eBay snipe killer..

[yuppicide]

Here's a good idea another auction website does that I think eBay should adpot:

"When a bid is submitted in the final 3 minutes of an auction the website automatically extends the auction closing time by 3 minutes in order to prevent auction sniping - the practice of placing a bid just as an auction is about to close. The auction will be extended as many times as necessary until there are no bids (manual or proxy) in the last 3 minutes before closing. The automatic auction extension benefits buyers because it gives you more time to respond with a new bid, rather than losing the assets to a sniper."

-- what do you think?!

[K3V]

Doesn't Yahoo auctions do that?

[orrimarrko]

Here here...

[Scavenger4]

I love the sniping ideal, helps me get items that I wouldn't pay much more for. In all honesty if you really want an item then why isn't your high bid what you are willing to pay? That'll stop the snipes and if you lose the item, then you weren't willing to pay that anyway.

From a seller's standpoint its awesome because it will ensure that you get the highest out of your item. On the same flip of the coin it could also lessen the high bid because of the quick decisions required (impulse buying) to raise that price at the last second.

[Cmosfm]

Screw that idea, Sniping is what makes eBay so fun!

I love seeing people bid on an item they want a couple times, they rape them for it at the last second. One time I had a guy AIM me afterwards and cuss me out, told me the Super Famicom I won was going to be for his little brother in the hospital and that I will burn in hell. :hmm:

See....without Sniping I'd be going to Heaven!

I make no sense sometimes.

[IntvGene]

I know Yahoo auctions in Japan does that (although I haven't used them recently). The last time I used them, I thought the auction got bumped up ten minutes. I like the idea. But, I wonder how much you'd see the prices start to rise if they tried this.

[anagrama]

What surprises me is that eBay haven't jumped on this idea already - as far as I can tell, all it would do is make people more likely to get into bidding wars and over-pay, which means eBay makes more from the fees.

As a buyer, I love sniping too - it saves me money. The only people who hate sniping are the ones who are no good at it ;)

[punkoffgirl]

What the hell is the point of having an end time on an auction if you're going to extend it every time someone else makes a bid?

[Captain Wrong]

What the hell is the point of having an end time on an auction if you're going to extend it every time someone else makes a bid?

Exactly my thoughts.

I think people just need to buck up, bid what they are willing to pay and stop crabbing when they don't get something for dirt cheap.

[Cmosfm]

What the hell is the point of having an end time on an auction if you're going to extend it every time someone else makes a bid?

Exactly my thoughts.

I think people just need to buck up, bid what they are willing to pay and stop crabbing when they don't get something for dirt cheap.

That's pretty much it.

I mean, if there's something that comes up that you want, you CAN win it. I mean, say you're bidding on a Panesian that you *MUST* have....snipe it at 1000.00. No one's gonna top that, and you'll come out paying as low as possible, but at least you'll have it.

[davidbrit2]

What the hell is the point of having an end time on an auction if you're going to extend it every time someone else makes a bid?

Well, a real auction keeps going if there's a bidding war and things like that.

"Going once, going twice..."
"Four-fifty!"
"Four-fifty! Going once..."

And ebay could add an option allowing the seller to immediately close an auction that's gone into overtime, or even disallow that behavior completely when posting the item.

[punkoffgirl]

What the hell is the point of having an end time on an auction if you're going to extend it every time someone else makes a bid?

Well, a real auction keeps going if there's a bidding war and things like that.

"Going once, going twice..."
"Four-fifty!"
"Four-fifty! Going once..."

And ebay could add an option allowing the seller to immediately close an auction that's gone into overtime, or even disallow that behavior completely when posting the item.

REAL auctions also don't have end times. So again, what's the point of having an end time?

[atomicthumbs]

Well... It may be because I'm tired as hell, and the only reason I'm up is because I had a nightmare about work... But wouldn't you just snipe moments before the three minute mark begins instead? That makes sense, right?

[Kejoriv]

Thats ridicolous. I dont like that idea at all. Pay what you want. Snipe if you want.

I agree with the other posts. People get real pissed if they dont get items for dirt cheap

[davidbrit2]

They sort of do, as in "Going, going, gone," though it's often not a concrete time. This is acceptable when your potential audience is pretty small, though. The folks at ebay had to add a few more specifics to keep auctions from potentially getting carried away indefinitely, but I think implementing extensions could be done without ruining the current setup.

[Rogmeister]

One problem is that extending the auction by 3 minutes is still going to cost the original bidder the auction in many instances as not everyone is going to be online when the auction they've bid on ends. If someone bids as it ends and it ends 3 minutes later, so what? There may be no more bids in those 3 minutes and the sniper still gets the item.

[bargora]

I'm sorry. I'm trying to follow the logic for extending auctions. But all I can hear is a baby crying about getting sniped because he (or she) didn't make a large enough proxy bid.

Everybody knows the real problem with ebay is that people charge too much to handle my junk! They should pay me for the privilege!

[anagrama]

Well... It may be because I'm tired as hell, and the only reason I'm up is because I had a nightmare about work... But wouldn't you just snipe moments before the three minute mark begins instead? That makes sense, right?

No. The whole point of sniping (if you're doing it right) is to ensure that no-one else has a chance to respond. The 3-minute margin would entirely negate this.

The "problem" would also be entirely avoided if everyone was sensible about it and placed their maximum in a single bid. That, however, is giving the majority far too much credit for logical thought. And until that day comes (which it won't) I'm going to be sniping in the dying seconds for anything I really want.

The people who bitch about sniping are those who don't understand how eBay properly works - it's the same people who bitch about losing an item for $0.50, oblivious to the fact that the high-bidder may have had a maximum bid many times higher.

[punkoffgirl]

Everybody knows the real problem with ebay is that people charge too much to handle my junk! They should pay me for the privilege!

Well, they would, but prostitution is illegal in most of the U.S. ;)

[bargora]

Everybody knows the real problem with ebay is that people charge too much to handle my junk! They should pay me for the privilege!

Well, they would, but prostitution is illegal in most of the U.S. ;)
:embarrassed:

That's why I only order from ebay.lasvegas.nv.com. ;)

[alexkidd2000]

Its fine how it is, if they changed it to the 3 minute thing I would be really pissed. All it would do is make it harder for me to complete my collections.

[punkoffgirl]

Everybody knows the real problem with ebay is that people charge too much to handle my junk! They should pay me for the privilege!

Well, they would, but prostitution is illegal in most of the U.S. ;)
:embarrassed:

That's why I only order from ebay.lasvegas.nv.com. ;)

I'll handle your junk for free ANY tme ;)

[atomicthumbs]

Well... It may be because I'm tired as hell, and the only reason I'm up is because I had a nightmare about work... But wouldn't you just snipe moments before the three minute mark begins instead? That makes sense, right?

No. The whole point of sniping (if you're doing it right) is to ensure that no-one else has a chance to respond. The 3-minute margin would entirely negate this.



Yeah, I know. That's the point I was getting at. Since no one can bid within the last three minutes, wouldn't that just make the moments before the three minute mark begins the NEW sniping opportunity?

[jajaja]

What the hell is the point of having an end time on an auction if you're going to extend it every time someone else makes a bid?

Well, a real auction keeps going if there's a bidding war and things like that.

"Going once, going twice..."
"Four-fifty!"
"Four-fifty! Going once..."

And ebay could add an option allowing the seller to immediately close an auction that's gone into overtime, or even disallow that behavior completely when posting the item.

REAL auctions also don't have end times. So again, what's the point of having an end time?

You cant snipe on a real auction. And real auctions do have end times too of course. If they didnt have an end time they would never end :P

Personaly i dont mind the sniping system tho. Its good for the bidders, but not that good for the sellers hehe.

[bargora]

Everybody knows the real problem with ebay is that people charge too much to handle my junk! They should pay me for the privilege!Well, they would, but prostitution is illegal in most of the U.S. ;) :embarrassed:
That's why I only order from ebay.lasvegas.nv.com. ;)I'll handle your junk for free ANY tme ;)
And THAT is the way to get positive feedback! LOL

[rpepper9]

Yeah, I know. That's the point I was getting at. Since no one can bid within the last three minutes, wouldn't that just make the moments before the three minute mark begins the NEW sniping opportunity?

No because not everyone snipes. So if all the snipers put in there bid before the 3 minute warning, then someone still could walk in and place a regular manual bid, which would negate all the snipe bids.

I think it sounds like a great thing for eBay to implement. But that is probably just because I am more of a seller than a bidder, and I hardly ever snipe.

[atomicthumbs]

Yeah, I know. That's the point I was getting at. Since no one can bid within the last three minutes, wouldn't that just make the moments before the three minute mark begins the NEW sniping opportunity?

No because not everyone snipes. So if all the snipers put in their bid before the 3 minute warning, then someone still could walk in and place a regular manual bid, which would negate all the snipe bids.

I think it sounds like a great thing for eBay to implement. But that is probably just because I am more of a seller than a bidder, and I hardly ever snipe.

Ah... Because if I, lets say bid at countdown time 3 minutes and 4 seconds, and someone dosen't like it, they can just place a bid within the three minutes to extend the auction. This could go back and forth indefinately. So, it would, in some cases be good for the seller. Though it sucks for snipers (if it could, the REFRESH button on my screen would show signs of wear).


I AM NOW FULLY AWAKE!
http://images.netgrocer.com/jpegs/3800000828.jpg

[NESVIDIOT]

I only bid once on an item- and it is usually only in the last minute of the auction. If my one bid isn't high enough to take it then obviously I didn't want it bad enough. That is what proxy bidding is all about. Figure out what you want to spend, make your bid. If you want to bid more than once, then bid early enough to get into a bid war. I don't like bid wars, thats why I only bid once in the last minute. And I don't whine when my one bid doesn't win- I simply start looking for another of the same item to bid on.

[atomicthumbs]

I only bid once on an item- and it is usually only in the last minute of the auction. If my one bid isn't high enough to take it then obviously I didn't want it bad enough. That is what proxy bidding is all about. Figure out what you want to spend, make your bid. If you want to bid more than once, then bid early enough to get into a bid war. I don't like bid wars, thats why I only bid once in the last minute. And I don't whine when my one bid doesn't win- I simply start looking for another of the same item to bid on.

Yeah. Me neither. I hate it when I'm selling, but oh well. I don't see the point of placing a bid days before it's even over. It's just going to drive the price up. Tis silly.

[JJNova]

The "Maximum Bid" argument is faulty. MY maximum bid today might not be the same amount I would be willing to go up to in final minutes. Or perhaps I would change my mind at the end of the deal, and be willing to go up another 2 or three dollars.

Saying that people who are against Sniping aren't good at it or are crying because they can't get stuff dirt cheap can also be viewed as very hypocritical. Maybe instead people snipe bvecause they are no good at actually deciding THEIR maximum bid, and don't want to give up sniping because they will no longer get items for dirt cheap. Since obviously that's the goal of sniping....


PS - How is this a video game topic?

[rbudrick]

I love sniping, and I do it on every auction. Esnipe is the best thing ever invented.


As a buyer, I love sniping too - it saves me money. The only people who hate sniping are the ones who are no good at it

Word.

If you don't want to save money, be my guest, but I do.

If you aren't willing to pay more than I am (snipe or no snipe), that's your tough cookies. I just wanted it more than you (if I bid higher), so you shouldn't feel badly. And I guarantee you I am by no means rich, so that's out the window. It's a matter of who wants it more in every auction. If you want it that badly, bid your max.

-Rob

[NE146]

Anyway, with or without sniping, what's always true is 'money is king'.

Put it this way.. even with a 3 minute extension if Bill Gates bids a million bucks on an nes cartridge auction, he's going to win it, snipers or not. :P

[yuppicide]

But what if some jerk comes along with 0 feedback (he heck just a jerk in general who HAS some feedback) and bids a lot just to mess you up..




What the hell is the point of having an end time on an auction if you're going to extend it every time someone else makes a bid?

Exactly my thoughts.

I think people just need to buck up, bid what they are willing to pay and stop crabbing when they don't get something for dirt cheap.

That's pretty much it.

I mean, if there's something that comes up that you want, you CAN win it. I mean, say you're bidding on a Panesian that you *MUST* have....snipe it at 1000.00. No one's gonna top that, and you'll come out paying as low as possible, but at least you'll have it.

[atomicthumbs]

But what if some jerk comes along with 0 feedback (he heck just a jerk in general who HAS some feedback) and bids a lot just to mess you up..


Well... If he dosen't go through with the buying process, you and the seller could usually works something out (usually your high bid).

[NESVIDIOT]

I love bid wars when I'm selling! But there again, if the seller starts an auction at .99 then they had better expect to let it go at .99
If not, set a reserve price.
I like the way E-bay works now- if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[yuppicide]

LOL! I could say some sexual here, but I'll refrain.



I'll handle your junk for free ANY tme ;)

[Sosage]

I only bid once on an item- and it is usually only in the last minute of the auction. etc, etc, etc.

That is how I tend to bid.

IMO, people only have a problem with "sniping" when they are on the losing end of the bid. I also have a really hard time believing that anyone who uses Ebay for more than a month doesn't resort to it.

I mean...it sucks losing an item like that. I can understand the venting, but its the way the Ebay game is played and some of us have learned to play it.

Now days my only problem with Ebay is finding something worth paying outrageous shipping rates for (crap...rekindling another "daily Ebay flame war topic"). ;)

[Cmosfm]

But what if some jerk comes along with 0 feedback (he heck just a jerk in general who HAS some feedback) and bids a lot just to mess you up..




What the hell is the point of having an end time on an auction if you're going to extend it every time someone else makes a bid?

Exactly my thoughts.

I think people just need to buck up, bid what they are willing to pay and stop crabbing when they don't get something for dirt cheap.

That's pretty much it.

I mean, if there's something that comes up that you want, you CAN win it. I mean, say you're bidding on a Panesian that you *MUST* have....snipe it at 1000.00. No one's gonna top that, and you'll come out paying as low as possible, but at least you'll have it.

That's why I said "Snipe it at 1000.00", the jerk has no chance to mess you up and make you pay a lot, and no one else will have a chance to win it. :)

[NESVIDIOT]

The "Maximum Bid" argument is faulty. MY maximum bid today might not be the same amount I would be willing to go up to in final minutes. Or perhaps I would change my mind at the end of the deal, and be willing to go up another 2 or three dollars.

And your 2 or 3 dollars still probably won't win you the auction because the guy who does know what his "maximum" bid is already won when he placed his bid to win. Place the bid- it doesn't matter when you do it because there is always the chance the other guys bid is 100.00 when your is 20. If you are unsure what your maximum is, bid early so you can increase your bid if you have to.

[yuppicide]

But he does have a chance to mess you up. Let's say someone with a few feedback has a grudge against you. He bids $1500. He doesn't pay. The seller says 'Your maximum bid was $1000.. would you like it for that price?" -- meanwhile if that jerk didn't bid maybe I could have got it for say $400 because he's the only one who bumped up my bid.



But what if some jerk comes along with 0 feedback (he heck just a jerk in general who HAS some feedback) and bids a lot just to mess you up..




What the hell is the point of having an end time on an auction if you're going to extend it every time someone else makes a bid?

Exactly my thoughts.

I think people just need to buck up, bid what they are willing to pay and stop crabbing when they don't get something for dirt cheap.

That's pretty much it.

I mean, if there's something that comes up that you want, you CAN win it. I mean, say you're bidding on a Panesian that you *MUST* have....snipe it at 1000.00. No one's gonna top that, and you'll come out paying as low as possible, but at least you'll have it.

That's why I said "Snipe it at 1000.00", the jerk has no chance to mess you up and make you pay a lot, and no one else will have a chance to win it. :)

[Anthony1]

bidding early on an item doesn't make sense at all.


Whenever I'm watching an auction, I like to wait till the last minute as well. I never put my bid in until I have to, because there are tons of people out there that do searches for things that have bids already on them. They only look for stuff that has bids already on them, because they figure this is the best way to save themselves time. They figure that the items that already have bids likely have "reasonable" shipping costs, and that the seller doesn't have much negative feedback, and that the item is in good order, etc.

So I never bid on a item early, because I want it to show 0 bid's as long as possible. Alot of people don't even look at stuff with 0 bids because they figure that there is some requirement (like you have to send a money order only) or the item is untested and as is, or the item won't power up, but it might work fine, etc, etc.


Also, it just doesn't make any sense to bid early. Here is an example. Let's say that you are trying to get Super Adventure Island for the SNES. Well, you know that it typically goes for about $9, plus $3 shipping for a total of $12 for a loose cart. So you know that you are going to need to big about $12 on it to have a chance to win. Well, if you bid $12 on that item early, then people can bid on it, and nibble on it, until they see where your maximum line is.

So if you aren't around when the auction ends, they just nibble and nibble until they go a couple of penny's beyond your maximum bid. It happens over and over.

I sometimes do it myself. If there is 1 bid on a item that I want, sometimes I will nibble at the item to try to determine where the guy's maximum bid is. If he isn't around at the very end, then I just go a few cents more and I steal the item from him.

This is why sniping is absolutely manditory. If you put a bid in before the final two minutes, then you are making a major mistake. Sometimes it won't hurt you, if nobody happens to be interested in that item, but if it's an item that people normally would be interested in, you are either going to lose the auction or overpay. There is no way around it.

[NESVIDIOT]

If you put a max bid of 1000 be prepared to pay that much- if(by chance) you do get some jerk out bidding you because he has a grudge, then don't take the second chance offer- wait until the seller relists it- then bid again.
But always be prepared to pay your maximum bid, you never know- it might reach it.

[Steven]

Man what a killer crop of eBay bidding topics this morning. This is already the 2nd I seen, the other elsewhere on another video game board.

People with super active lives are the ones who can't snipe most of the times. For those kind, I understand.

however, if you got access to a PC when an auction you want is ending, there's no excuse NOT to snipe.

I hate the yahoo theory of extending auctions. If that were applied to eBay eBay would go down the drain, at least for buyers it would. Sniping is part of the fun on eBay, and I always snipe.

Don't change it.

[Cmosfm]

But he does have a chance to mess you up. Let's say someone with a few feedback has a grudge against you. He bids $1500. He doesn't pay. The seller says 'Your maximum bid was $1000.. would you like it for that price?" -- meanwhile if that jerk didn't bid maybe I could have got it for say $400 because he's the only one who bumped up my bid.



But what if some jerk comes along with 0 feedback (he heck just a jerk in general who HAS some feedback) and bids a lot just to mess you up..




What the hell is the point of having an end time on an auction if you're going to extend it every time someone else makes a bid?

Exactly my thoughts.

I think people just need to buck up, bid what they are willing to pay and stop crabbing when they don't get something for dirt cheap.

That's pretty much it.

I mean, if there's something that comes up that you want, you CAN win it. I mean, say you're bidding on a Panesian that you *MUST* have....snipe it at 1000.00. No one's gonna top that, and you'll come out paying as low as possible, but at least you'll have it.

That's why I said "Snipe it at 1000.00", the jerk has no chance to mess you up and make you pay a lot, and no one else will have a chance to win it. :)

*sigh* - there's a difference in a PROXY bid and a SNIPE bid.

if I place a SNIPE bid in the last 3 seconds of the auction for 1000.00, my "enemy" won't even have a chance to know that I bid, much less any time to outbid me. The auction will be over and you will have won it for whatever was above the under bidder.

Get it?

[Nature Boy]

I'm personally against this 3 minute idea. Seems to me it'll benefit the sellers *way* more than the buyers. Shill bidding is enough of a problem, isn't it?

As a very occasional eBay buyer I don't see what all the brou-ha-ha is about sniping anyway. So someone beat you in an auction. So what? There will be other auctions. I'd rather someone snipe me than worry that the seller is trying to figure out what my proxy bid is by upping the ante at the last minute.

[James]

Here's a good idea another auction website does that I think eBay should adpot:

"When a bid is submitted in the final 3 minutes of an auction the website automatically extends the auction closing time by 3 minutes in order to prevent auction sniping - the practice of placing a bid just as an auction is about to close. The auction will be extended as many times as necessary until there are no bids (manual or proxy) in the last 3 minutes before closing. The automatic auction extension benefits buyers because it gives you more time to respond with a new bid, rather than losing the assets to a sniper."

-- what do you think?!

By this logic an auction could go on forever getting incresingly more expensive. On the other hand sniping pisses most people off and is ususally done by someone trying to piss off another person to make themselves feel good.

[Steven]

Here's a good idea another auction website does that I think eBay should adpot:

"When a bid is submitted in the final 3 minutes of an auction the website automatically extends the auction closing time by 3 minutes in order to prevent auction sniping - the practice of placing a bid just as an auction is about to close. The auction will be extended as many times as necessary until there are no bids (manual or proxy) in the last 3 minutes before closing. The automatic auction extension benefits buyers because it gives you more time to respond with a new bid, rather than losing the assets to a sniper."

-- what do you think?!

By this logic an auction could go on forever getting incresingly more expensive. On the other hand sniping pisses most people off and is ususally done by someone trying to piss off another person to make themselves feel good.

What the heck?! I snipe because it gives me the best possible chance to win something as cheap as possible. I don't do it because it pisses the bidder (I sniped) off.

That is such an ignorant attitude you have. Yes there are some sicko's who truly get a kick out of sniping and pissing the 2nd highest bidder off, but most of us just want the dang game or whatever in the best cheapest form, and sniping can do that for you.

[petewhitley]

I'm personally against this 3 minute idea. Seems to me it'll benefit the sellers *way* more than the buyers. Shill bidding is enough of a problem, isn't it?

No kidding. That's one of the most valid reasons (of many) against this absolutely crazy idea. It would create a much larger incentive to shill bid.


The "Maximum Bid" argument is faulty. MY maximum bid today might not be the same amount I would be willing to go up to in final minutes. Or perhaps I would change my mind at the end of the deal, and be willing to go up another 2 or three dollars.

I think your definition of "Maximum Bid" is faulty. LOL Seriously ... :hmm:

[lurpak]

the purpose of an end time would be if all bidding is complete then the high bidder wins obviously.

the three minute rule would mean the seller got a true value for his item.

and it doesnt extend the bidding for every bid, it only adds three minutes if the bid arives within the final minute of the auction.

that way eBay would work like a propper auction site..
Im pissed off of having to sit with an item geting no bids till the last day.

this system would ensure that people could freely bid thier personal maximum price, then move on to the next.

friggin 20 watchers no bids... FFS..

I use sniping fro stuff I absolutely must have, it would be much fairer if I could just put a bid in.

[bargora]

The whole point of sniping is to avoid locking horns with muddleheaded bidders who have constantly shifting notions about their maximum--in other words, who haven't actually figured out what their maximum bid is.

Snipers have to know what their maximum is because an ebay sniper only gets one shot. If your snipe shot isn't good enough to win, then oh well--you shouldn't have any regrets. I have never missed winning with a snipe bid and then thought "gee, I should have bid earlier so I could have gotten into a bidding war." I just wait for the next auction and--maybe--snipe a little higher.

If you find yourself getting into idiotic bidding wars and spending more than you originally had wanted to, maybe you ought to start sniping yourself.

[Jasoco]

No, Sniping is what makes eBay so fucking annoying. I'll never forgive the bastard that sniped my World of Nintendo globe. God damn mofo. :angry:

[atomicthumbs]

I've gone so far as to go home sick from work to bid at the end of an auction I REALLY wanted.

[Steven]

I've gone so far as to go home sick from work to bid at the end of an auction I REALLY wanted.

HAHA... well, as long as you do it once in a while its OK (like... a year)

I remember one time I said no to going to this water amusement park with my cousins, just so I could snipe on this game.

I also recall rejecting going on a trip to see my friends coz there was this hard to find game with no bids on that I really wanted.

[atomicthumbs]

I've gone so far as to go home sick from work to bid at the end of an auction I REALLY wanted.

HAHA... well, as long as you do it once in a while its OK (like... a year)

I remember one time I said no to going to this water amusement park with my cousins, just so I could snipe on this game.

I also recall rejecting going on a trip to see my friends coz there was this hard to find game with no bids on that I really wanted.

I don't know if I'd miss fun like that though. I would have asked a friend or relative to win it (done that too).

[NESVIDIOT]

No, Sniping is what makes eBay so fucking annoying. I'll never forgive the bastard that sniped my World of Nintendo globe. God damn mofo.


The funny thing about this is it's probably someone here on DP that sniped you.(No it wasn't me) I know several other DP'ers that collect signs.
Next time you see the same sign you will place a higher value on it, and maybe win. Or wait until the last second and place a high bid to try and snipe it!

[NESVIDIOT]

In fact as I am writing here I am also watching an item that ends in 40 min. and am going to place a last second bid on it!! Wish me luck on my 1 chance....

[anagrama]

I've gone so far as to go home sick from work to bid at the end of an auction I REALLY wanted.

I've set my alarm clock to get up at 4.45am before to snipe an Australian auction. Not sure if that's as bad or not ;)
Then again, I'm able to snipe whilst at work, so that's not a problem.

[bargora]

No, Sniping is what makes eBay so fucking annoying. I'll never forgive the bastard that sniped my World of Nintendo globe. God damn mofo. :angry:
Hey, sorry about that one, J. Guess you should have bid higher.

[Iron Draggon]

That's pretty much it.

I mean, if there's something that comes up that you want, you CAN win it. I mean, say you're bidding on a Panesian that you *MUST* have....snipe it at 1000.00. No one's gonna top that, and you'll come out paying as low as possible, but at least you'll have it.

Nuking it with a snipe is a great idea, but it can backfire on you bigtime if you happen to encounter another sniper dropping a nuke! Trust me on this, it's rare, but it can happen. It happened to me once, and it cost me a bundle!

Also, think about what you're saying here, on DP of all places. You're actually inciting legions of other ebay snipers to adopt the same practices that you and I use! One of these days, we may all be trying to snipe the same item!

As for ebay adopting this practice, it'll very likely never happen, and here's why: Regular scheduled maintenence! If ebay adopts this policy, how are they gonna extend auction endings indefinitely and still be able to effectively shut down all bidding for a few hours during scheduled maintenance? Are they gonna post a sticky note saying that 3 more minutes of bidding will resume after 2 hours of downtime? Nobody is gonna put up with that crap!

Therefore, I agree with all the other snipers, learn how to snipe and stop pushing the price up way beyond what it should be way too early by getting into futile bidding wars over stuff days before the auction is ending! If your schedule doesn't allow you to snipe manually, then use a sniping service. Otherwise, place a proxy bid in the same manner that you would place a snipe, and pray that your bid is high enough, the same way that we snipers do. Just because we place our bids at the last minute doesn't mean that we can't lose. I've lost stuff that I wanted because my last minute snipe wasn't high enough, and of course I was upset about losing it, but I knew that I bid the most that I could afford to pay, and it wasn't enough, so I just started looking for another one and started preparing to snipe a little higher on the next one. If you get outbid, then you should just bid more next time too.

It's pretty simple logic, really. Regarless of the time that you place your bid, if it isn't enough, it simply isn't enough. Bid more next time. But it's silly to bid less than the most you can willingly afford to pay when you place a bid. I still don't understand the point of that, unless you're just placing an opening bid to kill a BIN button. I'll do that, but that's about the only time that I'll do it. Then I just relax while other people outbid me for a week, and I snipe it at the last minute like usual, with the exception that my snipe won't be more than what the BIN was. If it goes over the BIN, obviously I'm not willing to pay that much for it, or else I would've used the BIN in the first place. But other than that, the only reason I see for placing an opening bid on an item is so the seller can't make any changes to the listing without cancelling your bid first. I'll do that too, but mainly so they know that at least one of those watchers actually wants it enough to place a bid on it. And I only do that because I've seen alot of stuff that I wanted to snipe disappear before I ever got a chance to snipe it, apparently because no one was bidding on it. Some sellers don't seem to be willing to wait and see what the watchers do.

Now get out there and snipe stuff! The biggest guns always win! Bring your nukes, and duck and cover if a bigger nuke gets dropped on you, or your own nuke destroys your bank balance because you didn't escape the blast! There's no reason to whine about anything but clueless noob bidding wars!

8-)

[NESVIDIOT]

Long winded Iron Draggon- but 100% right on the money!! Couldn't have said it better....

[alexkidd2000]

I 2nd that!

[Griking]

What the hell is the point of having an end time on an auction if you're going to extend it every time someone else makes a bid?

Well, a real auction keeps going if there's a bidding war and things like that.

"Going once, going twice..."
"Four-fifty!"
"Four-fifty! Going once..."

And ebay could add an option allowing the seller to immediately close an auction that's gone into overtime, or even disallow that behavior completely when posting the item.

REAL auctions also don't have end times. So again, what's the point of having an end time?

Because auctions without bids have to eventually end some time

[petewhitley]

Snipers have to know what their maximum is because an ebay sniper only gets one shot. If your snipe shot isn't good enough to win, then oh well--you shouldn't have any regrets. I have never missed winning with a snipe bid and then thought "gee, I should have bid earlier so I could have gotten into a bidding war." I just wait for the next auction and--maybe--snipe a little higher.

That's a brilliant way of putting it. I've never regretted a loss on eBay for that very reason. I only snipe, and with sniping I always use my maximum bid, otherwise what's the point?

[Simply Dave]

I've gone so far as to go home sick from work to bid at the end of an auction I REALLY wanted.

Same here. LOL And, yeah, I've done the alarm clock thingy too for those freaking middle of the night auctions.

[Wavelflack]

The reason sniping works is because bidders who DON'T snipe can't take into account the auction going for fifty cents over their final bid. I may establish $50 as the maximum reasonable amount that I am willing to pay, but (with the exception of current retail prices) there is no fixed value beyond which even a dime over is senseless. For that reason, if I'm given the option of adding fifty cents to my "maximum", I'll take it. And if I am outbid by fifty cents, I'm willing to bid again..to a certain extent. Yes, you can always place an astronomical top bid, but you then run the risk of shill, hostile, or "delinquent" bidders taking advantage of this just to fuck with you.

The simple fact that software exists to enable sniping demonstrates how it is not a natural function of a free market that ebay aspires to be.

[punkoffgirl]

LOL! I could say some sexual here, but I'll refrain.



I'll handle your junk for free ANY tme ;)

Why refrain? I certainly didn't :)

[Steven]

LOL! I could say some sexual here, but I'll refrain.



I'll handle your junk for free ANY tme ;)

Why refrain? I certainly didn't :)

LOL

I like punkoffgirl's balls... or lack thereof

[esquire]

I'm personally against this 3 minute idea. Seems to me it'll benefit the sellers *way* more than the buyers. Shill bidding is enough of a problem, isn't it?

No kidding. That's one of the most valid reasons (of many) against this absolutely crazy idea. It would create a much larger incentive to shill bid.

This is exactly what will happen. Since sniping won't work now, people will be forced to put in a higher proxy bid. Those time extensions in the last 3 minutes will just allow people to chip away at the high bid and drive it up without them having the intention of being the high bidder. I see this all the time now when the high bidder puts in an extra proxy or two as insurance because they feel their previous proxy was not high enough. This only creates incentive to shill bid, whether by a seller's dummy account (or asking a friend to do it) or by someone just pissed that they won't win the item because they don't want to pay as much as the high bidder is willing to pay, so they drive it up instead.

[Iron Draggon]

Have any of you ever participated in a silent auction before? They work the same way as ebay does, but offline. There's a piece of paper that all the bids must be written down on, along with your name. They last for a set amount of time, and during that time, anyone who wants to bid has to write down their bid and their name. So what happens is, if no one has written down a high enough "proxy bid" before the last minute of the auction, a gang of lurkers standing nearby that piece of paper will be fighting each other to be the last person to write down the last bid and their name, just like sniping it. And the catch is, you must be completely finished writing down your bid and your name before the auction ends, or your bid is ignored and the last bid before yours is the one that wins the auction. So imagine what it would be like if you had to physically beat out all the other snipers to the one common keyboard for submitting your final bid, and that's how a silent auction works. So there are real world examples of people sniping auctions just like on ebay.

[dairugger]

Hi all-
im a longtime reader first time poster to the board.. Many times ive sniped auctions- mostly to guarantee my chances of winning the auction, ive been sniped and had to adapt. but ive also sniped and won- and paid more than i thought it was gonna go for, but that was my prob- and in the end i enjoy the item, kinda gives it a funny story.. but instead of waking up early to place a bid i use auction sentry, anyone else use a program?

[petewhitley]

but instead of waking up early to place a bid i use auction sentry, anyone else use a program?

Hell yes. I never snipe by hand, as I have a life outside of the 'net. eSnipe is a great service for a very low price.

[lurpak]

This is exactly what will happen. Since sniping won't work now, people will be forced to put in a higher proxy bid. Those time extensions in the last 3 minutes will just allow people to chip away at the high bid and drive it up without them having the intention of being the high bidder.

thats ludicrous. the problem with "chipping away" at a high bid is, they might bid more as its blind bidding on ebay and end up having to buy the item... do you seriously think somone with no intrest in an item would do this...just for fun.

snipe bidding is just wrong, how many times have you placed a reasonable bid on an item and sat as the high bidder for a week, just to loose it to some sniper, who although had bid more, has not given you the chance to reconsidder in the way that they considered your bid. its unfair.

my advice to sellers as I have done, if I have an item coming close to last day with a low start, no bidders all watchers and an item you just know is going to sell.. annoy the watchers by changing the start price to reflect its true value.. they had thier chance to put a bid in while it was low.

[petewhitley]

This is exactly what will happen. Since sniping won't work now, people will be forced to put in a higher proxy bid. Those time extensions in the last 3 minutes will just allow people to chip away at the high bid and drive it up without them having the intention of being the high bidder.

thats ludicrous. the problem with "chipping away" at a high bid is, they might bid more as its blind bidding on ebay and end up having to buy the item... do you seriously think somone with no intrest in an item would do this...just for fun.

Some will, but more likely, the seller will. Do you understand how and why most shill bids are placed? x_x

[Steven]

This is exactly what will happen. Since sniping won't work now, people will be forced to put in a higher proxy bid. Those time extensions in the last 3 minutes will just allow people to chip away at the high bid and drive it up without them having the intention of being the high bidder.

thats ludicrous. the problem with "chipping away" at a high bid is, they might bid more as its blind bidding on ebay and end up having to buy the item... do you seriously think somone with no intrest in an item would do this...just for fun.

snipe bidding is just wrong, how many times have you placed a reasonable bid on an item and sat as the high bidder for a week, just to loose it to some sniper, who although had bid more, has not given you the chance to reconsidder in the way that they considered your bid. its unfair.

It's not unfair at all to snipe IMHO. But there's a saying "Life is unfair, love is unfair"... and I guess in your mind, so is eBay sniping.

Sniping is just the way to go. Whatever happens, however you bid, just don't whine about it. Take your hits.

To say that sniping is unfair is ridiculous!

[FurinkanianFrood]

Prices on Ebay are high enough. Without sniping it would just get even worse.

It's basically snipe or be sniped.

One time I sniped an auction for a game I was gonna give to my cousin as a Christmas gift and someone got angry and said that he was gonna give it to his cousin for a Christmas gift.

It's ridiculous. If someone wants something that badly they should bid higher. They won't, but who's fault is that.

I don't have the money that some people do. I buy games to play them. I don't feel that I should be cheated out of a game because some rich jerk has hundreds of dollars floating around stuffed randomly in furniture.

Ebay is a sellers market already. Don't try to make it worse.

I'm usually able to get many of the Imports that I want from Japanese sellers at any given time using buy it now for less than the items go for in auctions anyway (and that includes EMS shipping).

I don't collect assorted game promo items and whatnot, so the escalation is as follows

1. Buy most games from reasonable online shops
2. Buy stuff not available there from a few of my favorite sellers on ebay
3. Search for the item and see if a seller who seems decent has one, if they are decent, add to decent sellers list
4. If no decent seller has it then forget about it for the time being

Of course those obsessed with condition are out of luck.

I don't bid on random junk that I find haphazardly.
The best thing is to go to Ebay looking for something that you are already speciifically looking for I'd say.