Sniping

[cooncatbob]

I don't mind being sniped, I do it too. But I believe you should put up at least 1 up front bid and not just snipe in the last 10 seconds of an auction.
I always do an entry bid, but I avoid getting into a pissing war, so if an item is still in my price range I'll snipe it and if I'm the high bidder I'll do an antisniping bid at the last second. It feels real good to thwart a sniper.
Snipings a part of the game but don't be a little chickenshit about it. Be a man about it.

[With The Grain]

....

[Jonnybc]

unless i cant be at my PC when an auction is closing i see no reason why you would ever place anything but a snipe bid, all early bidding does is raise the price. if i want something, I'll decide what i'm willing to spend on it and place my bid as late as possible, this is in no way backhanded to me as it doesnt even gurantee ill win anything, i may very well not have displaced the current high bidders 'max bid' but if i did well then i obviously placed more value on the item.

i really cant relate to these guys who say they got burned by a sniper blah blah blah, bid what an item is worth to you and you'll never have a problem

Agreed!

[With The Grain]

....

[joel]

Personally I don't mind either way. So far as I am concerned - you place one bid.... the maximum you are willing to pay for an item. If it is sniped... so be it - as the "sniped" bid is a higher bid... who knows how much higher.

Personally I snipe... and I don't pre-bid, as I find on most items, guys "test" the waters and aren't really sure how much they are willing to pay. As a result - if you place bids in, it simply jogs up the price, people get more attached to the item, and are mentally prepared to pay more for the item to "win." I typically find that by sniping items, I get them a lot cheaper - and what I like MOST about sniping, is it is non-binding... for instance, MANY times I have put in a "snipe" for an item - then decided a few days later (before the auction ended) I didn't want the item, or something better had come along. Also - I have found the item I was planning on bidding on - on sale at a retail store/site - and lowered my snipe, whereby if I had simply entered my max bid initially with ebay, it would have been binding.

[Rik]

I pre-bid is if the item has a buy-it-now option that is considerably higher than the opening price. Doing so removes the buy-it-now allowing me the chance to purchase the item at a lower price. But I always follow through with a snipe at the price I'm willing to pay. I too like the fact that I can cancel my snipe before the auction ends without being commited to purchase.

Most auctions I snipe w/o pre-bidding.

[letterk]

I usually snipe by hand, but am interested in what snipping services you find good?

[javyn]

I realized early on with ebay, it is either snipe or be sniped. I know there are standalone applications that will place the bid right at the absolute last second of the auction, but I don't see any need for that. I use a tabbed browser, so I have one tab open on the item that is being refreshed to keep up with time, and another tab open that is on the last step needed to place a bid....once the auction gets down to about 5 seconds, I switch over from the item tab to the bid tab and hit the execute button.

It works well for me. I've never lost an auction by being too slow; only by being outbid on my snipe by previous bidder's automatic price ceiling. (That is why I give myself around 5 seconds, in case I have to scramble to beat that previous bidder's high if I want that item bad enough.)

[cooncatbob]

id love to hear some rational of how placing an early bid makes you a manly sniper, making an early $10 bid on something you know will finish around $50 does what? alert people you'll be there in the end, are not to be messed with... doesnt do any of those things if you ask me
Actually it's more like a dog pissing on a tree (LOL) this is mine, this is who I am and I'll be back.

[Xert]

I prefer to think of myself as an ebay ninja, lurking in the shadows to pounce unawares at the opportune moment.

[cooncatbob]

I prefer to think of myself as an ebay ninja, lurking in the shadows to pounce unawares at the opportune moment.
You don't happen to be pvl331 who sniped me on this razor
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6636814419&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
A truly lothesome human being. LOL

[roughrider]

Whenever someone outbids me, I just say to myself "That guy overpaid." :biggrin:

[RWelch76]

I'm definitely too cheap NOT to snipe :w00t:

But, boy, do I ever get pissed off when I think, "Yes!...........only 10 seconds left...........I won!," then, when I hit reload, it reads: "You got outbid!......Bidding has ended for this item."

I holler and cuss obscenities and vulgarities, the likes of which have never before been heard :mad5: :mad2: :sod: :yikes: :incazzato :a32:

Then I think: I wish I could learn to do such as this so deftly. In the end, it's about who can enter in the last bid the fastest, which usually means getting it for the cheapest..............isn't that the whole point?

[SSLStudio]

Personally I don't mind either way. So far as I am concerned - you place one bid.... the maximum you are willing to pay for an item. If it is sniped... so be it - as the "sniped" bid is a higher bid... who knows how much higher.

Personally I snipe... and I don't pre-bid, as I find on most items, guys "test" the waters and aren't really sure how much they are willing to pay. As a result - if you place bids in, it simply jogs up the price, people get more attached to the item, and are mentally prepared to pay more for the item to "win." I typically find that by sniping items, I get them a lot cheaper - and what I like MOST about sniping, is it is non-binding... for instance, MANY times I have put in a "snipe" for an item - then decided a few days later (before the auction ended) I didn't want the item, or something better had come along. Also - I have found the item I was planning on bidding on - on sale at a retail store/site - and lowered my snipe, whereby if I had simply entered my max bid initially with ebay, it would have been binding.

Ditto. im a sniper by manual. it is more fun. but there are sniper services out there im a member of one but havent checked how it works yet it auto snipes for you and you set a pre timer like 7 seconds before the auction ends or even less time. but remember ebay servers needs a certain amount of reactens time. I have 3 free snipes I can make after that you pay a little fee for the snipes it is worth it..you are free to go anywhere sleep in the nights and the computer snipes for you... you have your life back......if your a heavy ebayer..

[Xert]

You don't happen to be pvl331 who sniped me on this razor
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6636814419&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
A truly lothesome human being. LOL

Not I, although I may have attempted such if I'd seen it :wink:



Then I think: I wish I could learn to do such as this so deftly. In the end, it's about who can enter in the last bid the fastest, which usually means getting it for the cheapest..............isn't that the whole point?

Hm, I disagree. When it comes to sniping the point is to not drive up the price, but when the last seconds come it really doesn't have much more of an impact, since any other snipers are already there putting their maximum bids as well. If you're a sniper, you're already interested in paying more than the current price, so whomever enters the most takes it home.

[Rik]

In the end, it's about who can enter in the last bid the fastest, which usually means getting it for the cheapest..............isn't that the whole point?
I disagree. The individual willing to pay the most for an item is the one who wins whether that amount is entered at the beginning or the end of an auction. Sniping helps prevent bidding wars and is simply a part of eBay.

If the creators of eBay wanted to they could've structured the auctions to be extended X number of minutes after the last bid if placed within the last X minutes of the auction.

Personally sniping removes the emotional attachment to an item - If I win great, if I loose oh well life goes on.

[Popeye]

It 's not the sniping that bothers me. It's losing!! I just subscribed to a snipe service but I will only bid what I want to pay for it. If I lose Oh Well.
Did I mention I hate losing!

[Rik]

It 's not the sniping that bothers me. It's losing!! I just subscribed to a snipe service but I will only bid what I want to pay for it. If I lose Oh Well.
Did I mention I hate losing!
LOL! I think we all agree with you there.

[SilkySmooth]

It 's not the sniping that bothers me. It's losing!! I just subscribed to a snipe service but I will only bid what I want to pay for it. If I lose Oh Well.
Did I mention I hate losing!

+1

==Tom

[abramsgunner]

I never have been able to get of the thought of "winning" by being the sucker willing to pay the most for an item... Maybe it should be the other way around.. I "won" after getting sniped at the last second.. now that jerk lost and has to pay up for that overpriced junk :thumbup1:

[liege]

Not pre-bidding has a negative side. If you really want something but don't pre-bid, the seller can remove the sale item if there are no bids. If you pre-bid it's now locked in for sale.

[murph]

I always stick in an early bid to remind me what I intend bidding on as I don't use any service. I still manage to forget about things at times and am often sniped but on occasion I've still managed to get the item afterwards because the winner moans about shipping charges or some other hiccup occurs.

I hate being sniped on items that nobody else has bid on so you think nobody wants it apart from you only to forget about it and find someone has sniped in the last ten secs.

[Thomas]

I haven't bought much on e-bay lately, but generally if there's not already a bid, I'll put down a nominal bid, near the opening price. Then I'll set a snipe on-line. If an item's being contested I'll usually let it go, otherwise I'll set a price and forget about it. If I change my mind, I can delete the snipe (although, I have won a few items I forgot about...) and if the opening bid carries the day, I'm not out a bundle.