eBay getting worse all the time.

[nofrills100]

Haha snipe-haters!! You keep doing it the way you want to, but i'll stick to sniping

[+thegoldenband]

Another reason to snipe is that sometimes items are poorly advertised, misspelled, or otherwise have botched listings. If an item has a crappy-looking summary and doesn't have any bids, maybe you're less likely to bother checking it out -- but if it has a couple bids, maybe you're more inclined to take a look and spot that hidden R9 in the stack of games, or whatever. In other words, standing bids tend to attract attention to an item.

 

Like others have said, sniping is also a protection against shill bidding and other people's impulse to win (or your own!). Really, it's all about psychology, and even social dynamics ("maybe this is worth more than I thought"). Nothing will stand against a person who's willing to spend whatever it takes, but sniping can be an effective strategy against people who are on the fence, or who have an irrationally competitive streak. If everyone behaved rationally it would be one thing, but auctions are inherently spurs to irrational behavior.

Edited September 21, 2011 by thegoldenband

[chuckwalla]

I think Feebay has become more of an electronic garage sale for overpriced goods, more so than at any time since it began.

The seller fees are continually increasing and I also agree that just because people have something in their closets for years they think it's as valuable as gold.

I know people who rely more on craigslist now rather than ebay to sell goods.

 

There are still bargains from time to time but nothing like in the past.

[31336haxx0r]

I'm only selling stuff on ebay that I'm going to throw away anyways...

[SpaceDice2010]

Sniping has always worked best for me in winning auctions. And when I list auctions most win by snipes.

 

As someone else has mentioned the reason that sniping works best is that others don't have time to react to your "highest bid". But, if you really want to win the auction you have to be honest with yourself and put in what you are really willing to pay. If you win you feel good in that you got it for what you are willing pay. If you lose you still feel good because you have decided that that was the highest you were willing to pay. Someone else wanted it more than you and was willing to pay more.

[31336haxx0r]

Every time I lose an auction I think to me I just saved money.