eBay Sniping

[powermax_paul 1]

As asked in another post. "Sniping," in the context of eBay, means to wait until the last few seconds of an auction before placing your final bid. The logic is, others do not have an opportunity to bid higher. I know some bidders and sellers HATE snipers. Consider the following: 1) In the purest form, a "live" auction will start at zero ($0) dollars and sell to the highest bidder. 2) Since eBay is not "live," sellers are protected. They can start the auction at any price they want, use a "Buy it now" feature, and further protect their sale price with a "Reserve price". So, with all that protection, why would a seller hate a sniper? 3) Bidders can bid as high as they want. Bidders can use a "Proxy bid" to secretly place their highest bid. If a bidder is outbid, that simply means another bidder thought the item was worth more. So, why would a bidder hate a sniper? I admire snipers, and I snipe myself. Why? Ever notice how many people ask, "What's it worth"? I know what an item is worth to me. If I bid on an item early, I just allow some other person to benefit from my knowledge and buy the item, or permit that person to cause me to bid more than I should. For example, as of this moment "juscubs" has the high bid ($611) on the eBay 101. If "juscubs" placed a proxy bid of $1200, and other bidders keep raising the bid by $10, the bid will keep going up. "Juscubs" may end up bidding $850 unnecessarily. That will make the seller happy (but, the seller was already happy when the $600 reserve price was met). If I snipe at the last few seconds, the seller should still be happy. "Juscubs" should be happy if my snipe is $1000, because it is less than $1200, and "juscubs" won at $1010. If my snipe is $2000, I will be happy because I will have won at $1210. I wouldn't really care if "juscubs" was happy because apparently he didn't want the tractor as much as I did. The only problem with sniping is there isn't time to retract your bid if you get "bidders remorse," but you shouldn't anyway. Win or loose, I can't imagine why anyone would not admire a sniper.

[Putter 0]

Woody, Win or loose, post a link to the item after the auction's over. Good Luck....................

[powermax_paul 1]

Woody, No bidder should be PO'd. If anyone didn't take their best shot, shame on them. Congradulations! I don't know a thing about Cub parts, but it looks like a good buy. I like the torsion spring concept for the idler.

[John_RI 8]

I've sniped & I've been sniped - great sport! As Dutch points out, eBay is different than a live auction, and, 'it is what it is'.

[Brent_Baumer 5]

Kent, Like Woody stated, there is software that automates the "sniping" process. That way you don't have to sit at the computer for hours. I've never used it, so I don't know how well it works.

[Brent_Baumer 5]

Sam, I've had just the opposite experience at live auctions. When the "public" attends, they pay more than retail. Some auctions have "seen the light" and closed the auction to dealers only. Many times the "public" gets "auction fever", overbids, then develops "buyers remorse" and don't pay. Other "public" don't listen to announcements, or don't know what "As-Is" means.

[StinKy 0]

I"ve never tried to buy anything off e-bay, but thanks to my friends in the club as always if I ever do try it I'll be a little wiser about the bidding process. Seems to me with this e-bay thing a fellow has to place a lot of trust in the seller, after all your buying an item possibly a thousand miles away without ever laying eyes on it, much less being able to "kick a tire". I know e-bay has it's truth in selling rules etc. but if you do happen to get a lemon I think the potential for a big hassle could be just around the corner. Just the same, as John(RI) said "sport" and I'm sure it is. Dick

[Brent_Baumer 5]

I bought a pair of 20x50 binoculars last year on e-bay for $40. Thought I was getting a great deal. When the binoculars showed up I couldn't wait to try them. They were very clear, but only about 8 power NOT 20 power. They are stamped "20x50" right on them but they definitely are not 20x. I'm not really an expert on binoculars, but have owned and used several pairs of 7x, 8x, and 10x as well as 7x and 10x gun scopes. These are closest to 8x when compared side by side with other sets. Sure wish I could have looked through these before I bought them. Brent

[Brent_Baumer 5]

I usually just decide what the max is I'm willing to pay and submit that early and let it ride. Not very crafty, but it's easiest and I don't talk myself into paying more for something than I really wanted to. If I don't win the bid, which happens alot, I consider it fate and move on.....Brent

[SmilinSam 4,244]

Herb, I see that overspending quite alot as well. People must not shop around much. I always get a chuckle watching bidders swarm all over a nicer looking Simplicity that runs well but the tractor upon real close inspection is a worn out , high hour, pile of junk. I hang back and buy the one everyone turns their noses up at, the grungy looking tractor that has a torn seat and a flat tire and won't start. You wouldn't believe how many "new" engines I have bought this way for little to nothing.

[Brent_Baumer 5]

A sniper just got the Landlord 101 on ebay. Check out the bids in the bid history. Especially in the last few minutes. Brent[A href='http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=1320740159']http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=1320740159[/a]

[SmilinSam 4,244]

On the local auctions you run into a similar sort of thing if you buy to resell. Instead being called an sniper, you get labeled a blankety blank scalper or called one of a certain religious faith. Again, theres no real reason there for the losing bidders to gripe. Consider you buy something to resell. You figure its worth 1/2 of new price. Tha means you have to be able to buy it for 1/2 of that or less, or 25% of new. A bargain by anyones standards. If the competing bidders can't muster the gumption to pay that, I guess they don't want it that bad to begin with. Some people just grip to sound big to everyone else I guess.

[Brent_Baumer 5]

I'd say both the buyer and seller did pretty well on that sale. Very surprised it got that high on ebay. As I said before, I think tractors go for below value when sold on ebay. Congrats Arthur, I mean Fonzie (no, I'm not Mrs. C)..Brent

[B_WALLY_ 0]

Not everyone has the time to babysit Ebay. I like to buy things reasonably priced, you think you put in a high bid and then someone outbids you by .50 at the last minute. That really pisses me off because I only look at Ebay every couple of days because I have other things to do.

[djarvis949 0]

I've researched the competition, watched the item with 2 windows open (one to place the bid) and still been beat, it's part of the game. Don

[Kent 436]

I've tried sniping but have only been successful a few times... I've certainly been beat out more than I've won. I use different strategies based upon how expensive the item is. If I'm buying something that costs quite a bit, I snipe. I bought my digital camera this way, about $40-50 less than they ususally go for -- that's another point, if it's a fairly common item, I'll watch and try to find out the going price. If it's not that expensive, I set a max bid that I'm willing to pay and let it ride. I really don't care if I run the price up on the snipers or not... Time about is fair play as far as I'm concerned. On a $10-$20 item, I don't see that it's worth a couple of hours of my time to say $2 or $3....