Ok, I think I understand the sniping thing a little better now. I only buy things here and there on ebay...usually just little crap that catches my eye and can be had cheap. But, I pretty regularly watch a variety of categories, just so I have some idea on what kind of prices certain items are bringing, so when I'm ready to buy I'll be somewhat informed. Guess I might have to check out a sniping program when I start getting serious about buying stuff. Thanks for the explanation!!
30Roadster- It really sounds to me that the seller had a friend shill bidding the item up to a higher price and 'accidentally' went over your max, but then you didn't outbid him... I hope you didn't end up paying that 'max bid' Dude... I really hate that shit when you see the same asshole bidding a couple of bucks over and over and over to bump the price up, but never 'seals the deal'... if you want something that bad, BID LIKE A MAN... put up or shut the fuck up... I personally have paid 'too much' for a certain part or whatever, but on the other hand I have gotten some SCREAMING deals as well... It all averages out in the end in my mind...
Snacky6... A good example of someone walking up the bid. http://cgi6.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=2434079357 This example also shows people bailing out on their bids for some reason.
The thing I've found sellers doing is bumping up the bid to find your max then contacting you. You see a 0 feedback guy bidding up till it hits your max. Usually with a day or so to go to give you a chance to bump your bid at the end. Then if the 0 feedback bidder wins it, you get a note from the seller stating that the 0 bidder didn't pay and you can have it at your last bid price so he won't have to re-list it. I had one asshole seller try to pull this shit on me on 3 different items using the same bidder before I understood how it works. You think some kid is screwing him out of his auctions till you catch on. Now if I see a 0 feedback bidder bumping it up with a day or 2 to go, I withdraw my bid. The newer version of this is to take something that's worth say 100 bucks and put it up with no reserve and a 5 buck opener to draw interest. Then you use another account with a sniper program to bid 95 bucks with say 5 minutes to go. What you've done is to actually set your reserve above 95 bucks on a no reserve auction, but the buyers don't know it. Someone else using a sniper program and knowing what it's worth on E-Bay will probably put in a max bid of 100 bucks or more with a minute to go. He'll go to bed a few hours before the end of the auction thinking his 5 buck opener might just win it afterall. Then he gets up in the morning to find he won it, but for 100, YEA! Boy, this sniper program just won me another one!
Now there's a thought, have a special section for blind ending / sealed bid auctions where you can't see if anyone has bid or what the bid is or when it ends.
Guys, Sniping has been the only way I've gotten sucessful bidding, there's a lot of psychology going on here. There's nothing wrong with sniping, get over it. Each person has their own way of bidding- note the funny gesture bidders do at live auctions. All you have to do is decide what you want to pay for an item. If someone else wants to pay more the so be it. I have no time to go watch item end to the last second (some people should just get a life). I decide what I'll pay for an item place my snipe and let it go, it does not always win. If you are one of those people that sit there and drive up the bid till you win over somebody, you are the people we hate. This is why there are things that go for outrageous prices, a pissing match of sorts. All you have to do is decide, one time, what the item is worth put your bid in and forget about it. I've been Ebaying close to 10 years now, trust me another one will show up sooner or later.
Man,,,I thought I had won the part I needed yesterday,,,,me and two other guys back and forth for 4 days,,,I was the high bidder and had bidded high,,,,and DAMN,,,,a new player snipped at the last few seconds,,, HRP
If you bid on anything with more than 10 seconds left all you are doing is showing your hand and screwing yourself out of money. BTW the adding 5 minutes per bid thing would ruin E-bay for the buyers.
This thread just taught me about sniping! I've been an EBayer for several years, and I never knew about sniping! I think I lost an auction for a couple A frames last winter to a sniper! Thanks, HAMB! Deluxe
I know your high bid is your high bid...but theres nothing worse than losing an auction for 50 cents....Sometimes I don't even look to see if I won until the next day, it can be extremely frustration on ebay.
Just because you lost the auction by .50 cents doesnt mean the other guy only bid .50 cents more than you did, it could just mean the bid increment is .50 cents. If your maximum bid is $150 bucks and the winner bids $300 he still only pays $150.50.
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