Sniper software

[baggiez]

I disagree, and I ALWAYS snipe. When you snipe, you can't get caught up in anything, since you set your max days ahead and just go away. When you bid in real time at the end - that's when you can lose control.

With regular bidding, it is true that others can't see your maximum, but the ADDITIONAL advantage of sniping is that others can't see THAT YOU ARE BIDDING AT ALL! This can create a desirable complacency among your competitors, so they stop paying attention to the auction, until it is too late (for them).

Bidding early inevitably incites others to counter-bid. I have seen too many instances where people "creep up" on the high bidder, just to see what the current max is. This always results in a higher final price. In extreme cases, two individuals can get locked into a bidding war. They should have sniped.

There is nothing "unfair" about sniping. Everyone is allowed to take part in any auction at any time they like. So why not right at the end? Of course, there are people who get a kick out of bidding and counter-bidding on the internet, like in a live auction. These people need a life. They do everyone a disservice, except for the seller.


The bottom line is this: there is no conceivable advantage to the buyer of bidding until just before the end of an auction, and there are the potential disavantages of bidding early. If you are going to bid at the end, you might as well be safe and use a sniping tool.

P.S. I have used Auctionstealer for years. Works fine.

+1. Just set and forget. Figure out your maximum bid but hold it out until the last few seconds. No point in creating interest early is there

 

[maxman]

Pros: you beat me in the auction.
Cons: now I strongly dislike you.

snipers actually don't make me that upset.
Sometimes they save me from a bid I wished I hadn't made.
sometimes they bail me out when I've bid on 3 of the same thing.

If I want to compete, I'd have to use one too.
I rely on sneaky bids when no one is looking.
That's probably why I don't win too many auctions

 

[takeshi]

I find that a lot of my friends believe this. No one knows what your maximum bid is but you, unless they outbid you.

That's true but:

If you place your max bid then someone can "poke" at the item with small incremental bids to determine your max bid -- or reach their limit, whichever comes first -- and drive up the bidding price early. That's what "showing your hand" (the "show" part is misleading) effectively means to me in the context of ebay.

Now that I typed that, I see that moshulu said basically the same thing. Oh well...

When you snipe, you can't get caught up in anything, since you set your max days ahead and just go away. When you bid in real time at the end - that's when you can lose control.

I'm not sure I understand how you can get "caught up" when sniping either. It's a set-and-forget thing. You're just not registering your max bid with ebay but with the sniping service instead.

 

[natchez]

I have used Auction Sentry for a long time and have been very happy with the performance. I have also experienced no security issues; I think because the program once purchased sits on your computer. The basic module is what I have, but the advanced can stop bids if you are bidding on multiple similar items.

Pros- works 99.9% of the time, one-time fee with free updates
Cons- costs money

http://www.auctionsentry.com/

There is a free trial.

 

[ibrewbeer]

This whole concept seems silly to me. It takes the fun out of an equal player game. I have been sniped out of auctions and it really stinks to not even have a fair shot at re bidding. HOWEVER, at this point I feel like it's the only way to win so if I can't beat em' I will have to join em'. I guess the ethical dilemma is, do I become that very same guy that made me (the pre-sniping me) feel played just so I can win an item over others? I guess I will have to if I ever want something in my mailbox...

 

[jwhiskercut]

I almost always snipe unless it's something I'm not going to be around for when the auction ends. In that case, i set it and forget it.

Sniping does a few things for me. One, it allows me the chance to outbid somebody and them not outbid me by .25. Second, I submit with usually less than 30 seconds on the clock. If someone outbids me, then I can't get caught up in the moment and spend more than I originally intended, because I have no buffer time.

Essentially, either I get it at the price I want or I get nothing. I found that if I set my max early i end up checking it a lot and then re-bidding more if I'm outbid. bad habit...

 

[shavewithbigelow]

I don't use any software, I just snipe manually. That is if it's something I really would like to get. I just wait until there are a few seconds left and enter no more that I am willing to pay. It seems to work well. Sometimes I'm outbid and even if I wanted to rebid there isn't enough time left. No big deal though. There will always be more stuff to bid on. If I'm patient I usually will get (eventually) what I want at the price I'm willing to pay.

 

[falkor27]

. . .

This can create a desirable complacency among your competitors, so they stop paying attention to the auction, until it is too late (for them).

Bidding early inevitably incites others to counter-bid. I have seen too many instances where people "creep up" on the high bidder, just to see what the current max is. This always results in a higher final price. In extreme cases, two individuals can get locked into a bidding war. They should have sniped.

. . .

I grant your point. I don't look at items that are more than a few hours away from ending so I guess that minimizes the effect some.

+1. [. . .] No point in creating interest early is there

Exactly. Further consideration shows my "auctions near ending with no bidders" strategy of avoiding bid-wars is not dissimilar to sniping. No software, though.

 

[taffy]

Max bid then leave it to fate