ebay snipping

DaveNH · Nov 28, 2001

Can any one help me with ebay snipers.
(Saga of granite splitting) Trying to buy a rotary hammer on ebay and twice now I've been outbid the last few seconds.
I placed my bid and it sat there untouched for 7 days with my single bid, then with a few seconds left some one bumped my bid by a buck and won the item. I tried a limit search on ebay (found there was a name for this, sniping) but could not find a counter move.
Any sugguestions?

We're all in this together! (3)

Gatorboy · Nov 28, 2001

That is the ONLY way to bid for items on eBay. It is only to the SELLERS advantage for people to BID early. I laugh when I see two people battling it out early on an item. What is the point of being high bidder with days to go?

I ALWAYS bid with 10 seconds left on an item I would like to buy. If I win - great - if not -- oh well. No need to pump up the price early.

The final price may have "looked" like he just bid $1 more, but he could have outbid you by $100, but the way eBay works is to only increase the price to the next highest increment when the current high bid is beaten. So my advice is to bid the most you would want to pay with 10-30 seconds left on the auction. One trick to use is to have two windows open -- one with the auction page up so you can refresh to get the countdown time, and another with your HIGHEST BID ready to go. Then when it gets down to the wire, you can just hit the Submit Bid button on your other window.

Dave

Harv · Nov 28, 2001

Dave -

You're probably getting nailed by proxy bids. I gave up on manual bidding long ago when I discovered proxy bidding. You decide what the maximum you are willing to pay is and enter that as a proxy bid. eBay will then automatically bid for you in minumum increments to keep you in the game. These bids will not show up on the bid history, and all the proxy bids get resolved in the final seconds of the auction. A brief explanation is shown here.

My success rate improved dramatically when I started using this approach. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

MossRoad · Nov 28, 2001

Years ago I had to do the proxy thing on another web site. I was shopping for stuff and getting outbid at the last second. The proxy did the trick. I still got outbid by people willing to spend more than me, but at least I got a shot at it.

 MossRoad

Devildog · Nov 28, 2001

Dave, You could of also been esniped Click here by someone bidding from this site. It will put a bid in for registered users at the last second.
_________________________________________________
Take care, Jim

2001 B7500 HST 302 Fel R4 Tires.
Semper Fidelis

Gatorboy · Nov 28, 2001

Harv,

If you like to pay more than you have to on an item, place your largest bid early and drive the price UP through the proxy bidding. However, if you want to save money, take up sniping.

Example:

Scenario #1
Imagine a typical 7-day auction: It's Jane and Clyde all the way to the end! Jane opens the bidding on Day 1 for $50 while her Proxy (MAX) is $110. Clyde finds the same auction the next day and decides that $100 is all he wants to pay for the item. Clyde keeps bidding up the price by $10 until he gets to $100 and through the proxy bidding, Jane is still high bidder now with $102.50 (Bid increment of $2.50). No one else bids for the rest of the auction and Jane wins the item for $102.50.

Scenario #2 - Sniper (or what happened to DaveNH)
Clyde found the auction just like in the first example and so did Sniper Jane. Because Jane is now a Sniper, she does not open the bidding. Now Clyde opens the bidding with $50, and he sits on the auction as high bidder all week, Sniper Jane went on with her life. Sniper Jane is no fool and, she waits for the end of the auction. With 10 seconds remaining, Sniper Jane enters her maximum bid of $110. She wins the auction for the $52.50 (the minimum bid increment imposed by Ebay's system) over the $50 because by waiting until the end of the auction to bid, she offered Clyde no opportunity to come back and bid again. Sniper Janes gets the same product but SAVES $50!

I hope that explaination helps.

Dave "Gatorboy" Hoffmann

BobT · Nov 28, 2001

Dave,

Gatorboy has laid it all out correctly, masterfully even. That's the way to conduct successful E-bay purchases for the LOWEST price to the buyer.

Also, the Esnipe web site referenced above is fading, since E-bay will automatically CANCEL any bids that come from a link to Esnipe.

Good Luck!

BobT.
A Indiana Boy

Von · Nov 28, 2001

I wish Ebay was a true auction, in that the auction doesn't end untill the bidding stops. I'm sure that they could come up with a system that would allow the auction to continue for say 2 minutes after the last bid once the set time of the auction end time. Ebay would make more money as would the sellers, and there would be no snipping.

DocHeb · Nov 28, 2001

I've seen aution sites where there is a time limit, but the endpoint keeps re-setting if there is another bid in the last 10 minutes (it is clear in my mind, but hard to describe). For example: The auction is set to end at 11:34 am. A bid comes in at 11:33 from a sniper. The new endpoint is set to 11:43 - if no other bids it is over. This works like a regular auction where the auctioneer gives fair warning.

By the way, I always snipe on eBay. If you don't want to be outbid, just put in a proxy bid at a higher $ than what I'll snipe at.

Von · Nov 28, 2001

Doc,
I don't buy much on ebay, but I do sell quite a bit (over 100K last year). I think having the auction stop once the bidding stops would be more money in my pocket! I have mentioned this to ebay a few times, but they don't seem to care for the idea.

BobT · Nov 28, 2001

Howdy Von,

Man o man, $100K in EBay sales---that's a BUNCH! I just sell odds and ends I no longer need. To me EBay is one of the best things invented by the Net. Quick, easy sales.

Is there any software or books you could recommend if I wanted to try and riase my volume, kind of graduate to a serious hobby?

All the best,

BobT.
A Indiana Boy

gws · Nov 28, 2001

Bid with a proxy. If your not willing to pay more money or somthing and someone else is then you loose.

Gary.

Gatorboy · Nov 28, 2001

Proxy is GOOD for SELLERS and BAD for BUYERS. If you are a buyer, and like to throw away your hard earned money -- go PROXY, if not, take up SNIPING. See my example above.

Dave "Gatorboy" Hoffmann

Devildog · Nov 28, 2001

I also like sniping. Win a few loose a few/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
_______________________________________
Take care all, Jim

2001 B7500 HST 302 Fel R4 Tires.
Semper Fidelis

Harv · Nov 28, 2001

Dave -

I have no doubt that sniping will save you some bucks if you're the fastest gun at the showdown and if you're not going up against other proxy bidders.

I guess it comes down to what your goals are for a particular auction. I've only purchased a handful of items, and each time it was something I had an immediate need for and I either couldn't find it elsewhere or I couldn't find a decent price. After my first few unsuccessful attempts with manual bidding, including sniping at the very end, I not only failed to acquire the item, but got myself somewhat stressed by the experience (sometimes it doesn't take much /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif). A couple of times I even forgot or was unable to be logged in during the closing moments.

My strategy since then has been to first find the very best price I can through various discount houses, classifieds, etc. If I can't find the deal I want, I then use the information I found that way to determine my own "fair" price for the item. For example, if the best discount I can find is, say, 20%, I'll probably knock off another 10 or 15 percent and enter that as my proxy bid on eBay, provided eBay has a new or like-new unit of what I'm looking for.

In other words, I'm not focused so much on paying the least amount possible (don't tell my wife), but rather paying a "fair" price that I can feel good about. Proxy bidding has done the trick for me about 3 out of 4 times with no sweat, anxiety or stress. Don't have to remember or even be logged on, either -- I get notified by email soon enough. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

It may not sound like it, Dave, but I'm actually agreeing with you, mostly. I just think proxy bidding has some good points, too. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Von · Nov 28, 2001

Bob,
I know that there are books out on ebay, but I haven't read any. I sell mostly high end antiques so its easy to do big $ with the stuff I sell. Sold a train set for $26K last year and had some other big hits that add up quickly. I try not to list anything that will sell for less than $100.00, you have to do the same amount of work for the cheap items as you do for the high end stuff. Those cheaper items I can sell out of my antique shop and not have to pay ebay anything. Its wild what will sell on there, I have found stuff along the road that people were throwing out, sold it on ebay for $1600.00. You just have to hunt for the good stuff if you want to make money. You have to remember this is what I do for a living, and it takes alot of time and knowledge to make any money at it.

BobT · Nov 28, 2001

Von,

Thanks for your insights. They really do help.

I found an old Royal No. 10 manual typewriter on EBay---and bought it for $19.50. I used the exact same machine 30 years ago to write a couple of books. So, I bought it for the "memories" -- just to keep around on a table.

However, in researching this item on the web, I found that antique typewriter dealers sell that exact machine for $450. I wish I had a couple of dozen of them!

BobT.
A Indiana Boy

Anonymous Poster · Nov 29, 2001

I don't lkie snipers, as either a buyer or a seller. I use proxy when I'm buying, and I flat quit selling on Epay because of snipers, and all of EPay's candy assed regulations on what you can sell.
If I go back to selling on Epay, I'll do it with a notation that I will end auctions at my whim after 4 or 5 days to screw snipers.
I've also found that I can get better deals on tools by contacting the seller after the auction, many are really small dealers, and making them an offer if I've been sniped. I've done that many times, and gotten the same price I had bid with proxy because the seller won't have to pay Epay their fee.

Gatorboy · Nov 29, 2001

If I go back to selling on Epay, I'll do it with a notation that I will end auctions at my whim after 4 or 5 days to screw snipers

And you'll screw yourself of course, because alot of bidding is done at the end. As a seller, aren't you trying to get the highest price for your item? That statement was clearly illogical.

It sounds like people are thinking that "sniping" is wrong or illegal. Why? An auction is setup for X-days and ends at X:XX time -- why is it that if you bid earlier it is ok, but someone who bids later is "bad?" I think it is more sour grapes.

Dave "Gatorboy" Hoffmann

Devildog · Nov 29, 2001

I agree with you Dave due to the fact that the seller can set a minimum price they will take for there Item, and if it doesnt reach the minimum then they dont have to sell it.
___________________________________________________
Take care all, Jim

2001 B7500 HST 302 Fel R4 Tires.
Semper Fidelis