active bidding behind me on eBay I find that this is the only way I can do business there now.
There are pitfalls - sometimes eBay crashes just as you are about to bid; sometimes I get disconnected from the server...it happens.
However, what mostly happens is I win the auction at a price I am prepared to pay.
And yes, I sit there and watch VERY closely, what is happening in the final 30 seconds of an auction.
There are many reasons why I do this...
First and foremost is that I don't want to tip my hand to competitors who have bid against me in the past. I don't want anyone to know I am interested in a item until the last 10-15 seconds of an auction.
Also, by sniping I never get a bad case of bidding fever and overpay my maximum. I know the value of what I am bidding on and the maximum that I am prepared to pay. So that is what I bid. It makes no sense to me to bid my max before the end of the auction and tip my hand so that someone can force the bidding up to the limit I have posted.
(This is also how I bid at live auctions. When an item comes up that I want I wait until the auctioneer says 'Going Once' 'Going twice' or 'Fair Warning' and then I place my bid. Never would I tip my hand to my competitors that I am even remotely interested in the item on the auction block. I don't even look at it until the very last minute, as I have decided well before it hits the block what I am prepared to pay.)
There are other good reasons for sniping, and whether it is an approved of activity or not, that is the way I operate. A wise old dealer once told me about a million years ago when I was new and tender in the business that in the antiques business "you make your money when you buy, not when you sell." In other words, you have to buy right in order to sell at a fair profit.
My way of buying right is to know the value of an item and pay the right price. Placing a last minute bid is one way I have managed so far to do this.
posted on December 29, 2000 10:37:29 AM new
Skelter....
Do as Reddeer suggested, download the atomic clock.
Sniping has varied techniques. Automated websites are weak. But they are good for two things:
1)The newbie sniper. Who has the nerves the first few times when there is that one item and it's no where else to be found?
2)If you can't be there...and I mean can't. And you just have to have the item.
Otherwise, develop a talent through inexpensive items that you know the market price for and chose your price and go.
You will feel the spine tingling excitement...the sweat on the brow...your adrenaline will race...and you will do the happy dance if you win...or you will think "dang! I almost bought that!" when you lose.1
Some auctions get jacked up, some are stolen for a song. Know your prices, know your limit and don't get caught in one-upmanship. Oh and email your seller prior to and do all your ground work, then hang tough until second One!
capriole
nope, not on ebay
ps and a nice complementary email to the chap who beats you is always appreciated...especially those zero second bids.
spelling edit
[ edited by Capriole on Dec 29, 2000 10:39 AM ]
posted on December 29, 2000 10:59:30 AM new
triplesnack...yes, I sit with my watch checking the second hand and refreshing the listing waiting to pounce at the last second. I did win once just by 1 second, a fluke for sure. I also once sniped with a bid of $150 higher than the current high because I had to have the item, had been looking for it for years, and was willing to pay whatever. I got it for under $10
posted on December 29, 2000 11:23:02 AM new
Well, I do not use a software. Just my trusted clock with "seconds" hand. I get my windows ready, enter the maximum I am willing to pay...Based on the number of bids, one can tell that at least another 2 or 3 people will be trying to do what I am doing
I totally agree with AnnieJean...one must know the value of the item. If it has a potential resale value of 500.00, I would be foolish to place a 20.00 bid following someone who bid 19.99 ...I am prepared to put my max of say 225.00.
Most of the time I will get the item for less than my max; but I am not there to "steal" the item, but rather, to "win" it.
I hit the "submit" key about 10 seconds before end of auction, hoping that system will have enough time to process my bid...which it usually does.
Now, if Ebay is slow that day, that may not be the best way to snipe, as the system may not have enough time to "chew" the new info...in which case you get the "cannot process this bid"...
********************
Welcome to my world!
...I am prepared to put my max of say 225.00.