Sniping

[CPUWIZ]

...I don't bid on something until it has btween 45-30 seconds on my 56K and 15-20 on my g/f DSL.

 

The best snipes are with

 

Hehe, that only works if you aren't dealing with professional snipers.

[AtariLeaf]

If you can snipe with less then 5 seconds left, chances are that you ARE a professional sniper.

[NE146]

Don't forget that you can snipe all you want but if the high bidder's "maximum" bid is still above your bid, you'll still lose.

 

I'll use a more realistic example in this one.

 

1. An auction is at $2.50, then someone bids a maximum of $65, so the auction goes up to $3.00.

 

2. You see the price is $3.00 so you try to snipe it at the last 2 seconds of the auction entering in a bid of $20 as your maximum bid.

 

3. The auction automatically goes up to $21.00 for the other bidder (assuming $1.00 is the increment at that point), and the auction ends and you lost despite you getting in a bid in the final second.

[sku_u]

I've noticed that a lot of times, items that have a lot of bids on them early on are more likely to get sniped. Sometimes, items with few/no bids stay low and you get very lucky (of course WHEN an auction ends plays a huge role too).

 

Case in point:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...=800627497&rd=1

 

That game carries a 5 rarity. I know the winner, so I know that the winning bid was not made at the last second.

 

Sniping is part of the game. If you bid the maximum price you're willing to spend for something and get sniped, just remember that the person who sniped it from you probably overpaid. Personally I don't mind getting sniped.

[AtariDude]

The simplest way to avoid sniping is to put the true maximum amount that you wish to pay for an item. If someone is willing to pay more for an item than I am, they can have it and I will search for another similar item. Granted you could have someone raise the price on you without actually winning the auction themselves so that is a consequence of putting your maximum bid up front. You truly have to be willing to pay that amount if you wish to not be sniped.

[oesii]

I've noticed that a lot of times, items that have a lot of bids on them early on are more likely to get sniped.  Sometimes, items with few/no bids stay low and you get very lucky (of course WHEN an auction ends plays a huge role too).  

 

Case in point:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...=800627497&rd=1

 

That game carries a 5 rarity.  I know the winner, so I know that the winning bid was not made at the last second.

.

 

 

Rarity 5 games are easy to snipe

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...1391797944&rd=1

it was the Telegames version.

[sku_u]

Rarity 5 games are easy to snipe

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...1391797944&rd=1

it was the Telegames version.

 

Nice job

[someguy]

http://www.esnipe.com/

[Albert]

I was wondering when someone would mention www.esnipe.com. Unless I happen to spot something that I want and it's ending in a few minutes, I almost *always* use eSnipe. I prefer to snipe any auctions I'm interested in, but I just don't have the time to keep track of when auctions end and then make sure I'm near a computer so I can bid at the last second. With eSnipe, I just put in the maximum I'm willing to pay for an auction, how soon I want to wait before the auction ends before my bid is placed, and eSnipe does the rest.

 

It's well worth my time to pay eSnipe to do this for me. For auctions

 

..Al

[MrRetroGamer]

For a free snipe tool, try http://www.vrane.com.

 

You can use the free public snipe box, but for only 1 pending snipe at a time. Seems to work pretty good, for me anyway!

[oesii]

damm kids today and their sniping tech tools

[MrRetroGamer]

damm kids today and their sniping tech tools

 

I'm probably older than you!!!!

[CPUWIZ]

But are you older than me ? I don't need no stinking snipe tools, most of the stuff I snipe I do with a T1 line, it's more fun that way.

[MrRetroGamer]

most of the stuff I snipe I do with a T1 line, it's more fun that way.  

 

I agree, but sometimes I'd rather be sleeping than sniping!

[Nimtene]

Sniping is where you bid at the last second, literally, so that no one will have a chance to out-bid you.  I consider this tactic to be the ultimate in cheapness.  

I see nothing morally wrong with sniping. If

the other person wanted the item nearly as

much as I did, then they would be: A) Sitting

at their computer at 3am like me, waiting for

the end of the auction, trying to snipe it, b)

using one of those esnipe tools, or c) they

would have placed a higher max bid when

they bid in the first place. As simple as that.

 

The auction is half the fun.  The item is just an item.  

Personally, it's not the auction itself that makes

it fun. If that was the case, then people would

spend their lifetime bidding on simply anything

regardless of if they needed it or not. For me,

the thrill is getting a great bargain on something

I really really want. It is sniping that allows this.

 

If this means I'm a cheap bastard, then so be it.

But what's the point in spending more money

than necessary? Just to feel the temporary

rush of an auction bidding frenzy? No thanks.

Will I get less satifaction from sniping an item

at $10, than I will from getting in an expensive

bidding war with someone who may or may

not want the item as much as me or perhaps

just thinks that it's 'fun' to bid? No, not really.

As long as I win the item at a fair price, I am

satisfied. And the lower the price, the more

satisfied I will be.

 

Do you think using the 'Buy It Now Option' is

also the ultimate in cheapness, because you

are essentially sniping up the item for yourself,

and thereby not allowing anyone else to bid?

 

A bargain is a bargain, any way you look at it.

And if someone wants an item more than you,

(aside from the BiN option), they always have

the chance to put in a higher max bid than you

are willing to pay.

[AtariDude]

So some of you cheat by using a Sniping tool. Shame on you!

 

No wonder I was never winning any auctions