I officially hate snipers...

[deathtrappomegranate]

I could still use a beer, too.

 

Then you are officially, no longer a Brit.

 

 

I suppose I should have said "I could murder a pint."

[Lord Helmet]

...it's because someone bid more that you are willing to pay. Period. End of discussion IMO.

 

Not for the people that bid in small increments. When you snipe, you don't leave them any time to react and re-up their bid and out-bid you (and subsequently driving up your cost).

 

That's why you should never bid incrimentally. If you always bid your absolute maximum, you will never overpay, and you will always win, unless someone who wants to pay more than you would have anyway outbids you the important thing is not to ever pay more than you want to for an item.

[jerrykurtz]

...it's because someone bid more that you are willing to pay. Period. End of discussion IMO.

 

Not for the people that bid in small increments. When you snipe, you don't leave them any time to react and re-up their bid and out-bid you (and subsequently driving up your cost).

 

That's why you should never bid incrimentally. If you always bid your absolute maximum, you will never overpay, and you will always win, unless someone who wants to pay more than you would have anyway outbids you the important thing is not to ever pay more than you want to for an item.

 

I'f I'm OK with paying $100 for something but realize that if I can do it right, I can get it for $50, they why would I risk the extra $50 until I absolutely had to?

[sku_u]

Here are the best waya to get something cheap on Ebay:

 

1. Sit in front of your computer all day and night hitting refresh and hoping there will be a BIN of your dreams and someone doesn't somehow beat you to it (which will never happen given how many resellers are doing this very thing).

 

2. Offer a side deal and hope the person bites. If they do but do not follow through, however, you are SOL since you are going outside of Ebay with a perfect stranger.

 

3. Use one of your Ebay accounts to place a basic mark bid so the seller can't add a BIN or change the listing without cancelling the auction and relisting. Next, set your snipe bot at the absolute maximum you are willing to pay plus about 1/3 over the closest auction bid increment to avoid being outbid by a penny and have it enter in with 4 seconds remaining.

 

Choice 3 is the easiest and involves the least amount of risk. I do not understand why more people do not do this.

[NE146]

I'f I'm OK with paying $100 for something but realize that if I can do it right, I can get it for $50, they why would I risk the extra $50 until I absolutely had to?

 

Because it wont go up to $100 unless someone else bids it up to that amount. And if they bid it over that should be fine with you anyway since 100 was your max. But if you win it for $50 or slightly above that's even better.

 

So even if you bid $100 you can still win it for $50. Get it straight

[ATARIPITBULL]

Ebay is bad enough, but this sniping crap sucks.

 

Sorry, I know there are a lot of people on this site who do it, and whatever works for you, I guess.

 

But honestly, all it takes is one of those guys with a lot of money to just type in an overbid, and you lose every auction - every friggin' time.

 

I can't tell you how many auctions I've lost with less than 3 seconds to go - quite recently, mind you.

 

I don't know who britishdragon is, but I'd like to shove my foot up his arse.

 

Seriously, I'm really starting to hate eBay.

 

 

I lost 1 auctions to this Brithishdragon, but I have also kicked his ASS on 2 others!!

 

[holygrailvideogames.com]

I don't like snipers either.

[Mayhem]

There are three reasons why I only snipe nowadays:

 

1) Prevents shill bidding

2) Might get me the item for less than expected

3) Prevents anyone else knowing I'm interested in the item

 

Though I do sometimes place a marker bid for exactly the same reason as sku_u mentioned; I've noticed sellers are a lot less likely to pull an auction if there's already a bid on it. So if it's something really, really desirable... can only hope that it goes to the end.

 

I still bid my maximum at the end of course, and take my chances. All the excitement here. I do all my sniping manually as well, except if it finishes at like 4am, then I do use a web based method instead.

[orrimarrko]

There are three reasons why I only snipe nowadays:

 

1) Prevents shill bidding

2) Might get me the item for less than expected

3) Prevents anyone else knowing I'm interested in the item

 

Though I do sometimes place a marker bid for exactly the same reason as sku_u mentioned; I've noticed sellers are a lot less likely to pull an auction if there's already a bid on it. So if it's something really, really desirable... can only hope that it goes to the end.

 

I still bid my maximum at the end of course, and take my chances. All the excitement here. I do all my sniping manually as well, except if it finishes at like 4am, then I do use a web based method instead.

 

 

Well said.

[orrimarrko]

I'f I'm OK with paying $100 for something but realize that if I can do it right, I can get it for $50, they why would I risk the extra $50 until I absolutely had to?

 

Because it wont go up to $100 unless someone else bids it up to that amount. And if they bid it over that should be fine with you anyway since 100 was your max. But if you win it for $50 or slightly above that's even better.

 

So even if you bid $100 you can still win it for $50. Get it straight

 

 

Sorry, but you aren't getting his point.

 

If you enter your maximum early, it may rise throughout the auction unnecessarily.

 

If you enter it late, there won't be time for it to rise up to (and possibly surpassing) your maximum bid.

 

Sniping at the auction's end prevents unnecessary incremental bidding by others.

 

Yes, you might still win the auction at $50, perhaps at $100. But if you enter the max bid early on, you may win it at $100 instead of $50 or perhaps somewhere in-between.

 

He's absolutely right.

[orrimarrko]

Here are the best waya to get something cheap on Ebay:

 

1. Sit in front of your computer all day and night hitting refresh and hoping there will be a BIN of your dreams and someone doesn't somehow beat you to it (which will never happen given how many resellers are doing this very thing).

 

2. Offer a side deal and hope the person bites. If they do but do not follow through, however, you are SOL since you are going outside of Ebay with a perfect stranger.

 

3. Use one of your Ebay accounts to place a basic mark bid so the seller can't add a BIN or change the listing without cancelling the auction and relisting. Next, set your snipe bot at the absolute maximum you are willing to pay plus about 1/3 over the closest auction bid increment to avoid being outbid by a penny and have it enter in with 4 seconds remaining.

 

Choice 3 is the easiest and involves the least amount of risk. I do not understand why more people do not do this.

 

 

Choice 3 and a snipe program it is.

[sku_u]

Here are the best waya to get something cheap on Ebay:

 

1. Sit in front of your computer all day and night hitting refresh and hoping there will be a BIN of your dreams and someone doesn't somehow beat you to it (which will never happen given how many resellers are doing this very thing).

 

2. Offer a side deal and hope the person bites. If they do but do not follow through, however, you are SOL since you are going outside of Ebay with a perfect stranger.

 

3. Use one of your Ebay accounts to place a basic mark bid so the seller can't add a BIN or change the listing without cancelling the auction and relisting. Next, set your snipe bot at the absolute maximum you are willing to pay plus about 1/3 over the closest auction bid increment to avoid being outbid by a penny and have it enter in with 4 seconds remaining.

 

Choice 3 is the easiest and involves the least amount of risk. I do not understand why more people do not do this.

 

 

Choice 3 and a snipe program it is.

 

Welcome to the Thunderdome!

[orrimarrko]

Here are the best waya to get something cheap on Ebay:

 

1. Sit in front of your computer all day and night hitting refresh and hoping there will be a BIN of your dreams and someone doesn't somehow beat you to it (which will never happen given how many resellers are doing this very thing).

 

2. Offer a side deal and hope the person bites. If they do but do not follow through, however, you are SOL since you are going outside of Ebay with a perfect stranger.

 

3. Use one of your Ebay accounts to place a basic mark bid so the seller can't add a BIN or change the listing without cancelling the auction and relisting. Next, set your snipe bot at the absolute maximum you are willing to pay plus about 1/3 over the closest auction bid increment to avoid being outbid by a penny and have it enter in with 4 seconds remaining.

 

Choice 3 is the easiest and involves the least amount of risk. I do not understand why more people do not do this.

 

 

Choice 3 and a snipe program it is.

 

Welcome to the Thunderdome!

 

 

LOL!

[Dino]

All the above suggestions go out the window though when you are bidding on well-advertised rarities as these will not go unnoticed by the "big boys" and will not go cheaply whether you snipe or not. Sniping only works for more common items to avoid getting caught up in a bidding war with a less experienced e-bayer (the big boys don't bid incrementally) or for rare items that are hidden in an auction by a seller that doesnt know their value.

[Paranoid]

I guess I'm in with Orrin... you guys have convinced me... at least from the perspective of a buyer. Because you *are* right... it does suck to place your proxy bid and watch a bunch of idiots nip at your bid... when you KNOW they're not going to go as high as you, and that they are only driving up the price you will end up paying. That *does* piss me off, when it happens.

 

As a seller, though, it would piss me off that buyers were using this sniper strategy to get my item for the minimum that they can, making an item look like it has zero interest until the very last 10 seconds of the auction, when a flurry of bids come in, but it still sells for less than it probably would have otherwise.

 

And I agree on the logic for NOT putting your high end bid in as a proxy bid from the START. The problem there is the idiots. I routinely see people on eBay pay nearly as much if not more for a used item than they could get it for new. All the Flashback 1s for $29.99 plus $12 s&h are proof enough of that... if they weren't selling to someone, they wouldn't be gettng listed. I imagine Fingerhut shoppers, big rural ladies in flower print dresses... out in the middle of Nowhere, Nebraska, surrounded by boxes from the Home Shopping Network, rooms overflowing with Beanie Babies... bidding away in some consumer sugar-coma...

 

So... ok... from the frustrated eBay buyer perspective... I suppose sniping is a useful tool.

 

Mark this day... it is very rare that I retract my position, convinced by the argumentative logic of others that my original position was incorrect.

 

[Mayhem]

All the above suggestions go out the window though when you are bidding on well-advertised rarities as these will not go unnoticed by the "big boys" and will not go cheaply whether you snipe or not.

 

Depends. Most of the time I agree. Sometimes though people I know won't bother bidding because they know they won't beat me (and yes, they do tell me this!). I guess my reputation preceeds me at times

[Crazy Climber]

...it's because someone bid more that you are willing to pay. Period. End of discussion IMO.

 

Not for the people that bid in small increments. When you snipe, you don't leave them any time to react and re-up their bid and out-bid you (and subsequently driving up your cost).

 

That's why you should never bid incrimentally. If you always bid your absolute maximum, you will never overpay, and you will always win, unless someone who wants to pay more than you would have anyway outbids you the important thing is not to ever pay more than you want to for an item.

I have always placed one large bid on the item I am interested in right at the end of the auction, I never used a snipe program but I do wait until the last few seconds. I dont see a problem with it and I always have a set price I will pay anyways so I dont get "caught in the moment" and overpay. One thing I have done is enter an oddball amount. For instance if I think a fair price for something is 75.00 I am probably not the only one thinking about bidding that price so I will bid something like 77.77, its only a couple bucks and I might catch someone off guard. That way I can maybe still win by a buck or two and not overpay. Overall if someone wants it more than you, you will lose. Especially if they have the money......or the credit cards

[ATARIPITBULL]

"UPDATE" I just beat Britishdragon out of another boxed 2600 game last night!!! it was PICNIC, from US Games.

 

[jerrykurtz]

All the above suggestions go out the window though when you are bidding on well-advertised rarities as these will not go unnoticed by the "big boys" and will not go cheaply whether you snipe or not.

 

Depends. Most of the time I agree. Sometimes though people I know won't bother bidding because they know they won't beat me (and yes, they do tell me this!). I guess my reputation preceeds me at times

 

Uh, yea, I often stay out of your way -- especially when a rare C64 cart pops up

[Omegamatrix]

One thing that nobody has mentioned here yet is that some people have a snipe in place will also do a manual snipe in the last few seconds. This is so if your computer crashes or their website freezes up the other snipe gets through. I've also seen people using two different sniping programs and doing a third manual snipe so that they are really sure the bid gets through. They time it a couple of seconds apart. Since the sniping programs use your eBay ID to bid you are not biding against yourself. It's just as if you entered a second bid on your own.

[Almost Rice]

One thing that nobody has mentioned here yet is that some people have a snipe in place will also do a manual snipe in the last few seconds. This is so if your computer crashes or their website freezes up the other snipe gets through. I've also seen people using two different sniping programs and doing a third manual snipe so that they are really sure the bid gets through. They time it a couple of seconds apart. Since the sniping programs use your eBay ID to bid you are not biding against yourself. It's just as if you entered a second bid on your own.

 

True, but I only use the sniping program more so that I can have a life and not forget to snipe. I have lost many deals because I forgot to bid. I have yet to lose an item because of the computer freezing.

[Omegamatrix]

One thing that nobody has mentioned here yet is that some people have a snipe in place will also do a manual snipe in the last few seconds. This is so if your computer crashes or their website freezes up the other snipe gets through. I've also seen people using two different sniping programs and doing a third manual snipe so that they are really sure the bid gets through. They time it a couple of seconds apart. Since the sniping programs use your eBay ID to bid you are not biding against yourself. It's just as if you entered a second bid on your own.

 

True, but I only use the sniping program more so that I can have a life and not forget to snipe. I have lost many deals because I forgot to bid. I have yet to lose an item because of the computer freezing.

My connection is lot better know then it used to be, but I have lost auctions to my internet slowing to a crawl. I agree with not wanting to forget an auction. That's happen more times then I care to admit.

[Zwackery]

"UPDATE" I just beat Britishdragon out of another boxed 2600 game last night!!! it was PICNIC, from US Games.

Yeah, I saw that. There was a boatload of sniping going on with those auctions last night (and more to come tonight, no doubt). I would have liked to get Picnic, but just for the box since I already have the cart and manual. The only sniping of mine that worked was for Fireball. Now I just need a Supercharger (I already have the box, manual, and Phaser Patrol pack-in...sometimes in collecting you have to assemble stuff in a weird order...). Still, good score on that Picnic - this is why you are the Pitbull of Atari!

Edited June 7, 2006 by Zwackery

[orrimarrko]

Okay. So I thought that I would give it a shot with Auction Sniper last night.

 

I had 9 or 10 games that I entered snipes for - decent amounts with a 3 second lead time.

 

All bids were entered, and I won ONE auction.

 

Of the 9 or 10 items however, only about half were truly serious bids, the rest were an experiment.

 

Of the serious bids, I was outbid with 4 or 5 seconds to go - which is a little odd, considering that the snipe shouldn't have taken place until there was 3 seconds to go. Hmm...

 

Anyway, it was all mostly an experiment to see how this would work.

 

What I found out was that britishdragon has lots of money.

[Mayhem]

Uh, yea, I often stay out of your way -- especially when a rare C64 cart pops up

 

Actually I like the fact we help each other out... speaking of which it reminds me of something I wanted to ask, but I'll send an email about it.