Schizophretard Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 FWIW, I don't believe you can search auctions by "number of bids" anymore, like you used to be able to, am I wrong? I just now searched by bids. Atari 2600 Game Bank Heist in Box is in the first spot with 31 bids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frostbite Bailey Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 And the bidder on that Bank Heist is stupid; over $100 and there is another boxed copy on Ebay with 2 bids for $10.50!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go figure, do a serach idiots!!!! Today's rant:) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Yurkie Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 eBay does it on its own. Just put in your maximum bid. I disagree. Putting your max in just runs up the price for the seller. Snipping with 5 or 6 seconds left is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Dart Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I disagree. Putting your max in just runs up the price for the seller. Snipping with 5 or 6 seconds left is the way to go. $10 and 2 days to go is the same as $10 and 2 seconds to go, unless there's some special quantum time/dollar relativity involved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulson007 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 What's the best, most trustworthy way to do it? http://www.hidbid.com is a good service to use. Just remember that regardless of when your bid is placed, it still has to be the highest to win. EXCEPT, when 2 bids are the same or there isn't enough difference between them to meet ebay's minimum bid increment. In that case, the 1st one in wins. So, if people were completely rational, the best strategy would be to bid the second an auction is listed. I'd stick with sniping. (Automated) sniping is a convenience for people that want to avoid drawing early attention to an auction item, 'nibbling' bidders (bidders who have no max in mind, bid the minimun increment over and over until they're the high bid), and competitive emotional bidders and bidding wars that come with them, all of which normally result in a higher final price. If you have the time, you can do it manually. Make sure you're eligible to bid on an item before scheduling a snipe (or doing it manually), so that your bid will be accepted. As long as you live in a country that the seller ships to, you don't have many unpaid strikes lately, and you have enough positive feedback, you should be ok. If you have a problem with one of those things, you could contact the seller and ask them to accept your bid, as long as you know early enough. A couple more benefits of sniping: 1. Sniping is actually a way of combatting shill bidding - when the seller or his buddy bids on the item until they're the high bid, and know your max, then retract their bid, and use yet another account to bid on the item, bidding just below your max. You don't give the shiller time to retract their bid in order to leave you as the high bidder, close to your max. You can't do much about a shill bidder letting their bid ride to the end of the auction, if it just raises but doesn't exceed yours. Also, look out for 2nd chance offers, as they would be a reason for the shiller to let their shill bid ride, you may want to decline any and look for a different seller with the same item. Unless of course, the price seems ok with you, even though possible artificially jacked up. 2. You can just cancel a snipe with up to 2 or 3 minutes before the end of an auction, if you change your mind about bidding on an item, and your bid won't be placed. If you place a bid on ebay and then retract it (not a seller's or ebay's favorite thing), you can be blocked from bidding on other auctions after doing this a few times, not sure what that # is. Anyone bidding on ebay should understand ebay's proxy bidding system (increases your bid only until it is the high, or it has been exceeded), and have an idea about their bid increments: http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/bid-increments.html http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/buy/bid-increments.html http://pages.ebay.de/help/buy/bid-increments.html I'm assuming you have to give your Ebay ID and password to a 3rd party, to do this? That is UNNERVING!How else could it do it? What if it screws up? Yes, there's no way around submitting your ebay login info to a service or software in order to snipe. Just use a more known sniper that has been around a while, you should have no problem with having your account hijacked. What product/service did you use PREVIOUSLY, and why did you switch? Do you use a browser plug-in? Hidbid has always worked for me. I don't use any browser plug-in, you just go to hidbid and login and input the ebay item # that you want to snipe, enter your max bid amount, enter your ebay info if not already in the system because of an already existing pending snipe, click the button, and that's it. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HatefulGravey Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I have an eBay app on my phone that just reminds me when auctions I'm watching are within an hour to end. I look at the price, if I'm not winning and willing to bid more I do, if not I let it go. I'm with those that can't see the reason for sniping. I use the max bid option and leave it alone. It works just like the live auctions I go to. I see something I want, decide on the maximum among I want to bid and don't go over that. Turns out eBay makes that even easier than a live auction does. The only difference is I can't play head games with people on eBay like I can at live auctions . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojay1997 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 I have an eBay app on my phone that just reminds me when auctions I'm watching are within an hour to end. I look at the price, if I'm not winning and willing to bid more I do, if not I let it go. I'm with those that can't see the reason for sniping. I use the max bid option and leave it alone. It works just like the live auctions I go to. I see something I want, decide on the maximum among I want to bid and don't go over that. Turns out eBay makes that even easier than a live auction does. The only difference is I can't play head games with people on eBay like I can at live auctions . I agree that sniping is pretty pointless and has no impact on the final price. What it does protect you from, however, is fraudulent/shill bidding by dishonest sellers. On the other hand, I have waited to bid on auctions before and lost out because someone did a side deal and the auction was shut down. Of course, that could still happen even if you make an early bid, but newer sellers may be more likely to panic and take a side offer if they see no early bids at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 $10 and 2 days to go is the same as $10 and 2 seconds to go, unless there's some special quantum time/dollar relativity involved. No it's not the same because different circumstances can happen in both. Say there are 2 interested parties in a crappy item (e.g. a scooby doo shoelace) Scenario 1: You bid $10 with 2 days to go bringing the current bid to $1 A 2nd bidder comes in and putis in a bid of $3 and see's he's automatically outbid to $4. So he bids again at $5 and is automatically outbid to $6. So he bids $8 and is automatically outbid at $9. he says screw it as he doesn't want to pay that much.. So you win the item 2 days later at $9 (or worst case scenario, are outbid). Scenario 2: Sniping. 2nd bidder comes in and puts in his initial bid of $3 and sees he's the high bidder at $1 and leaves it at that. You snipe at $10 and win the item at $4 You win in both obviously but there was a difference. All you do when you play your hand early is allow others to chip at it when they see they are automatically outbid.. and with most early bidders, they'll keep going until they beat your max. That said, again obviously sniping doesn't guarantee a darn thing. Someone could have come in at any time and bid $100 and they would have won the auction for the crappy shoelaces because money is king and how you win. But sniping is indeed just the best strategy in almost all cases though and there's no reason not to do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojay1997 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 No it's not the same because different circumstances can happen in both. Say there are 2 interested parties in a crappy item (e.g. a scooby doo shoelace) Scenario 1: You bid $10 with 2 days to go bringing the current bid to $1 A 2nd bidder comes in and putis in a bid of $3 and see's he's automatically outbid to $4. So he bids again at $5 and is automatically outbid to $6. So he bids $8 and is automatically outbid at $9. he says screw it as he doesn't want to pay that much.. So you win the item 2 days later at $9 (or worst case scenario, are outbid). Scenario 2: Sniping. 2nd bidder comes in and puts in his initial bid of $3 and sees he's the high bidder at $1 and leaves it at that. You snipe at $10 and win the item at $4 You win in both obviously but there was a difference. All you do when you play your hand early is allow others to chip at it when they see they are automatically outbid.. and with most early bidders, they'll keep going until they beat your max. That said, again obviously sniping doesn't guarantee a darn thing. Someone could have come in at any time and bid $100 and they would have won the auction for the crappy shoelaces because money is king and how you win. But sniping is indeed just the best strategy in almost all cases though and there's no reason not to do it. Actually, as I noted above, it can raise the risk of not being able to bid at all if someone side deals it and the seller assumes they have no bids. You could also run into a technical issue with the snipe service or if you're manually sniping with your Internet connection and computer/device. Finally, your theory about "chipping" is silly. If you are really bidding the most you'll pay right away, it doesn't matter if someone tries to chip away or not. Eventually they will have bid more than you were willing to go. What you're really saying is that you don't have a good handle on what you want to bid on items until the end anyway and so you just let your passion and the excitement and whatever your budget feels like at that moment dictate. Frankly, that's fine, but let's not pretend that snipers are any more rational than anyone else in their bidding behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) Actually, as I noted above, it can raise the risk of not being able to bid at all if someone side deals it and the seller assumes they have no bids. You could also run into a technical issue with the snipe service or if you're manually sniping with your Internet connection and computer/device. You can make a case for any unusual circumstance (side deals/seller ending early/snipe not going through/internet going down/seller has fire) but you'd just be overthinking about it at that point. Finally, your theory about "chipping" is silly. If you are really bidding the most you'll pay right away, it doesn't matter if someone tries to chip away or not. Not silly at all. The bottom line is even though I'd be perfectly happy spending $120 for an item.. I'd be MUCH happier spending $80 for it.. and ecstatic at $30. So take it for what you will. What you're really saying is that you don't have a good handle on what you want to bid on items until the end anyway and so you just let your passion and the excitement and whatever your budget feels like at that moment dictate. Not sure what that means. I'm a 44 year old working professional and have an extreme handle on what I want to pay for anything, with zero passion about it. Come on.. we're just talking about buying things. You guys may look at from the angle of "collecting" and possibly competing with others for rare/desired items that everyone else wants. I'm not even a collector. What I've bought on ebay this past year has been common Thomas trains on the cheap for my kid to play with. Not much emotional content there. Regarding sniping, if an auction ends in 6 days, I put in my snipe bid on my local program (currently Auction Sentry) and forget about it. Eventually when I look back at it in a few days I find out if I lost or won. There is ZERO excitement & passion. Frankly, that's fine, but let's not pretend that snipers are any more rational than anyone else in their bidding behavior. Of course it's fine and anyone can bid any way they like. If you're happy bidding your maximum 6 days before auction ends for the world to pick at if they want, no one really cares. I was simply making my case as to why I don't Edited October 31, 2012 by NE146 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojay1997 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 You can make a case for any unusual circumstance (side deals/seller ending early/snipe not going through/internet going down/seller has fire) but you'd just be overthinking about it at that point. Not silly at all. The bottom line is even though I'd be perfectly happy spending $120 for an item.. I'd be MUCH happier spending $80 for it.. and ecstatic at $30. So take it for what you will. Not sure what that means. I'm a 44 year old working professional and have an extreme handle on what I want to pay for anything, with zero passion about it. Come on.. we're just talking about buying things. You guys may look at from the angle of "collecting" and possibly competing with others for rare/desired items that everyone else wants. I'm not even a collector. What I've bought on ebay this past year has been common Thomas trains on the cheap for my kid to play with. Not much emotional content there. Regarding sniping, if an auction ends in 6 days, I put in my snipe bid on my local program (currently Auction Sentry) and forget about it. Eventually when I look back at it in a few days I find out if I lost or won. There is ZERO excitement & passion. Of course it's fine and anyone can bid any way they like. If you're happy bidding your maximum 6 days before auction ends for the world to pick at if they want, no one really cares. I was simply making my case as to why I don't I don't agree it's overthinking it. It's called being realistic and analytical about how the Ebay marketplace works. I have seen many video games on Ebay pop up only to disappear from my watch list because someone side dealed it. Would the outcome have been different if I had actually made a bid when I initially saw it? Quite possibly. Similarly, lots of items today are posted as auctions with a BIN. If the BIN is reasonable, you take a huge risk trying to snipe the item as someone may swoop in and grab it. I have never seen much evidence that sniping results in lower final prices. If anything, people get overexcited and put in some crazy amount in the heat of the moment and when you get two people behaving that way, one of them ends up paying way too much for something. Not everyone uses sniping apps. In fact, I think most people do it manually in the last ten seconds of an auction, so passion and adrenalin definitely plays a role. Frankly, unless your theory is that people will forget about an auction or forget to snipe something (which is pretty rare now that many people use the Ebay app and maintain watch lists on their smartphones), sniping provides no real benefit since lots of people are doing it and ultimately, all it's doing is delaying the same bids people would be placing if they bid early to the last few seconds. If you really want an item, just bid the most you really want to pay and hope for the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psquare75 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 An app and a watch list does not guarantee a bid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 If I'm going to snipe, I do it the manly way: I enter some ridiculously high bid three seconds to the buzzer. Often times now, though, I just bid some random number that's within $2 of my max bid and I leave it at that. If there's a BIN, I may use it instead. I never enter an exact number on my bids, though. If I think the items is worth $150, I'll bid something like $152.63. I won a 256GB SSD by seventeen cents that way. Shipping was $7.50, and I wanted to pay no more than $150. I bid $142.67. The next highest bid was $142.50. If the item comes up regularly, just keep trying. Also, shop around. Atari2600.com or GameGavel may have it. In time, you'll get one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) Personally, I usually try to avoid auctions, and I try to grab the most reasonably priced Buy-it-now that I can find. If I can't find one at a rate that I like, I move someplace else or try again later. The waiting is what kills me, not knowing if the item is really mine yet or not. I'll obsess over it and not be able to sleep, study, etc, and I get a lot more bummed when I lose to a frikken sniper than if I'd just taken a BIN offer. I usually don't bid on uber-rare stuff anyway, so it's usually not that hard to find multiple listings of stuff, like common or popular games and pick the best-looking specimen for a reasonable price. I think more people are so addicted to the thrill of winning, more so than actually "shopping around" or waiting for a more competitive price, like they guy who spends $100 bucks at the casino just for the thrill of winning back $25. I buy plenty of stuff on Amazon marketplace as well as brick-and-mortar stores and online dealers that often have good selection. IMO, if you're going to buy a whole sack of $5-$10 games, it's better to save on the shipping charges and find a store with several that you want so you only pay shipping on one package. And unless you're a brand new collector, forget eBay lots that have two or three really good games and a dozen or so crappy and/or duplicate games you already own, that you now have to attempt to resell to recoup your losses. More trouble than it's worth, especially with prices on common Atari games that have gone down the toilet. Also, parents, spouses, significant others, etc, are less suspicious when you receive one medium-to-large package as opposed to half-a-dozen tiny packages, so less raiding the mailbox or trying to intercept the mailman before your mates find out. (9) <this is my favorite> While I'm waiting to snipe, my Ebay login "goes stale" and when I hit the bid button, I get redirected to a log-in screen, while some other sucker wins the auction, cheap! Just place your max bid, and hope you win, simple... HIGHEST BID WINS. End of story Thank you! But unlike a traditional live auction house, on eBay, the price is set by the second highest bidder.Also, I don't always just use sniping but a tactic I call nuking. I'm not going to explain exactly what that is because I would be foolish to give away nukes. What I basically do is nuke the snipers and always win. You can't snipe a nuke.I assume, by "nuke", you mean the biggest possible f***ing weapon imaginable! I'm guessing this means bidding an astronomical amount (like 10,000 for a PacMan cart, for instance) to ensure that no matter how absurd the bids get, you are guaranteed to win. That is arguably fine, provided you are the only Superpower bidding. If you get a situation where two Superpowers try to "nuke" the same auction, you have a nuclear arms race on your hands, and the only one getting "nuked" is the bidder with the largest bank account. Edited October 31, 2012 by stardust4ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nofrills100 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I just don't get how people cannot understand the advantages of sniping?!?!?! Perhaps it is just that snipers have a higher IQ haha... just stirring... but honestly if you cannot get it, that is totally fine with me... keep on doing what your doing, I'd prefer that 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nofrills100 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I have never seen much evidence that sniping results in lower final prices .... If you really want an item, just bid the most you really want to pay and hope for the best. You seem to be equating sniping with crazy-last-second-bidding. When sniping you do 'bid the most you really want to pay and hope for the best' - the difference, as many before me have pointed out, is that there is a chance you will avoid other bidders chipping away at your maximum bid had you placed it earlier, and potentially get it for less. At the end of the day, if there is a lot of interest in the item sniping probably won't help - but none-the-less you will still have entered you max and given it your best shot. On the other hand, if the item has gone under the radar, and only a few people have picked up on it - sniping allows the element of surprise in the last seconds, and gives you a better chance of trumping the rest without allowing them time to reconsider their maximums, and hence winning it for a lower final price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nofrills100 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 and finally: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auction_sniping 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 And the bidder on that Bank Heist is stupid; over $100 and there is another boxed copy on Ebay with 2 bids for $10.50!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go figure, do a serach idiots!!!! Today's rant:) But I still saw that one first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I assume, by "nuke", you mean the biggest possible f***ing weapon imaginable! I'm guessing this means bidding an astronomical amount (like 10,000 for a PacMan cart, for instance) to ensure that no matter how absurd the bids get, you are guaranteed to win. That is arguably fine, provided you are the only Superpower bidding. If you get a situation where two Superpowers try to "nuke" the same auction, you have a nuclear arms race on your hands, and the only one getting "nuked" is the bidder with the largest bank account. Your guess is incorrect. Sniping is putting in your maximum bid in the last few seconds. Nuking is turning eBay into a turn based strategy game and taking your turn in the last few seconds. What you describe can be done with a sniper program. Nuking can not. If I did what you described, I would be nuking myself. Concerning what others have said about sniping not affecting the price, I strongly disagree. Think about this. eBay obviously knows they have customers that are snipers and use sniper programs. So, why doesn't eBay just embed a sniper program in the listings? Lower final value fees. This is what eBay wants you too do: 1. Carefully review the listing. 2. Click the Place Bid button. You may need to sign in. 3. Enter your maximum bid, and then click the Continue button. 4. Review your bid, and then click the Confirm Bid button. Notice how they want you to place your maximum bid as soon as you are done carefully reviewing the listing. Then in the last 60 minutes they want you to get in a bid war using 1-click bidding. Why? Higher final value fees. They know sniping works. Here is another thing to consider: shill bidding. Sellers know that it doesn't just increase the price but also increases the desirability. They want bids and they want them early because it draws attention to their listings. They want you to do the same thing that eBay does and sometimes get desperate enough to use shill bidding. Why? More profit. They know sniping works. Ebay and the sellers want you to do the same thing and that isn't sniping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Perhaps it is just that snipers have a higher IQ Those who place their maximum bids Those who snipe the maximum bidders Those who nuke the snipers Those who hunt us all for our ROMs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nofrills100 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) Ain't that the truth! If sniping led to higher end price - ebay would promote it without a doubt. Edited October 31, 2012 by nofrills100 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojay1997 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 You seem to be equating sniping with crazy-last-second-bidding. When sniping you do 'bid the most you really want to pay and hope for the best' - the difference, as many before me have pointed out, is that there is a chance you will avoid other bidders chipping away at your maximum bid had you placed it earlier, and potentially get it for less. At the end of the day, if there is a lot of interest in the item sniping probably won't help - but none-the-less you will still have entered you max and given it your best shot. On the other hand, if the item has gone under the radar, and only a few people have picked up on it - sniping allows the element of surprise in the last seconds, and gives you a better chance of trumping the rest without allowing them time to reconsider their maximums, and hence winning it for a lower final price. Again, I just think that Ebay has fundamentally changed with the ubiquity of smartphone Ebay apps and I know literally half a dozen co-workers who regularly use them to bid at the last minute. Sniping doesn't provide a benefit unless you are literally only bidding against one other person and that person is too slow or too disinterested to respond in time. Every video game auction I have bid on in the past two years has had literally 2-8 snipers hitting it at the last minute trying to win. In those cases, the sniper who bids the most is going to win. Similarly, if someone bid more than those snipers five days earlier, that person wins. Having said that, I do agree that sniping helps prevent bid shilling and all of these people who may be shills that bid something up to see your limits only to withdraw their bids. At the same time, waiting to bid can and does result in side dealing. Frankly, Ebay loves sniping and just last minute bidding in general because it increases final value fees as people respond to the time pressure and overpay. If Ebay didn't love it, they would go to a Yahoo type system or place other limits on the practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) I've gotten sniped plenty of times. Pisses me off. I may be asleep or in school, work, etc... But if there's a limit to what you want to pay for an item, whether you have the means to pay more or not is moot. I view people who overpay for stuff as not being very frugal with their money. Had they waited or done more searching as I did, they could have gotten it cheaper. I swear some people are more obsessed with winning than getting a good deal, especially when an auction on an item goes higher than an available BIN for identical items. I even sometimes post (and win) items with best offers. I have found the golden ratio on a "Best Offer" is typically approximately 2/3 the value of the instant BIN price. Another thing that bugs me about eBay bidding: changing my own bid to a higher maximum amount adds to the bid total of an auction even though only one or two people besides myself may have actually placed bids. Does this actually wreck my chances of winning the item or improve my chances, by say increasing my max bid three times instead of just placing one bid at the higher amount? Edited October 31, 2012 by stardust4ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) At the end of the day, it's all semantics. Because a "snipe" is just a simple bid. And it's exactly the same type of bid had you placed it 6 days before. Whether you use a service or do it yourself manually, there is really not a single difference except the timing of it. You could go on about what your "max" is, or overpaying, the emotions of individuals, irrationality, or the seller ending an auction, whatever the heck you want. It all doesn't matter as the only one truth is, in a regular ebay auction brought to completion, the HIGHEST BID WINS. End of story. And if one person bids $15,000 six days early for an ET cartridge and another snipes at the final second for $10,000, well the first guy is going to win it for about $10,001. And if one person bids $10,000 six days early for an ET cartridge and another snipes at the final second for $15,000, well the second guy is going to win it for about $10,001 Edited October 31, 2012 by NE146 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Timing is a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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