Last second (or minute) bidding or "sniping"

Hintza

Ah come on guys you are taking the fun out of the equation...as a seller I just love those buyers that get into a bidding war early.


It is really boring (and scary) when you haven't got any bids and only have 5 minutes to run and you thought a nice low starting price (as advocated by ebay) would attract lots of interest. And you realise that you might end up selling the item for less than you paid for it!!!!

[Deleted User]

I also recommended auctionstealer - have used it many times in the past and found it to be reliable (and FREE(!) for three goes per week). Also you don't have to download anything to use it, which is always a plus in my book.

BFG_2

As a sniper myself, there are many POVs on auctions and questions around tactics and 'ways to beat snipers/early bidders' eg why donesn't eBay extend the auction when you get a bid in the last few seconds??

Do a google search and read a bit... it's very interesting hearing the pros and cons.

My own POV is that the majority that complain about snipers are people who are upset because they didn't get the article for a lot less than they think the article is 'worth'.
Eg Early bidder (E) would be prepared to pay 100 for article, but only bid 60 (coz then it'll be 'a real bargain at that price'); sniper (S) then wins it for 65, E says - 'it's not fair, I would have bid 70 if only I'd had the time'. If they would bid 70 AFTER the auction, they should have bid 70 DURING the auction. Bid what you are willing to pay for the item and take your chances - if you get it for less, you're very happy.

Happy bidding

bleugh

if you want an item, bid on it the amount you think its worth

simple really

if an item is worth £100, a lot of people will bid on it if it starts at £1


if you bid £50, fine, someone else could bid more

if you bid £90, great, someone else will try £50, you still win, the auction goes to £55

they try £55
the auction goes to £60
they try £65
the auction goes to £70
they give up
you win at £70

thats how it works

Iffy_Wallet

Sorry I'm confused today.

If we are bidding on a box of 4 tea cups:

If you bid 1 pound and
I bid 299.00 pounds (which ebay shows as a 1 pound 50p bid)
then sniper nips in with .00095 of a second to go with a 2 pound bid

You're not trying to tell me that sniper would win - are you ?

HairyHatMan

You're not trying to tell me that sniper would win - are you ?

Absolutely not! You win the item for £2.20 (If 20p is the minumum increment @ £2).

culpepper

Im reading a book about ebay at the moment and the writer says when bidding using proxy bidding,go a little bit more say 8p or something, then if someone has bid a round amount like 2.20 if your highest wouldve been 2.20 and you bid 2.28 your more likely to get it.

Altarf

Iffy_Wallet wrote:

Sorry I'm confused today.

If we are bidding on a box of 4 tea cups:

If you bid 1 pound and
I bid 299.00 pounds (which ebay shows as a 1 pound 50p bid)
then sniper nips in with .00095 of a second to go with a 2 pound bid

You're not trying to tell me that sniper would win - are you ?

No, you would win at £2.20, however...

Many new ebay users don't realise how the proxy system works, so put in a bid of £1.50 and wait until they are outbid before uping their bid. When the sniper hits with the £2 bid they are too late. Even if they do know how the proxy bid system works, many people still don't bid the maximum they are prepared to pay, so again they can be outbid by the sniper who has put in their maximum bid.

Sofa_Sogood

Iffy_Wallet wrote:

Sorry I'm confused today.

If we are bidding on a box of 4 tea cups:

If you bid 1 pound and
I bid 299.00 pounds (which ebay shows as a 1 pound 50p bid)
then sniper nips in with .00095 of a second to go with a 2 pound bid

You're not trying to tell me that sniper would win - are you ?

Doesn't seem like these sniping programmes are any good does it?

payless

But whatif

Someone setup a sniper to bid upto a max amount and the auction is revised ( or added info)

example
If seller listed laptop ( worth £600)
then later revised to say
" OMG after listing I just dropped it and its truely kn@ckered - anyway will leave it on sale in case anyone wants to bid for the broken parts "

a "proper bidder" would have this knowledge before he bids, but a sniper would surely be bound by the sale - as his bid is officially made after the amendment