Sniping's no good anymore.

[zoomer]

Not when there's a size 46 GW 1939 Werber up for sale, anyway.
I put in an eSnipe on it the first day - 12 hours later "bidding has ended" with zero bids.
:| :x :evil: I mean G**D@M!! S*NUVA F#¢!!IN B!*¢#!!

Tell me honestly gents - how serious is eBay about banning people who offer to settle offsite?
If you have to run that risk to get the really good stuff, pretty soon there won't BE any good stuff.

Whoever stepped in between me and my (really pretty generous) max bid can go play in Boston traffic as far as I'm concerned.
I assume, naturally, that it wasn't one of us!

(Of course, in the unlikely event seller is just relisting...nevvvv-er mind! )

 

[Atticus]

As I understand it, sellers can more easily end their auctions early if there are no bids. So I will normally place an opening bid on the item to "vest my interest"...then I set my snipe.

AF

 

[handworn]

Wasn't me; I already have one exactly like it in seal.

I hate that, though. I was recently going to bid on a Korean War cap-- you know, the kind with the "mouton" and ear flaps-- in a rare size 7 3/4-- and the seller cancelled the bids and ended the auction. Bastard. I'd have gone strong on that.

eBay has discovered what governments know-- there's no enforcing a law that large numbers of people want to break and that other people don't have the time and energy to report in large enough numbers.

 

[havocpaul]

Well I've ranted on and on about sellers removing/ending items early but it is made easier for them if no bids have been made. I am no fan of sniping either, what's wrong with actually bidding in real time? By placing a bid early it's like marking your territory and the seller will maybe be less likely to end early; then again, those that think it's clever to offer an 'off-ebay' deal whilst the auction's running are on my hit list too!

 

[ausreenactor]

You said it Paul!! Tightwads that use the service that do not want to pay for the priviledge. They probably do not buy much either! As they are probably lowballers to boot!! It is even more of a frustration when you forego other items to target your bidding on that pulled item.

Couchy

 

[Hamsterbear]

No, it's more fundamental than all of the above...
If you are selling an item, and it appears that it won't sell, or there is no buyer interest, you simply cancell your listing at the 11th hour for some "reason" to avoid paying eBay fees. If you want to force an auction to run it's course, you must nail it with at least one bid to keep it from going away. I do that sometimes if a listing sits idle all week with no bids, then my snipe gets it at close. I mainly use a sniping service, not because I'm cheap or whatever, it's simply that I'm usually not home or can't be online when the auction closes, and every auction close time is different and difficult to keep track of. Many times I missed an auction because I forgot the end time. Now, if I really want something, I'll set a "snipe" and if I win, good, if not, well it also avoids the bidding frenzy at the end, and I won't bid more that I'm willing to pay for something. Also, I never liked PROXY bidding, because it's too easy for a dishonest seller to "shill up" your bid, or lookey-loo "tire kickers" will bid with no intention of trying to actually win an item. I've had someone bid on an auction, then cancell their bid when they saw how much more I was willing to bid, or it was over their proxy ammount.
Having sold and not sold some items recently, eBay had really taken a bigger "cut" of your sale , especially when the forced method of payment is Pay-pal, which eBay also gets a "taste" of.
-Brian

 

[bseal]

As I understand it, sellers can more easily end their auctions early if there are no bids. So I will normally place an opening bid on the item to "vest my interest"...then I set my snipe.

AF

Concur. :idea:

 

[Roughwear]

It has ever been thus. As long as sniping has been available sellers have ended items early for various reasons. To me sniping is an absolute godsend. As I buy quite alot from the USA and auction soften end in the middle of the night, I set the snipe and hope for the best. Almost all my original A2s have been bought this way. Had I placed bids and gone to bed I would more than likley have been less successful and could have been a victim of shill bidding. Of course you have to hope the auction runs to the end!

 

[Atticus]

Sniping only works if there are no other snipers in the auction and no one has placed a open bid higher than the highest snipe.

It does allow the sniper to recuse himself from other folks' bidding wars and it does allow the sniper to forget about the auction unless he wins.

AF

 

[Roughwear]

It also depends when the snipe is set for and the amount bid. I set mine for the last five secs and yes one can be outbid by another sniper, but not so easily by manual bidders who do not have time to react an up their bid.

 

[rikbb]

Can anybody suggest a particular sniper?
I've tried one once, but nothing happened.

 

[Roughwear]

I generally use Auction Sniper-www.auctionsniper.com. The first three snipes are free.

 

[m444uk]

Just to clarify: a snipe is merely an automated proxy bid. The program bids only once...your high bid. Ebay calculates the winner after the auction closes based all bids placed. A manual bidder will still win if his maximum is one increment higher than any proxy bids. The idea the the manual bidder cannot respond in the last second is incorrect as long as they enter the maximum they are prepared to pay.
With all the action taking place after the auction closes it's often a mistake for a seller to close early due to an offer.
It defeats the whole point of an auction and will surely mean in the long run getting less for their items.

I've used Prospector lite for years without a single missed bid. It's a free server based system with a good search facility.

http://www.moxieproxy.com/

 

[Atticus]

I've used Prospector lite for years without a single missed bid. It's a free server based system with a good search facility.

http://www.moxieproxy.com/

Yep. Me too.

AF

 

[Roughwear]

Just to clarify: a snipe is merely an automated proxy bid. The program bids only once...your high bid. Ebay calculates the winner after the auction closes based all bids placed. A manual bidder will still win if his maximum is one increment higher than any proxy bids. The idea the the manual bidder cannot respond in the last second is incorrect as long as they enter the maximum they are prepared to pay.
With all the action taking place after the auction closes it's often a mistake for a seller to close early due to an offer.
It defeats the whole point of an auction and will surely mean in the long run getting less for their items.

I've used Prospector lite for years without a single missed bid. It's a free server based system with a good search facility.

http://www.moxieproxy.com/

This is all true. Of course if the snipe is less than the maximum the existing highest bidder has set it will not prevail. I had assumed the snipe was higher than the maximum bid of the existing highest bidder.

 

[442RCT]

So what a snipe program does is keep you 'invisible' so that other bidders don't know you are a potential competitor, vs. you posting your max bid and letting others know you are interested in the item, which is what I've been doing...sometimes I win, most of the time the other bidder keeps bidding in increments until they find my 'max' bid, and occasionally two dueling snipers outbidding everybody else by a significant amount.

Now I understand why an item that showed a bid for $ 50.00 for 6 days on the close of auction ended with two snipers bidding $ 375.00 and $ 385.00.

Thanks for clarifying sniping for me...probably won't change my win-loss too much since I usually lose by a margin of + 50% anyway. :roll:

 

[USMC_GAU-21]

Well to "snipe" or not to "snipe" is up to the individual. Yes it keeps you "invisible", but all it does is use your broadband connection to put you highest bid in, in the last 5 - 6 seconds, thus ensuring if manual bidding is going on that at least you get a shot at the item. I use snipes and I sometime stay up until 3a.m. waiting and bidding.

I started on eBay in '94 mostly for the model collections and other collectibles. It is now where we all see it today. HUGE.

the whole "PayPal" and forced fees has really put a bad taste in my mouth as a seller but, if you want to reach a world wide market, it is a great tool. With any commerce there is always someone out there trying to scam you, and eBay does a fairly good job at helping the sellers out. Most of the time. PayPal is pretty good too.

What I dont like is the "DO YOU HAVE A BUY IT NOW IN MIND?" No you clown I don't... :x bid on it like everyone else. I always send an email to the sellers that post in their auctions after on of those Buy It Now requests comes in, and they turn it down, and I congratulate them on running a fair eBay auction. eBay has done NOTHING to stop the ending of auctions early. I had a person from overseas with a nice MA-1/L-2B early 50's makers take my $100 bid and end the auctions early or cancel my bid an hour before it ended, only to re-list the item a few days later at over $500.00!! I reported him to eBay, they did nothing.

well enough of a rant. It is what it is.....I still find nice jackets on the 'ol 'Bay, but there seems to be more and more BS that comes with it. Especially now that the dollar is so weak, and overseas collectors are really scoring big.

r - Gy Dan

 

[442RCT]

Can one make an initial bid, then set up a sniper ?
i.e. - I make a bid of $ 25.00, then another bidder bids $ 26.50 to feel me out.
Can I now put in a snipe so the other bidders think I've dropped out ? :?:

 

[deeb7]

Can I now put in a snipe so the other bidders think I've dropped out ? :?:

Yep ...

 

[Atticus]

Can I now put in a snipe so the other bidders think I've dropped out ? :?:

Absolutely. I even take the item off of my watch list...I just forget about it. Then, if I win, its like Christmas morning when I was nine years old.

AF