posted on February 14, 2000 05:40:01 PM new
As we know the thing that makes an auction a success is the buyer. When a buyer bids the way normal people would and holds the hi bidder spot till the end only to loose to a sniper, this is not good business. If we have a collector that has several auctions going and has a lot of money out on auctions and looses to snipers this is going to hurt the auction site after awhile because they (the bidder) will move on to another auction site. I think that the auction sites should not post closing times, only the last day. This would make the sniper a bidder instead of an auction sneak.
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[ edited by iamhoudini on Feb 14, 2000 05:41 PM ]
posted on February 28, 2000 04:36:28 PM new
I guess I'm not sure how this works. When I bid I place my high bid....that is the price I am willing to pay. It doesn't matter to me whether someone out bids me on the first day or the last minute...I've put in my high bid. Is a sniper someone who outbids and doesn't pay or is it anyone who puts the highest bid toward the end of the auction? I have seen many an item for the first time when there are only a few minutes left. If I bid on it and win does that make me one of those "snipers"?
posted on February 28, 2000 08:11:09 PM new
I think what happens is that most people, myself included, don't really know how much they're willing to pay. They want to place a bid but don't want anyone else to outbid them. For this reason, they try to place their bid at the last instance, preventing anyone having time to bid again.
Does that make sense?
Don
posted on February 28, 2000 08:49:58 PM new
Live auction rules and standards of behavior do not apply to eBay.
At a live auction you can see and hear other bidders. Proxy bids are made known to everyone present. Competition for items happens in real time and either the person who can afford to pay the most or the person who wants the item most wins. No live auction item is bid on for ten days.
About the only time multiple bidders are present for an eBay auction is during the final minutes. The last minute checkers,
item watchers, and earlier bidders all show up to vie for the item.
It's the only time a "real" auction is taking place. It is unfortunate that the bidders with the best equipment enjoy an unfair advantage in this game.
Sniping wouldn't work at a live auction. It works well on eBay. It may not be fair but it's the only way to effectively secure a good deal. High proxies are like shopping, sniping is what an auction is all about.
I do understand your point iamhoudini, but eBay is not a gentleman's venue.
posted on February 29, 2000 12:15:11 PM new
The way I look at it, is if a particular collector is sniped on auctions continually, he's not going to go to another venue...he's simply going to wait until the items come up again. In the case of eBay, that is an almost-guaranteed surety.
I get a little annoyed when I'm sniped or if I forget to bid on an auction, but then I remember, there will ALWAYS be another doodad up for auction. You can probably find the same thing you were bidding on last night up for auction right now if you look hard enough.
Patience and tenacity is a virtue for any collector.
BTW, the money a an outbid BIDDER has out on an auction site is meaningless...he was outbid, so the money generated by the auction is still going to the venue, and since he was outbid the individual seller's are still prospering. Sour grapes because you lose now and again will only hurt yourself and your quest for whatever it is you are looking to purchase.
Also, the best equipment will not necessarily do you any good. Unless you somehow have a line directly into an auction venue, the fastest modem in the world is still at the mercy of internet bandwidth traffic. Sniping is a art, not a science, so no matter the gear, I'll still win the doodad with a 33.6 connection if I really want it
posted on March 11, 2000 09:09:58 AM new
Sorry, I like sniping, and sit and watch auctions that I really want the item, and wait till the last minute and put in a bid.
Lots of people snipe, and sometimes I am outbid by another sniper. It makes auctions fun actually, to see the price rise at the last minute. It doesn't hurt the seller in any way, they get more money no matter what, and it puts some zing into it. Ebay likes it, why would they put a watch feature on if they didn't support it. I watch dozens of auctions and if I am present, watching I have a better chance of winning.
Lots of people put in bids and just forget about it. I watch the auctions, spend my time watching the countdown, and when it is close to the end, put in another bid. Now if the person with the highest bid, already has a proxy bid in that would cancel out mine that is fine, but if they don't, and mine is higher I win.
There is no problem with this as they could have put in a higher proxy bid at any time. Example, one time I bid on something and it was at $50 and my proxy was $60. When the bids crept up I rebid to $160 as I really wanted the item.
At the last minute, the bids went up t0 $90 as snipers bid on it.
That is fine, I still had the forethought to put in a large proxy.
I won, fair and square, and that is how it should be. I am more sick of people that cry about the fact they got outbid when they didn't want to pay much money for an item anyway. You want the item? Bid high enough that no one outbids you. Want and item listed at $3 and has been there for a while and there is one day left?
Bid $100 and you are pretty well sure to get it.
That is the way it works and is fine with me.
posted on March 14, 2000 03:01:21 AM new
To address your issue from a "business perspective"; Do you really believe that today’s world of commerce, online or off, is about being a nice guy? Whether you are purchasing a $10 item on eBay, or bidding on a million-dollar construction contract, everyone "plays the game". It is all about who is fastest, luckier, or maybe even who is a little smarter. I am new to the online world, and I have fun every day. If the only thing that causes you enjoyment is to have people "bid early and bid high" then I would propose that you pour yourself a tall cool one and take time to watch a sunset or two. Peace....
posted on March 15, 2000 03:17:52 PM new
You know, when I first started bidding I would place a
very high bid to win an item. But as time went on, I realized
people don't bid that way, to win and not get caught up
in "auction fever" you should place more conservative
bids, or place the final amount your willing to pay. I have
won bids and lost them in those final moments, but
you what I shouldn't be shopping so much anyway!
Hey were's the addicts corner?
.
posted on March 17, 2000 04:43:09 PM new
Being new, both here and at E-Bay, I immediately found this discussion interesting. I can explain some of the sniping activity by my own circumstances. I've got a very limited budget and there are over 20 items I'm interested in. Quite a few are coming to end of auction in pretty close proximity. I don't dare leave proxy bids on more than one or two items for fear I might actually win half a dozen at once and break the bank. The only way I can participate is to wait till the last day or even hours, see what the bidding level has climbed to. Only then can I decide if I still have enough in the wallet, and if it's still priced in an acceptable range.
I can well see where it must be frustrating for regulars who look things over, make valid and well intentioned bids, and have no idea what is the real interest in the item until the very last hour. But many of us don't have either the time or money to approach it any other way.
After watching for only one day, I very quickly adapted my view to considering the earlier days of the auction as a previewing period only. I'm afraid I have no other solution for the problem unless E-bay wants to put in a check box that says "watching closely and waiting" with a counter so everybody has an idea of interest. Somebody would probably find a way to abuse it though.
posted on March 18, 2000 09:37:41 PM new
the way i figure is , if you want to go for a deal you may get it and you may not. if it is too hot , stay out of the
kitchen.
posted on March 19, 2000 03:29:52 AM new
Skippyp, as a fellow buyer, I agree. Sometimes you have to wait to see what the budget will allow. If it's still within range at the end, then jump!
posted on March 30, 2000 03:18:25 PM new
I don't mind if they do or don't post auction end times. If I see a mint condition Jeffrey Earle guitar and am willing to pay $2,000 for it I proxy bid that much because that's what I'm willing to pay. If I get it for $1,600 becuase of lack of bidders then I just got lucky. I don't want to laugh my way through the auction process, I am willing to pay a fair price and want to sell at a fair price. So, I rarely use reserve's and generally won't bid on auctions with reserves.
posted on April 4, 2000 10:39:41 PM new
Yes, sniping picks my butt. However, all's fair in love and eBay! I have taken to placing bids within the last 2-3 hours on an item I really want and then watching that item for snipers. I have been able to defeat several snipers at the last moment of an auction that way. There is another point being missed here, and that is that some bidders don't take the time to scroll through 50-60 pages of auctions. Usually, they only look at the 2-3 pages listing the nearest ending auctions. Would one call these bidders 'snipers' ?
posted on April 6, 2000 03:52:28 PM new
I think the word "sniping" is offensive. Call it what you want, but all is fair game at any auction until the hammer falls. As a buyer, I try to bid in the last few seconds. Sometimes I win; sometimes I don't. I bid my max, so I live with it. I have been going to antique auctions for over 30 years and I always decide my maximum bid before the item is offered. Same here. Not being able to decide what your max is is not a good excuse. Smart bidders work hard to learn the value of things they collect. Auctions prey on our emotions.(ever wonder why upscale live auctions serve wine before the auction?) We need to learn to treat an auction as a business; keep our emotions in line with our pocketbooks. I would much rather miss something that I want than to wish I hadn't won because I lost control of my emotions and paid too much. Been there, done that! I just take my best shot and if somebody wants the item more than I do; more power to them! If I get mad every time I don't win an auction, then I need to grow up!
posted on April 7, 2000 01:56:17 PM new
frankp - you have hit the nail right on the head!
xardon - Whether or not it's "live vs eBay" makes no difference. It's called competition which is healthy and which makes the on line auction industry grow. If you're a bidder and you get outbid at the last minute, tough luck pal. If you're a seller and get a high bid at the last minute, nice going pal. There is nothing sneaky or ungentlemanly about this practice.
packer 59 - sorta right, but again, it has nothing to do with being a "nice guy"
It's a very simple concept - high bidder wins.
copstop - nothing like "sniping the snipers" eh!
There was an auction site somewhere (maybe it still exists) where a bid placed in the last hour would automatically extend the closing time by 24 hours. This IS unfair to the bidders.
posted on April 7, 2000 10:53:57 PM new
Interesting string and I thought I'd comment. At boxLot, our software determines if a bid was made in the last few minutes of an auction. If so, the auction is extended for 15 minutes to give any other interested bidder time to respond to the late bid. The time will continue to exten 15 minutes at a time until no one bids.
This assures the seller that he or she will get the best price for their item and let's the buyer know that he can win something he wants if he's willing to pay the high price for it.
Just like in offline auctions, it continues until the bidding is over.
posted on April 21, 2000 09:57:01 AM new
There is no such animal as snipe bidders. They are an urban legend created by wouldas, couldas, and shouldas in an attempt to explain why they lost an auction item. The wouldas, couldas, and shouldas are equally as sucessfull in live auctions when they try to place a bid after the gavel falls. Never wanting to observe or follow the same rules as everyone else, these wouldas, couldas, and shouldas all want to be able to place the very last non-competitive bid themselves. This only further fuels the legend of the snipe bidders.
I have to say that is the best response to snipe bidding I have ever read on these boards! I agree with you totally!
As a newbie bidder, I got outbid on a lot of items simply because of snipers. I learned fast not to get angry with the snipers--just try and beat them at their game!
Getting angry about how "unfair" sniping is won't change it. The fact is, it's legal according to eBay's rules, so you have to just deal with it.
Besides. .another thing I have learned is that sniping is FUN.
posted on April 23, 2000 10:14:09 AM new
I used to get outbid by snipers and then I started playing their game. Im not giving away my technique but it involves several browsers open and a kik butt conection. I do still get beat occasionally but it is because the other person was willing to pay more. and after all thats what auctions are all about. Every auction i have ever bid on has had "snipers" so if im gonna get anything i want im gonna have to play their game only better.
posted on May 8, 2000 12:36:48 AM new
As a buyer - I've come in at the last second to get an item I want and don't have to turn over the farm to get it. I've also spent the last few seconds on an auction thinking "wow what a great price" only to watch my great price rise and I end up spending Marc Jr's college fund.
As a seller - I just watched one of my auctions with 54 hits, (9 of those in the last minute) sell for $5.50. The high bidders last bid was 2 hours old. Here I was thinking this would go over $10 in the last minute. So where were the snipers? No one was pulling the trigger.
posted on May 13, 2000 01:21:29 PM new
Getting the best possible price, even if it is up to the last minute, the difference between a store with 100 of the same items at a set price or one of a kind items with high bidding is the difference between set prices and auctions that make auctions interesting and involves some skill as well. If you don't like the game of an auction, you can always pay the retail price marked as is because you can't bargain with a new store. Ce' la vie
posted on May 17, 2000 09:07:29 PM new
I see your point. Sometimes I will put in my max bid when I see the item and if I get it, I get it. With Things I really want I will wait until the last hour or so. One reason why people end up with a $15 piece of petrified dog poop and are proud of it, is that they "won" in and outbid everybody else at the last min. I think people can sometimes get carried away with the competition and bid more than they normally would for an item. (At least this is what my wife tells me). Some sellers may actually get more for an item this way. All fair in love and war and this ain't love.
posted on May 23, 2000 01:23:54 PM new
Hear! Hear! What Xardon said. If your going to do away with sniping then you will have to do away with proxy bidding also you dont see people with robots at real auctions doing the bidding do you? No you see people who bid what they are willing to pay right at thats moment an everyone knows it. And whos to say someone cant snipe at a real auction. If I were a rich man and I went to an auction I would bother bidding until I felt I was doing something more than raising my arm. let the others bid up the item and then if you want to pay that price make a play for it.
posted on May 24, 2000 04:19:46 PM new
Anybody who whines about sniping is just a weenie in my opinion. I sell a lot and I bid a lot, and I am also in the position of not having as much money as I would like to pay for things so I always wait until the last minute. You almost always get a better dealt that way!
posted on May 24, 2000 04:20:38 PM new
Anybody who whines about sniping is just a weenie in my opinion. I sell a lot and I bid a lot, and I am also in the position of not having as much money as I would like to pay for things so I always wait until the last minute. You almost always get a better deal that way!
posted on May 25, 2000 10:35:59 AM new
<b>Let's worry about the deadbeats instead</b><br><br>
Thank goodness for all you people -- xardon, TheRedCircle, packer59, skippyp. Amen! My all-time favorite ebay category is <u>Going</u>, <u>Going</u>, <u>Gone</u>!...and 'snipers' are welcome at my auctions anytime...<br><br>
~April
