Auction stealer warning

[pengeezer]

Another reason that I don't use a sniping system is because I might see something that I want,
and then decide the next day that I don't need that item that badly. At that point,if I've already
started a sniping setup,then I'm committed to that program and may end up winning and paying
for something that I found I could do without.

If I can't be patient enough to wait out an auction,then I've got no business there in the 1st place.


John

[Jon Szanto]

Another reason that I don't use a sniping system is because I might see something that I want,
and then decide the next day that I don't need that item that badly. At that point,if I've already
started a sniping setup,then I'm committed to that program and may end up winning and paying
for something that I found I could do without.

If I can't be patient enough to wait out an auction,then I've got no business there in the 1st place.

Yeah, but that doesn't wash at all. The sniping program I use is pretty much guaranteed to not send a bid if you cancel that snipe up to within 2 minutes of the end of auction. Unless you are systemically ambivalent about what you consider purchasing, a 2 minute window sure seems like enough time. I rarely have second thoughts, because I think about it pretty carefully to start with. I still see no downside whatsoever.

[pengeezer]

Another reason that I don't use a sniping system is because I might see something that I want,
and then decide the next day that I don't need that item that badly. At that point,if I've already
started a sniping setup,then I'm committed to that program and may end up winning and paying
for something that I found I could do without.

If I can't be patient enough to wait out an auction,then I've got no business there in the 1st place.

Yeah, but that doesn't wash at all. The sniping program I use is pretty much guaranteed to not send a bid if you cancel that snipe up to within 2 minutes of the end of auction. Unless you are systemically ambivalent about what you consider purchasing, a 2 minute window sure seems like enough time. I rarely have second thoughts, because I think about it pretty carefully to start with. I still see no downside whatsoever.

No ambivalence here. Not using a sniping system helps my patience,though I'm happy
to see that bids can be cancelled before the auction is over. If I miss out or the bidding
goes too high,I don't have to deal with cancelling anything.


John

[Jon Szanto]

Yeah, sorry, by "ambivalence" I was referring to a hesitance on whether to go through on a purchase. I guess that just isn't something I deal with. Not trying to make anyone use a system they would rather not, in the least. All I know is that since I have started automating my auction activity, my percentage of purchases actually coming through for me - winning - has gone up. I consider that a plus, with no real extra work on my part.

[pengeezer]

No problem. I find that no matter how ones does it,it comes down to how much one
is willing to spend on that item.


John

[Jon Szanto]

Indeed.

[ethernautrix]

Thanks for the explanations.

It's interesting that some opine that sniping programs are unfair. Seems to me, as John said, whoever is willing to pay the most for the pen is the one who will win it. If I determine my maximum, seems like it wouldn't make a difference to me whether I use a sniper program or simply enter my maximum bid. Even were I to lose in the last couple of seconds, I couldn't argue the outcome when the winner set a higher maximum.

[velo]

Hmmm but then why the need for the sniping program? Just enter your max bid and be done with it.

[00Photo]

Hmmm but then why the need for the sniping program? Just enter your max bid and be done with it.

HAHAHAHAHA!

Newb.

[david i]

Hmmm but then why the need for the sniping program? Just enter your max bid and be done with it.

Because, based on how ebay structures its bidding, doing so would be a simply awful strategy.

regards

david

[mhosea]

I am conflicted. My nature is to help people, but people reading this might be bidding on the same items I might bid on. I think that, under the circumstances, I will encourage them not to snipe. Don't snipe, folks. Waste of time. Bid early, but don't bid too high. Wouldn't want to overpay.

[tenney]

Not about sniping, but... although most auctions are in the currency of the country of that ebay site, that's not always true. I've seen several pens by a person who says "don't pay right away, wait until I invoice you in Euros, NOT dollars". Of course, they use ebay's currency exchange rate which may be ok or not, but... you're bidding in dollars and then having to pay in Euros however the seller decides to convert it. I've also see, I think, ebay.com bids in GBP and Euros.

[velo]

Hmmm but then why the need for the sniping program? Just enter your max bid and be done with it.

HAHAHAHAHA!

Newb.

Not as many as some but over 200 transactions with some sales and purchases well over $1000 and a handful triple that amount.

Never once used a sniper and I believe I've had good value in purchases. Honestly if you use it and get done you take it on the chin just like you do when you lose a bid the noob way.

[david i]

Hmmm but then why the need for the sniping program? Just enter your max bid and be done with it.

HAHAHAHAHA!

Newb.

Not as many as some but over 200 transactions with some sales and purchases well over $1000 and a handful triple that amount.

Never once used a sniper and I believe I've had good value in purchases. Honestly if you use it and get done you take it on the chin just like you do when you lose a bid the noob way.

This of course is not relevant to your original question, which was...

Quote Originally Posted by velo View Post
Hmmm but then why the need for the sniping program? Just enter your max bid and be done with it.

Ebay game theory. Fun stuff indeed.

regards,

David

[mhosea]

Not as many as some but over 200 transactions with some sales and purchases well over $1000 and a handful triple that amount.

Never once used a sniper and I believe I've had good value in purchases. Honestly if you use it and get done you take it on the chin just like you do when you lose a bid the noob way.

Perhaps it merits noting that the benefit of sniping is not just about winning. It is also about winning at a lower price. There are at least three serious ways of bidding: 1. Bid max early, 2. snipe, and 3. bid hopefully early and be ready to defend your item. What strategy #1 does to #3 folks is give them time to probe and subsequently to think about whether they are willing to go higher and higher. Sniping does nothing to strategy #1 folks, obviously, but it takes strategy #3 folks out of the game, and they are the ones who are most likely to over-bid emotionally, especially when they have held the lead for awhile and started to feel like the item is already theirs. These are the folks who tend to complain about sniping and consider it somehow "unethical", apparently an emotive response based on the sense of pseudo ownership that can develop from having a leading bid for any length of time.

Occasionally you can also get a good deal as buyer on an item that nobody has bid on because domain-newbies (people who don't know that much about what they are bidding on,as opposed to Ebay-newbies, who don't know how to use the system to their best advantage) may infer lack of desirability from lack of bid activity. This is often true when a pen looks like crap only because of dried ink everywhere, tarnish, and misaligned feed.

The negative effect of low bid activity is why I generally start my (very few) items for sale off at $0.99 and without a reserve, because the bidding activity makes the item look more attractive to people who have less idea how attractive it really is. Having said that, I understand why people use reserves for items appealing only to a small market, since there is a high risk that there won't be at least two people who really want the item, know what it is worth, and notice that it is for sale, all three.

[david i]

Hi Mike,

Your 3rd way is what some of us refer to as nibbling. Nibbling vs Sniping, to give cute names to common tactics. One indeed has greater benefits than the other

regards

david

[joiedwards]

I don't have a problem with sniping. I don't do it. When I used auction sites in the past i learned to bid what I thought the item was worth to me and then forgot about it. If I won, good. I did not win alot and eventually went away from auctions as a way of acquiring things.

I think sniping frustrates people who can't sit by their computer waiting for the auction to end. If you enter your max bid at the beginning and lose by one dollar or fifty, it will not matter.

[david i]

I don't have a problem with sniping. I don't do it. When I used auction sites in the past i learned to bid what I thought the item was worth to me and then forgot about it. If I won, good. I did not win alot and eventually went away from auctions as a way of acquiring things.

I think sniping frustrates people who can't sit by their computer waiting for the auction to end. If you enter your max bid at the beginning and lose by one dollar or fifty, it will not matter.

It matters though, if you are more likely to lose the auction by entering your max bid at the beginning, rather than at the end. Unless, of course, winning the item for your max bid, vs losing it, doesn't matter.

regards

david

[pengeezer]

I don't have a problem with sniping. I don't do it. When I used auction sites in the past i learned to bid what I thought the item was worth to me and then forgot about it. If I won, good. I did not win alot and eventually went away from auctions as a way of acquiring things.

I think sniping frustrates people who can't sit by their computer waiting for the auction to end. If you enter your max bid at the beginning and lose by one dollar or fifty, it will not matter.

It matters though, if you are more likely to lose the auction by entering your max bid at the beginning, rather than at the end. Unless, of course, winning the item for your max bid, vs losing it, doesn't matter.

regards

david

That's why there are those of us that wouldn't put in a max bid at the beginning of an
auction on a popular pen(for instance). The percentage that we will be outbid because of
the popularity of a brand's model will be higher because of the newbies and the pros bid-
ing on it. The only option for those wanting to win the auction will be to overpay.


John

[david i]

I don't have a problem with sniping. I don't do it. When I used auction sites in the past i learned to bid what I thought the item was worth to me and then forgot about it. If I won, good. I did not win alot and eventually went away from auctions as a way of acquiring things.

I think sniping frustrates people who can't sit by their computer waiting for the auction to end. If you enter your max bid at the beginning and lose by one dollar or fifty, it will not matter.

It matters though, if you are more likely to lose the auction by entering your max bid at the beginning, rather than at the end. Unless, of course, winning the item for your max bid, vs losing it, doesn't matter.

regards

david

That's why there are those of us that wouldn't put in a max bid at the beginning of an
auction on a popular pen(for instance). The percentage that we will be outbid because of
the popularity of a brand's model will be higher because of the newbies and the pros bid-
ing on it. The only option for those wanting to win the auction will be to overpay.


John

Bidding early in an auction has little (though some) benefit. Bidding at the end of auction, particularly regarding a maximum bid, has huge benefit and little risk.

However, having bought perhaps 3000-4000 pens on ebay, and having outbid others to get those pens in all cases save the minority "Buy It Now" sales, I very rarely (Perhaps 1% of cases) overpay. Since "overpay" is a somewhat subjective term, perhaps it should be better defined for this discussion, if it is to be asserted that the only option for those wanting to win the auction is to overpay.

regards

david