Off topic and distasteful!!!

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

Jack Guzman from Maine

>There was a recent thread on that very subject here awhile back(about a month or less).Seems alot of posters here are experts on sniping services and alot use them.---Jack

Hammersnipe

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>I like these guys because they have a free service for <= 3 bids per week, which is fine for me these days, seldom bid on anything. I donate about $1/bid to them periodically.

Pam

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

Wiley Horne--Glendora, CA

>Coop,

I've had good luck with Hammersnipe (took Pam's suggestion on it). Their confirms and other communications are very good, and give you confidence that they're on top of your business. Have bought 20-30 items using it, and no foul-ups yet. I use the free service. They place my bid 10-14 seconds ahead. I'm limited to 3 items per week. If you want 3 seconds ahead, or expect to buy more than 3 items per week, have to use the premium (paid) service. The paid service also lets you set up combination and conditional bids, which I haven't found the need for.

The sniping service takes you off the emotional rollercoaster, keeps people from dogging your bid, and mainly--you don't have be at the computer at the appointed time. One caution is that you really have to know what your max. willingness to pay is (your walkaway number), cause you only get one bite at the apple, and will win or lose with the number you put in. However, you can change your bid, or delete it, up to two minutes of auction close. The site is fast-loading even on my antique iMac, and I've never had a problem not being able to access my bid (for editing) quickly.

Wiley

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>I have no problem with snipers. They're just playing by the rules. I don't like the rules, so I don't play the game. But, it's eBay's game, so I figure they have the right to make up any rules they want, as long as everyone understands them, and they enforce them fairly for everyone. I think the rules are a bit disadvantageous to the sellers, but if most sellers thought this disadvantage was important, they wouldn't use eBay. Since lots and lots of them do, and many have completely abandoned other auction venues in favor of eBay, I suspect that this little disadvantage must be outweighted by the advantages of a much larger market, and other considerations.

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

Steve knight

>whats the point? bid as much as you are willing and you will win or loose. sniping is not going to make a difference.

Snipers are buyers!

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>Although the practice may be unsportsmanlike, all wise ebay sellers realize.

Spoken as a seller. (:

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

Bill Collier

>I don't see anything underhanded with sniping. It's allowed by the rules so it's fair. I began using a sniper service a year ago or so because I got tired of losing auctions by someone upping his bid a dollar at a time until he beat my highest bid. I don't want to hang around and watch the progress of the bidding and sniping lets me make my best bid near the end of the auction without worrying about someone else creeping up on me. If anyone is going to beat my bid, and it happens alot, I expect them to be sniping also. Being beat by a sniper just seems more fair to me than being probed until my bid is beat by the smallest possible increment. Any other sniper must make his own independent evaluation of how much the item is worth and commit himself the same way I did.

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!! *LINK*

WoodburnBob

>I don't know how well the services work but I've used sniping software for quite a few years now. The last year or two I've used Auction Sentry and have no complaints. Since Ebay seems to alter it's data format very often, it is important that what you are using keeps up to date and is compulsively supported by the developer. You can find comparative reviews of the various programs on-line and I'd guess the same is true for services. I have a cable DSL connection that I leave connected much of the time. If you have dial-up, I can see why a service might be better.


Link to program I use

Makes you wonder...

mike recchione

>Given that sniping is so popular, I wonder if eBay will begin to offer a "sealed bid auction" option. I've seen people construct scenarios that "proved" that sniping results in the item going for a lower price. But the assumption is always that there is a mix of sniping and non-sniping bidders competing for the item. Do these "proofs" still hold when everybody is required to snipe, i.e. you put in your maximum bid and you don't know anything about what's been bid by anyone else until the auction is over, and then all you know is the price the item went for?

Would moving to a sealed-bid system force all bidders to bid a realistic maximum (which might be higher than the snipe maximum, which has an element of hope associated with it), and thus result in higher prices? Or would removing the joy of the chase or the irrational bidder factor result in lower prices overall?

Re: Makes you wonder...

Clay C in Miami

>Certainly sealed bids would make sniping pointless, assuming they were truly sealed - i.e., you get no info at all, not even who is (or whether or not you are) the current high bidder, nor how many other bidders there are.

But, I think all-sealed bids would result in lower prices for sellers overall. Lots of things I see creep ever higher, as folks shoot it out. If they had to put in one sealed bid and had no knowledge, I don't think that would generate nearly the $ that the current visible 'competition' does. eBay does a pretty good job taking full advantage of human nature. The one thing that I think would generate highest overall prices for sellers would be to not have the auction close until there'd been 5 minutes (or whatever period) with no bids. This would eliminate a lot of (though not all) the motive to snipe. An in-between step would be to make the number of people 'watching' an item publicly available (now only the seller sees that datum). I think that, if all bidders, snipers included, knew there were 79 other people watching an item, it would inspire higher bids generally.

To me, the value in sniping is not just keeping people from creeeeping up past your bid and you losing the item - perhaps even more important, it keeps people from creeeeping up towards your bid and you nonetheless winning the item, but winning it at a much higher price than if they'd not had that target to shoot at.

Lots of folks seem to bid until they are high bidder, then apparantly say 'Aaaahhh' and move on. These people are the natural prey of the sniper, because the sniper can see the pattern from the bid history, and be confident that the high bidder's 'ceiling' is not much above the current high bid. (Doesn't mean there aren't other snipers on the item out there, of course!)

I admit, I find the psychological intricacies of eBay fascinating. Ego, greed, adrenaline, thrill-of-the-hunt, lots of things come into play. For example, I would guess that eBay cut down the available item bid histories from the original 90 days to the current 14, not to save on storage space, but to help out sellers.

Clay

Snipe On!

Ernie Miller

>I was going to stay out but just can't do it. I have no problem with snipers they are bidding just like every one else just using the most up to date technology. I can't see where it raises or lowers my final price for an item. I have seen sever al people over the last month or so put in one bid early and win the auction with there being 15-20 bids over all. But I don't buy alot and if I used a service I would be buying more as I forget to go back and bid. There was a wonderfull wooden machine that I wanted this weekend and forgot to bid. and there is a plane I will bid on tomarrow if I get off work in time.

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!! *LINK*

Mike-in-Michigan

>No problem with snipers -- since I 'r' one .. I use Esnipe .. have for the last 2-3 years. Seems deadon reliable, only had one failure and it has a great little popup web app to bid with. I like it. Cost is reasonable.


ESnipe

Re: Hammersnipe

Dale Stansbery

>I like Hammersnipe too, though only bid occasionally. They do have a feature that you can pay $2.00 I think for one bid at minimum seconds before the close. Then you can revert to the free srvice with a 10 seconds interval before the auction ends.

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

Todd Hughes

>If the bidding was being done by robots this would be true. But human nature as it is people often think, "I can get it for just $2 more if I just bid once more" and "I not getting beat out on what I want!" ....and they bid higher.

..Personaly I think sniper programs often work for the seller advantage and makes the buyer pay more in the long run. The reason is just like you most other ebay buyers do not have to be present at thier computer to bid but just put a sniper bid in using a program at thier leasure.Instead of your competition having to be there at the few last seconds of the auction they have all week to place that last second bid.If the bidders had to be right there bidding lots less bids would be left. I have seen things jump close to a $1,000 in the last min. or so and don't think many of the bidders were actually there bidding.

.. Have to confess to not knowing what will happen if say 3 ebayers all members of the same sniper program put in to bid at the last 5 sec. on the same item...who gets it? I do get quite a few emails from bidders on somthing saying they couldn't get in to bid and if the high bidder doesn't pay they will take it.

.. No doubt what so ever in my mind that Ebay will someday adopt the 5 min. rule where the auction continues for 5 min. after the last bid.More like a live auction and really if you think about it a more fair way to do it for all. I know sellers will like it and judging from my contact with bidders so will many of them as they will no longer lose out on what they want just because they couldn't get a bid in.....Todd

Re: Spoken as a seller. (:

Steve knight

>I would whelcome any bids. it does not matter to me. but hwen I bid I usualy just bid once.

Whatever.

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Todd, I still think most of those "I couldn't get a bid in" are stretching the truth. Most of the time the fact is they were watching the item, figuring they'd probably have to pay more than a bargain price; but when the auction was won with a bargain price, they regretted not having bid. Now this may lead to higher prices in a 5 min bid situation; but only to a point.

Pam

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

Todd Hughes

>Don't know could be some truth to what you say , though often it is for items that went for a good bit and with many bidders bidding and not nessary bargin stuff. In one particular case it was for a knife that went for over $1200. Back up bidder had put in a bid few min. befor the end [by hand I imagine] then in the last seconds tried to get in to raise it and couldn't...He was very upset as he thought for sure his $1,200 bid would get it for him as the price was only at $600 when he bid, he hinted to me that he would be willing to pay more then what it sold for but I of course never followed that up..I don't know if he used a sniping service though he would have had this problim....Todd ,[I traded a lamp for the knife!]

As usual, probably a mix of motivations.

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>I think I snipe. You tell me.

Got tired of bidding a few days before the auction was to end and than being out bid in the last seconds by exactly $1, soooooooooo what I do now is sit here and wait until last few seconds and put in my high bid. This is a "one shot" deal, but I have gotten 99% of what I wanted this way. I did sit up until 1 a.m. one Saturday night and still got out bid in the last seconds, but so it goes.

If e-bay does go to the idea of bidding past the p[osted auction date/time than I'm done with it.The E-bay folks have to realize that it's people, and mostly the BUYING types who make this so sucessful for them. I, the buyer am trying to get a bargain on something that I more than likely DO NOT NEED, JUST WANT, and the seller is trying to make $$$. If e-bay makes it so the buyer dosen't know right away if s/he won their item than it spoils the fun and just causes add'l stress/anxiety in their lives, which, if like me they don't need.

Honey did you win wizz-bang that you've been talking in your sleep about for the past week?

I dunno yet, the auction is over, but I've gotta wait 5 more minutes to see if I get out-bid. Screw that.

Todd O.

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

Todd Hughes

>Hey Todd....when I go to my local auction tomorrow maybe I can get them to put a time limit on the bidding there to so that those buyers can have less stress in thier lives as well!...I think if a person can wait 7 days for an auction to end if it runs on for a few more min. it probaly won't kill them. I used to run mostly 10 day auctions and never had any trouble with those bidders suffereing nervous breakdowns waiting out the 3 extra days for those auctions to end....All I am saying is to have ebay like a live auction where the bidding continues till nobody else is bidding and you have a winner....seems fair to me, eh?

If it makes you feel better I Will point out that on ebay you never know how much you were out bid on something. Say If you bid $10 and it sells to another bidder for $11 , while he could have bid only the $11 he could just as easly bid $100 [or more] and it would only show up as the next bid so you can't really say you were outbid by a $1 only that it sold for the next bid after yours......Todd

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>If it makes you feel better I Will point out that on ebay you never know how much you were out bid on something. Say If you bid $10 and it sells to another bidder for $11 , while he could have bid only the $11 he could just as easly bid $100 [or more] and it would only show up as the next bid so you can't really say you were outbid by a $1 only that it sold for the next bid after yours

-Yes, you are absolutly correct about that, I agree 100%

when I go to my local auction tomorrow maybe I can get them to put a time limit on the bidding there to so that those buyers can have less stress in thier lives as well!...I think if a person can wait 7 days for an auction to end if it runs on for a few more min. it probaly won't kill them. I used to run mostly 10 day auctions and never had any trouble with those bidders suffereing nervous breakdowns waiting out the 3 extra days for those auctions to end....All I am saying is to have ebay like a live auction where the bidding continues till nobody else is bidding and you have a winner....seems fair to me, eh?

-The one element I see wrong with this is that at a live auction you know IMMEDIATELY when you've been out bid, and therefore you can make a on the spot decision to bid more or not. With the idea of bids continuing after the auction time has expired one would not have this "luxury", which is what I really don't care for. C'mon now, haven't you ever done that at a live auction? Bid a bit more than you wanted too, just because you thought the "competition" would drop out if you made just one more$2-5 higher bid? I really feel that people wouldn't care for this idea and just quit fooling as much with e-bay after getting beat out so many times. At least with the current set-up people have more of a fighting chance to win their desired item. Just my opinion/skewed way of thinking I guess.

Todd O.

Re: Off topic and distasteful!!!

Todd Hughes

>Its true that with most live auctions the auction continues less then 5 min. after the last bid recieved, though I have seen some auctioners really drag it out trying to get another bid, but the difference is that you can bid faster in person then you can on an internet auction. Instead of just nodding to bid and to continue the auction it takes some time to place a bid using the computer as well as refreshing the auction page to see that you have been out bid. Maybe 5 min. is a bit long and 2 or 3 min. would be more realistic but I don't see that it is a big difference ....Todd